These buttermilk chicken tenders are the most delicious chicken tenders you will ever make at home. They have a light and crispy batter and are so tender, juicy and delicious! There’s a reason they’re called The Best Damn Buttermilk Chicken Tenders. Now let’s find out why…
Buttermilk tenderizes and provides flavor
We start our recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breast. Cut it into strips and place in a bowl of buttermilk for an hour. But why buttermilk? Buttermilk and fried chicken have been synonymous together for good reason. The buttermilk contains enzymes which tenderizes the meat. It breaks down the protein much the way an acidic marinade would. Except with buttermilk, it also infuses a flavor that perfectly complements the meat as well as the breading. Speaking of the breading, let’s talk about that too.
Light, flaky and crispy batter
Most commercial chicken tenders or nuggets are fried in a simple breadcrumb mix. While this works, it’s nothing compared to a true batter made from flour and a few seasonings. You see, our buttermilk chicken tenders will get a double batter dunk which will create that perfectly crispy, light and flaky breading. After soaking in the buttermilk, the chicken will get dredged through flour, take a dunk in egg wash, then back into the flour. This creates that famous breading that you find at the best fried chicken establishments. The kind that’s so good you could practically eat it by itself!
Simple seasonings
The seasonings we add to our buttermilk chicken tenders couldn’t be more easy: season salt, parsley flakes and paprika. Seasoned salt it great for recipes such as this because it contains the perfect ratio of flavors and salt. The common spices in seasoned salt are onion powder, garlic powder. Then we add the parsley flakes and paprika. The paprika is important because it provides such a warm and subtle flavor, as well as helps with that golden, crispy color we know and love. Paprika makes the other flavors pop. It also makes the colors pop. Paprika is your friend. Embrace it and enjoy it, especially as part of the best damn buttermilk chicken tenders!
Related Recipes:
Stuffed Chicken: Broccoli and Cheddar stuffed Chicken Breast
More Stuffed Chicken: Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breast
Cheez-It Chicken Nuggets: Chicken nuggets made with Cheez-It crackers!
Baked Chicken Tenders: Parmesan Ranch Baked Chicken Tenders
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (4oz each)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon season salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
- Vegetable oil (about 2 cups)
- Place chicken breasts in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound to even thickness of about about ½". Then cut into strips of about an inch thick. Place in a bowl with buttermilk and let sit in refrigerator for about an hour.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, season salt, paprika and parsley flakes. In another bowl, beat two eggs.
- In a deep frying pan, heat oil to about 350 degrees F (medium heat for about 5 minutes).
- Remove chicken strips from buttermilk, dredge in flour mix, the eggs, then back through flour. Set aside on a paper plate until complete.
- Carefully place coated chicken into pan with hot oil. Fry for about 3-4 minutes, then flip pieces over for another 3 minutes or until golden brown. Internal temp should be 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.
- Carefully remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels.
I’m trying to learn how to cook so I can cook for my wife, a Speech-Language Pathologist. I’m a medically retired Air Force NCO because of I contracted Multiple Sclerosis.
When you say Vegetable I am assuming you mean oil ???
Yes indeed! Where did my “oil” go? Thanks for message Belinda. Correction has been made.
These were delicious. Only change I made was used boneless thighs. I coated them in the afternoon, let them sit in the fridge & fried them that night. Makes cleanup so much easier.
Excellent! Glad you liked them. I’m sure the chicken thighs would be delicious too. Thanks for sharing!