Crispy Onion Chip Chicken (Printable)

Juicy chicken tenders coated in a crunchy blend of onion and cheese chips, baked or air-fried to crispiness.

# What you'll need:

→ Chicken

01 - 1 lb chicken tenders (about 8 pieces)

→ Onion & Cheese Chip Coating

02 - 2 cups onion-flavored chips (e.g., Funyuns)
03 - 1 cup cheese-flavored chips (e.g., cheddar cheese crisps)

→ Dredging

04 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
05 - 2 large eggs
06 - 2 tbsp milk
07 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
08 - 1/2 tsp paprika
09 - 1/2 tsp salt
10 - 1/4 tsp black pepper

# Method:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F or set air fryer to 400°F.
02 - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray air fryer basket with cooking spray.
03 - Place onion and cheese chips in a food processor or zip-top bag and crush into coarse crumbs; transfer to a shallow dish.
04 - Combine flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper in a separate shallow dish.
05 - Whisk eggs with milk in a third shallow bowl.
06 - Pat chicken tenders dry using paper towels.
07 - Dredge each tender in seasoned flour, shaking off excess; dip in egg wash; then coat thoroughly in crushed chip mixture, pressing gently to adhere.
08 - Place coated tenders in a single layer on prepared baking sheet or air fryer basket.
09 - Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or air fry for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden and internal temperature reaches 165°F.
10 - Allow tenders to rest for 2 minutes to retain juiciness.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The coating stays impossibly crispy even when your family picks at it for ten minutes while you plate everything else.
  • It tastes like you took shortcuts but somehow ended up with something that feels more interesting than regular breaded chicken.
  • Prep is genuinely quick—about the time it takes to preheat the oven, you're ready to cook.
02 -
  • The chip coating will darken more than you expect in the last few minutes of cooking—if you pull them out when they look barely golden, they'll be perfect; if you wait until they look done, they'll be slightly dark but still delicious and crispy.
  • Not patting the chicken dry is the one mistake that ruins everything, creating a slimy layer between the chicken and coating instead of a crispy shell.
  • Crushing your chips in a food processor gives you way better texture control than trying to do it by hand, and the size of the crumbs directly affects how crunchy your final coating will be.
03 -
  • Buy slightly thicker chips if you can find them—they crush into bigger, more textured pieces that give you a less uniform, more interesting coating.
  • If your coating keeps sliding off before it's cooked, you either skipped the flour layer or didn't let the egg mixture cling long enough; both steps matter more than you'd think for structure.
Return