Golden brown Extra Crispy Chicken Tender the whole family will love. Start with a buttermilk marinade, a crispy coating, then fry to perfection on your stovetop.
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Chicken tenders are a traditional "kid food" the whole family, even the pickiest kids, love. You can easily make them at home where you control the ingredients—no hidden preservatives or chemicals.
With these easy-to-follow step-by-step photo instructions, learn to control the oil temperature. And to make the shaggy coating that gives them a wonderful extra crispy coating.
This is an adaptation of a Pioneer Woman recipe. Most other recipes made a simple thing hard, and it really is not that hard.
Try some other kid-friendly chicken recipes, Grilled Chicken Tenders, Baked Chicken Tenders, Baked Chicken Nuggets, Baked Chicken Legs, or Grill Chicken Drumsticks. Add in some microwave corn on the cob, One-Pot Mac and Cheese, and Baked French fries to complete
🐓Ingredients
- Chicken tenders—AKA chicken fingers or chicken breast tenderloins. A pound of chicken tenders will have 7-8 tenders. Trim the tendon and flatten some to even out the thickness. You can "fake" chicken tenders by cutting skinless boneless chicken breasts into strips across the grain.
- Buttermilk—or substitute
- Flour—All-purpose
- Seasoning salt—excellent spicing in one bottle. It has garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, and other things.
- Pepper—black pepper is fine, but white pepper will give some KFC taste.
- Vegetable Oil—corn, canola, or peanut oil
👨🍳How to fry chicken tenders
- Trim and pat dry chicken tenders or strips of skinless boneless chicken breasts and marinate chicken in buttermilk for 15- 20 minutes.
- Heat ¼ to ½ inch of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Get to a steady temperature of about 365°. Don't be under 325° or above 375°.
- Mix the coating of flour with seasoning salt and black or white pepper in a shallow bowl.t
- Drizzle some buttermilk into the flour mixture while continuously mixing. It will make a "shaggy" coating.
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and shake off the excess—do not dry. Coat in the flour mixture. And let them sit for 5 minutes before cooking.
- When you place the chicken in the oil, the temp will drop. Increase the burner setting some at this point to maintain the temp in the 325°-375° range.
- Cook in batches for about 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and internal temp of 165°.
- Drain the cooked chicken tenders on a paper towel or a wire rack. Tent the plate with foil or place in a 200° oven to keep it warm.
♨️Frying Tips
- A heavy pan like a Dutch oven or cast iron will hold the temperature better.
- The oil should be a neutral oil, like corn, peanut, or canola oil.
- If you have some way to continuously monitor the oil temp, use it.
- Kept the between 325° and 375°. Start at the high end of the range since the temperature will drop when the tenders are added. Once you add the tenders, you will need to turn up the burner to keep the temperature in range.
- Do not fry with the oil under 325°, the breading will absorb more oil.
- You can use a countertop deep fryer if you have one.
🥣Extra crispy and the secret of the shaggy coat
By adding some liquid to the flour coating, it will clump a little. When cooked, those clumps will make a much crisper coating. The key to the extra crispy coating is to get chunks of the breading to stick.
I first saw this coating technique in Cooks Country. But the same technique was also in the model Pioneer Woman recipe. Cooks Country discovered this by noticing that when a flour-based coating was used, the chicken later in the cooking had a crunchier coating that was due to some clumping in the flour.
✔️FAQs
Buttermilk has a low pH and will tenderize the chicken by breaking down proteins. So it does contribute to the final results.
You can make a substitute for buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar per cup of regular milk and letting it rest for about 5 minutes before using it.
If you want nothing to do with the milk, trim and pat dry the tenders, pat dry, then use a whipped egg to coat first instead of milk. You can also skip the buttermilk in the coating or just use water to make it clumpy.
For tenderness and safety, cook to 165° internal temp. According to the FDA, chicken is done at 165° internal temperature in the thickest part. A higher temperature will dry, and a lower temperature is unsafe. An instant-read thermometer is required to get this right.
No, bread crumbs work great when "frying" in the oven but with deep frying, they are not needed.
If you want a chicken tender recipe with panko, see Baked Chicken Tenders.
1) Shake off excess buttermilk. Do not pat dry.
2) Coat with the flour mixture.
3) After coating with the flour mixture, set it on a flat surface like a cutting board or plate for about 5 minutes to allow the layers to combine and adhere better.
4) Fry near the high end of the temperature range.
5) Flip and move the least possible. Things like tongs will rip the breading. So use a fork and stab the edges.
Serving and storage of leftovers
Serving
Many people, especially kids, love to dip their chicken tenders. Try BBQ sauce, Ranch Dressing, Honey mustard sauce, or anything you like.
For side dishes, fruit bowls, side salads, and French fries are frequently used.
Storage of leftovers
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days. They will freeze for 3 months.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
One pound of chicken tenders will be 7-8 tenders.
Pat dry 1 pound of chicken tenders or cut skinless boneless chicken breasts into strips. Trim well.
Put strips into a deep bowl and cover with buttermilk. It took only a cup for me. Let soak for 15- 20 minutes while you work on the coating and oil. If you are cooking a large amount, preheat the oven to 200 with a cooking sheet for a place to hold the cooked strips.
Heat ¼ to ½ inch of oil in a large pan over medium heat. I used about 2 cups in a 12-inch fry pan. Get to a steady temperature of about 365°. Don't be under 325° or above 375°.
Mix 1 ½ cups AP flour with 1 tablespoon of Lowey's seasoning salt. Options of adding 1 teaspoon of white or black pepper. Also, an option of ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Other seasoning salts should be fine, or make your own spicing combination. Mix well.
Now drizzle ¼ cup buttermilk into the flour mixture while continuously mixing.
It will make a "shaggy" coating.
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, shake off excess buttermilk, and coat it in the flour mixture.
Place the coated tenders on a plate. Let sit for 5 minutes before cooking.
When you place the chicken in the oil, the temp will drop. Increase the burner setting some at this point to maintain the temp in the 325°-375° range.
Cook in batches for about 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and internal temp of 165°. These can cook very quickly if your oil temperature is high. If the oil is colder, the time increases, and they will absorb more oil.
Drain on a paper towel or rack. Tent with foil or place in a 200° oven to keep warm while you do more batches.
📖 Recipe
Extra Crispy Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken tenders - about 8
- 1 ½ cup AP flour
- 1 tablespoon seasoning salt - Lowey’s
- buttermilk
- oil
- ½ teaspoon white or black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
Instructions
- Pat dry 1 pound of chicken tenders or cut skinless boneless chicken breasts into strips. Trim well.
- Put strips into a deep bowl and cover with buttermilk. It took only a cup for me. Let soak for 15- 20 minutes while you work on the coating and oil. If you are cooking a large amount, preheat the oven to 200 with a cooking sheet for a place to hold the cooked strips.
- Heat ¼ to ½ inch of oil in a large pan over medium heat. I used about 2 cups in a 12-inch fry pan. Get to a steady temperature of about 365°. Don't be under 325° or above 375°.
- Mix 1 ½ cups AP flour with 1 tablespoon of Lowey's seasoning salt. Options of adding 1 teaspoon of white or black pepper. Also, an option of ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Other seasoning salts should be fine, or make your own spicing combination. Mix well.
- Drizzle ¼ cup buttermilk into the flour mixture while continuously mixing.
- It will make a "shaggy" coating.
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, shake off excess buttermilk, and coat it in the flour mixture.
- Place the tenders on a plate. Let sit for 5 minutes before cooking.
- When you place the chicken in the oil, the temp will drop. Increase the burner setting some at this point to maintain the temp in the 325°-375° range.
- Cook in batches for about 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and internal temp of 165°. These can cook very quickly if your oil temperature is high. If the oil is colder, the time increases, and they will absorb more oil.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Do not try this recipe without a good instant read thermometer. Try the oven baked recipe if you don't have the correct equipment.
- Chicken tenders are preferred, but you can cut strips of chicken breasts. If you do that, cut across the grain.
- If one or two tenders are thicker than the others, flatten them to even out the cooking time.
- The pepper and cayenne pepper are optional. I highly suggest the white pepper, which adds a wonderful taste and it is the “secret” ingredient of KFC.
- Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point. Corn, peanut, or canola are good choices.
- The most common error in stovetop frying is the temperature and keeping it within a range between 325° and 375°. If you cook at a lower temperature, it takes longer, but the bigger issue is the absorption of too much oil. If too high a temperature, the outside cooks rapidly.and maybe burnt before the center is done (165°).
- You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk and allowing it to sit for 5 minutes before using.
- Nutrition is calculated on my estimate of fat absorption during frying.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published September 16, 2012. Updated with expanded options and discussions. Refreshed photos, some from other cooking, so they may not match the pan but convey the meaning. And a table of contents was added to help navigation.
Ruth Gray
Very good recipe cook my first chicken tenders in buttermilk and flour. Thank you
Dinad
This is THE best fried chicken fingers recipe ever. I've always been afraid of frying, but you made it easy. The coating is crunchy and stays on. It's moist and delicious. My 19 year old ate something like 8 chicken fingers because he liked it so much. Just really awesome recipe. Thank you!
DrDan
Hi Dinad,
Welcome to the blog.
I think the "shaggy" coating makes this recipe. It is just a nice easy trick you wouldn't think of.
I did this one for the kids but there is a little kid in all of us.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Rita Ocasio
I think you meant Lawry's seasoning but I will use Tony Chachere's seasoning.
Chris
Look at that pretty white Thermapen! Best kitchen tool ever, IMO.
Top Cuisine avec Lavi
Delicious!!!!!!!! Great recipe! I will try it!
Hillary Miller
Hi DrDan,
Your Crispy Chicken Tenders looks tasty
You can submit your Crispy Chicken Tenders pics on It is a food photography site where members can submit all food pictures that make readers hungry :)
I am already hungry to see these photos btw, LOL