Cheetos Chicken (Air Fryer + Baking Instructions)

Want to try a totally fun chicken recipe? Make this Cheetos Chicken! This recipe for baked chicken tenders crusted with Cheetos is easy to make and for fun kids and adults to eat. Just a few simple ingredients, and a great way to use up Cheetos that are starting to get just a little stale.

Jump to:

• Crispy Cheetos chicken tenders
• Ingredients
• Ingredient notes and recipe tips
• Instructions
• Air fryer Cheetos chicken
• Storage, reheating, and freezing instructions
• Cheetos Chicken

Crispy Cheetos chicken tenders

My family's absolute favorite junk food treat is Cheetos. We don't have Cheetos often because, well, they're not the healthiest, but I wanted to make a fun treat for all of us: Cheetos Chicken Tenders.

This Cheetos chicken recipe is baked and comes out so crispy and delicious! You can't go wrong with the Cheetos "breadcrumbs" coating on the chicken.

To make the Cheetos breadcrumbs, you simply pulse the Cheetos in a food processor. It takes less than 30 seconds and you immediately have a flavorful breading for chicken tenders.

This is a similar recipe to make Pretzel Chicken with Mustard Sauce, but even more fun to eat!

And the best part (aside from the crazy orange color and Cheetos flavor, of course) is how tender and juicy the chicken turns out:

Related recipe: Baked Panko Breaded Pork Chops

→ Milk: This is optional, but I like a slightly runnier liquid for dipping the chicken tenders.

→ Optional seasonings: This Chitos chicken tastes exactly like what the title says: Cheetos + Chicken. If you want to add a little more complex flavor, you can add about ½ teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning (or use dried basil or dried oregano) to the flour. You can also add a few tablespoons of shredded Parmesan cheese to the Cheetos for a saltier, cheesier flavor.

→ Doubling the recipe: If you want to double this recipe, you only need to double the Cheetos amount. You should have enough flour and enough egg mixture to coat 2 pounds of chicken tenders.

→ Make these into nuggets: You can chop each chicken tender into 3-4 pieces to be about the size of chicken nuggets, and dredge each individual nugget.

→ Use tongs so your hands don't get messy! You can use tongs to dip the chicken tenders into flour, eggs, and to coat them in crushed Cheetos. The only downside is that your hands might get tired squeezing the tongs, but it's a great option if you don't want to get your hands all coated chicken juices and Cheetos crumbs.

→ No food processor? Pulsing the Cheetos in a food processor is by far the fastest way to turn them into crumbs, but you can also place them in a heavy duty large zip lock bag, squeeze all the extra air out of them, and crush them up with a meat hammer or even by pressing down with a large platter or baking dish to crush them.

→ You can air fry these, but it really only saves you about 5 minutes of time, since chicken tenders take about 15 minutes in the air fryer. The downside of air frying is that the Cheeto breading burns a little and gets slightly brown, while it stays bright orange while baking. I'll share the air fryer instructions below.

→ Make other Cheetos crusted food: This Cheetos crusting and breading recipe can be used to make homemade Cheetos crusted fish sticks, on pork chops, and even on tofu!

Related recipe: Sweet Potato Chicken Nuggets

Step 2: Place Cheetos in a food processor and pulse ~20-30 times, or until the Cheetos are the size of breadcrumbs, with a few slightly bigger pieces.

Step 3: Set up your dredging stations: In one bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and pepper. If you want to add more flavor to the chicken, add in some garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning (or dried oregano or dried basil).

In another bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Place the Cheeto crumbs into a third bowl (add some shredded Parmesan to the Cheetos for a cheesier flavor).

Step 4: Use tongs (or your hands) to dredge the chicken tenders in flour, then in the egg wash, then in the Cheeto crumbs. Press the chicken tender into the Cheeto crumbs so that the crumbs stick to all the surfaces of the chicken tenders.

Step 5: Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F, using a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.

Related recipe: Crispy Fried Chicken Hearts

Air fryer Cheetos chicken

To air fry Cheetos chicken, follow steps 1-4 where you dip the chicken tenders in the flour mixture, the egg mixture, and then coat them in Cheetos.

Place the crusted chicken pieces on the air fryer tray and spray the Cheeto-coated chicken thoroughly with olive oil to help prevent burning.

Preheat your air fryer to 350F (if your air fryer requires preheating) and air fry Cheetos crusted chicken at 350F for 12-15 minutes flipping halfway through, or until the chicken is cooked through to 165F. Keep an eye on the chicken tenders to make sure they're not turning brown and burning.

Storage, reheating, and freezing instructions

These Cheetos chicken tenders will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days. I suggest reheating them by pan-frying in a little bit of oil, or by baking at 350F until heated through to make them crispy again.

To freeze, arrange the cooked chicken on a plate, cutting board, or other flat freezer-safe surface so they're not piled on top of each other. Freeze, then transfer to a freezer-safe storage container later that same day.

So what do you say?? Would you try this fun chicken recipe, or do you think it's an atrocity??

Let me know with a comment and leave a star rating below if you've made this. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!