Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Strips

Air fryer frozen chicken strips make a great meal of crispy chicken without the need for frying in grease. Forget take-out, these chicken strips can be made easily in under 15 minutes at home.

The air fryer does such a great job of cooking frozen foods. Everything from frozen okra, frozen waffles, to frozen soft pretzels, the air fryer is super convenient and easy.

What makes these so good

• Cooking these in the air fryer produce delicious, crispy chicken without all the grease. You won’t want to cook them any other way after using this cooking method.
• All you need is the frozen chicken. No need to thaw or preheat and so much faster than cooking in the oven.
• Keep a bag in your freezer to use for a variety of different meals.

How to cook frozen chicken strips in the air fryer

You will need your favorite frozen breaded chicken strips, tenders or fingers, we used Tyson chicken tenders for this recipe but any brand will work great. Just keep in mind that the sizes of the strips may vary which could effect cook time.

1. Place the tenders in the air fryer basket. Be sure not to stack them. They need a little room so that they cook evenly.
2. Cook at 400 degrees F for 6 minutes, flip them over and cook another 6 minutes. You may need to add an extra 2-3 minutes depending on the size of your chicken.

I used a Cosori 5.8 quart air fryer which can hold about 6 strips depending on the size.

How to reheat chicken strips in air fryer

If there happens to be a few leftover strips, you can reheat them at 370 degrees for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

What to serve with chicken tenders

These chicken tenders are great served with a dipping sauce like boom boom sauce, Polynesian sauce or Chick-Fil-A sauce. They are also delicious used in a wrap, sandwich or on a salad.

Try serving them with sides like coleslaw, air fryer onion rings, baked potato or air fryer corn.

Recipe tips

• Place the chicken in a single layer in the basket. You want to make sure the hot air has room to circulate around the chicken for even cooking.
• There is not a need to preheat the air fryer.
• No need to add extra oil for precooked breaded chicken because they were already cooked in oil before being frozen.
• There are several different brands with different types of breading and chicken sizes. Exact cook time may vary for this reason. If they seem to be cooking quickly at the 6 minute mark, add 2-3 minutes and keep checking.
• These instructions will also work for frozen chicken nuggets. Just reduce the total cook time to 9-10 minutes.
• Print this air fryer cook times sheet for easy, quick reference.

More air fryer chicken recipes

• Air fryer chicken drumsticks
• Air fryer chicken breasts
• Air fryer rotisserie style chicken
• Air fryer chicken thighs
• Air fryer frozen chicken patties

Looking for more air fryer inspiration? Check out our Easy Air Fryer Recipes Facebook community.

Let me know how you like this recipe below in the comments.