I recently did the MOST 2020-2021 thing ever: I got an air fryer. And a puppy. And copious amounts of tie dye clothing. Ok, back to the air fryer. I’ve been testing out lots of recipes and was craving something sweet and crunchy so I figured why not give crispy coconut chicken tenders a try? Also — you can bake these in the oven or even pan fry them if you don’t own an air fryer. Here goes!
INGREDIENTS:
4 chicken breasts (cut into tenders and smashed with a meat tenderizer)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut (you can also use unsweetened)
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
4 tbsp. coconut or canola oil
salt & pepper to taste
PREPARATION:
In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. In a second shallow dish, whisk together the eggs. In the third shallow dish, combine the shredded coconut and the Panko breadcrumbs. First, dredge each chicken breast lightly in flour. Then dip the floured chicken in the egg wash, letting the excess drip away. Next, dredge the egg washed chicken in the coconut-panko mixture, pressing lightly to make sure the coconut sticks.
I cook mine in my air fryer — it has a chicken setting and I use that option. OR you can…
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium lo heat. Sauté the chicken 1 to 2 minutes per side until coconut is golden brown. Place the chicken on a rack over a foil lined baking tray. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through. I serve mine with Thai sweet chili sauce. Yum!
