These Buffalo Chicken Tenders are oven baked (or in air fryer), super crispy and amazingly tasty! Impress your guests on your next game day or dinner that your whole family will love.
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Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Seriously BEST taste and texture!! You are going to fall in love with this recipe and make it again and again.
They are crispy and crunchy without deep frying, healthier than store bought ones. Coated in a finger licking good spicy, tangy and creamy sauce, it makes the perfect appetizer or snack for game day, party or any gathering like this Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers, Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms or Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings.
All you need is a few simple pantry ingredients to make this recipe at home from scratch. My favorite part is that the homemade tenders can be frozen for up to 2 months, reheated and tossed in sauce just before serving.
Serve them for weeknight dinner along with almond flour biscuits, a side salad and vegetables like air fryer eggplant parmesan, parmesan zucchini chips or air fryer brussels sprouts.
Also known as tenderloins, they are little strips of meat that are attached to the underside of each breast. If your grocery store does not sell them then simply cut a boneless, skinless breast into ⅔-inch strips.
SECRETS
- Browned Panko - Panko is cooked in butter until golden brown in color before coating the tenderloins, which ensures amazing crispiness.
- Battered instead of traditional breading - We adopt our favorite method of dredging of coating them in a batter instead of the traditional breading procedure like this air fryer chicken nuggets or baked chicken cutlets.
- Coating with spray - A coating of cooking spray before baking guarantees crispiness.
- Super Flavorful - A delicious combination of spices along with hot sauce and butter for a winning recipe.
- Cooked to Perfection - These have the best texture with a moist and juicy meat with a crispy, crunchy coating.
TIP - Toss with sauce just before eating.
Ingredients
For the full list and amounts of ingredients in this recipe, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Chicken - Tenders can be purchased in all your grocery stores. If your store doesn’t sell tenders, you can make your own from boneless, skinless breasts by slicing a breast lengthwise into ⅔-inch thick strips.
- Hot Sauce - Our favorite is Franks RedHot to make the best recipe.
- Breadcrumbs - Panko adds a crispy yet yet coating.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter.
- Mayonnaise - Adds a touch of creaminess and reduces the spiciness.
- Egg - It helps everything to bind together.
- Flour - Regular unbleached all purpose flour.
- Seasoning - Paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.
- Milk - Use regular whole or skim milk.
- Lemon juice - Use freshly squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar.
Helpful Tips
- Coat just before eating - Wait until the last minute to coat in sauce to maintain the crispness.
- Best Buffalo Sauce - The best one to reach for is Frank’s RedHot!
- Chicken - Use tenders or sliced boneless, skinless breasts.
- Fully cook - For safety, poultry needs to be cooked to at least 160°F - 165°F or 74°C. Using an instant read thermometer is the easiest way to check the temperature.
- Adjust spiciness - You can increase cayenne and red pepper flakes based on your desired heat level.
- Sweetener - Use white sugar, honey or brown sugar.
- Air Fry instead - This recipe can be easily made in your air fryer (instructions included).
How To Make
(Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions)
- Toast breadcrumbs - Add panko to a skillet along with some butter and cook until it is evenly golden in color. Cool completely.
- Make batter - Stir egg, flour, milk, lemon juice and all spices to form a thick batter.
- Dredge - Toss all chicken pieces into the batter and coat each one in the browned panko on both sides.
- Bake - Bake at 400 degrees until fully cooked.
- Coat in sauce - Mix buffalo sauce, melted butter, sugar and cayenne in a bowl. Whisk in mayo and the coat each tender in the sauce just before eating.
How To Air Fry?
Here's how to air fry instead of baking:
- Prepare tenderloins according to the recipe.
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Place breaded strips into the basket in a single layer without overlapping, spray a coating non-stick cooking spray and air fry for 10 to 13 minutes or until cooked through.
How To Serve?
- Snack - Serve with celery and carrot sticks with ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.
- Dinner - Make a family favorite weeknight dinner along with air fryer broccoli, air fryer asparagus or air fryer green beans.
- Tacos - Make a chicken taco with chopped lettuce, avocado, ranch and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Wrap - Make a chicken wrap using a large flour tortilla filled with ranch dressing, lettuce, carrot, avocado and cheddar.
How to Store Leftovers?
These are best enjoyed as soon as they are tossed in the buffalo sauce. We like to freeze baked tenders (without sauce). Air fry or bake until hot, toss in sauce and serve right away.
How To Freeze?
Place baked tenders (without sauce) into a large freezer safe zip lock bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months.
To reheat: Reheat in the oven or in air fryer (at 370 degrees) until crispy and warmed through. Avoid microwaving, as it will make them soggy. Make sauce and toss just before eating.
If you try this recipe or any other recipe from Kitchen At Hoskins, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. And if you took any pictures, be sure to share them on Instagram so I can share them on my stories.
Love all things Buffalo? More Recipes to Try:
Buffalo Chicken Tenders
These Buffalo Chicken Tenders are oven baked (or in air fryer), super crispy and amazingly tasty! Impress your guests on your next game day or dinner that your whole family will love.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
Batter
- 1 egg
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
Buffalo sauce
- 1 cup Franks RedHot sauce
- 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (not hot)
- 2 teaspoons sugar or honey
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Instructions
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko and stir constantly until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (210°C) and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add all batter ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add all chicken into the batter and toss until thoroughly combined.
- Working with one chicken tender at a time, remove from the batter, draining excess batter, coat both sides with breadcrumbs and place them on the greased baking sheet.
- Spray the tops with a coating of non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 16 to 17 minutes, until cooked through or chicken reaches 165°F. (refer notes for air frying instructions)
Make sauce
1. Whisk Franks RedHot sauce, melted butter, sugar (or honey) and red pepper flakes until combined. Add mayonnaise and whisk until smooth.
Serve
Just before serving, coat each tenderloin in the sauce on both sides and serve immediately.
Notes
How To Air Fry?
- Prepare tenderloins according to the recipe. Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Place breaded strips into the basket in a single layer without overlapping, spray a coating non-stick cooking spray and air fry for 10 to 13 minutes or until cooked through.
Coat just before eating - Wait until the last minute to coat in sauce to maintain the crispness.
Best Buffalo Sauce - The best one to reach for is Frank’s RedHot!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 700Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 2594mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 3gSugar: 12gProtein: 47g
I am not a certified dietician or nutritionist. The information is a product of online calculator such as Nutrifox.com, although Kitchen at Hoskins attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates and not be construed as a guarantee. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the nutritional information in any recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their fact algorithms. Under no circumstances will Kitchen at Hoskins be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on the nutritional information. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for all decisions pertaining to your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate.
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