Working up some delicious chicken tenders at home surely calls for a great deal of effort. If you have prepared a batch at home or have simply brought them from the store, the last thing one wants is to throw away the leftovers.
It’s great that moist chicken tenders wrapped in a crunchy, crispy exterior are a quick and easy meal to reheat. Just a little bit of careful handling and you can get fresh, hot chicken tenders. Scroll down to learn how to reheat chicken tenders through a bunch of methods.
How to reheat chicken tenders
You can reheat chicken tenders by using an oven, a microwave, air fryer, toaster oven, or even boil them. The best method to reheat chicken tenders while making sure they don’t dry out is to go for an oven.
The ideal way is to place the leftover pieces on a baking rack pre-lined with aluminum foil, further reheating them at 300 degree Fahrenheit. Reheating them in the oven prevents the tenders’ crust from darkening, and keeps them crisp and tasty.
Apart from the oven, you can also reheat them in the microwave, air fryer, toaster oven, as well as by broiling. No matter the method you go for, allow the tenders to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes after they are out of the fridge. This prevents them from losing moisture while they are reheating.
Read also: How To Reheat Chicken Strips
Reheating chicken tenders in the oven
Undoubtedly, the most preferred method when it comes to reheating crispy chicken tenders. If you are wondering how long it takes to get it all done, you can expect getting warm crispy tenders in just a matter of 30 minutes. Although the method takes some time, the process is relatively easy. Here are the steps to follow to reheat chicken tenders in the oven.
- Preheat the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While the appliance is preheating, take the chicken tenders out of the fridge and put them on the counter to allow them to get to room temperatures.
- Place the tenders on a baking sheet that you have lined with some aluminum foil.
- Put the sheet in the oven for about 10 minutes. Try placing it on the center rack for an even heating.
- Check on the pieces in between as they are likely to heat at varying speeds.
- Take the pieces out when they seem warm throughout and look crispy on the outside. The tenders are ready to serve.
How to reheat chicken tenders in the microwave
Microwave surely comes handy in the kitchen when it comes to reheating food in less time. However, be aware that the chicken tenders are likely to dry out the soggy skin as they cook. This yields a soft, moist texture instead of a crispy skin as you get when heating them in the oven. If in a hurry, follow these steps.
- Take chicken tenders out of the fridge and let them reach room temperature – this will usually take around 10 minutes.
- To make sure the chicken doesn’t turn soggy after reheating, absorb the extra moisture on the tenders by putting a paper towel over the plate.
- Microwave the chicken tenders in 30-second intervals for a few minutes while making sure they don’t dry out by over-microwaving.
- Serve and savor.
Read also: Can You Reheat Samosas?
Reheating chicken tenders in an air fryer
If you haven’t got much time to set the oven for preheating or simply don’t want the tenders to lose their crispiness in microwaves, air fryers come to the rescue. Going for this method bypasses both the problems above.
- Put the fried chicken tenders into the air fryer while making sure they don’t touch each other. The idea is to not over-stuff the appliance as putting lots of pieces at once will call for repeating the steps several times.
- Throw in some oil to eliminate the risk of the chicken tenders sticking together. However, you may avoid this step as fried chicken tenders already have oil.
- Allow the tenders to reheat to 350 F in the air fryer for about 5 minutes.
- Take out the tenders with tongs and serve.
Read also: Can You Reheat Fried Shrimp?
How to reheat chicken tenders in a toaster oven
Reheating chicken tenders in a toaster oven yields results as good as getting the task done in a regular oven. Plus, toaster oven make sure the fried chicken tenders are crispy as ever.
- Grab an aluminum foil and line a baking sheet.
- Set the temperature of the toaster oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, further allowing it to pre-heat.
- Put the chicken tenders on a plate, covering with a paper towel.
- Microwave the pieces for around for one and half a minute.
- Remove the plate and put the tenders on the baking sheet.
- Put the sheet inside the toaster oven for 2-3 minutes before taking the pieces out.
- Allow them to cool a little before serving.
How to reheat chicken tenders by broiling
Going for broiling makes sure that your oven not only reheats the tenders, but also keeps them crispy. However, you must have a microwave oven with a broiling feature.
- If you are reheating chilled tenders, let them sit for 15 minutes, while going for 30 minutes if you are using frozen chicken tenders.
- Preheat the oven to 420 F.
- Use some damp paper towels to line a plate, further putting the tenders on the plate and covering them with a second damp paper towel.
- For about 2 minutes, microwave the tenders so that they turn a bit warm.
- Place the chicken tenders on a baking tray, further putting the tray in the oven.
- Turn the setting of the oven to broil.
- Flip the pieces over after a minute, further putting them back in the oven and reheating for another minute.
The tenders are serve-ready!
How to reheat frozen chicken tenders
If you froze the tenders for later, here’s what you can do to reheat them while making sure they taste awesome and crisp.
- Thaw the leftover frozen chicken tenders in the microwave on low, until they reach a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You can check that using a food thermometer.
- Follow the steps mentioned above for reheating chicken tenders in the oven.
- Line an oven-safe baking sheet with aluminum foil, further putting the pieces on and sticking the sheet into the oven.
- Make sure you check on the tenders in between as they are likely to heat at different speeds. Generally, the tenders that are thicker will heat a bit slowly than the smaller ones. If the chicken tenders are crispy on the outside and feel warm all the way through, you are done.
Whichever method you use, you’ll get some of the best chicken tenders of your life. It’s always great to have some leftovers stored for the next day, or even frozen for later use.
This way you can enjoy your meals at any time, hot and crispy !
