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low carb baked chicken tenders feature

Crunchy Keto Chicken Tenders

Super crunchy with a pork rind crust, these Keto Chicken Tenders are delicious, just 1.6 g net carbs and perfectly paired with Honey Mustard!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Canadian, Keto, Low Carb
Servings 4 servings
Calories 587 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs chicken tenders

Egg Mix

  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup water

Breading

  • 100 g pork rinds *see note 1
  • ½ c parmesan cheese *see note 2
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder

Instructions
 

Prep

  • You’ll want to start by getting all the components ready, and heat your oven or air fryer to 400°. If baking, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or non stick baking mats.
  • Pulse pork rinds in a food processor into a fine crumble, or crush by hand/rolling pin *see note 3. Toss them into a medium sized bowl with parmesan cheese, chili powder, sea salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Whisk to combine, crushing up any clumps of parmesan or pork rinds.
  • In another bowl whisk the egg with water until fully combined, then cut the ligaments from each chicken tender.

Oven Method

  • With one hand dunk a chicken tender into the egg mix then drop into the pork rind mix without touching it with your hand. Use the other hand to toss the chicken in the pork rinds, then place one of the baking sheets *see note 4.
  • Continue until all the chicken has been coated, diving the tenders evenly between both baking sheets. There should be room in between each tender.
  • You should have leftover egg and pork rinds. Double dip the coated chicken until all of the pork rinds have been used up.
  • Bake the coated chicken in the preheated oven for 16-20 minutes, until the internal temperature of the largest piece has reached 165°. Cool slightly then enjoy these Keto Baked Chicken Tenders!

Air Fryer Method

  • With one hand dunk a chicken tender into the egg mix then drop into the pork rind mix without touching it with your hand. Use the other hand to toss the chicken in the pork rinds *see note 4. Continue until all the chicken has been coated.
  • You should have leftover egg and pork rinds. Double dip the coated chicken until all of the pork rinds have been used up.
  • Add the prepared Keto Chicken Tenders to the basket and spray lightly with cooking oil. Do not over-crowd, you'll most likely have to cook these in multiple batches.
  • Cook for 7 minutes, flip the chicken and then spray lightly with cooking oil. Cook for an additional 6 minutes, until the internal temperature of the largest piece has reached 165°.
  • Cool slightly, then enjoy these Keto Air Fryer Chicken Tenders dunked in Keto Honey Mustard!

Video

Notes

  1. Pork rinds are what gives our Keto chicken tenders that super crunchy crust. I usually buy Old Dutch pork rinds, which conveniently comes in 100 g packages ;)
  2. We use the shelf stable parmesan in the plastic shaker. It creates the best texture for breading the Keto chicken strips!
  3. Use a rolling pin to crush the pork rinds into a fine crumble - this will be so much more effective than crushing by hand.
  4. Don't mix your hands up! You don't want your egg hand to touch the crumbs or your crumb hand to touch the egg mixture. You'll end up losing a lot of crumbs this way, which we want on the chicken, right?
  5. Be careful not to over bake the chicken - we want those tenders nice and juicy! This is why a digital meat thermometer is invaluable in any kitchen.
  6. Try these Keto Chicken Tenders dunked into Keto Honey Mustard, Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition facts are an estimate only! The ingredients you choose could have different nutritional values than the ingredients I have used.  
Deduct fibre from the total carbs to get 1.6 g net carbs per serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5lbCalories: 587kcalCarbohydrates: 2.5gProtein: 90.8gFat: 20.9gSodium: 1474mgFiber: 0.9g
Keyword Keto Chicken Tenders, low carb baked chicken tenders
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