Gluten-Free Chicken Tenders are incredibly delicious and easy to make. They are baked in the oven, and come out super crispy and flavorful—your whole family will love them. Plus, they’re even better than the fast food version and take just 30 minutes to whip up.
I’ve tried countless gluten-free chicken tender recipes, and I know firsthand how frustrating it can be when they don’t turn out right.
After a lot of trial and error, I finally perfected this recipe, using simple ingredients that create an amazing crunch every single time. I’ve made these crispy chicken tenders so many times for family dinners, game nights, and quick snacks, and they’re always a huge hit.
Serve them alongside your favorite dipping sauce like Hot Honey Mustard Sauce, Easy Smashburger Sauce, Cottage Cheese Ranch, Chipotle Caesar Dressing, Lemon Yogurt Dill Sauce, or a traditional BBQ Sauce.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: You only need a handful of ingredients and you likely have everything you need in your fridge and pantry!
- Easy To Make: What I love most about this recipe is that we combine the flour and egg mixture into one dredging station. This makes it so easy and requires fewer dishes to clean!
- Ready In Under 30 Minutes: It's perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. Everything comes together in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- Chicken Tenderloins: If you can find organic chicken tenders at your grocery store that makes things really simple. If you only have chicken breasts, just cut them into smaller pieces. Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs: You can make your own breadcrumbs by toasting your bread and then pulsing it in a food processor. You can also use store-bought bread crumbs, just make sure you read the ingredient labels.
- Mayonnaise: Look for an avocado oil-based mayonnaise, such as Chosen Foods or Primal Kitchen.
- Dijon Mustard: If you don’t have Dijon mustard on hand, regular or stone ground mustard would also work.
- Gluten-Free Flour: You can use any gluten-free flour here, however, I prefer 1:1 baking flour like Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour
- Egg: Look for organic pasture-raised eggs. You will notice that a good-quality egg will have a bright orange yolk, as opposed to yellow.
- Frank’s Hot Sauce: You can use any hot sauce you have, but I really enjoy Frank's Hot Sauce as I love the tanginess of the vinegar.
- Smoked Paprika: If you don’t have smoked paprika on hand, regular paprika will also be great.Garlic Powder: I love adding a little garlic powder to the mixture for flavor. You can also add onion powder if you like.
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper: Look for a pink Himalayan sea salt.
- Avocado Oil Spray: Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray is my go-to. Spraying the top of the tenders with oil will help them crisp up nicely in the oven.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions And Variations
- Breadcrumbs: If you don't want to use gluten-free breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs, try making the coating by mashing up pork rinds or even grain-free tortilla chips.
- Flour Mixture: You can swap the gluten-free flour with almond flour, almond meal, coconut flour, or rice flour. If you don't need to make these gluten-free, you can use all-purpose flour.
- Flavor The Breading: Try adding grated parmesan cheese or your favorite dried herbs to the breadcrumb mixture for extra flavor.
How To Make Gluten-Free Chicken Tenders
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Set a wire rack on top of your baking sheet. If you don’t have a wire rack, line your baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with a little avocado oil.
Step 2. Place your breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl.
Step 3. In a separate medium-sized baking dish, make your batter by combining mayonnaise, mustard, gluten-free flour, egg, hot sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper.
Step 4. Dip each piece of chicken in the batter, ensuring it's well-coated, then press it into the breadcrumbs, covering both sides completely. Place the breadcrumb-coated chicken on the wire rack over your baking sheet. Repeat this process until all of the chicken is coated in the batter then breadcrumbs.
Step 5. Spray the chicken tenders with a little avocado oil and place them in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until crispy, golden brown, and cooked through.
Expert Tips And Notes
- Crispy Tenders: The key to getting the nice crispy outside without needing to fry the chicken is by baking them on a wire rack. The rack allows the hot air to circulate around the chicken, which allows it to crisp up on both sides and prevents it from getting soggy in the oven.
- Get That Golen Brown Color: Additionally, it is important to spray the chicken tenders with a little bit of avocado oil before baking. This will help the bread crumbs get that crispy golden brown color that we all love.
Serving Suggestions For Gluten Free Chicken Tenders
- Dippers: Serve with a variety of dipping sauces such as ketchup, Smashburger sauce, hot honey mustard sauce, lemon yogurt dill sauce, ranch, or BBQ sauce.
- Salads Or Wraps: Use these tenders in wraps with lettuce, tomatoes, and creamy Caesar dressing, or serve on top of a Caesar salad.
- Sandwiches: Turn it into a fried chicken sandwich and top with creamy coleslaw.
- Sides: Pair with creamy mashed potatoes, cottage cheese mashed potatoes, sweet potato truffle fries, french fries, or smoked asparagus.
Storage And Reheating
- Storage: If you have any leftovers store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheating: To reheat, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until warmed through.
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Recipe FAQs
Yes! Place them in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook for 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees. Be sure to flip them halfway through. This method gives them a super crispy texture without any added oil.
You can leave the chicken breasts whole or cut them into smaller pieces. I prefer cutting them smaller for quicker cooking. If you choose to use the whole breast, just adjust the cooking time and make sure it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Make sure you spray them with avocado oil before baking. Also, ensure your oven is set to 400 degrees F.
Other Related Chicken Recipes
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Easy Gluten-Free Chicken Tenders Recipe (Oven Baked)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken Tenders or chicken breast cut into strips
- 2 cups Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoon Mayonaise Avocado oil based
- 2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 2 tablespoon Gluten-Free Flour
- 1 Egg
- ½ teaspoon Frank's Hot Sauce
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- Avocado Oil Spray
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Set a wire rack on top of your baking sheet. If you don’t have a wire rack, line your baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with a little avocado oil.
- Place your breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl.
- In a separate medium-sized baking dish, make your batter by combining mayonnaise, mustard, gluten-free flour, egg, hot sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper.
- Dip each piece of chicken in the batter, ensuring it's well-coated, then press it into the breadcrumbs, covering both sides completely. Place the breadcrumb-coated chicken on the wire rack over your baking sheet. Repeat this process until all of the chicken is coated in the batter then breadcrumbs.
- Spray the chicken tenders with a little avocado oil and place them in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until crispy, golden brown, and cooked through.
Notes
-
Crispy Tenders: The key to getting the nice crispy outside without needing to fry the chicken is by baking them on a wire rack. The rack allows the hot air to circulate around the chicken, which allows it to crisp up on both sides and prevents it from getting soggy in the oven. -
Get That Golen Brown Color: Additionally, it is important to spray the chicken tenders with a little bit of avocado oil before baking. This will help the bread crumbs get that crispy golden brown color that we all love.
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