Is there anything more nostalgic than sitting down to eat some crispy chicken tenders? Dunking them in your favourite dip, with a side of fries - yes please! These air fryer buffalo chicken tenders will bring back all those memories and then some. I love serving these alongside my easy Greek yogurt ranch dip, feel free to use whatever you like, honey is also a great option. Make an extra large batch and freeze them for later, they make a great quick lunch or dinner served with a side salad too.

Ingredients

The ingredients for these air fryer chicken tenders are fairly simple.

Feel free to use a dairy-free milk mixed with lemon juice for the buttermilk. To do this, mix 1 cup dairy-free milk with 1 tsp lemon juice and let it sit for five minutes.

Swap the all purpose flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour, I've tested both ways, and either will work. I tested with Bob's Red Mill 1-1 Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour.

• buttermilk
• hot sauce
• egg
• all purpose flour (or gluten-free all purpose flour works too!)
• arrowroot flour
• spices: smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne
• chicken tenders (or use boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into strips)
• avocado oil spray

For the Ranch dip:

• Greek yogurt
• lemon juice
• fresh chives
• spices: dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder
• worcestershire sauce

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Tenders in the Air Fryer

The great thing about making these air fried chicken strips is that they are fairly hands off to make. Most of the time spent making these is inactive, such as letting the tenders sit in the buttermilk.

If you're making these, I suggest making a double batch and freezing some of the cooked tenders to have on hand for a quick dinner or lunch.

In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, hot sauce and egg and whisk well.

In a separate large bowl, combine both flours, smoked paprika, garlic, cayenne and salt

Dredge each chicken tender in the flour, tap any excess off.

Then dunk each chicken tender in the buttermilk mixture. Repeat with all remaining strips and let sit for 30 minutes, or longer (the longer it sits, the spicier it will be). Cover and refrigerate if longer than 30 minutes.

When ready to air fry, preheat the air fryer to 390℉.

Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk mixture and dip once more in the flour, place on the prepared baking sheet. Let sit for ten minutes (this helps the coating stick better). Gently transfer to the air fryer, spray with avocado oil spray. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, flipping halfway through and spraying again with avocado oil spray (I find carefully flipping each tender with my hands the best method).

Prepare the ranch dip by adding all ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine.

Enjoy your tenders with the ranch dip!

Tips

• Use avocado oil spray: in order to get your buffalo chicken tenders crispy and avoid them being dry, or too floury, it's important to give them a good spray with oil. I recommend doing this twice, once when you first put the tenders in the air fryer and then again when you flip them. I use this avocado oil spray.
• Be careful when flipping: use a fork or your hands when flipping the tenders over on the second side. This will help your coating stick to the tenders.
• More heat: if you want your tenders to be spicier, you can add more cayenne to the breading, or let your tenders sit longer in the buttermilk mixture. You can also add a small splash of hot sauce to your ranch dip when eating it!
• Let your tender sit with the coating: this helps the coating adhere better. They only need to sit with the coating on them for about 10 minutes.

Substitutions

• Gluten-free: I use Bob's Red Mill 1-1 Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour and recommend using this flour for these air fried buffalo chicken tenders.
• Dairy-free: use dairy free milk and mix with 1 tsp lemon juice to make buttermilk. For the ranch dip, try using a dairy-free unsweetened yogurt you love.
• Arrowroot flour: use cornstarch instead.
• No tenders: use chicken breast instead and slice them into strips.

How Long to Cook Chicken Tenders in the Air Fryer?

These buffalo chicken tenders will take about 12 to 14 minutes to cook at 390℉.

Be sure to flip them halfway through and spray them well with avocado oil to get them crispy on both sides.

How to Store

• Cooked tenders: store cooked and cooled air fryer buffalo chicken tenders in a freezer safe resealable plastic bag for up to two months.
• To reheat: you can place them in the oven and bake for about eight minutes at 350℉, or air fry at 350℉ for four to five minutes.

How to Make in the Oven

I have only tested this recipe in the air fryer. I'm not sure if the breading would crisp up the same in a regular oven.

If you are looking for oven baked chicken tenders, you can try this recipe.

Which Air Fryer Do I Use and Recommend

I've tried three different air fryers over the years, and my most recent is also my favourite.

It's the Wonder Oven from Our Place. I absolutely love it and highly recommend it, for several reasons.

• Aesthetically pleasing: as with all Our Place products, the design is unmatched. This means you can leave it out on your countertop and don't need to hide it away in a cluttered drawer.
• Non-toxic: the trays that come with the Wonder Oven are all non-toxic and made from stainless steel and aluminum with a toxin-free nonstick ceramic coating. This is SO hard to find with other types of air fryers and is the main reason I use it so much.
• Different cooking modes: this is not just an air fryer, it can air fry, bake, toast, roast, reheat and broil. I also love the steam function for bringing breads back to life.
• Compact size: I love how small and mighty it is. It won't take up much room on your countertops, something that was so important to me living in a condo with limited countertop space.

The only drawbacks I've noticed while using this is the timer function. It's not digital and can be hard to be precise when using it. So I prefer to just use the timer on my oven or microwave when using it to be sure it's exact. The knob also has to be turned off manually by turning it rather than having an on/off switch.

But honestly, other than those missing features, it's such a great appliance and I do recommend it.

You can check out Our Place Wonder Oven here!

Other Air Fryer Recipes:

• Air fryer coconut shrimp
• Bang Bang Shrimp - Air Fryer
• Air fryer crispy calamari
• Mexican style chicken wings (air fryer)
• Air fryer chicken taquitos with salsa verde
• Air fryer jalapeño poppers

If you make these air fryer buffalo chicken tenders please share with me, by tagging me on Instagram or leave a comment and/or review below. I truly love seeing and hearing form you!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.