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a crispy buttermilk fried chicken tender getting dunked into ranch dressing

Get the Recipe: Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 14 minutes
Total: 29 minutes
Yield: 3 servings
Author: Annie Holmes
Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken makes the PERFECT dinner! You can make these easy buttermilk chicken tenders in the oven, air fryer, or on the stove.
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound chicken tenderloins
  • spray oil, or cooking oil if frying on the stove

Marinade

  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper

Breading:

  • ½ cup cup4cup gluten-free flour, or all-purpose flour if you're not gluten-free
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp black pepper

Homemade Ranch Dressing (optional)

  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp fresh dill
  • 1 tsp fresh chives
  • ½ tsp dried parsley
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • In a mixing bowl, stir together the marinade ingredients until well combined. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. 
  • Preheat your air fryer to 380 degrees.
  • In a large shallow bowl, stir together the breading ingredients. 
  • Bread the chicken by removing it from the marinade and placing all the chicken pieces in the breading mixture. Toss and coat the chicken until the breading starts to clump together and stick to the chicken. 
  • Once preheated, spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray. Carefully place the chicken in a single layer in the air fryer basket (you may have to cook in batches), then spray generously with cooking spray. Air fry the chicken for 8 minutes. After the 8 minutes, flip the chicken and spray again with cooking spray. Air fry an additional 4-6 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
  • While the chicken is air frying, stir together the ranch ingredients in a medium mixing bowl until well combined. 
  • Once the chicken is done cooking, allow to cool slightly, then serve with the ranch!

Notes

Nutrition values below are calculated assuming half of the marinade is absorbed/used and about 3/4ths of the breading ingredients are used. It also includes about 3 sprays of oil per tenderloin. If you fry these in cooking oil, this will raise the calories and fat in each serving.
Serving: 3 chicken tenders (or one third of recipe), Calories: 336kcal, Carbohydrates: 19.3g, Protein: 36.3g, Fat: 11.6g, Cholesterol: 111.4mg, Sodium: 858.4mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 0.7g
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