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Ultra-crispy, cornflake battered cowboy butter chicken tenders are made easily in the air fryer then tossed in a lemony, garlicky cowboy butter sauce.
Cowboy butter isn’t just great on chicken, it’s also a perfect pairing on steak like on my Cowboy Butter Steak Sliders.
Why You’ll Love Cowboy Butter Chicken
If you haven’t tried cowboy butter yet, you’re in for a delightful surprise! This amazing butter sauce is bursting with vibrant flavors of fresh garlic, zesty lemon, and a mix of fresh herbs and seasonings. With a kick of heat, this sauce is so flavorful that you’ll want to drizzle it on everything!
Air-fried chicken tenders are coated in a crunchy cornflake batter, creating a mouthwatering, perfectly crispy fried chicken. The best part? Cooking them in an air fryer means you can enjoy all that deliciousness without the hassle of deep frying.
These cowboy butter chicken tenders are not only tasty but also freeze and reheat beautifully, making them a fantastic option for meal prepping.
Key Ingredients
Here are the list of ingredients you will need to bring these cowboy butter chicken tenders to life!
Chicken – chicken tenderloins, of course!
Flour Mixture – all purpose flour and cajun seasoning (or Kick’n Chicken seasoning)
Egg Wash – eggs and a few tablespoons of milk
Cornflakes – this cereal is crushed up into coarse crumbs and used to coat the tenderloins for a crisp coating.
Butter – the base of the cowboy butter
Lemon – both the zest and the juice are used to make the sauce tangy and taste vibrant
Garlic – adding lots of aromatics to the sauce
Dijon – just a little dijon mustard is used and the flavor it adds is incredible, even if you’re not a mustard person.
Herbs – sliced green onions and fresh parsley is minced up to add lots of fresh flavor
Seasonings – in the butter we use cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, thyme and paprika.
How to Make Cowboy Butter Chicken
In three separate shallow dishes add in your flour mixture, egg wash, and then cornflakes into the third dish.
Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour, then into the eggs wash and finally into the crushed cornflakes. Make sure to coat them evenly on all sides for each step.
Add tenders into the air fryer basket (as many as can comfortably fit in an even layer). Spray a coating of aerosol olive oil spray over the chicken. Cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Flip and repeating, coating the other side with olive oil spray and cooking an additional 5 minutes (or until cooked through).
Prepare the cowboy butter while tenders cook, mixing all the butter ingredients into a bowl, taste and adjust if needed.
Transfer the cooked tenders into a large mixing bowl. Pour in the cowboy butter, toss the tenders several times to coat. Enjoy with ranch or blue cheese.
How to Freeze and Reheat
If you plan to freeze and eat this cowboy butter chicken later, you can place the uncooked tenders in an even layer into the freezer for 2 hours after breading them. Once they are set, throw them in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze up to two months.
Upon heating and serving, then toss them in the cowboy butter.
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I hope you enjoyed this Cowboy Butter Chicken Tenders recipe! I look forward to your questions and feedback below.
Please be sure to tag me @BadBatchBaking using hashtag #badbatchbaking if you made this recipe and I will feature you on my story! Plus, I LOVE to see your cooking accomplishments.
Cowboy Butter Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken tenderloins
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tbsp all purpose seasoning Cajun, kick’n chicken seasoning, etc
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk
- 3 cups corn flakes crushed to coarse crumbs
- olive oil or avocado oil spray aerosol spray is ideal
Cowboy Butter
- 1 stick butter, mostly melted*
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 lemon zested and 1 tablespoon juice
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon chives or green onions, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add cornflakes into a gallon ziplock bag, seal, and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush them into coarse crumbs.
- Grab three shallow dishes (like a pie dish) and add your flour and seasonings into one, the egg wash in another, being sure to whisk the eggs with the milk until smooth. In the third dish, add the crushed cornflakes.
- Using one hand for dry ingredients and one hand for wet, coat the chicken tenders in the flour mixture. Transfer into the egg wash, ensuring it's fully coated. Then transfer into the cornflake crumbs, pressing them into the tenders.
- Place the chicken tenders, a few at a time, into the air fryer basket. Spray with an even coat of olive oil spray over the surface of the chicken. Cook on high at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Flip the tenders, repeat with olive oil spray and cook another 5 minutes at 400 degrees or until cooked through.
- While the tenders are cooking, mix together all of the cowboy butter ingredients. Taste and adjust if needed. Transfer chicken tenders into a large bowl. Pour in the butter sauce in and toss until they are well coated. Serve tenders with ranch or blue cheese for dipping.
Notes
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