Find yourself Googling, “Best Frozen Chicken Fingers in Air Fryer?”
Our Air Fryer Chicken Fingers recipe is one of our favourite quick & easy snacks or side dishes to cook when making burgers, steaks or barbecue.
Chicken Fingers, also known as chicken tenders and chicken strips, feature breaded breast meat that gets crispy in the air fryer and is often served with delicious dips.
Our simple Air Fryer recipe takes less than 15 minutes to cook, a perfect addition to a barbecue or kids birthday.
We suggest serving Frozen Chicken Fingers cooked in an air fryer with dips like plum sauce, sweet and sour sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, honey mustard, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, honey or barbecue sauce.
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What Are Chicken Fingers, Tenders & Strips?
Chicken fingers, also known as chicken tenders, chicken goujons, chicken strips, tendies or chicken fillets, are chicken meat prepared from the pectoralis minor muscles of the animal. These strips of white meat are located on either side of the breastbone, under the breast meat.
They may also be made with similarly shaped pieces cut from chicken meat, usually the breast, or sometimes just pulverized chicken flesh.
Chicken fingers are prepared by coating chicken meat in a breading mixture and then deep frying them, in a manner similar to the preparation of schnitzel. Chicken fingers are a popular fast-food snack in America and Canada.
Chicken fingers were first made and named by the owners/operators of Spanky’s in Savannah, Georgia. One of the original owners, Ansley Williams, continues to operate Spanky’s today and it is known as the “Home of the Original Chicken Finger.”
Chicken fingers are now a mass-produced product. Production can involve coating chicken meat with spices, polyphosphate and breading or crumbs, flash-frying the product to hold the breading in place, and then freezing it prior to shipment for consumer, retail and commercial use. Some are manufactured with a specific flavor profile, such as with a Buffalo-style hot sauce flavour.
Chicken fingers are one of the most common dishes served on kids menus, often served with a side of fries. We love eating them as adults, chopping them up onto fresh salads.
Best Frozen Chicken Fingers in Air Fryer
Take a stroll down your grocery store freezer aisle and you’ll find many brands offering frozen chicken fingers, strips and tenders to cook at home in your air fryer.
In the US popular frozen chicken finger brands include Costco, Tyson, Perdue, Good & Gather,, Great Value, Applegate, Foster Farms and Bell & Evans.
In Canada we love frozen chicken fingers made by President’s Choice, Maple Leaf Prime Chicken, Maple Lodge Farms, Janes and Deli Express.
If you’re looking for specialty frozen chicken fingers, tenders or strips be sure to visit the health food aisle in your grocery store where you’ll find gluten free chicken fingers, frozen organic chicken tenders, keto friendly chicken strips and more!
Best Air Fryers
An air fryer is a small countertop convection oven designed to simulate deep frying without submerging the food in oil. A fan circulates hot air at high speed, producing a crisp layer via browning reactions.
In 2010, Philips introduced the Airfryer brand of convection oven at a consumer electronics fair in Berlin. It used the patented Rapid Air technology, though the term air fryer is now used generically.
Early air fryers were barrel-shaped, though more recently, many have come to resemble toaster ovens and pressure cookers, offering additional functions like toasting, baking, dehydrating and rotisserie.
A decade after their launch, Air Fryers are now one of the trendiest kitchen appliance. They are particularly popular with gourmands living in condos or apartments in big cities like Toronto as they reduce the number of appliances taking up space in your kitchen.
- Hamilton Beach: I tested this recipe with a Hamilton Beach toaster oven-style air fryer. They are an excellent option for those looking for an affordable air fryer and I particularly like mine as it allowed me to replace my toaster, dehydrator and rotisserie. It’s also easier to spread food out and make it crispy by using a baking tray rather than a basket.
- Instant Vortex: This popular air fryer is brought to you by the inventors of the popular Instant Pot. It’s 6 quart capacity features an easy to clean tray that air frys, roasts and bakes.
- COSORI: This 5.8 quart air fryer is an 11-in-1 cooker featuring a nonstick basket and helpful shake reminder setting.
- Ninja: This premium brand is the perfect option for those looking to invest in a heavy duty stainless steel air fryer. The product has been designed to look similar to an Instant Pot, with the top of the air fryer flipping backwards so you can easily lower a basket filled with food.
- NuWave: This sleek digital air fryer features a traditional removable basket and reaches temperatures up to 390 F.
My Family Loves Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Fingers
My family is obsessed with eating chicken fingers, tenders and strips.
My father is well known for his obsession with chicken fingers, which he likes to orders with a side of fries at pubs and sports bars.
As a kid I would always order chicken fingers at family restaurants like Swiss Chalet or Harvey’s dipping them in Sweet & Sour Sauce, Plum Sauce or Honey Mustard.
As an adult now I still enjoy eating chicken fingers but often chop them up to add them to the top of a Southwester or Tex Mex salad to make it a meal.
If you’re looking to make Frozen Chicken Fingers in an air fryer at home we suggest serving them as an easy lunch or dinner for kids. If you’re serving a larger crowd feel free to serve crispy chicken tenders with burgers, sandwiches and steaks.
Serve frozen chicken fingers cooked in an air fryer with a side of french fries, sweet potato fries, baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato rice, poutine, or onion rings.
Now that we’ve upgraded our kitchen with the trendiest new gadget we love making Frozen Chicken Fingers in an Air Fryer.
Cooking Frozen Chicken Fingers in an Air Fryer is a modern day marvel for home cooks who have a penchant for serving quick & easy meal for kids. Air Fryers cook food much quicker and help ensure frozen chicken fingers are crispy, moist and delicious!
How To Make Frozen Chicken Fingers In Air Fryer
Our air fryer frozen chicken fingers recipe is so easy to make you’ll have it ready to serve in under 15 minutes!
There are two methods to making frozen chicken fingers in an air fryer, which depend on the style of device you are using.
- Traditional Basket: air fryers with a removable basket are still the most common. In order to make Air Fryer chicken tenders in these machines, simply lower each chicken strip into the basket. Ensure the tenders aren’t crowded and don’t touch. This will ensure the chicken strips are crispy and uniformly cooked.
- Toaster Oven Tray: modern air fryers featuring a glass door and tray configuration make it easy to prepare frozen chicken fingers in an air fryer at home. Simply place the chicken tenders on the tray and watch them brown and get crispy through the glass door.
Dips For Chicken Fingers, Tenders & Strips
We love serving Air Fryer Chicken Fingers as a quick & easy snack snack, lunch or dinner.
You can play things simple by enjoying them on their own, or offer guests a variety of dips. Our favourite chicken finger dips include:
- Sweet & Sour Sauce
- Plum Sauce
- Ketchup
- Mayonnaise
- Aioli
- Barbecue Sauce
- Mustard
- Ranch Dressing
- Hot Sauce
- Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
Frozen Chicken Fingers In Air Fryer Cooking Tips
- Place the frozen chicken fingers in one flat layer without any overlap or touching, otherwise you’ll end up with an unevenly cooked and potentially soggy product.
- Lightly mist chicken tenders with cooking spray to ensure they are extra crispy.
- We love serving chicken strips at kids birthday parties as a DIY buffet. Children love having lots of options so make sure you have at least 10 sauces for them to sample and enjoy with their meal. You can also serve chicken tenders in a buffet with pizza and burgers.
- If you’re looking to serve an eye-popping decadent appetizer to guests make this yummy Chicken Fingers Poutine recipe.
- For a healthier option, prepare your favourite Tex Mex, Southwestern or Caesar Salad and top with sliced crispy chicken fingers for a hearty meal.
What To Serve With Frozen Chicken Fingers In Air Fryer
Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Fingers are a quick & easy snack to prepare last minute or a simple lunch or dinner.
If you want to enjoy chicken fingers as a more substantial meal feel free to serve with fresh salads, carrot and celery sticks, french fries, sweet potato fries, baked potatoes, tater tots or poutine.
We love serving this crispy chicken fingers recipe with homemade healthy salads like Vegetarian Lebanese Eggplant Fatteh, Citrus “Rojak” Singapore Salad, Roasted Pumpkin Feta Salad with Beetroot & Pine Nuts, Roasted Beetroot Salad with Grapefruit, Canadian Salad, Cajun Spicy Chorizo Corn Salad, Cherry Pecan Kale Salad, or Garlic Lemon Chickpea Avocado Salad.
After dinner why not dazzle your guests with one of our popular desserts such as Oat Flour Cookies with Chocolate Chips, Dark Chocolate Lindt Lindor Cookies, Maraschino Cherry Cupcakes Recipe, Cinnamon Babka For Chocolate Lovers, Rhubarb Strawberry Dutch Baby or Jordgubbstårta Swedish Strawberry Cake.
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How To Make Frozen Chicken Fingers In Air Fryer
Frozen Chicken Fingers In Air Fryer
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Flipper
Ingredients
- 12 oz Frozen Chicken Fingers
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 F.
- Place frozen chicken fingers in the air fryer basket or tray and spread into an even layer.
- Air fry for 10 minutes. Flip the breaded chicken strips over and then continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes until cooked through, nicely browned and crispy.
Nutrition
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