Buffalo Chicken Tenders with Sweet Potato Fries

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just crave the meals of my childhood: chicken nuggets, mac n cheese, tater tots…you get the picture. Sometimes, I just give in and get some frozen tots or boxed mac n cheese. More often, I try to find a way to make my childhood faves a little healthier, a lot more interesting, and sometimes I even try to make them a little easier.

This meal hits all three of those! The chicken tenders can be baked or cooked in the air fryer without any oils or fats, and the fries are baked in the oven too. I use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes for a nutrient boost. And, I use buffalo sauce in my breading station instead of the egg to reduce the fat and add flavor! The prep work is surprisingly easy, and then everything takes under 15 minutes to cook.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into strips)

• 1/2 cup buffalo sauce

• 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

• 1 t each granulated garlic, oregano, cajun seasoning

• 2 sweet potatoes

• 1.5 T olive oil

• Cooking spray

• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Add chicken tenders to a large dish (large enough that they can lay mostly flat), and coat with buffalo sauce - I estimate about 1/2 cup, but you just want to make sure each strip is coated with buffalo sauce. Let marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

2. Preheat air fryer to 400F. Preheat oven to 425F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

3. Slice sweet potatoes into french fry shapes: slice ends off and cut in half lengthwise. Then slice into strips.

4. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on baking sheet.

5. Mix together breadcrumbs with garlic, oregano, cajun seasoning, salt and pepper in a dish that is at least wider/longer than the chicken tenders.

6. To bread the chicken: take a strip from the buffalo sauce and shake lightly to get rid of excess sauce. Use your left hand to add to breadcrumbs and use right hand to coat with breadcrumbs, flipping if need be. Shake off excess breadcrumbs and put on a plate until the air fryer is preheated. Repeat with all chicken tenders.

7. When oven is preheated, bake sweet potatoes for 8 minutes. Flip, then bake another 6 minutes until tender.

8. When air fryer is preheated, spray with cooking spray. Add chicken tenders in a flat layer (you may need to do 2 batches depending on your air fryer size) and spray the tops with cooking spray. “Fry” for 6 minutes on each side.

   1. If you’re baking, you can do so on a sheetpan at 425F for 8 minutes, flip, then another 6 (same as the fries).