Hot Honey Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Easter at Cornerstone. Chloe sang in the choir again — this year, a solo line in "Amazing Grace." A SOLO. My daughter sang a solo line in church on Easter Sunday and her voice filled the sanctuary and I sat in the pew with Jayden on one side and Elijah on my lap and Mama next to me and the voice of my child was everywhere — in the air, in my chest, in the tears that I did not even attempt to control because crying at church is legal and crying at your daughter's solo is MANDATORY. She sang "...was blind, but now I see" and the word "see" hung in the air like a bell and I saw: everything. I saw the girl who cleaned pennies at seven and made panna cotta at nine and who is now singing "Amazing Grace" at ten and the arc of her life is so beautiful it makes the air hurt.

The potluck: Sarah's Table provided the main course. FOR FREE. Not as a business — as a contribution. Because the church is where Sarah's Table was born, in the potlucks that people kept saying "you should sell this," and providing the Easter potluck main course is a thank-you. A returning of the gift. Earline's fried chicken, cornbread muffins (the new signature), coleslaw, and baked beans. The church ate. The church was fed. The table extended to the fellowship hall and the fellowship hall was full and every plate was Sarah's Table and the table is the church and the church is the table and the food is the prayer.

Elijah at church: survived the service (barely — the two-year-old attention span is approximately seven minutes, and the Easter service was ninety, which means I spent eighty-three minutes managing a toddler who wanted to: climb the pew, eat the hymnal, wave at every person in a three-row radius, and say "MINE" about the communion cups). The communion-cup incident was particularly memorable: Elijah saw the small cups and declared them his, loudly, in the middle of the prayer, and Mama shushed him with the force of a woman who has been shushing grandchildren for ten years and has not lost a single shush-battle. The shush worked. Briefly.

Kevin called for Easter. He sounds good. He's cooking regularly now — Kevin's Chicken has evolved into Kevin's Repertoire: chicken, pasta, omelets, and a new addition he's proud of: beef stew. He made beef stew from SCRATCH. In Clarksville. Alone. With his $12 baking dish and whatever pots he's accumulated. He said: "I made stew. It took all day. I ate it for four days. It was the best thing I've ever made." The best thing he's ever made. A soldier in a Clarksville apartment, eating his own beef stew for four days, and the stew is the best thing and the making is the healing and Kevin is healing one pot at a time. The line. The line extends to Clarksville and the line holds.

Earline’s fried chicken was the centerpiece of the Cornerstone potluck, and if I’m being honest, it always will be — but on the weeknights in between, when I’m cooking for three kids and thinking about how a table can be both a business and a prayer, I keep coming back to these hot honey air fryer chicken tenders. They have that same pull: the crunch, the sweetness, the little kick of heat that makes everyone reach for another piece without meaning to. Kevin’s on his beef stew, Chloe’s building her repertoire one solo at a time, and this is mine — the weeknight version of what feeding people feels like when it’s done with intention.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 18 min | Total Time: 33 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into strips)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Olive oil or avocado oil spray
Hot Honey Sauce:
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Marinate the chicken. Combine buttermilk and hot sauce in a large bowl. Add chicken tenders, toss to coat, and marinate for at least 10 minutes (up to overnight in the refrigerator for deeper flavor).
Prepare the breading. In a shallow dish, whisk together panko breadcrumbs, flour, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper until evenly combined.
Bread the tenders. Remove each chicken tender from the buttermilk, letting excess drip off. Press firmly into the breadcrumb mixture on all sides, ensuring an even, thorough coat.
Preheat the air fryer. Set your air fryer to 400°F and allow it to preheat for 3 minutes. Lightly spray the basket with oil.
Air fry in batches. Arrange tenders in a single layer — do not crowd. Spray the tops generously with oil. Air fry for 8–9 minutes, flip, spray again, then cook another 8–9 minutes until golden and cooked through (internal temperature 165°F).
Make the hot honey sauce. While chicken cooks, combine honey, red pepper flakes, apple cider vinegar, and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir for 2–3 minutes until warm and the pepper flakes bloom into the honey. Remove from heat.
Serve. Drizzle hot honey sauce over tenders immediately before serving, or serve on the side for dipping. Best enjoyed fresh from the basket while the crust is still crackling.

Nutrition (per serving)

Hot Honey Air Fryer Chicken Tenders — The Potluck Is the Prayer