These Pretzel Crusted Air Fryer Chicken Tenders are easy and delicious! Chicken strips, coated in a pretzel crust and air fried for just 16 minutes. Serve them hot and crispy with a honey mustard dipping sauce! 

I recently purchased an air fryer and I’m obsessed with it! It has made those nights when I don’t have a lot of time to get dinner on the table a breeze! So far I have air fried the following:

Brussel Sprouts

Potatoes (french fries)

Shrimp

Mushrooms

And SO many Chicken Tenders!

These Pretzel Crusted Air Fryer Chicken Tenders are so fun, easy and delicious! The whole process takes just about 25 minutes. They are an easy dinner when you don’t have a lot of time or maybe don’t have much in the fridge. They also make a great appetizer!

What is an air fryer and why use it over deep frying or baking?

An air fryer is a countertop kitchen appliance that uses hot air as opposed to oil to “fry” foods. In some recipes a small amount oil is used, but the use of hot air eliminates the need to use a lot of unhealthy oil as you would in a deep fryer to yield a similar “fried” texture.

Baking is also often used as an alternative to deep-frying. The air fryer cooks foods faster than an oven and yields crispier results due to the small compartment (basket) for cooking and hot air convection process.

How to make Pretzel Crusted Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

The first step is to make your pretzel bread crumbs. You will do this by grinding up whole pretzels in your food processor with some ground mustard seed and garlic salt. This takes the place of  the regular bread crumbs you would use with classic chicken tenders.

To prep the chicken tenders you will first dip the chicken strips into flour, then egg and then the pretzel crumbs to coat.

Now it’s time to fry! Place the chicken tenders in the air fryer basket and fry at 370°F for 8 minutes. Then flip the chicken tenders and fry for 8 more minutes on the other side.

That’s it! Allow them to cool for a few minutes, then dive in!

How to Serve Pretzel Crusted Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Serve hot and crispy! They will be very hot when they come out of the air fryer, let them cool a few minutes and then serve immediately. They lose their crispiness if not eaten within about 30 minutes.

I dip, you did, we dip! Dip the chicken tenders in homemade honey mustard dipping sauce. Made with honey, yellow mustard, greek yogurt and garlic salt!

Pretzel Crusted Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

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• Author: Sprinkles & Sea Salt
• Total Time: 26 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 chicken tenders 1x

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These Pretzel Crusted Air Fryer Chicken Tenders are easy and delicious! Chicken strips, coated in a pretzel crust and air fried for just 16 minutes. Serve them hot and crispy with a honey mustard dipping sauce! 

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Ingredients

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Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders

2 cups original, salted pretzels*

1/2 tsp ground mustard seed

1 tsp garlic salt

3/4 cup white all-purpose flour

1 egg

1 pound chicken breast, cut into strips**

Cooking spray

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup yellow mustard

2 tbsp greek yogurt

1/4 tsp garlic salt

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Instructions

Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders

Add pretzels, ground mustard seed and garlic salt to the bowl of your food processor, process on high until it mostly looks like bread crumbs with some slightly larger pieces of pretzel

Measure out 1 cup of the pretzel crumb mixture and transfer to a plate or shallow bowl

Add the flour to another plate or shallow bowl

Add the egg to a shallow bowl, whisk

Pat chicken tenders dry

Working one chicken tender at a time, dip first in the flour, then the egg and then the pretzel crumbs to coat

Repeat with each chicken tender

Spray the basket of your air fryer with non-stick cooking spray

Add the chicken tenders to the basket, make sure they are not touching***

Put the basket in the air fryer and turn it on 370°F for 8 minutes (no need to preheat)

After 8 minutes, remove the basket and flip the chicken tenders

Place back in the air fryer for 8 more minutes at 370°F

Once they finish, enjoy immediately with dipping sauce, they taste best hot out of the air fryer

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

While the chicken tenders are cooking make the sauce

In a small bowl, mix together the honey, mustard, greek yogurt and garlic salt

Notes

*You can use twists, sticks or rods

**You can buy chicken that is already cut into tenders, or you can cut chicken breasts into long strips about 1 inch wide

***I have a 6-quart air fryer and can fit a pound of chicken tenders at a time, you may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 16 mins
• Method: Air Fryer

Keywords: #airfryer, #airfryerchickentenders, #pretzelcrusterchickentenders,

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