Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard

Chicken tenders are soaked in buttermilk, coated in cornflake crumbs and seasonings, and then air fried or baked to crispy perfection. Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard are the perfect healthy meal for even the pickiest of eaters; dipped in a creamy homemade honey mustard dipping sauce, dinner is easy and delicious. It’s like fast food, except better for you and the family. 

What you’ll need to make cornflake crusted chicken tenders with honey mustard

For the chicken tenders, you’ll need:

• chicken breast tenderloins or chicken breast
• light buttermilk
• cornflake crumbs
  • these are typically sold in the breadcrumb aisle, near the Shake ‘n Bake
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• kosher salt
• ground mustard

For the honey mustard dipping sauce, you’ll need:

• plain non fat Greek yogurt
• Dijon mustard
• honey

When I created this recipe, I had leftover buttermilk from making my Rustic Irish Soda Bread. I decided to let the chicken marinate in the buttermilk all day to get really tender and delicious, and I am so glad I did! Buttermilk might be hard to find sometimes, but you can actually make your own using items you have on hand, if you ever need to. 

How to prep and cook the chicken

For this recipe you can use chicken breast tenderloins, or chicken breast.  If you use chicken tenderloins, remember to remove the white tendon from down the middle.  If you are using full chicken breasts, slice them into 8 pieces.  They will be large chicken tenders!  You can also cut them into more pieces, but adjust the serving sizes and information in your recipe builder accordingly.  Add the buttermilk to a bowl and place the chicken inside.  Marinate it for 4 hours at least.  You can also let the chicken sit in the buttermilk for an entire day, or overnight even. Once you are ready to cook the chicken, add the cornflake crumbs and the spices to a bowl and mix together. When you are ready to cook  them, remove a piece of chicken from the buttermilk and scrape the excess buttermilk off.  Then, toss the piece of chicken in the cornflake crumbs.  

Air Fryer Method:

Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray, and working in batches, add the coated chicken to the air fryer basket and spray the tops with more spray.  Air fry at 385 degrees for 15 minutes. After 7 minutes, flip the chicken and spray the tops again. I did four pieces at a time, in two batches.

Convection Oven Method:

Place a wire rack on a sheet pan, and spray with cooking spray.  Add the breaded pieces of chicken on top of the wire rack, and spray the tops with more cooking spray. Convection bake at 450 for 15 minutes total.  After 7 minutes, flip the chicken and spray the other side. 

How to make the honey mustard dipping sauce

The honey mustard sauce is only three ingredients:  plain non-fat Greek yogurt, Dijon, and honey mustard. All you have to do is add the ingredients together in a small bowl, and whisk together.  This recipe makes 10 tablespoons of the dipping sauce; so, if you are serving 8 tenders, an approximate serving size per tender is a heaping tablespoon.

Serving, storing, and reheating the Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders

These are great with some French fries or smashed potatoes and a veggie; they also are great on top of a big old salad, or on a sandwich. To store leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.  To reheat them, either pop them in the air fryer for a few minutes, or into a preheated oven to get crispy again.  Aim for a higher temperature, like 400 so that they get crispy, and not soggy.

Air Fried Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard

5 from 16 votes

print pin rate

course: dinner,lunch,main course

cuisine: American

keyword: air fryer,cornflake,cornflake crusted chicken,honey mustard

prep time: 10 minutes minutes

cook time: 30 minutes minutes

Inactive Marinating Time: 4 hours hours

servings: 8 tenders

calories: 232kcal

author: Steph

cook modeprevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• air fryer or sheet pan fitted with wire rack

Ingredients

Chicken Tenders

• 1.5 lb chicken breast
• 3/4 cup light buttermilk
• 1 cup cornflake crumbs
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground mustard

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 cup plain non fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp honey

Instructions

Chicken Tenders

• If using chicken breasts, slice them into 8 thinner pieces to form chicken-tender shaped pieces. If using tenderloins, remove the tendon from the middle.
• Add the buttermilk to a bowl and submerge the chicken pieces.
• Cover the bowl and keep in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours to marinate, or up to 24 hours.
• If using an air fryer, preheat at 385F. If using the oven, preheat at 450F.
• When ready to cook, combine the cornflake crumbs with the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and ground mustard.
• When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the buttermilk and scrape off any excess, leaving each tender wet enough for the breading to stick.
• Dredge each piece of chicken in the cornflake mixture.
• Air Fryer Method: Spray the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray and add the breaded chicken pieces. Spray the tops with more cooking spray. Air fry at 385 for 15 minutes. Halfway through, flip the tenders and spray the other side. (Work in two batches to not overcrowd the tenders).
• Convection Bake Method: Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Spray the rack with cooking spray, and lay the breaded tenders on top. Spray the tops with cooking spray. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes; after 7 minutes, flip the pieces and spray the other side.

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

• Whisk together the yogurt, Dijon and honey.

Notes

WW Points:

• Green Plan:
  • 4 points for 1 tender and 1 tbsp sauce
  • 7 points for 2 tenders and 2 tbsp sauce
• Blue and Purple Plans:
  • 3 points for 1 tender and 1 tbsp sauce
  • 6 points for 2 tenders and 2 tbsp sauce

The dipping sauce makes 10 tablespoons. The serving size is 1 heaping tablespoon per tender. 

WW PersonalPoints™: Click here to track this recipe in the WW app.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tender with sauce | Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 498mg | Potassium: 390mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 556IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 9mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetsavoryandsteph or tag #sweetsavoryandsteph!

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