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Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowI thought it would be kind of fun to share a brand new recipe from my Wholesome Yum Easy Keto Cookbook with you. Introducing… low carb keto chicken tenders with pork rinds!
There are multiple ways you can do keto breading, from almond flour to coconut flour to pork rinds, but my favorite low carb breading for keto chicken strips is this combo of crushed pork rinds and protein powder. It gets super crispy on the outside and sticks well, while the inside stays juicy. Perfection. (You can make your own pork rinds, or buy them, and then just crush them in a blender or food processor.) If you aren’t a fan of pork rinds, try my keto chicken nuggets, instead.
Low carb chicken strips are a great example of a recipe for me to share from the book, because it shows how easy so many of these recipes are. Just a few ingredients (only six!), 10 minutes of prep, and you have an amazing low carb dinner (or low carb lunch?) that the whole family will love.
If you like this keto chicken tenders recipe, you’ll like the other keto comfort foods I have in the Easy Keto Cookbook:
- Sheet Pan Sausage Breakfast Sandwiches
- Chicken Quesadillas
- Sausage Zoodle Soup
- Spaghetti Squash Bolognese
- Fathead Gnocchi
- Coffee Cake Zucchini Bread
That’s just a little preview for you – the whole book has 100 easy keto recipes total, with 80 of them brand new and exclusive to the book. Every recipe has a photo, macros, and helpful tips included, too.
Get The Easy Keto Cookbook Here!
(Register your purchase at the button above to get a printable keto pantry list, too!)
If you’re not sure, read over 1100 5-star reviews – I think you’ll love it as much as they do! 😉
Or just make this keto chicken tenders recipe first, and if you like it, you know this book is for you.
How To Make Keto Chicken Tenders
This chicken tenders keto recipe takes just 10 minutes to prep!
- Prep breading stations and pan. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease. (You can use any type of fat here, avocado oil, ghee, etc.) Setup two bowls:
- Mayonnaise – I like to use avocado oil mayo!
- Breading – pork rinds, protein powder, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Bread the chicken strips. Coat the chicken strips in mayonnaise. Use the other hand to press chicken into breading mixture and scoop more breading over the top to coat.
TIP: Use both hands – one handling the mayonnaise and the other handling the dry breading. Do not switch hands to avoid getting the dry mixture too wet and clumpy.
- Place onto the baking sheet. Arrange them without touching, so that they get plenty of air flow.
TIP: For even crispier chicken tenders, bake them on an ovenproof nonstick wire rack like this, so that the hot air can circulate the entire chicken strip.
- Bake keto chicken strips. Bake for 12-15 minutes first, until it’s just barely cooked through, then broil for 1-2 minutes to crisp the breading even more.
Dipping Sauces For Keto Chicken Strips
Dipping sauce is a must for chicken strips, if you ask me. 😉 Here are my favorites:
- Keto Honey Mustard – It’s shown in the photos here, and I have another version in the Easy Keto Cookbook.
- Sugar-Free Ketchup – The ultimate kid-friendly classic. It tastes sweet without any sugar added!
- Ranch Recipe – Smooth, creamy, and even more flavorful than your favorite bottled brand.
- Keto BBQ Sauce – People get passionate about BBQ sauce, but readers have told me they’ve won contests with this one. And, it’s easy to adjust if you like yours more sweet, more smoky, more spicy, etc.
Keto Chicken Tenders FAQs
Are chicken tenders keto?
Most chicken tenders are breaded in a flour mixture and deep fried – NOT KETO!
But, the ones on this page are keto! You know I always like to recreate keto versions of our favorite foods – and this was one of my favorite keto chicken recipes to create.
Can I make keto chicken strips without pork rinds?
Yes, you can. I used pork rinds because they get these super crispy, plus they are nut-free and people have been asking me for more nut-free keto recipes.
But if that doesn’t matter to you, use almond flour instead of pork rinds! It gets just a bit less crispy than the pork rinds do, but is still delicious.
Don’t use coconut flour, though, it’s too fine. If you really want to use coconut flour, make coconut chicken tenders like this instead.
What kind of protein powder can you use?
I used whey protein powder – this one is zero carb. But any kind will work – just make sure it’s flavorless and has no sugar. The protein powder helps the breading stick better.
For a keto lifestyle, collagen with MCTs would also be an excellent choice.
Should you bake or fry keto breaded chicken tenders?
You can do either. As written, this is a baked keto chicken tenders recipe, but you can fry them in oil if you like. (I recommend avocado oil, which has a high smoke point.)
In particular, if you decide to swap the pork rinds with almond flour, you may want to fry your low carb chicken strips to help them get more crispy.
You can also cook these in the air fryer. These air fryer chicken tenders have the instructions you’d need, just with a different breading.
Storage Instructions
Can you make keto baked chicken tenders ahead?
These keto chicken tenders with pork rinds are best made fresh (and really take just 10 minutes to prep!) but here are a few ways to prep some ingredients ahead:
- Make avocado mayonnaise, if making from scratch.
- Crush pork rinds.
- Mix up keto chicken strips breading (pork rinds, protein powder, garlic powder, and paprika) and store in an airtight container.
How to store baked keto chicken tenders
Store these keto chicken strips in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Can you freeze them?
Yes, you can freeze keto chicken strips! Here is how:
- Follow the low carb chicken tenders recipe as written, coat them in breading, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet as if you were going to bake them.
- Place the baking sheet into the freezer for at least 4 hours.
- Once solid, transfer the chicken strips to a freezer bag.
- Store them in the freezer for 4-6 months.
- Bake right from frozen.
How to reheat low carb chicken strips
For best results, reheat these keto chicken tenders with pork rinds in a 375 degree oven, until heated through and crunchy.
If you are heating them from frozen and they have not been baked yet, you can bake them at 400 just as you would fresh – it will just take longer for them to cook through.
What To Serve With Keto Chicken Tenders
Serve up your keto diet chicken tenders with some easy low carb keto side dishes and salads:
- Cauliflower Mac and Cheese – Keto chicken strips + mac and cheese? Every kid’s dream meal! (And who am I kidding? Adults, too!)
- Crispy Avocado Fries – These are available in the Easy Keto Cookbook as well!
- Keto French Fries – Bet you can’t guess what these crispy on the outside and soft on the inside fries are made out of!
- Keto Coleslaw – Fries and slaw make the ultimate casual comfort food meal.
- Creamy Cucumber Salad – This classic cucumber salad is a great make-ahead option for meal prep, picnics, or parties.
- Blue Cheese Wedge Salad – Keto chicken strips ON a wedge salad? No we’re talking!
Tools To Make Keto Chicken Strips
Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.
- Baking Sheet – My favorite baking sheet. Nothing sticks to this textured coating, even if I forget to line it.
- Ovenproof Nonstick Wire Rack – Make your keto breaded chicken extra crispy by baking the strips on this rack!
- Shallow Bowls – These are technically pasta bowls, but they are a perfect size and shape for dredging and breading keto chicken tenders with pork rinds.
Low Carb Keto Chicken Tenders Recipe
This reader favorite recipe is included in The Wholesome Yum Easy Keto Cookbook! Order your copy to get 100 easy keto recipes in a beautiful print hardcover book, including 80 exclusive recipes not found anywhere else (not even this blog!), my complete fathead dough guide, the primer for starting keto, and much more.
ORDER THE EASY KETO COOKBOOK HERE
Keto Chicken Tenders (Easy, Crispy, Fast!)
These easy low carb keto chicken tenders are crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, & 1 net carb per serving. Ready in just 25 minutes!
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with foil and grease with any fat of your choice.
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Set up two shallow medium bowls: place the mayonnaise in one and in the other stir together the pork rinds, whey protein powder, garlic powder, and paprika.
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Toss the chicken strips in the bowl with the mayonnaise. Take a chicken strip from the bowl and remove any excess mayonnaise. Use the other hand to press the chicken into the breading mixture and scoop more breading over the top, submerging the chicken strip to coat on all sides. Place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken strips.
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Bake for 12-15 minutes, until just barely cooked through.
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Turn on the broiler. Place the chicken strips under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to crisp up more.
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 6 ounces of chicken (about 3 chicken strips)
Recipe from The Easy Keto Cookbook.
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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65 Comments
Sean Covert
0Hi! If I want to skip the protein powder so I still use pork or almond flour? I have both but no protein powder. Is there another way to get the “breading” to stick without protein powder? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Sean, You can skip the whey protein powder if you prefer to not use it. The chicken can be coated in crushed pork rinds, just keep in mind that they may not stick quite as well without the protein powder coating.
Nini
0We don’t eat pork- I read somewhere that you can use crisped chicken skin instead?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Nini, You can use almond flour in place of the pork rinds.
Cam
0I was unable to make the pork panko crumb correctly, it caramelized and was not even close to a crumb consistency, it was basically just the pork fat juices over the chicken. Its my first time trying to crumb using pork panko so any advice on how to avoid this would be great. I felt like i followed the recipe correctly too so unsure where i went wrong. I used collagen protein instead of whey and cooked in the oven as to the recipe. Please help as I’d like to try again.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Cam, I’m confused when you say the panko crumb caramelized. Did you cook the pork rinds before coating the chicken?
Ester Irene Arrascaeta
0Can the pork rinds be replaced with almond flour?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Ester, Yes, that would work.
Stacey Finch
0Absolutely love this recipe. Thank u so much for sharing it!
Kelly
0These were delicious!!! I didn’t have pork rinds so I substituted quest chips. Do you think these could be made in the air fryer?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Kelly, I have never tried it, but I’m sure it would work.
Sandra
0Maya: Have you actually looked at the ingredient listing on the whey isolate protein powder?
I did, and there are some things in there that I don’t like to see. In no particular order: sulfate, soy lecithin (soy anything isn’t good for people with thyroid issues),
artificial flavors, D Biotin, and sucralose. Anything with ose at the end usually means some form of sugar.
Bob’s Red Mill has a whey protein concentrate product in their line. The ingredient list on the package is short: whey protein concentrate (Milk) and sunflower lecithin. Notice: the package doesn’t say Isolate, and that’s the difference. There are many whey protein products that are the Isolate type.
As for ordering this (I looked in Amazon.com), but there are other sellers that handle Bob’s Red Mill products. Amazon has a few different sizes and amounts for this product. You can get it unflavored as well.
Not criticizing your choice of product here, just trying to inform you about the differences. I know that you are quite busy with all that you do and on top of all this, you’re also a Mom. That can be hectic as well.
Thank You for all of your recipes & hard work. It’s greatly appreciated.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Sandra, Sorry about that and thanks for flagging this! Amazon changed the product link on me (to a vanilla one with weird ingredients)! It’s supposed to be this one (I updated the post as well), which is unflavored and contains only whey protein isolate and soy lecithin. While I’m not a fan of soy either an try to avoid it when I can, this is the only brand of whey protein isolate I’ve found that doesn’t have even more unnecessary things added to it. I’m not a fan of Bob’s whey because it’s whey protein concentrate, not whey protein isolate. Whey protein concentrate is labeled as one ingredient but is actually less pure than isolate, and has more carbs.
Molly
0Love this, can I use egg instead of mayonnaise to coat before dipping in the pork rinds?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Molly, I have never tried that with this recipe, but I think it should work for you.
Staci
0I’m still trying to figure out time and temperature in the air fryer. If anyone has those, let me know!
Patricia
0Wow – I have been trying to find something keto friendly my picky teen will also eat – and tonight we have a winner!!! I’m so tired of her wanting to eat boxed frozen nuggets – and this recipe is the one that converted her! Thank you!
Marcy
0I have no protien powder, can I use almond flour?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Marcy, Yes, you can do that.
Emily Mongiardo
0This is seriously delicious! You have to try it! Just be sure to season your seasoning mixture and chicken since no salt is in the recipe.
Denise Wilson
0Can you fry them in the skillet instead of bake? No worries if not. Thanks and yum.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Denise, I think the breading would be more likely to fall off if you pan-fried these. For the best results, I recommend baking as directed. Enjoy!
Irene
0This recipe was delicious! Very easy to prepare. The chicken was so tender & juicy, the rinds made them very crunchy & flavorful too!
Kathy Wyant
0Typical Chicken Tenders are blah at times. This is a game changer Mayonnaise WOW mind blown, juicy and flavorful.
We use our Air Fryer and they turn out perfectly, too perfect I think, we never have leftovers .. LOL
Can’t wait to see what Maya creates for us next..
Truly appreciate the recipes and techniques, makes Keto Fun.
Kat
0How long do you cook them in the air fryer?
Staci
0I don’t know if you’ll see this comment, but you could also use sriracha/pesto/wasabi mayo to add flavor. 🙂
I wish i had times and temps for air fryer, I JUST started using mine and i have no idea. :/
Sharon Kimmel
0Made these last night and used spicy pork rinds (left out other seasonings) and they were wonderful!! Did not have the protein powder but the coating stayed on for the most part. I also used a cookie rack on the tray while cooking so the strips would cook on bottom also. It’s gonna be a staple from now on! Thank you
Lynnette
0I don’t have Whey Protein Powder. Is there anything else I can use? It’s super expensive too. Like $38 for a bottle.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lynnette, You can skip the whey protein powder if you prefer to not use it. The chicken can be coated in crushed pork rinds, just keep in mind that they may not stick quite as well without the protein powder coating.
Rebecca
0Can I substitute egg white protein powder forr the whey? I have it on hand.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Rebecca, Yes that should work fine.
Dino Githens
0What about Almond Flour instead of Protein Powder?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Dino, Yes I believe that would work for you.
Stephanie W
0We are in this family phase where it is hard to get both kids to enjoy any meal set at the table (if one kid likes it, the other doesn’t). However this was well received by all…a miracle! The chicken was crispy and moist. Very delicious! Will be adding this to our dinner rotation more often.
Bob
0I dont see where is says the oven temp. 350?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Bob, Bake at 400 degrees F. It’s in step 1 of the instructions. Hope you enjoy!
Bianca Rivera
0Yet another Wholesome Yum homerun. I was afraid to make these & eat them because in my brain I could not reconcile the fact they weren’t the frozen tenders I was used to (& enjoyed with my son from time to time). I was so amazed at how great they came out that I kept eating another one just to make sure! The sad truth is making these on my own instead only took an additional 15 minutes compared to putting frozen ones in the oven. I’m still shocked that I’m actually cooking & making low carb meals that taste good, thanks to Maya.
Steven L
0Could I just use eggs to bind the breading to the chicken? I don’t like mayonnaise much so as a result I don’t have it on hand for any particular reason.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Steven, Yes, that would work.
Brandi
0Can you freeze these after making them? Looking for meal prep options. Thanks!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Brandi, Yes, you can freeze keto chicken strips. You can find all the instructions in the post.
April Leger
0I made these for my husband, who is diabetic, and he loved them! They came out super crispy and the chicken was very moist. I will be making these again for sure.
COLLETTE MAES
0I am not a fan of pork rinds but used as breading they are absolutely delicious and give you that crunch of a “fried” chicken tender that we all crave. You would never know that there is no actual bread in the breading. I added cayenne pepper to mine. This recipe was so easy and I will be adding this to my weekly rotation.
Halli
0This recipe was excellent! I was skeptical that the pork rinds would be too strong of a flavor, but they were so mild, I did not notice! I will definitely make this again and again!
Debbie
0These are absolutely the tastiest, crispiest, lightest chicken tenders I’ve ever had and my husband loved them and he’s hard to please.
Jane
0Tried these with Epic Chili-Lime Baked Pork Rinds. Not only were they “epic”, I didn’t miss the garlic and paprika. Cannot provide pic as I am not on those platforms. Thank you for the recipe!
Diane
0I made these tenders last night for dinner. They were a big hit! I used collagen protein powder instead of whey. Used your homemade mayo recipe, too. They came out very tender and juicy. Served them with your coleslaw recipe. Thanks so much for the great keto/low carb recipes.
Sabrina
0Hi Maya, I was wondering if these could be made in an air fryer? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Sabrina, Yes, I think they would crisp up nicely in an air fryer. Be aware they may cook through faster than noted in the recipe. I recommend using a thermometer to check for doneness.
Caroline
0Yes, I did do these in an air fryer. I have an ActiFry, so it doesn’t have a temperature control. I put them in the snack basket so that the paddle wouldn’t stir them, and cooked them for about twelve minutes. They came out amazingly well!
A
0Is there anything that can be substituted for the pork rinds for those of us who are kosher?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi A, Yes, you can use almond flour in place of the pork rinds. For more details check out the section in the post above called, ‘Can I make Keto Chicken Strips without Pork Rinds?’
Lisa Wilson
0I want to make to make these Now! But I don’t have Whey protein powder (don’t know what it is). Do I have to have it? Can I substitute something? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lisa, The protein powder helps bind the crumb topping to the chicken tenders. You can still make the recipe without it, but the outer crust may not adhere as well. I highly suggest you try it with the whey protein (tap the link in the recipe to find out more), they have fantastic texture!
Liz
0We have a 9 year old foster kiddo who loves chicken tenders so I was looking for an easy recipe like this! This is perfect! Thank you for sharing
Sandra Shaffer
0I cut these in thiner strips to add to a salad. The chicken was nice and tender. Will be making again. Thank you.
Luci
0These low carb chicken tenders are delicious! I love the flavor and crispy texture from these chicken tenders. They are the perfect weeknight dinner that my family and I loved!
Nicole Light
0Was wondering if you had a cup measurement for the crushed pork rinds?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Nicole, it just be a heavy 1/3 cup of crushed pork rinds.
Brittany
0Would this ‘breading’ work with pork chops?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Brittany, I have never tried it but I think it should work!
Angela
0This is a great recipe! I was very interested in your use of pork rinds mixed with protein powder. Super crispy!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
0Love how easy and delicious this recipe is. It’s perfect for a gathering or a party.
Ana F
0What an incredible recipe! So creative and everything turns out delicious. A must try recipe!
Cindy
0I have been having some fun during quarantine in the kitchen! Using the time to make new to me recipe. I made this today and it was delish! The entire family loved it!