These chicken tenders are fried until the coating is golden and crispy. They’re just like restaurant-style chicken strips that you can make at home. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce like honey mustard, BBQ sauce or ranch.
Mr. K and I both love fried chicken tenders and can never resist getting them at fast food places so I wondered if I could make them at home. After discovering the secret ingredient for crunchy chicken that I used to make my sweet and sour chicken I thought I could use the same concept to make these homemade chicken strips.
It turns out that homemade chicken tenders are pretty easy to make. Just like restaurant ones, they are crunchy and delicious. I love how they turned out.
Now we don’t have to go out if we get a craving – we’ll make them at home now.
How to Make Crunchy Chicken Tenders
You only need a few ingredients to make them and they’re pretty easy to make.
- You’ll want to use chicken tenders, which are just smaller cuts of chicken. You can also buy regular chicken breasts and cut them into tenders for this recipe.
- The secret ingredient for making really crunchy coating is vodka. All you do is mix two tablespoons with an egg white.
- Put some cornstarch in a separate bowl.
- Coat the chicken in the egg white mixture and then dredge it in the cornstarch so it’s evenly coated.
- Fry the breaded chicken tenders in hot oil until they turn golden and crispy on the outside. It’s a good idea to fry them in smaller batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan which will lower the temperature of the oil.
The fried chicken tenders are best served right away. They have a wonderfully crunchy texture, but it will soften if they sit out too long. Because of that, you wouldn’t want to make them ahead. We didn’t have any problems, though, because we gobbled them up right away.
We dipped ours in a honey mustard sauce, but you can use whatever dipping sauce you like. Ranch dressing, BBQ sauce and marinara sauce would all work well, too.
These make a great dinner with some French fries or they’d be a great snack for a game-day party, too.
You might like my crispy baked chicken bites, too!
Crunchy Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 8 chicken tenders
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 extra large egg white
- 2 tbsp high quality vodka
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Add vegetable oil to pot or wok being used for frying, at least 1 inch deep. Turn heat to medium-high.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add cornstarch. In a small bowl, add egg white and vodka and whisk until blended.
- Dip chicken in egg white mix and then coat in cornstarch. Repeat with remaining chicken.
- Gently place chicken into hot oil, cooking a few minutes on both sides until a golden brown. Fry in a few small batches. Let chicken tenders cool a few minutes before eating.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
This was so tasty my family loved it. I finished them in the oven and made a sweet sour sauce to go with it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
Under 21 here, what can I use inead of vodka??
I have not found a substitute. You can make it without the vodka, but it won’t be as crunchy.
A little late, however you can try plain carbonated soda.
can i skip the vodka?
the vodka is what crisps up the batter
We loved them! Thank you so much!!
thanks for letting me know! so happy to hear that!
I am in such a recipe rut, and you never fail to give me great ideas for the kids’ meals! I just showed my son your chicken tenders picture and asked if he’d like that for supper tomorrow. He said yes!! Thank you!
Nice! I hope they like them!
This looks so delicious! Definitely going to try this soon! Adding to the dinner menu!
hope you love it as much as I did!