Gluten Free Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (Dairy Free)

Craving crispy homemade chicken tenders without the gluten and excess oil? Make a batch of our delicious gluten free chicken strips made crispy in the air fryer. These are also dairy free as well, and can be made in the oven if you don’t have an air fryer!

Finding a great frozen chicken tender at the store can be a bit of a task if you have multiple food allergies, so we decided to come up with a recipe for crispy chicken strips that are gluten free, egg free (depending on the crumbs you use), dairy free, and soy free!

I got the idea for dipping this way from an old Taste of Home magazine recipe for chicken roll-ups I used to make years ago with a double-dip method that turned out delicious and crispy without frying. The original recipe had the chicken dipped in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs, then brushed with butter and baked.

I figured that method would work great on chicken tenders, so I gave it a shot, using aquafaba instead of egg and spraying with oil instead of brushing with butter, and using either pork crumbs or gluten free bread crumbs. This method works great combined with the air fryer for a crispy chicken tender that’s allergy friendly!

Why we love this recipe

When made in the air fryer, these gluten free chicken tenders cook quickly (faster than the oven) and get nice and crispy without excess oil. The air fryer won’t heat up your kitchen either, so it’s great for hot summers, too.

Making your own chicken strips at home helps you to control the ingredients in your food if you have multiple allergies and have a hard time finding chicken strips that fit your allergies.

We include several crumb options for our chicken tender recipe, so you can pick which fits your time frame and dietary needs.

How to make gluten free chicken tenders in the air fryer

Here are the steps for making our gluten free crispy chicken strips in the air fryer (we added some oven instructions below as well!). This is just an overview of the steps, the full recipe is at the end of the post.

• Set out 3 shallow dishes near your air fryer.
• In the first dish, whisk together the gluten free flour and spices/seasonings.
• In the second dish, whisk together the aquafaba and brown mustard (the mustard just adds more flavor). I added notes below about using other liquids in place of the aquafaba (hot sauce or creamy oat milk can work, too).
• In the third dish, add the Pörq crumbs or storebought or homemade gluten free bread crumbs, whichever you prefer. The Italian Pörq panko crumbs are pretty amazing in this recipe FYI! If you can’t find the Italian seasoned Pörq panko, you can use their regular pork panko and add some garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano to it.

• Using a set of small tongs (this is easier than a fork or your fingers), dip each side of the chicken tender in the gluten free flour, then each side in the aquafaba, and then finally each side in the crumbs, covering the chicken pieces thoroughly.
• Place them in the air fryer basket with some room between each piece, spray generously with spray oil, and air fry at 385-390°F for 10-12 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, so 5-6 minutes on each side. When you turn the chicken over, spray the top with oil and air fry again.
• The gluten free bread crumbs brown faster, so for the gluten free bread crumb covered chicken, cook at 385°F for 5 minutes on each side. For the pork crumbs, cook at 390°F at 5-6 minutes on each side.
• Be sure to turn over carefully, making sure you don’t scrape off the breading when turning them over (I use tongs vs a fork to turn over the tenders).

• Remove to a plate, and serve immediately.
• These are crispiest when served right when they are made.

We loved the Italian seasoned Pörq pork rind crumbs in this recipe, it had a great taste and texture, plus it reduces the carbs and adds extra protein if you are watching your carbohydrates. I liked this option in place of the bread crumbs.

You can serve these with our homemade honey mustard dip/dressing (so amazing together!). These tenders would also be delicious cut and served over salad for a crispy chicken salad.

Using homemade gluten free bread crumbs

As mentioned before, I noticed that using homemade gluten free bread crumbs, the coating browned much faster than the pork crumbs, so I had to lower the cooking time and temperature a bit to prevent burning.

If you are using your own homemade gluten free bread crumbs (we’ll be adding a recipe for them soon!), we found that cooking at 385°F for 10 minutes (5 minutes on each side) worked the best to keep the edges of them from burning.

I used the Canyon Bakehouse bread to make our homemade gluten free seasoned bread crumbs that we used on these chicken tenders.

Oven instructions

We tried out a few of these made in the oven vs the air fryer and they turned out great, although not as crispy as the air fryer, and they take longer in the oven.

For the oven, preheat the oven to 400°F, dip your chicken strips according to the directions for the air fryer, generously spray with oil, and bake for 10 minutes.

Gently turn over, spray the other side with oil, and bake for another 10 minutes. So 20 minutes total, 10 minutes on each side.

How to make this recipe without bread crumbs or pork crumbs

This recipe can be made without the bread or pork crumbs if you can’t find any gluten free bread crumbs that you like, if you don’t have time to make your own, or if you want a different texture.

For the chicken without crumbs, dip the chicken in the seasoned flour, then the aquafaba/liquid, then back into the flour for a double-dipped chicken. Spray generously with oil and air fry following the same instructions as the crumb-dipped chicken tenders.

I found that the chicken strips dipped this way needed more salt since the seasoned bread crumbs have salt and more seasonings than just the seasoned flour. So you can sprinkle some extra salt on the chicken tenderloins before dipping, or you can double the seasonings in the flour mix.

Can I make this recipe without aquafaba?

Yes! You can make this recipe without the aquafaba, subbing a different thick-ish liquid. We originally used the aquafaba since it can be a good egg replacer, but we made several batches of these chicken tenders and used creamy oat milk with one batch, finding it works just as well as aquafaba.

You can also use your favorite hot sauce in place of the aquafaba as well if you want a spicy version of these chicken strips. I’d use a liquid that has some thickness to it, like creamy oat milk, hot sauce, etc., and nothing very thin (like pickle juice or water), or it won’t stick as well to the chicken.

Check out our roundup of allergy friendly chicken breast recipes!

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