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air fryer honey sriracha walnut chicken on cooling rack above
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4.84 from 6 votes

Air Fryer Sweet and Spicy Walnut Chicken Tenders

This Air Fryer Sweet and Spicy Walnut Chicken Tenders Recipe is a quick, easy, healthier twist on a fast food classic! Only seven ingredients necessary!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time8 mins
Marinating Time30 mins
Total Time18 mins
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: air fryer, healthy, sweet and spicy
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 325kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound raw chicken tenders
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup Sriracha
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup California Walnuts finely crushed*
  • 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
  • Honey, sriracha, ranch, honey mustard, etc for dipping

Instructions

  • Place raw chicken tenders into a large bowl.
  • Pour honey, sriracha, and buttermilk over chicken and stir to combine.
  • Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, drain excess marinate and set the chicken tenders aside.
  • Place panko, California Walnuts, and salt into a gallon sized ziplock baggie.
  • Seal and shake to combine.
  • Place drained chicken tenders into the ziplock baggie, seal again, and shake until the chicken tenders are fully coated in the panko/walnut mixture.
  • Set aside.
  • Hit “ON” on the air fryer.

  • Then hit “PRE-HEAT”. Set the temperature to 400 degrees F and set the timer to 8 minutes.

  • Hit “START”.
 The air fryer will beep at you when it’s finished preheating.

  • Open up the air fryer and spray the basket with cooking spray.

  • Place in the chicken tenders, work with about 3 at a time, so you don’t over crowd them. 
Close the air fryer. It will beep at you when it’s finished cooking.

  • Repeat with remaining chicken tenders.
  • Taste and re-season with more salt, if necessary and serve with your favorite dipping sauce!
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Notes

*Run the walnuts through a food processor until they resemble fine crumbs
** Nutritional information includes the value for ALL the marinade, even though most of it gets discarded, so these are actually slightly lower in calories than listed, but it's too hard to get a fully accurate count. 

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1173mg | Potassium: 541mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 12.6mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1.4mg