Air fryer cornflake chicken results in the crispiest chicken that's juicy on the inside. The air fried cornflake chicken tenders use cornflakes for the most irresistible crunchy chicken that's so easy to make.
One of the absolute best ways to make crispy chicken in the air fryer is to coat it in something that's already crispy! I've done so many variations of this, and my current favorite crispy ingredient is cornflakes.
This results in a super crispy and crunchy air fryer cornflake chicken. I typically use chicken breast that I cut into tender-sized pieces, because that's usually what I have in my fridge. However, if you want to simply use chicken tenders, that works too!
Ingredients
- Chicken breast - I usually cut up chicken breast into tender-sized pieces, but you can also use chicken tenders instead
- Cornflakes - Make sure you use plain ones and not any with sugar!
- Egg
- Milk - You can use dairy or non-dairy unsweetened milk (make sure you don't use any flavored milk like vanilla).
- Paprika - I use regular paprika, but you can also use smoked paprika to give it a smokier flavor.
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Cooking spray (or olive oil -- see recipe notes)
How to make air fryer cornflake chicken
First, prep your ingredients! Add your spices and seasonings to a small bowl. Crack your egg into a shallow bowl, add milk, and whisk together.
Crush your cornflakes into small pieces (I typically do this by adding them to a ziplock bag and crushing with a rolling pin, but you can also pulse in a food processor), and then add your cornflakes to a shallow bowl. And cut your chicken breast into tender-sized strips (if needed).
Add the spices to your chicken and mix together to coat the chicken in the spices.
Dip each chicken strip into the egg wash, then into the cornflake mixture. Try to press as many cornflakes into the chicken as possible.
Repeat for each one of the chicken strips.
Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes, then add chicken to the air fryer basket in a single layer (you may need to do this in 2 batches). Spray the chicken with cooking spray. Air fry at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking and spraying again.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce! These are also delicious sliced up and served on a salad, on top of pasta, or in a wrap.
Recipe tips
- Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken. I use a meat thermometer to make sure my chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
- Don't want to use cooking spray? You can also add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to your cornflakes and mix together before breading the chicken with the cornflakes.
- You can mix up the seasonings and spices if you want. You can also add dried herbs to your chicken. Tarragon and thyme are some of my favorites.
- These make great leftovers! Simply store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat by popping back into the air fryer for 4-5 minutes.
Air fryer chicken recipes
- Air fryer panko chicken
- Air fryer parmesan crusted chicken
- Air fryer thin chicken breast
- Air fryer pretzel chicken
- Air fryer crispy onion chicken
- Air fryer chicken thighs
- Air fryer boneless chicken thighs
Air Fryer Cornflake Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast or chicken tenders
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 3 cups cornflakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- cooking spray or olive oil (see notes)
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and cut into tender-sized strips.
- To a large, shallow bowl, crack an egg and add milk. Whisk together.
- Add cornflakes to a plastic Ziplock bag and crush into smaller pieces using a rolling pin. (Can also pulse in a food processor). You want the pieces to be small, but still have some texture. Add the crushed cornflakes to a shallow bowl.
- Add the paprika, garlic powder, and salt to a small bowl and mix together. Then add to the chicken and mix together with the chicken until chicken is coated in the seasonings.
- Bread the chicken by dipping each chicken strip in the egg wash, then the cornflakes. Press the cornflakes into the chicken strip to coat. Repeat with all the chicken strips.
- Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes. Then add the chicken to the air fryer basket in a single layer (you may need to do this in 2 batches). Spray the chicken with cooking spray.
- Air fry at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking and spraying again if needed.
Notes
-
- Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken. I use a meat thermometer to make sure my chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
-
- Don't want to use cooking spray? You can also add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to your cornflakes and mix together before breading the chicken with the cornflakes.
-
- You can mix up the seasonings and spices if you want. You can also add dried herbs to your chicken. Tarragon and thyme are some of my favorites.
- These make great leftovers! Simply store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat by popping back into the air fryer for 4-5 minutes.
Nutrition
If nutrition info is shown, values are based on an online calculator and are estimates. Please verify using your own data.
Sharon McDonald
So easy and so good. It's perfect every time I cook this. Everyone needs to try this recipe.
Aimee
Thanks for the comment, so glad you enjoyed!
Denise
Yum. Super crispy.