• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
About Contact Latest

AirFried.com

Dinner Made Easy

  • Recipe Index
  • By Course
    • Breakfast
    • Main Dish
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
    • Freezer Favorites
  • By Protein
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Vegetarian
  • Shop
  • Breakfast
  • Main Dish
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Vegetarian
  • Side Dishes
    • Potatoes
    • Veggies
  • Snacks
  • Desserts
  • Low Carb
  • Freezer Favorites
  • Breakfast
  • Main Dish
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Vegetarian
  • Side Dishes
    • Potatoes
    • Veggies
  • Snacks
  • Desserts
  • Low Carb
  • Freezer Favorites
Home » Main Dish

Captain Crunch Chicken Strips

By Karly on February 24, 2022 | Updated October 8, 2022 | 1 Comment

Pin Jump to Recipe
Share
Pin
Email
226Shares
This recipe is a copycat of the very popular Planet Hollywood chicken strips that we make in the air fryer instead of deep frying them!You will fall in love with these sweet and crispy chicken strips that are super easy to make in the air fryer!Make your chicken strips a little sweet and really crispy by using Captain Crunch cereal in the breading!Using Captain Crunch cereal in the breading of these chicken strips leaves them a little sweet and really crispy!Captain cruch chicken strips are a copy cate of the very popular Planet Hollywood chicken strips.  This recipe uses the air fryer to keep the breading crisp and the chicken tender!These special air fryer chicken strips are coated in captian crunch cereal for a wonderfully sweet breading!


These captain crunch chicken strips are very similar to the sweet breading on the very popular Planet Hollywood chicken strips! As a bonus we are sharing the recipe for our favorite dipping sauce to go with it!

Overhead view of captain crunch cereal next to some chicken strips.

We recently visited Disney World and, by the time our flight landed and we had made it to Disney Springs, we were absolutely starving!

The first restaurant we saw that didn’t seem to have a wait was Planet Hollywood and we were like, yes, sold, give me a seat immediately.

I usually try not to eat at chain restaurants when travelling, but I’d never been to a Planet Hollywood before, there was no wait, and I was definitely bordering on being hangry in the most magical place on Earth. 😉

I ordered their World Famous Chicken Crunch basket – chicken strips breaded in a sweet and crunchy coating and served with a creole mustard sauce. Sounded intriguing, and WOAH am I ever glad I gave those a try.

Turns out the Planet Hollywood chicken strips are breaded in Captain Crunch cereal, making for a super crisp coating with the perfect amount of sweetness that pairs so well with a creole mustard sauce.

Sounds strange, but Captain Crunch Chicken is LEGIT and an absolute must make!

Table of Contents

  • Ingredient Notes:
  • How to Make Captain Crunch Chicken Strips:
  • How to Make the Dipping Sauce:
  • Dip Options:
  • FAQ:
    • More chicken recipes you might like:
  • Let us know your opinion!
  • Captain Crunch Chicken Strips
    • Equipment
    • Ingredients  1x2x3x
      • For the Chicken
      • For the Dipping Sauce
    • Instructions 
    • Video
    • Notes
    • Nutrition
      • Did You Make This Recipe?

Ingredient Notes:

Captain Crunch chicken strips ingredients spread out on a countertop.

Chicken -You’ll need 1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenderloins or chicken breasts that you’ve cut into strips.

Cereal– We’ve tested this recipe with purely Captain Crunch and with the addition of cornflakes to balance out a bit of the sweetness. We all preferred them with a bit of cornflakes mixed in to tone that sweetness down, but I’ll leave it up to you.

Breading – To get the perfect breading, we first dip the chicken in flour and then eggs and then Captain Crunch.

Dipping sauce– You’ll need mayo, dijon mustard, yellow mustard, horseradish, white vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce.

How to Make Captain Crunch Chicken Strips:

Crushed cereal in a clear glass bowl.

Prepare the breading– Set up a breading station with 3 shallow dish. One dish gets seasoned flour, one gets eggs, and one gets the cereal.

Helpful Tip:

Use a food processor to make fine crumbs out of the cereal. If you don’t have a food processor, place the cereal in a ziptop bag and seal, carefully pressing out as much air as possible. Use a rolling pin to beat the cereal into crumbs.

Raw chicken strips in an air fryer basket.

Bread the chicken – Take your chicken and dip into the flour dish, then the egg, then the cereal. For the cereal really press the strips into it with some pressure to help the cereal breading stick to the chicken. And fully coat the chicken in the cereal too, this is where the crispiness comes from!

Cook the chicken– Spray the chicken with your oil spray pretty liberally. Cook in your air fryer at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Do not let the chicken touch each other or the sides of your air fryer. Cook in batches if necessary.

Close up of a chicken strip cooking in an air fryer basket.

How to Make the Dipping Sauce:

This is really easy. You just need to mix in all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. The beauty of this sauce is it counters the sweetness of the breading on the chicken strips magnificently.

The sauce ingredients are mayo, yellow and dijon mustard, prepared horseradish, white vinegar, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix them all together well and done.

I mix this sauce while the chicken is cooking in the air fryer.

Dip Options:

We absolutely love these Captain Crunch Chicken Tenders with the Creole Mustard Sauce – that mustard flavor adds a little zip that balances out the sweetness of the chicken just perfectly.

Of course, ranch dressing is always a hit with chicken strips.

We also offer up honey mustard to our kiddos with these strips – I find it to be too sweet, but the kids love it!

A person dipping chicken tenders in a homemade sauce.

FAQ:

How do I reheat chicken tenders?

If you have leftovers you can reheat them in the air fryer at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes.

Can I use a different cereal?

Most cereals would work fine as a breading, so long as you think the flavor will work. Cheerios and Cornflakes should both work well.

Can you put raw chicken in an air fryer?

Absolutely! Many people think air fryers are just for frozen convenience foods, like french fries, but they’re really just small convection ovens and you can cook the same fresh foods, like raw chicken, vegetables, and other homemade dishes, in the air fryer very easily and safely.

Chicken tenders spread out in an air fryer basket.

More chicken recipes you might like:

  • Flaming Hot Chicken Strips
  • Honey Chipotle Chicken Strips
  • Air Fryer BBQ Chicken
  • Frozen Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer
  • Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Close up of cereal coated chicken strips.

Let us know your opinion!

We’d love to hear what you think of this recipe! Leave a comment and star rating down below! And don’t forget to pin and share!

A pile of chicken strips in a small black plate.

Captain Crunch Chicken Strips

Created by: Karly

Course Chicken
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
4 servings
These captain crunch chicken strips are very similar to the sweet breading on the very popular Planet Hollywood chicken strips! As a bonus we are sharing the recipe for our favorite dipping sauce to go with it!
Print
Pin
Share
Rate
Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

  • Air Fryer

Ingredients
  

For the Chicken

  • 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins
  • 1 cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups Captain Crunch cereal
  • 1/2 cup cornflakes see notes
  • Avocado oil spray

For the Dipping Sauce

  • 1/2 cup mayo
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
  • 1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • pinch of salt

Instructions
 

  • Add the flour and salt and pepper to a shallow dish. Add the eggs to a second shallow dish and beat well.
  • Add the cereal to a food processor and process until you have fine crumbs. Alternately, use a rolling pin to smash the cereal into crumbs. Place the crumbs into a shallow dish. 
  • Dip the chicken strips in the flour, then egg, then cereal. Press the strips into the cereal crumbs to ensure the chicken is evenly coated.
  • Spray the chicken liberally with cooking spray.
  • Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees.
  • Place chicken in a single layer in the air fryer basket. You may have to work in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer.
  • Air fry for 6 minutes and turn the chicken over. Continue cooking for 6 minutes more or until chicken is cooked through and the coating is crispy and golden.
  • While the chicken is cooking stir together the sauce ingredients.

Video

Notes

You can make this recipe with just 2 cups of Captain Crunch, but we found the chicken strips were just a tad too sweet for us and that the mustard sauce was a MUST to balance it out. We replaced a 1/2 cup of the Captain Crunch with cornflakes and it balanced out that sweetness and still pairs perfectly with the mustard sauce.
These chicken strips are nice and crispy straight from the air fryer. They do lose crispness the longer they sit, so we recommend eating them as soon as they come out of the air fryer. To reheat, place in a 400 degree air fryer for 5 minutes or until heated through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 722kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 61g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 249mg | Sodium: 990mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g

Did You Make This Recipe?

Share it with us on Instagram @air.fried and tag us #air.fried

Email Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe
Share
Pin
Email
226Shares

posted in: Chicken, Main Dish

Previous
How to Cook Parsnips in an Air Fryer
Next
Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings

Reader Interactions

Looking For More Air Fried Recipes?

Make sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram. And make sure to leave your questions and reviews below!

    Leave A Reply! Cancel reply

    Share your thoughts!
    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

    Recipe Rating




    Comments & Reviews

  1. Sandi says

    October 1, 2022

    Yummy, yummy and more yummy!!!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Chad and Karly in the kitchen.

We're Chad and Karly!

A husband and wife team bringing our love of the air fryer to the Internet.

We love fried food, but we also love making it a bit healthier without sacrificing the crunch, flavor, or fun factor! Welcome!

More About Us

Get Our FREE eBook In Your Inbox!

Join the list + get a FREE copy of our Air Fryer Favorites eBook!

    Featured Recipes

    • Overhead view of cooked veggies in an air fryer basket.
      Air Fryer Frozen Vegetables
    • Close up of a twice baked potaot cooking in the air fryer.
      Air Fryer Twice Baked Potatoes
    • cajun fried corn in air fryer basket.
      Cajun Fried Corn
    • Close up of a cup full sliced glazed carrots
      Air Fryer Carrots

    Trending Recipes

    • Stacked egg rolls up close.
      Breakfast Egg Rolls
    • Air fryer basket full of cooked peanut butter cookies.
      Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Cooked pumpkin seeds in a square bowl
      Air Fryer Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
    • close up of smores on a wooden plate
      Indoor Smores (Air Fryer Recipe)
    • pile of garlic butter crescent rolls.
      Cheese Stuffed Crescent Rolls
    • pile of fried pickles next to a bowl of ranch dip.
      Air Fried Pickles

    Get Our FREE eBook In Your Inbox!

    Join the list + get a FREE copy of our Air Fryer Favorites eBook!

    AirFried.com

    Browse Topics

    • Breakfast
    • Main Dish
    • Side Dishes
    • Low Carb
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
    • Freezer Favorites
    back to topBack To Top
    ©2023, AirFried.com. Privacy Policy Contact Free eBook
    Design by Pixel Me Designs
    ×

    Get Our FREE eBook In Your Inbox!

    Join the list + get a FREE copy of our Air Fryer Favorites eBook!