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    Air Fried Buffalo Chicken Strips: Healthy Comfort Food

    Jul 31, 2017 · 25 Comments

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    Guys, you NEED an air fryer.  Like yesterday. It’s such a versatile little kitchen gadget! Today we are making my favorite type of chicken in the air fryer (affiliate link)– buffalo style!  I’m obsessed with buffalo style anything. The saucier the better! This recipe  for air fried buffalo chicken strips is a healthier alternative to your typical fried buffalo chicken strips. It’s made with minimal oil but you still get all the flavor and the perfect crunch! I have also included a paleo version without Panko crumbs so you can make your chicken strips even healthier as well as lower in carbs.

     

    Ingredients For Buffalo Chicken Strips

    I prepared these buffalo strips two ways. One with panko crumbs which gives the chicken strips a great crispy crunch and another made with almond flour and egg which still tastes amazing but makes the recipe lower in carbs as well as paleo friendly. To make your chicken strips you will need your favorite buffalo sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot), a little ghee, chicken tenders, almond flour, egg, some basic seasonings and panko crumbs if you are adding that.

    I like mixing a little ghee into the buffalo sauce because it gives the sauce a richer, creamier flavor. I buy my ghee from Costco since I use it in cooking often. To me, the saucier the better when it comes to my wings but you can opt for less OR use the buffalo sauce to dip your wings into instead of mixing it all together.

    Preparing Your Buffalo Strips

    I like to follow a dry-wet-dry method when cooking in the air fryer (affiliate link). I set some almond flour mixed with seasonings on a plate, beat an egg into a bowl and then add panko crumbs to another plate.  Then you can work in an assembly line, dipping your chicken tender into each before placing in the air fryer (affiliate link).

    almond flour egg and panko

    When you are measuring out the amounts of dry and wet ingredients, you can really use as much or as little as you would like.  I use enough to coat the amount of chicken I have.  Sometimes I just eyeball it and add more as needed avoid waste.  So the recipe here is for what I use specifically, but feel free to adjust to more or less as needed.

    When I initially started using my sir fryer for chicken, I was a bit skeptical about cooking it in the air fryer (affiliate link) but these came out great. I wanted to find a balance of not contracting food poisoning and not gnawing on overdone chicken leather. My suggestion is to cut your chicken open when you think it’s about done to verify it’s no longer pink. With fish, it’s much easier to gauge when it’s ready. I made a chili lime tilapia and fish sticks in my air fryer (affiliate link) and it worked perfectly.

    chicken strips coated in air fryer
    into the air fryer (affiliate link) they go!

    When your chicken tenders are done, you simply toss with your buffalo sauce and serve with a little ranch and you’re good to go! I have been loving the Vegan Ranch from Primal Kitchen Foods! (You can use code BEAUTY10 for 10% off your order!) Like I mentioned before, you can also reserve your buffalo sauce for dipping if you want a less saucy wing.

    paleo buffalo chicken

    Other Air Fryer Recipes You Will Love:

    Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

    Buffalo Cauliflower

    Crispy Potatoes

    Smashed Potatoes

    air fryer chicken strips with buffalo sauce

    Print
    clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon facebook facebook icon print print icon squares squares icon heart heart icon heart solid heart solid icon
    buffalo chicken tenders dipped in ranch

    Air Fried Buffalo Chicken Strips

    ★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
    • Author: Jen Lopez
    • Prep Time: 5 minutes
    • Cook Time: 15 minutes
    • Total Time: 20 minutes
    • Yield: 3 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 lb chicken breast strips
    • 1 egg, beaten
    • 3/4 cup Panko crumbs – (skip for low carb or paleo option)
    • 1/2 cup almond flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
    • 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
    • 1/2 tbs ghee
    • 1 tsp garlic salt
    • 1 tsp onion powder
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • ranch for dipping (I love Primal Kitchen Foods Vegan Ranch – use code BEAUTY10 for 10% off)

    Instructions

    1. Place beaten egg, almond flour mixed with seasonings and panko crumbs in separate plates/bowls
    2. Spray the bottom of the air fryer (affiliate link) with a little cooking spray
    3. Dip chicken into the almond flour, then the egg wash, and roll in panko until well coated. NOTE: for paleo/low carb chicken strips, pat chicken dry and dip in egg wash first and then coat with almond flour mixture.
    4. Place in air fryer (affiliate link) and spray the top of the chicken with a little more cooking spray
    5. Fry at 375 for 7-8 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink
    6. While chicken is in the air fryer (affiliate link), warm buffalo sauce in a small sauce pan and whisk in ghee
    7. Remove chicken from air fryer (affiliate link) and place in a mixing bowl
    8. Toss chicken in buffalo sauce until well coated
    9. Serve with celery, carrots and ranch

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @beautyandthebenchpress on Instagram and hashtag it #beautyandthebenchpress

    Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link. The products linked are ones I use personally and wholeheartedly recommend.
    Thank you for your continued support!

    A healthy buffalo chicken recipe for your air fryer. It's quick, easy and SO delicious! #airfryer #airfryerrecipes #airfryerchicken

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Alissa says

      April 25, 2018 at 4:55 am

      This is so good! I have made it twice this month. My teenagers love boneless buffalo tenders at restaurants and they love these. I didn’t change anything, which is rare for me!

      Reply
      • Jen says

        April 26, 2018 at 11:28 am

        So glad you guys liked them!!! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Magali says

      October 24, 2018 at 8:53 pm

      Do you have nutritional info on these ?

      Reply
      • Jen says

        November 04, 2018 at 7:35 am

        I don’t, sorry! But you can put the ingredients into myfitnesspal to calculate!

        Reply
    3. elaine says

      January 24, 2020 at 8:39 am

      a recipe i have for cooking chicken uses parchment paper with holes poked through it and found it works great

      Reply
    4. Julie Boyden says

      June 23, 2020 at 6:51 pm

      These turned out just like the recipe says, however, I did use regular flour since I didn’t have almond flour. Also, we only had chicken breast so I cut them in nugget size. Since some air dryers are different, I cooked mine on 370 for 7 mins then turned them and cooked for 5 more mins. Much more and I’m afraid they would’ve burned. My teenagers loved them. We doubled the recipe and made a batch of buffalo and then kept some plain and chopped them up and made “street tacos” and drizzled a little Polynesian sauce on them. They loved those even more than the buffalo. My son immediately said to make sure I save this recipe so we can make them again this weekend. He actually said they were just as good as Chick-fil-A, especially since he didn’t have to go anywhere to get them. LOL.

      Reply
    5. Susan Dubose says

      January 24, 2021 at 7:19 pm

      My favorite thing is when I make something that others love and I let them know it’s whole 30. These are a staple in my house. amazing flout mix. When I am not on a strict whole 30 I make this into a buffalo chicken wrap in cashew flour tortillas.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Jen says

        February 19, 2021 at 9:45 am

        I love putting these in wraps too!!

        Reply
    6. Dave says

      December 30, 2018 at 2:04 pm

      I would not spray the Air Fryer with cooking spray, as it can cause damage to the coating. Spray the meat before putting into the air fryer.

      Reply
    7. Jen says

      December 30, 2018 at 8:56 pm

      I’ve always sprayed the air fryer itself and it’s been fine for the couple years I’ve had it! Thanks for the tip though!

      Reply

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