Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders
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One of my most popular recipes, these chicken tenders are marinated in seasoned buttermilk and pan-fried to crispy, crunchy perfection.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
Like most kids, my daughter prefers “kid food” to “grown-up food” any day of the week. Occasionally, it works to my advantage—a trip to McDonald’s makes excellent bribery—but most of the time I’m just dealing with a picky eater. Rather than desperately trying to coax her into eating dinner every night, sometimes I just make her favorites. These chicken tenders, marinated in seasoned buttermilk and pan-fried to crispy, crunchy perfection, are at the top of her list. They’re delicious plain, dipped in honey mustard sauce, or perched on top of a salad. And they’re not just for picky kids—everyone loves them.
What you’ll need To Make Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders
Step-by-Step Instructions
To marinate the chicken: In a large sealable bag, combine the chicken tenders with the buttermilk, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Seal the bag tightly and massage the chicken until it is evenly coated with buttermilk and seasoning.
Place in a bowl (in case of leakage) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
When you’re ready to cook them, make the breading: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
Whisk until well blended.
Add the buttermilk and stir with a fork until the mixture is evenly clumpy.
Remove the chicken tenders from the marinade a few at a time and toss into the breading mixture.
Be sure to press the chicken firmly into the breading so clumps adhere to the meat. (It’s a messy job: use one hand to remove the wet tenders from the bag and the other to toss in the breading.)
Set breaded tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet.
To fry the chicken: Line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels and set next to the stove. Add oil to a large, high-sided pot until the level reaches about 3/4-inch. Heat over medium-high heat until oil is shimmering (about 350°). (If a cube of bread sizzles when you drop it in, it’s ready.) Using tongs, place several chicken tenders in the hot oil without crowding the pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottom side, a few minutes, then flip and cook until the second side is also golden, a few minutes more.
Set the cooked tenders on the paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
Fry remaining tenders in batches adjusting the heat as necessary (if the tenders are browning too fast, lower the heat). Serve hot with honey mustard sauce.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
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Video Tutorial
Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders
One of my most popular recipes, these chicken tenders are marinated in seasoned buttermilk and pan-fried to crispy, crunchy perfection.
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 2 pounds chicken tenderloins
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
For the Breading
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 heaping teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon paprika
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
For Cooking
- 3-4 cups vegetable oil, for cooking
Instructions
- To marinate the chicken: In a large sealable bag, combine the chicken tenders with the remaining marinade ingredients. Seal the bag tightly and massage the chicken until it is evenly coated with buttermilk and seasoning. Place in a bowl (in case of leakage) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
- To make the breading: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Whisk until well blended, then add the buttermilk and stir with a fork until the mixture is evenly clumpy.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup. Remove the chicken tenders from the marinade a few at a time and toss into the breading mixture. Be sure to press the chicken firmly into the breading so clumps adhere to the meat. (It's a messy job: use one hand to remove the wet tenders from the bag and the other to toss in the breading.) Set breaded tenders on the prepared baking sheet.
- To fry the chicken: Line another baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels and set next to the stove. Add oil to a large, high-sided pot until the level reaches about ¾-inch. Heat over medium-high heat until oil is shimmering (about 350°). (If a cube of bread sizzles when you drop it in, it's ready.) Using tongs, place several chicken tenders in the hot oil without crowding the pan. Cook until golden brown on the bottom side, a few minutes, then flip and cook until the second side is also golden, a few minutes more. Set the cooked tenders on the paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Fry remaining tenders in batches adjusting the heat as necessary (if the tenders are browning too fast, lower the heat). Serve hot.
- Note: I find that it's hard to tell how golden the chicken is when it's immersed in the oil. It may only look lightly golden, but it's actually a perfect fried chicken golden brown. If you're unsure, simply pull a tender out of the oil and rest it on the paper towels to see the true color.
- Note: Nutritional information was calculated assuming that approximately ¼ cup of the oil is absorbed into the chicken tenders when frying.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cooked chicken tenders can be frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, put the frozen tenders on a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven until heated through and crisp, about 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 925
- Fat: 51
- Saturated fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 75g
- Sugar: 5g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 41g
- Sodium: 1866mg
- Cholesterol: 96mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. 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.
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Absolutely, hands down THE best chicken tender recipe!!
This recipe is a keeper. I only marinated the chicken for one hour in a mixture of tabasco and buttermilk. Other then that, I followed the recipe as written. The chicken came out juicy and tender. The batter was crispy. I ate as I cooked!! Thank you!!
This recipe was incredible! I’ve failed at frying chicken more times than I can count but the instructions were so clear and easy to follow; I finally made great fried chicken tenders! So moist and flavorful… in fact the best fried chicken tenders I’ve ever had. My husband loved them as well which meant a lot as his mom, born and raised in the South, makes fried chicken all the time!
I’m confused about your nutritional information. Is that for the entire recipe, or one serving?
if one serving, how many ounces in the serving, roughly? I would like to see this info on
all your recipes. I’m a little afraid to try them as I gain weight rather easily and the calorie count seems very high.
Hi Yvonne, the nutritional information is per serving. (These are pretty high in calories because they are fried in oil.) Unfortunately, I don’t know exactly how many ounces are in each serving but if you make the recipe, the serving would be 1/4 of what you’ve made. Sorry I can’t be more helpful than that!
These are so darn good. I’m so glad I tried them. I was hoping to have more leftovers, but I think next time I will double the recipe and freeze some for a night I’m short on time.
I’ve made this twice now and I’ve learned how important it is to marinate properly…the first time I did it overnight and the chicken was moist and delicious (and even super yummy cold out of the fridge as leftovers). The second time, I forgot to marinate last minute and so it was probably closer to 4 hours…not nearly as good. Lesson learned!
We made these chicken fingers about a year ago and they have become a family staple. They are a bit of work, but well worth it! My children are “chicken finger connoisseurs” and they get so excited when we make THE chicken fingers. These even rival their beloved Raising Cane’s chicken nuggets, which pale in comparison to these in my book! We keep them warm by getting a baking pan set up in a 200-250 degree oven so the first fingers we made aren’t cold by the time the last fingers are ready.
Omg, what a great recipe! It is going straight to my ‘collected recipes’ book, and I’ll sure thing share with my friends. Thank you!
My family loved this meal! I made my own buttermilk with regular milk and white vinegar (let curdle for 10ish minutes and then you have buttermilk. The hot oil definitely jumped up at me, so make sure you are stationed somewhat far from the pot you are frying it and wear long sleeves while cooking. I recommend serving with Jenn’s homemade honey mustard sauce, and to only make as much as you can eat fresh – the chicken did get soggy in the fridge
OMG!!!! I’m from the South, and I’ve been cooking over 40 years, so I thought I knew everything there was to know about frying chicken. How wrong I was! The “clumpy” dredge cooks up into a fabulous crispy crust that STAYS CRISPY even when the chicken is cold. Talk about “never going back…”!
I should say, I’m mostly a lurker on this site, but Once Upon a Chef is my go-to recipe site. I have never tried a recipe here that was not absolutely superlative. Thank you, Jenn, for sharing your talent and enthusiasm for cooking with the rest of us! Your site is a true public service!
❤️
I couldn’t agree more! I’m a lurker too, but every recipe I’ve made from this site has gotten absolutely rave reviews from my family of picky eaters!! Thank you, Jenn!! You’re my Chef Crush! LOL!! Hugs from my family in FL!
My pleasure!!! 🙂
Agreed. I have a family of picky eaters too and literally 90% of our regular meal rotation is recipes from your site! So many winners!