Keto Chicken Tenders (Gluten-Free & AIP)
By Hannah Healy
Updated July 30, 2023
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These keto chicken tenders have a flavorful crispy outer coating and are juicy and savory inside. This is the perfect fun gluten-free and AIP recipe to enjoy with the whole family!
When I was a kid I would always order the chicken tenders off of the kid’s menu. Something about dipping a crunchy tasty finger food into ketchup was so satisfying! Once I went gluten free, I knew I wouldn’t be able to order these at restaurants, but luckily I can make my own with healthier ingredients and enjoy that same crispy finger food dipped into ketchup!
Why I Love This recipe
- I love these keto chicken tenders because they’re such a fun departure from regular old chicken breast. If you’re keto or gluten-free, finding breaded chicken can be a challenge so this is a fun way to get that breaded chicken feel without having to fry it or use wheat flour.
- This is a healthy version of chicken tenders since I don’t use any wheat flour and I don’t fry them in oil. This recipe is keto, paleo, gluten free and even suitable for the autoimmune paleo diet (AIP)!
- The combination of flours, spices and shredded coconut as the chicken coating makes for such great flavor and texture. The outer coating is crispy and salty with just a tiny hint of sweetness from the coconut which kind of reminds me of coconut shrimp!
- Many keto chicken tender recipes use pork rinds or almond flour for the outer coating, this recipe is unique in that it uses coconut flour, shredded coconut and arrowroot along with spices. If you use arrowroot it will be still be keto at 8g net carbs per serving, but you can substitute the arrowroot for almond flour for even less carbs.
- These are pretty easy to make and don’t involve any special skills. You just cut up chicken breast, coat it in oil and the flour/spices and then air fry it or bake it.
Air Fryer or Oven Baked?
I have included directions for both the air fryer and the oven for this recipe. I have tried cooking them both ways and in my opinion the air fryer is far superior especially when it comes to texture. The outer coating comes out much more crispy and ends up that pleasing golden-brown color that you want.
The oven baked chicken tenders are still good, so if you don’t have an air fryer don’t worry, they’ll still taste great. Just make sure that you flip them half way through and know that they may not turn out as golden-brown as the air fryer ones.
Recipe Tips
- I’ve found that avocado oil is the best oil to use with this recipe but you can replace it with any cooking oil that is liquid at room temperature.
- The onion powder and garlic powder are critical parts of the spice blend to give this coating it’s good flavor, so it’s best not to substitute them. However, you can swap out the herbs (sage, marjoram, thyme) with other finely minced dried herbs or even an Italian herb blend. If you’re replacing it with an Italian herb blend, include 1 tsp of the Italian herb blend.
- When you make these with arrowroot the net carbs per serving are 9g. You can replace arrowroot with almond flour instead if you are keto and want to bring the carb count down to about 2g net carbs per serving.
- If you are following the autoimmune paleo (AIP) diet, make sure you use arrowroot and not almond flour.
- Make sure you use unsweetened shredded coconut otherwise the flavor won’t be as good. The bag of shredded coconut should only list coconut on the ingredients list. It shouldn’t have any sugar or sweetener in it.
- You can either cook these in the air fryer or the oven. I have tried both and in my opinion the air fryer results in better texture, but the oven ones are still good!
- These taste best and have the best texture when you eat them soon after cooking them. If you store them for leftovers they will lose some of their crispyness and juicyness, however I have kept some in the fridge before and they still taste pretty good for a couple days after. I either reheat them in the toaster oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes or I re-heat them in the air fryer at 350°F for about 10 minutes.
- The serving size is 1/4 of the entire recipe.
How to Make These Keto Chicken Tenders
If using the oven, pre-heat it to 425°F. If using an air fryer that requires pre-heating, pre-heat it to 400°F. Start by cutting the chicken breast into even strips that are about 2 inches thick and roughly similar sizes.
In a shallow bowl add the flours and spices including the coconut flour, arrowroot (or almond flour), shredded coconut, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, sage, thyme, marjoram.
Mix together evenly.
Put the avocado oil (or other cooking oil) into a shallow bowl. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper (if using the oven) or a plate (if using air fryer).
Drag the sliced chicken through the oil, shake off excess oil, then drag through the bowl with the flour mixture to fully coat it then place on a baking sheet or plate. Repeat with all the chicken pieces until they are all coated.
If using an air fryer, transfer the chicken tenders into the air fryer basket and be sure they are spaced apart so they’re not crowded and can cook evenly (depending on the size of your air fryer, it may be necessary to do multiple batches). Cook at 400°F for 10-15 minutes.
If using the oven, place the baking sheet with the chicken tenders on it into the oven and bake at 425°F for 7 minutes, then flip the tenders over and bake for another 7 minutes, for a total of about 14 minutes.
Once they are done cooking, remove from the oven or air fryer and allow to cool for a few minutes on a paper towel to maintain crispness.
Enjoy with ketchup, aioli or a dip of your choice!
Keto Chicken Tenders (Gluten-Free & AIP)
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3 tbsp avocado oil or other oil
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot flour or almond flour for keto
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp dried powdered sage
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
Instructions
- If using the oven, pre-heat it to 425°F. If using an air fryer that requires pre-heating, pre-heat it to 400°F. Start by cutting the chicken breast into even strips that are about 2 inches thick and roughly similar sizes.
- In a shallow bowl add the flours and spices including the coconut flour, arrowroot (or almond flour), shredded coconut, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, sage, thyme, marjoram. Mix together evenly.
- Put the avocado oil (or other cooking oil) into a shallow bowl. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper (if using the oven) or a plate (if using air fryer).
- Drag the sliced chicken through the oil, shake off excess oil, then drag through the bowl with the flour mixture to fully coat it then place on a baking sheet or plate. Repeat with all the chicken pieces until they are all coated.
For Air Fryer:
- If using an air fryer, transfer the chicken tenders into the air fryer basket and be sure they are spaced apart so they’re not crowded and can cook evenly (depending on the size of your air fryer, it may be necessary to do multiple batches). Cook at 400°F for 10-15 minutes.
For Oven:
- If using the oven, place the baking sheet with the chicken tenders on it into the oven and bake at 425°F for 7 minutes, then flip the tenders over and bake for another 7 minutes, for a total of about 14 minutes.
- Once they are done cooking, remove from the oven or air fryer and allow to cool for a few minutes on a paper towel to maintain crispness. Enjoy with ketchup, aioli or a dip of your choice!
Video
Notes
- I've found that avocado oil is the best oil to use with this recipe but you can replace it with any cooking oil that is liquid at room temperature.
- The onion powder and garlic powder are critical parts of the spice blend to give this coating it's good flavor, so it's best not to substitute them. However, you can swap out the herbs (sage, marjoram, thyme) with other finely minced dried herbs or even an Italian herb blend. If you're replacing it with an Italian herb blend, include 1 tsp of the Italian herb blend.
- When you make these with arrowroot the net carbs per serving are 9g. You can replace arrowroot with almond flour instead if you are keto and want to bring the carb count down to about 2g net carbs per serving.Â
- If you are following the autoimmune paleo (AIP) diet, make sure you use arrowroot and not almond flour.
- Make sure you use unsweetened shredded coconut otherwise the flavor won't be as good. The bag of shredded coconut should only list coconut on the ingredients list. It shouldn't have any sugar or sweetener in it.Â
- You can either cook these in the air fryer or the oven. I have tried both and in my opinion the air fryer results in better texture, but the oven ones are still good!
- These taste best and have the best texture when you eat them soon after cooking them. If you store them for leftovers they will lose some of their crispness and juiciness, however I have kept some in the fridge before and they still taste pretty good for a couple days after. I either reheat them in the toaster oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes or I re-heat them in the air fryer at 350°F for about 10 minutes.
- The serving size is 1/4 of the entire recipe. Nutrition facts below are for the recipe made with arrowroot flour. If using almond flour net carbs will be about 2g per serving.Â
Nutrition
This post was originally published in March of 2017 but has been republished in April of 2021 to include new recipe improvements, updated photos and video.
