Hot Honey Chicken Tenders

Our Hot Honey Chicken Tenders are juicy and tender with a crispy crunchy panko breading that’s all coated in a simple sweet and spicy hot honey sauce! This air fryer recipe is a keeper!

Several hot honey chicken strips on a plate.

Pin for Later!

We love chicken tenders for snack time, dinner time, appetizers, or parties! They’re easy to make and they always come out perfectly golden and crispy in the air fryer.

Plus, chicken tenders are a kid favorite and nothing is better than serving up a dinner that doesn’t get a bunch of complaints from the little ones!

These hot honey chicken tenders turn out juicy inside and crispy outside, like all good chicken tenders do.

But the real star of this recipe is the hot honey sauce! It’s simple to prepare and perfect for drizzling over the tenders or serving it as a dip. These would be great as a bird dawg too!

We have lots of great chicken recipes for the air fryer and you can see them all here!

Air Fryer Chicken Tenders Ingredient Notes:

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Air fryer chicken tender ingredients on a countertop.

Chicken – We will use a pound and a half of chicken tenderloins. If they don’t have any chicken tenders at the store you can also just buy chicken breasts and cut them into strips. Either will work fine!

Breading – The breading for these chicken tenders is nice and crispy and full of flavor. You’ll make it with all-purpose flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs.

Seasoning – For the seasoning you will need salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder.

No panko? No problem! You could also use crushed up Ritz crackers or other similar crackers instead.

If you’d rather not use egg to make the breading stick you could try using melted butter or some yogurt!

Homemade Hot Honey Recipe Ingredients:

Honey – If you can find local honey that’s usually the best, but just about any type will do for this sauce.

Butter – We add extra richness to the honey with a bit of melted butter.

Seasoning – I’m adding smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and cracked pepper to the hot honey sauce. You can use more or less of the cayenne pepper depending on how spicy you’d like it to be!

How to Air Fry Chicken Tenders:

Collage of the steps of breading a chicken strip.

Flour – To prepare the breading for these air fried chicken tenders add the flour, a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper, the paprika, and the garlic powder to a shallow dish. Dip each chicken strip in the flour mixture.
Egg – Add the eggs to a second dish and beat well. Dip the chicken tenders in the egg to coat.
Panko – Finally, add the panko bread crumbs to a 3rd dish along with the remaining salt and pepper. Coat the chicken tenders in the panko mixture. Press the strips into the panko to ensure that the chicken is evenly coated on all sides. Spray the chicken with some cooking spray.
Air Fry – Place the tenders in a single layer in the air fryer basket. You may need to work in batches depending on how large your air fryer is. Air fry at 400 degrees for 4 minutes and then flip them. Spritz with more oil and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through to a safe temp of 165 degrees and the coating is crispy and golden!

Meat Thermometer

We use and love this ThermoPro meat thermometer anytime we’re making chicken, steak, or pork chops! It’s the easiest way to ensure meat is cooked to the perfect temperature every time and is a great gift for beginner cooks too!

Get on Amazon!

How to Make Hot Honey Sauce:

Combine – To prepare the sauce add the butter, honey, and seasoning to a small saucepan and heat over low heat. Whisk those together until the butter has melted and the sauce is well combined.
Finish – Once you’ve prepared the sauce all that’s left to do is drizzle it over the tender or serve it as a dip!

Close up of several chicken strips in an air fryer.

Shop our Favorite Air Fryers!

We’ve tested loads of air fryers over the years and narrowed it down to the best of the best! Whether you’re looking for a basket style air fryer that fits nicely on your countertop or you want the toaster oven style air fryer, we’ve got the recommendation for you!

Shop Our Favorites!

FAQ:

How long to air fry chicken tenders?

It should take about 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees for the tenders to cook through and the breading to crispy and golden. The cooking time may vary as some air fryers cook at different temps. If you’re not sure use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken reaches a safe temperature of 165 degrees.

How to store leftover chicken tenders?

You can keep any leftovers stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days. I’d probably store the sauce separately if you can or just prepare more sauce after reheating the tenders.

A spoon above a chicken strip drizzling honey on a chicken strip.

Recipe Tips!

If you don’t want to prepare the breading or you just don’t have the time you could also just make air fryer frozen chicken strips. The hot honey chicken tenders won’t be quite as good as homemade but they’ll still be tasty, thanks to our homemade hot honey sauce!

These are sweet and spicy already and the only way to improve upon that is with a side of ranch dressing for dipping! The combo goes amazing together!

Hot Honey Chicken Tenders