Easy Gluten-Free Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

These Gluten-Free Air Fryer Chicken Tenders are perfectly crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and ready to eat in less than 12 minutes. This easy weeknight dinner uses simple ingredients like gluten-free breading that gets perfectly golden without deep frying!

Perfect for meal prep, lunchboxes, or just serving with your favorite dipping sauce. This is one of our go-to weekly quick meals for the family, plus it’s a win when the kids love it. Keep reading more for tips on how to get that extra crunchy coating, best cook times, and flavor variations!

If you enjoy these, then you’ll love these chicken nuggets are just as tasty!

Why this recipe works EVERY time:

• Fast and Easy, ready in less than 15 minutes.
• Gluten-Free Friendly – If you need to make these gluten-free, you can, and if you don’t need to, that works too.
• Crispy Coating!
• Family Friendly!
• Let the chicken rest and marinade all day while you work, then have it ready to go when you arrive home!

Ingredients for Gluten-Free Air Fryer Chicken Tenders:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins 
• Milk
• Dill Pickle Juice
• Egg 
• Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
• Salt
• Paprika
• Black Pepper
• Oil Spray

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. In a Ziploc bag, combine the milk, pickle juice, and egg. Depending on the amount of chicken, 2 bags may be needed. Each bag fits about 8-10.
2. Place the chicken inside the bag and seal it up. Lay it flat so all the chicken is covered. It’s best to place it inside another pan in case of leaks.
3. Let this sit in the fridge overnight or at least 4 hours.
4. Once you are ready to cook the chicken, combine the flour, salt, paprika, and ground pepper in another bag.
5. Take the chicken out of the marinade, letting the excess marinade drip off it, and then place it inside the bag with the flour mixture.
6. Seal and shake the bag so all the chicken is well coated in the mixture.
7. Carefully remove the chicken from the bag, shaking off the excess, and place it in the basket of the air fryer.
8. Coat with grapeseed oil spray.
9. Cook at 390 degrees F for 6 minutes.
10. Carefully turn the chicken, coat it with additional spray, and cook for an additional 6 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
11. Repeat the process for the remaining chicken.
12. To get the golden brown look, spray with grapeseed oil just before serving.

What do you use to make these gluten-free?

These chicken tenders are easy to make gluten-free by switching out the flour.  I use King Arthur Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour; however, Better Batter, Cup 4 Cup, and Bob’s Red Mill work too. It needs to be a 1:1 ratio floor.

Making Gluten-Free Air Fryer Chicken Tenders:

Once you have your chicken marinated and coated with flour, place it in the greased air fryer basket. This should be coated with grapeseed oil spray, olive oil spray, or avocado oil spray. Remember that grapeseed oil spray has the highest smoke point, which makes it the best choice.

Once you are ready to cook the chicken tenders, cook them at 390 degrees F for 12 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F. This can be checked with an instant-read thermometer.

If you have a large air fryer, then they may fit in one batch, but many times this will need to be done in batches to get through all the chicken tenders. This will be dependent on the size of your air fryer.

If you want to keep them warm while doing the next batch. Each piece of chicken can be placed on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in the oven at 200 degrees F to stay warm.

If the chicken tenders look a little floury, simply coat them with grapeseed oil spray, and it will give them a crispy texture with a golden brown color.

Best Dipping Sauces:

Make sure to choose your favorite dipping sauce too for those tasty chicken fingers!

• Honey Mustard (Our personal favorite!)
• Homemade Ranch Dressing
• Barbecue Sauce
• Buffalo Sauce

Serve the chicken tenders with Air Fryer French Fries or Air Fryer Onion Rings.

If you enjoy these, then you will also love these Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders.

Quick Recap Tips for Air Fryer Chicken Tenders:

• Use Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour for light breading.
• Do not overcrowd the basket; cook in batches if needed.
• Use oil spray, such as Olive Oil Spray or Grapeseed Oil Spray, which will allow the breading to be crispy, golden brown. Any place that looks floury, give it a nice coating of spray.
• Serve with your favorite dipping sauces.

How do you store Chicken Tenders:

Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to reheat, heat at 350 degrees F in the air fryer for 3-4 minutes with another coat of oil spray to restore crispiness.