These Air Fryer Blackened Chicken Strips are my take on the fast food version. Slightly spicy and perfect for dipping!
When I first started back on WW a few years back, many members raved about Popeye’s blackened chicken tenders. It’s a quick and low-point option when you’re on the go. Delicious!
Then came along Tyson’s frozen blackened chicken strips. Those are more convenient and just as tasty. But the price can get a little steep–around $6-$7 for just around a pound of chicken, and it’s not even high quality meat.
I was able to find big bags of it at Costco for a while–much cheaper, though the quality problem was still there. But my local Costco stopped selling it. So much for that!
Since both the Tyson and Popeye’s options are basically just chicken breast strips seasoned with a rub, it’s actually really easy to make a copycat version at home.
Now, I prefer this recipe since I can also control the quality of the meat–not to mention the price! When I see organic chicken breast on sale, I stock up and freeze it. This way, I can make double the amount of chicken strips for much cheaper, using meat that it better quality.
And don’t forget a dipping sauce! I’m working on a Chick Fil A copycat sauce, which is what you see below. I’ll share that soon. In the meantime, these go great with my Light Ranch Dressing or Skinny Special Sauce.
HOw to Make Air Fryer Blackened Chicken STrips
In order to get that some slightly crunchy exterior of the Popeye’s and Tyson’s strips, I prefer making these in the air fryer. Adding cornstarch to the seasoning mix also helps to create a little bit of crunch without breading the chicken.
You can make these in the oven, though, if you don’t have an air fryer. They’ll still be just as juicy and delicious, but a little softer on the outside. Not a big difference at all.
You could make your life extra easy by buying chicken breast tenders. Those are always more expensive than regular chicken breast, so I just cut full breasts into smaller strips to save some cash. Use a towel to pat the chicken dry.
After you prepare your chicken, mix together your spices, excluding the salt. I found that if I added the salt to the rub, it would distribute unevenly among the chicken. So salt and pepper first.
This part is super important: make sure that you got the chicken as dry as possible before you salted it. If there is extra moisture on the chicken, then the rub will turn into a paste and won’t coat everything as evenly.
All of chicken should be covered in the spices. It might even look like too much seasoning. That’s definitely not the case! The thick coating will make the chicken ultra flavorful and juicy.
Lay your seasoned chicken in an even layer on your air fryer basket or in a skillet. Make sure you spritz both sides of the chicken with cooking spray.
Now all that’s left to do is cook away! Flip them halfway through, let the chicken rest for a few minutes, and then you’re good to go.
These last in the refrigerator for about a week, so they’re great to add to salads (like my Skinny Cobb Salad). Or make a blackened chicken sandwich. Or chicken salad. I mean, basically anything you’d do with cooked chicken. Lol. But these are much more exciting that plain old chicken breast!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! Leaving a starred review and comment below helps my blog grow. I’m always grateful when you can take the time to do that!
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Air Fryer Blackened Chicken Strips
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper*
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 380F. If you don't have an air fryer, heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Use a towel to pat the chicken as dry as you can.
- In a small bowl, mix together the spices, omitting the salt and pepper.
- Salt and pepper your chicken first, then evenly distribute spice blend on the chicken. Make sure the chicken is fully coated with the spices.
- Spray air fryer basket or skillet with cooking spray, and lightly spray both sides of the chicken tenders. Air fry for 14-18 minutes (depending on the size of your strips), flipping halfway through. Or sauté for 5-7 minutes per side in your skillet.
- Remove chicken strips from heat and let rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
These look good – I’ll give them a try.
I think the secret to Chick Fil A sauce is liquid smoke.
I’ve made a mix that is so similar with just light mayo and liquid smoke. Give that a shot!
Thank you, Jacquie! I’ll give that a try.
Your special skinny sauce is magnificent . Diversities as a dip . I changed out the ketchup for Heinz chili sauce a flavour zip and fewer calories and less sugar .
I look forward to your recipes and have many favourites. Thank you
Lynette
Thanks, Lynette!
These are amazing! I have a hard time finding the Tyson blackened chicken in my grocery store, which I love, plus they are pricy. This was so quick, easy, and tasty! Thank you! I can’t see me ever going back to the pre-frozen chicken!
Love hearing this, Amanda!
100% spot on delicious. Extraordinarily easy and my family thinks they are fantastic. A perfect match. Thank you.
Thanks, Justin! This makes me happy. 🙂
There are phenomenal! The Tyson blackened chicken is really hard to find in my area and I was really excited to try this recipe out and it did not disappoint. I don’t even need to buy blackened chicken anymore- this is so easy and delicious! Thank you for this recipe!
Great to hear, Clara!
These are SO good! I’ve never had the Tyson version, but I’m confident these are better. So easy to make, and all ingredients I already had on hand. I added mine to a salad with Lite Craving’s lite Caesar dressing, and it was such a delicious guilt free meal.
Aw, thank you for the lovely review, Meghan! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed two of my recipes. I love the pairing of Lite Caesar dressing with Air Fryer Blackened Chicken Strips, btw!
I can’t wait to make these! I love the blackened tyson strips, so I know I will really love these. If frozen do you have reheat instructions? Thanks again for recipe.
Hi Kim, we usually finish the batch within a week, so I haven’t actually had to freeze/reheat them. If I did, I would freeze them on a parchment lined baking sheet, then put them into a ziploc bag and defrost the strips individually as needed. As a matter of preference, I would recommend leaving them to thaw in the fridge the morning you plan to use them for dinner, the reheat in the air fryer or oven to warm them. Let me know which technique you end up using!
I just found your site and I’m super excited to try some of your recipes. Did you ever perfect your CFA sauce copycat? I can’t find it anywhere on your site.
Hi Kim, Welcome! I’m so happy you found my site and I hope you enjoy exploring new recipes 🙂 I haven’t perfected my CFA sauce yet (I usually rely on my Ranch and Skinny Special Sauce as dips for these blackened chicken strips – both recipes are on my blog). Maybe I should add it to my to-do list?