These BBQ chicken tenders are so crispy, simple and delicious! I’m obsessed! They have such a crunchy exterior texture, but the chicken inside is so tender! The BBQ sauce is so brilliantly paired to these tenders, the sweet and salty combination of the sauce just makes them so irresistible! With such a great combination of textures, the stickiness of the BBQ cause and additional sesame seeds, these are such a well rounded protein source to add to an abundance of meals! Give them a try and let me know what you think- you won’t regret it!
I find it best if you pound the chicken with a rolling pin first, it helps you to cut the chicken breast into a more typical tender shape. Otherwise, you may end up with a few really thick tenders and a few small scrappier bits. You don’t want this because the tenders will then cook at different times in the air fryer. This is dangerous because you want to ensure that you cook chicken properly! I recommend making all the tenders as similar size and thickness as possible to ensure even cooking throughout.
If you loved this bbq chicken tenders recipe, check out my other chicken recipes:
- Chicken stir fry
- Fried butterfly chicken
- Sweet and sour fried chicken
- Turkey and okra soup – sub in chicken for the turkey
My favourite part of making this recipe is that I can sub it for other protein sources such as tofu or tempeh. I find that chicken is my favourite mainly because of the texture, I feel like they really taste like restaurant quality chicken tenders!
I have found that the best way to coat any sort of battered item, is to put flour in a box and shake it with the item you want to coat. It is far quicker and a lot less messy than using a bowl filled with flour. Alternatively, you could use a bag filled with your batter mix, seal it and shake the bag with all your items in it. By doing this, you are able to coat the chicken better than if you were just rolling it around in the flour mix. Beware- you want to make sure the box or bag you are using is fully sealed. I have made the mistake of shaking without having checked the box was completely shut, and the flour went everywhere!!
What you could add/eat your BBQ chicken tenders with:
- In a wrap
- Dipped in a sauce- bbq, ketchup, sweet chilli
- In a pitta
- Chopped and tossed into a salad
- Put onto a rice bowl
- Alongside some home made chips or wedges
- Accompanied with roasted potatoes and steamed veggies
- Served with rainbow slaw
I found that air frying these is far better than baking or pan frying these. The batter just becomes so crispy, whilst not drying out the chicken inside. Unlike store bought or takeaway BBQ chicken tenders, these are not greasy at all, and not filled with preservatives and high FODMAP ingredients. I also love that I can make a large batch at once, and use them for meal prep over the next few days. The tenders only take about 30 minutes to make (total time!) which makes them super easy to fit into a busy schedule. I love to make them at the weekend so I can take them with me to work the following day.
Interested in some more lunch/dinner recipes? Consider checking these out:
- Pizza dough and sauce
- Quinoa and tofu salad bowl
- Pad Thai with prawns
- Microwave wedges
- Smoky fried tofu
- Tofu, okra and aubergine curry
- Sweet potato gnocchi
- Potato soup with bacon
- Lemon and dill baked salmon
- Sweet soy air fryer tofu
- Rice noodle salad
- Roasted tomato and basil soup
- Superfood kale, potato and spinach
- Carrot and sweet potato soup
This step can be tedious, but in my opinion, it is the most important bit! To get a really lovely presentation and even coating, I use a pastry brush to apply my low FODMAP BBQ sauce. The brush just ensures I can get into all the small spots and gaps so that there is a burst of flavour in every bite! The BBQ sauce I use is from the Bay’s Kitchen. If you are interested in getting some (which I highly recommend), you can use my code: thelazylowfodmap5 to get 5% when you spend over £25, and thelazylowfodmap10 to get 10% off when spending £40. All of their products are low FODMAP approved, and taste absolutely incredible!
Ingredients: (makes 15-20 tenders)
- 3 chicken breasts
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 2 cups gluten free flour
- Salt
- Pepper
- Bays Kitchen low FODMAP BBQ sauce
- Sesame seeds for garnish
- Parsley for garnish
Method:
Step 1: beat the chicken breasts until 2cm thick, then slice into strips.
Step 2: dip your chicken strips into the whisked egg.
Step 3: mix your flour, salt and pepper into a plastic box. Place all your chicken pieces into the flour mix box and shake until all your chicken is coated in flour. Do this in batches for best results!
Step 4: repeat the process of dipping your chicken into the egg and then the flour once more.
Step 5: place your flour coated chicken strips into the air fryer and cook on 190° for 20 mins, flipping after 12 minutes.
Step 6: remove your chicken tenders from the air fryer and coat Bay;s Kitchen BBQ sauce. I use a pastry brush to evenly coat my tenders!
Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and serve!
These chicken tenders can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Feel free to send me images of your bbq chicken tenders to my Instagram TheLazyLowFODMAP. DM me your pictures or tag me in your posts so that I see them!
