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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Can this recipe be converted to an AIR FRYER Recipe? If so how?
Hi Cynthia, I don’t have an air fryer and don’t know much about using one so it’s hard to say for sure – I’m sorry! You may find these tips helpful in converting traditional recipes to air fryer versions. Hope that helps at least a bit!
Are the tenders spicy? My 8 year old son doesn’t like spicy
Hi Anthony, these definitely don’t taste spicy, but if you’re concerned about the heat at all, you can reduce or omit the cayenne — they’ll still have plenty of flavor. Enjoy!
Hi ~ do you know if I could do these in the air fryer and if yes, the temp and time? Thanks so much!!
Hi Dana, I don’t have an air fryer I don’t know much about using one so it’s hard to say for sure – I’m sorry! You may find these tips helpful in converting traditional recipes to air fryer versions. Hope that helps at least a bit!
PS should have mentioned I’m a lurker fan too. You’re my cooking goddess, always check your site first for recipe ideas, and they always turn out deliciously. We’re big fans of your beef stew!
Vancouver, Canada
🙂 So glad you like the recipes!
Could this recipe be used to make traditional fried on chicken, ie. skin on bone in pieces of a cut up chicken?
Thanks, from Vancouver Canada
Hi Susan, I think these are best with boneless chicken but if you want to use the recipe for bone-in chicken, after frying them until golden, you’ll have to finish cooking the pieces in a 350°F oven, as they won’t cook fully in the pan before getting too dark. I’m guessing they’ll need at least 30 to 40 minutes in the oven after frying, but not certain how long so keep a close eye on them. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi,
Can I freeze the marinated, breaded tenders before frying?
Thanks
Hi Fay, You’d get better results by cooking them first and freezing them. See the bottom of the recipe for freezer-friendly instructions.
This recipe turned out great, Jenn!!! My seven-year old, and myself have had the pleasure of cooking and baking a few of your recipes and this buttermilk chicken tenders recipe stands atop with the rest; 5 STARS! Having used buttermilk to marinate chicken tenders in previous recipes, I’d never heard of adding a couple of tbsp to the seasoned flour mixture. That trick completely eliminated the need to do the dredging of egg/flour as per usual. I was so impressed!! I do have a question: Would using that method work to bread other future recipes that call for dredging? Thank you as always for your amazing, easy to follow recipes.
So glad these were a hit and that you and your 7-year-old have been able to cook some of my recipes together! The breading method should work for other recipes that call for dredging but it really depends on what you’re using to bread. For example, something like panko wouldn’t work here. Hope that helps!
I forgot to say I added Franks Redhot sauce.
I made this. My family loved them. I did add pickle juice to the marinade. They were absolutely restaurant quality. I’m getting them ready for dinner tomorrow. I’m actually meal planning. lol
Couldn’t get over how tender these turned out, and I made some killer gravy in the pan and plan to make some crazy-great leftovers with what we couldn’t finish. It was the marinade that did it for me; that really made such an amazing difference! Great recipe!
Batter went too clumpy and would not stick to chicken. The big bits of batter that did were inedible. Very disapointed
Same for me.
Same for me.
Your oil was not hot enough, the chicken doesn’t need to be visibly coated. A small amount of flour creates a crust. Look at the rest of the reviews. Think it might be a user error.