Too Easy Pork Rind Chicken Tenders | Baked or Air Fried!
Crispy pork rind crusted chicken tenders are fast and easy to make! These keto chicken fingers are brushed with mayo, then breaded in crushed pork rinds (pork rind panko) before being baked, pan fried, or air fried to crispy perfection.
Chicken ⇒ mayo ⇒ pork rind “breading” ⇒ cook
That’s all that’s standing between you and the some truly crispy, ultra low carb keto chicken tenders.
Only 0.8g of net carbs in 6 of these chicken strips, leaves plenty of room for a homemade low carb honey mustard! Keto, and semi-carnivore friendly chicken strips.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost or effort to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.
Oven Baked Keto Chicken Strips
The secret to a crispy baked keto chicken strips lies in both the coating, and how it is applied.
These chicken strips are coated in already crunchy crushed pork rind breading which only crisp further in the oven.
Crushed pork rinds are glued to the chicken pieces with a thin layer of mayo which not only keeps the coating stick, it also prevents the lean chicken breast from becoming dry and chewy in the oven.
Tips for baking Crunchy keto Chicken Strips
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking, or use a high quality non-stick tray.
- Elevating the strips off the baking tray with a cooling rack can help them crisp evenly.
- Bake at high temperature such as 400°F [205°C] until golden brown, If the coating doesn’t crisp the way you like it, simply turn on the top broiler of your oven for the remaining 2 minutes of cooking time and watch as they turn golden brown!
- Flip halfway through cooking and rotate the pan to help the chicken fingers brown evenly.
Baking Time and Temperature
Cooking Method: Oven, parchment lined baking sheet
Temperature: 400°F [205°C]
Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
You Know It’s Done When: The coating is crispy and golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (the juices run clear)
Bonus tip: Turn the broiler on for the last 2 minutes of cook time to add extra crunch!
Air Fryer Keto Chicken Tenders
This recipe can also be made in the air fryer!
Even as someone who loves to cook the air fryer has been a game changer. It takes simple food like these pork rind chicken tenders and makes them so crispy and delicious so quickly with very little clean up.
Tips to make keto chicken tenders in the air fryer
- Lightly grease the rack of your air fryer tray or line with a parchment sir fryer liner to prevent sticking.
- Evenly space the breaded chicken fingers in the tray. Leaving room between them will helps them crisp evenly.
- Cook at 400°F [205°C] for 18-20 minutes, flipping halfway through to crispy both sides evenly.
Air Fryer Cooking Time and Temperature
Cooking Method: Air fryer basket or parchment liner
Temperature: 400°F [205°C]
Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes
You Know It’s Done When: The coating is crispy and golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (the juices run clear)
Bonus tip: Parchment air fryer liners make clean up even faster and easier!
Shallow Pan Fried Keto Chicken Fingers
A surefire, albeit more involved method for crunchy keto chicken fingers is to shallow fry them in a pan with a high heat oil.
This method involves a little more work, and you may need to work in batches, but you get a really nice crunchy coating, and then chicken cooks very quickly.
Tips for pan fried keto chicken fingers
- Use a high heat cooking fat, such as avocado oil, tallow, or peanut oil, or vegetable oil.
- Let the oil get nice an hot before adding the chicken. If the oil is cold it will make the chicken soggy.
- Some have reported that the egg dredge method is better for frying.
- Keep a close eye on them in the pan, the thin pieces of chicken cook very quickly.
- Allow the cooked chicken tenders to drainer on a paper towel lined plate or cooling rack.
Pan Frying Cooking Time and Temperature
Cooking Method: Frying pan with hot oil
Temperature: Medium to medium-high
Cooking Time: 2-3 minutes per side.
You Know It’s Done When: The coating is crispy and golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (the juices run clear)
Bonus tip: Fry in small batches to prevent overcrowding the pan leading to soggy chicken tenders.
Questions About The Recipe
Can I use an egg dredge instead of mayo?
You absolutely can use a beating egg to adhere the crushed pork rinds instead of mayo, if you plan to pan fry or deep fry these chicken fingers you should use an egg dredge. It’s also makes these into fully carnivore chicken fingers.
I generally prefer may as it contains egg yolk and oil, it helps protect chicken breast from drying out and it’s also much easier to work with.
Mayo really is a miracle ingredient.
Can I use Miracle whip or whipped Mayo dressing instead of real mayo?
No. That’s disgusting.
Can I use Chicken Thighs Instead of Chicken Breasts?
Any kind of chicken can be used for this recipe. You can even use the same crushed pork rind coating to make keto fried chicken from full chicken legs.
Can this recipe make keto chicken nuggets?
Yes! Cut the chicken into whatever shape you like. Make some low carb chicken nuggets, chicken fingers, chicken poppers, popcorn chicken, whatever you want!
Are these chicken tenders carnivore friendly?
If you use and egg dredge instead of mayo then this becomes a ultra low carb carnivore chicken finger recipe!
Should I Flip The Chicken Halfway Through Cooking?
If you wish you can carefully flip each one if you to evenly brown the coating.
If you are lazy (like me) don’t worry they will still turn out great every time.
How to cut chicken breast for chicken fingers
Depending one the size and shape you want you chicken strips, you can get 5-8 full size strips, or 10-12 chicken nuggets from a single chicken breast.
- Lay out the chicken breast on a cutting board and pat them dry with a paper towel, this also helps get the outside crispy.
- Identify and remove the tender portion attached to the underside of the chicken breast. (shown below)
- Next, cut the breast in half lengthwise, and then again into lengthwise quarters. These chicken breasts were huge so I cut the larger pieces in half again and they were plenty big. Each breast gave me about 6-7 decent size pieces.
Low carb pork rind "breading"
The ultra crispy low carb coating or “breading” on these chicken tenders is finely crushed pork rinds.
Unlike breadcrumbs or flour, pork rinds contain some of their own fat, and when you bake them, they just keep getting crispier and crunchier!
They are also gluten free, high protein, and carnivore friendly!
To crush pork rinds Into Pork Panko for breading:
There are 2 very simple methods for creating homemade pork rind panko (Crushed pork rinds for breading).
1. Food Processor
The simplest and fastest method is a food processor . This creates very fine crumbs similar to regular breadcrumbs perfect for a crispy breading.
- Add pork rinds to your food processor and blitz until they are the consistency of breadcrumbs.
- Add any seasonings and blitz again to combine.
2. Rolling Pin and Freezer Bag
If you don’t have a food processor you can crush pork rinds using just a freezer bag and a rolling pin. This method creates a coarser but crunchier breading.
- Simply add pork rinds to a freezer bag and seal leaving a small opening for air to escape.
- Begin to crush the pork rinds with your hands, and once they start to break down into smaller sizes, use a rolling pin, a wine bottle, or some type of cylindrical object to further crush the pork rinds into dust.
TIP: If you buy pork rinds in small bags, then you can crush them right in that bag. Just cut a little hole to let the air out so it doesn’t burst the bag.
Empty crushed pork rinds onto a plate with any seasonings, and some dry parmesan cheese which adds a needed texture to the coating, and helps further season the chicken.
Instead of Crushing Your Own Pork Rinds..
There is a store-bought option, you can buy pre-crushed pork rinds to save some time and mess.
This is usually called pork panko.
More recipes that use Crushed pork rinds
How to Make Crispy vs. Crunchy Keto Chicken Fingers
For a very crunchy coating, keep the crush of the pork rinds coarse so it looks like panko bread crumbs or cornflakes. The rolling pin method works well for this.
For a light crispy coating, crush the pork rinds very fine like Italian breadcrumbs. The food processor works well for this.
Pro Tip: Always use fresh pork rinds for coating, as pork rinds age, they become stale and chewy and will become difficult to crush.
Tips for Breading with Crushed Pork Rinds
- You can season the mayo before coating small bowl to add more flavour to the chicken fingers. Seasonings you like, garlic powder, cayenne, onion powder, curry powder work well.
- It’s best to prepare a little more pork rind panko than you need. It is a real pain to be in the middle of coating and run out of ingredients with a bunch of chicken left.
- Extra mayo mixture can’t be used for much if it has come into contact with the raw chicken so transfer it to a small bowl before applying it to the chicken to avoid contaminating the jar.
- Extra crushed pork rinds can be stored in the freezer and used the next time you need to coat something. Do not store them in the fridge after they can come in contact with anything raw.
- Using a basting brush, the back of a spoon, or your hands, makes coating the chicken in mayonnaise easier. You don’t need a very thick layer, just enough to coat and adhere the pork rinds.
- Firmly press the mayo coated chicken into the crushed pork rinds to make sure the coating sticks.
- Gently shake off any excess coating, this helps make sure the coating is even.
- For less of a fuss, dredge using the dry hand wet hand technique, use one hand “the wet hand” to deal with the mayo covered chicken, and use the other hand “the dry hand” to coat and transfer the drier coated pieces to the baking sheet.
How To Make Low Carb Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
You can’t have low carb chicken fingers without a dynamite low carb dipping sauce!
Although this dipping sauce uses real honey, its till low enough in carbs for even keto diets! There is a sugar free option as well using keto friendly syrup to make sweet mustard.
To Make An Easy Low Carb Honey Mustard:
Mix ½ cup mayonnaise, 2-3 tablespoons of mustard, and 1 tablespoon of honey together. Voila, honey mustard!
A nice variation is replacing some or all of the yellow mustard with a quality Dijon mustard to make a fancy low carb Dijon honey mustard.
Is Honey Mustard low Carb?
Obviously “low carb” is a relative term. What I consider low, may not be low enough for you.
This dipping sauce contains actual honey, so if you are trying to avoid all sugars in general, then this may not work for you, and that’s ok, use Waldens Sugar Free Syrup instead! Who am I to tell you how to dip your chicken.
But if like myself, you are more of an IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) kind of person, then this honey mustard is a perfect low carb dip for any kind of crispy chicken.
Honey Mustard Carb Breakdown
Each tablespoon of this honey mustard contains roughly 1.5g net carbs (20g net carbs in the whole recipe).
This recipe makes enough honey mustard to liberally dip 25-30 or so chicken fingers (YMMV).
Each chicken strip has about 0.12g of net carbs! (basically 0)
So being conservative, each dipped chicken finger is around 0.92g of net carbs, or rather 10 dipped keto chicken strips is about 9.2g of net carbs!
What Can I Use Instead of Honey?
If you are looking for a low carb substitute for honey you can try a little bit of monk fruit or erythritol in its place.
An even better substitute is a sugar free syrup such as Waldens Sugar free Pancake syrup
Add a bit at a time and taste as you go.
It wont add the same honey flavour, you are just looking to add a little underlying sweetness to the mustard sauce.
Low Carb Dipping Sauces for chicken Fingers
If you aren’t a fan of honey mustard, here are some other low carb dipping sauces you can use:
- Buffalo Sauce – Franks Red Hot buffalo sauce is near zero carbs and is delicious with this chicken. You can also make it from scratch using the same recipe in my Dirty Keto Air Fryer Chicken wings.
- Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce – Similar to the Pizza Pizza dipping sauce, creamy garlic pairs well with crispy chicken tenders. You can make it from scratch
- G. Hughes Sugar Free BBQ and Dipping Sauce – G. Hughes keto friendly BBQ sauce is legit, its the real deal! You gotta try their Carolina Gold. Super low net carbs, and tastes amazing! It also available at Costco.
Easy Keto Pork Rind Breaded Chicken Tenders
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Equipment
- Knife and Cutting Board
- Baking sheet
- Rolling Pin optional
- Food Processor optional
- Basting Brush (Optional)
Ingredients
Pork Rind Crusted Chicken Strips
- 5 large chicken breast cut into strips/fingers/nuggets
- 5 oz pork rinds crushed
- ½ cup mayonnaise
Optional Seasonings
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt & pepper
Low Carb Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce (optional)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey see notes for substitute
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Slice the chicken into pieces. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Use a sharp knife to remove the chicken tender attached to the underside of the breast. Next slice the chicken breast lengthwise into 4-5 even sized strips. Larger pieces may need to be cut in half widthwise. Set chicken pieces aside for coating.5 large chicken breast
- Crush the pork rinds. Crush the pork rinds with a food processor or add pork rinds to a freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin until they are fine like bread crumbs. Initially crushing them with your hands will make it easer to pass over them with the rolling pin. Empty crushed pork rind coating onto a plate.5 oz pork rinds
- Season the coating (optional). If you would like to season the coating further, add dry grated parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and any other spices to the pork rinds and combine well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.¼ cup parmesan cheese, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, salt & pepper
- Coat chicken in mayo. Add mayo to a small bowl and use a basting brush, a spoon, or your hands to lightly coat each piece of chicken in mayo.½ cup mayonnaise
- Bread the chicken. Press each side of the mayo coated chicken into the crushed pork rind mixture, making sure each side has a light yet even coating. Shake loose any extra coating and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat for each piece of chicken.
Oven Baking Instructions
- For oven baked chicken fingers. Bake at 400°F [205°C] for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway for best results. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the coating is golden brown and crispy. The chicken will feel more firm than before and should be white all the way through with only clear liquid running from it. If the coating doesn't crisp, turn the broiler on for the remaining 2 minutes to crisp them up.
- Optional: Turn on the broiler for extra crisp. To crisp up the crushed pork rind breading even further, turn the oven broiler on for the last 2 minutes of cook time. Keep a close eye on the chicken fingers so they do not burn.
Air Fryer Instructions
- For air fried chicken tenders. Brush the air fryer tray lightly with oil or use a non-stick air fryer liner. Evenly space the pork rind coated chicken in the air fryer tray leaving some room between each one. Cook at 400°F [205°C] for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through for best results. Cook until the coating is golden brown and crispy, and the chicken is cooked through.
- Shallow Fried (Pan Fried) Instructions
- Add enough oil or tallow to a large pan to cover the bottom. Heat over medium high until the oil is hot and glistening. Carefully lay the pork rind coated chicken strip into the hot oil and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Carefully flip over the chicken stirps in the pan and fry until cooked through.
- Remove cooked chicken fingers to a cooling rack or paper towel lined plate to cool before serving.
Low Carb Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
- In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, and honey. Season to taste and serve.½ cup mayonnaise, 4 tablespoons mustard, 1 tablespoon honey, salt & pepper
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated using the recipe calculator and verified database available from Cronometer. Although every reasonable effort is made to provide accurate information this estimate is provided as courteously and convenience only. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
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To Make This a Meal, Pair it with..
Some simple low carb vegetable side dish ideas for you!
Make Ahead Tips and Leftovers
Pork rind chicken tenders are ideal for batch cooking and meal prepping. Making a large batch for the week provides an easy and delicious way to add protein to salads and low-carb wraps, perfect for convenient work lunches.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator – Allow the chicken fingers to cool and place in a large container with a tight fitting lid. If meal prepping, divide the chicken fingers evenly into 4-5 lunch container. Avoid over crowding the chicken fingers. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheating Tips – For best results, reheat the chicken tenders in the oven on a parchment lined baking sheet.
The air fryer also works well for reheating and crisping up leftover chicken fingers.
Otherwise reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
Time To Dive In!
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