These homemade chicken tenders and fries are so good! Finger-licking good! The crispy-battered fried tenders are easy to make and served with comforting baked fries.
If you ask my kids, these chicken tenders and fries are the perfect meal; they keep asking me to cook this dish every two weeks or so. They love using their hands to eat it, saying if there's anything you can eat without a fork and knife, it's chicken and fries.
Check out a super quick cooking method with this Air Fryer Chicken Tenderloin Recipe. Or make some Grilled Chicken Tenders, too.
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Recipe ingredients
Chicken tenders, aka strips or tenderloins, are little strips of meat attached to the underside of the chicken breast, which are removed to be sold separately. They are about 1 ยฝ inches (3-4 cm) wide and about 5 inches (12 cm) long.
Potatoes to make fries: I used all-purpose potatoes with a medium starch content. They are somewhere between starchy and waxy and are sometimes called semi-waxy. A good potato to use for this recipe is Yukon Gold.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make chicken tenders with fries?
Step #1: Cut the potatoes and soak them in a bowl of hot tap water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat them dry with kitchen towels.
Step #2: Mix them with olive oil and spices and place them on an oiled baking sheet.
Step #3: Bake the fries until crispy, flipping once during the baking time.
Step #4: Mix the flour and the spices and dredge the chicken tenderloins through the mixture.
Step #5: Transfer them to the bowl with the beaten eggs and toss to coat them all over.
Step #6: Return them to the flour bowl and toss them again to coat them with flour.
Step #7: Fry them in 2 inches/ 5 cm of heated oil (the oilโs frying temperature should be about 365-375ยฐF/ 185-190ยฐC).
Step #8: Flip them a couple of times in between; the cooking time is 8-10 minutes.
Try other incredibly delicious fried chicken recipes, such as Crispy Panko Fried Chicken or Cornflake Fried Chicken. You can also make lighter versions: Air Fryer Panko Chicken or Breaded Panko Chicken in the Oven.
Good to know!
You can use chicken breasts instead of tenders to make this recipe. All you have to do is cut the breasts into strips about as long and as wide as a tenderloin.
You can bake the fries on parchment paper and not directly on the sheet pan, but you should still brush the paper lightly with oil. That helps the fries get crispier and stick less to the paper.
Short-cut recipe: Use frozen French fries, breaded chicken tenderloins, or chicken fingers. Cook them all according to their package instructions and pile them on your plate.
How to store and reheat?
Refrigerate the chicken strips and the fries in separate airtight containers for 2-3 days.
Reheating them in the oven to regain some crispiness is preferable; the microwave will soften them even more.
However, we love to stuff unheated fries and chicken tenders into sandwiches, adding a bit of mayo, ketchup, chili sauce, some lettuce, and tomato slices.
What to serve with chicken and fries?
โServe them with a crisp green salad with yogurt dressing or vinaigrette and your favorite dipping sauce. I love serving them with the chili dip from the Potato Wedges with Sweet Chili Dip Recipe, Mint Yogurt Sauce, or Garlic Sour Cream Sauce.
Do you like this recipe?
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Chicken Tenders and Fries
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Large cast-iron skillet or high-sided frying pan
- 2 Large Bowls
Ingredients
Fries:
- 1 ยฝ lbs potatoes all-purpose, 650 g, Note 1
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ยฝ teaspoon black ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ยฝ teaspoon onion powder
- ยฝ teaspoon sweet paprika powder use hot for a bit of heat
Chicken tenders:
- 2 lbs chicken tenders 900 g Note 2
- 1 ยฝ cup flour 180 g
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ยฝ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- ยฝ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil for frying or as much as needed, 250 ml, Note 3
Instructions
Fries:
- Preheat the oven to 450ยฐF/ 230ยฐC and brush the baking sheet with oil.
- Cut the fries: Peel and wash the potatoes, then cut them into slices (about ยผ inches/ ยฝ cm).1 ยฝ lbs potatoes / 650 g
- Soak potatoes in a large bowl filled with hot tap water for 10 minutes. Drain and dry them well with kitchen towels.
- Season potatoes: Dry the bowl and return the potatoes to it. Toss them with the oil and then with the spices.2 tablespoons olive oil + ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt + ยฝ teaspoon black ground pepper + 1 teaspoon garlic powder + ยฝ teaspoon onion powder + ยฝ teaspoon sweet paprika powder
- Bake fries: Transfer the seasoned potatoes to a well-oiled baking sheet (Note 4). Bake them in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Flip and bake them for another 5 to 10 minutes or until they are crispy and nicely browned around the edges.
Chicken tenders:
- Flour mixture: Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.1 ยฝ cup flour / 180 g + 1 teaspoon fine sea salt + ยฝ teaspoon ground black pepper + 1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder + ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder + ยฝ teaspoon onion powder
- Beat the eggs in another large bowl.2 eggs
- Batter chicken tenders: Dredge the chicken tenders through the flour mixture and pat them gently to remove the excess. Transfer them to the bowl with the eggs and toss to coat them all over. Lift them with tongs, let them drip the excess into the bowl, and return them to the bowl containing the flour mixture. Toss them again to coat them with flour.2 lbs chicken tenders / 900 g
- Let them rest for 5 minutes or the time it takes the oil to get hot; this will help the batter stick to the meat.
- Heat the oil: Heat 2 inches/ 5 cm of oil in a large high-sided frying pan; the oil should be hot but not smoking and reach a temperature of 365-375ยฐF/ 185-190ยฐC.1 cup vegetable oil / 250 ml or as much as needed
- Fry chicken tenders in batches: Carefully, using tongs, place 5-6 of the tenders in the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Fry them for a total time of 8-10 minutes, flipping a couple of times in between to prevent them from getting too brown on one side.
- Let the fried chicken pieces drain on paper towels to remove the excess fat. Fry the next batch.
- Check that they are cooked through; the easiest way to do that is to cut one fried tender in the middle; the meat should be white.
Notes
- Type of potato: I used all-purpose or semi-waxy potatoes, which are between starchy and waxy. A good potato for this recipe is Yukon Gold.
- Oil: The amount you need also depends on the pan size; you should have about 2 inches/ 5 cm of oil in the pan.
- Chicken tenders are also known as chicken tenderloin or strips. You can use chicken breast, too; just cut it into strips about as long and as wide as a tenderloin.
- Parchment paper: You can bake the fries on parchment paper, but I still recommend lightly brushing the paper with oil before adding the potatoes.
- The nutrition calculation is just an approximation and doesn't consider the oil needed for frying the chicken.
the goat says
nice