Copycat Hardee’s Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders (+ Nashville Hot)

Hardee’s chicken tenders are the best thing on a fast-food chicken menu, and this copycat recipe gets you the same thing at home: whole chicken breast tenderloins brined in buttermilk, rolled in a light seasoned flour, and cooked until the crust is craggy and golden. No frozen, pre-formed strips. No thick batter that slides off in one piece.

I make them in the air fryer most nights, and I’ve included the deep-fry method for anyone who wants that drive-thru crunch exactly. There’s also a Nashville Hot version (brush, don’t dunk) and a section on which sauces to serve, because at Hardee’s the sauce is half the point.

This is the same buttermilk-brine-and-light-breading technique I use for my Copycat Hardee’s Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich. Tenders are thinner, so they cook faster and the crust-to-meat ratio is even better. Plan on 20 minutes of hands-on work plus a brine of at least 2 hours.

What Are Hardee’s Chicken Tenders Made Of?

Hardee’s launched these in June 2010 to replace the frozen, pre-cooked strips most fast-food chains still use. Per the chain’s own description, each tender is an all-white-meat chicken breast tenderloin dipped in a buttermilk-and-egg wash, rolled in seasoned flour, and fried in the restaurant (QSR Magazine). The breading is deliberately light, closer to Chick-fil-A than KFC.

What you get at the counter:

• Sizes: 3-piece, 5-piece and 10-piece boxes, plus a 2-piece kids’ meal and a platter with fries, coleslaw and garlic toast.
• Sauces: Honey Mustard, Buttermilk Ranch and Creamy Buffalo have been the standard trio since launch. Hardee’s added Duke’s Carolina Gold BBQ in March 2025 (QSRweb).
• Spicy versions: Hardee’s has run Spicy (Cajun-dusted) tenders as a limited-time item, and the Nashville Hot seasoning from its chicken sandwich is the one people search for. The Nashville Hot variation below covers that.

One thing worth knowing if you searched for Hardee’s chicken nuggets, chicken strips or chicken fingers: Hardee’s doesn’t sell nuggets. The Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders are the only fried chicken pieces on the menu (the 2-piece kids’ meal is the closest thing to a nugget order), and they’re what this recipe recreates. The tenders are plain on their own; all the seasoning lives in the flour, so get the flour right and you’ve got the recipe.

Why Most Copycat Hardee’s Chicken Tenders Fall Flat

Four mistakes show up in nearly every tenders recipe online, and they’re the same four that make the chicken taste nothing like Hardee’s:

1. Cutting breast into strips instead of using tenderloins. A strip cut across a thick breast dries out before the crust browns. Real tenderloins are thin, uniform and stay juicy.
2. Skipping the brine. A quick buttermilk dip is a binder, not a brine. Two hours minimum is what makes the meat seasoned all the way through.
3. Double-dredging. Flour, egg, flour again gives you a thick, bready jacket. Hardee’s uses one pass through seasoned flour. The craggy bits come from pressing, not from a second coat.
4. Under-seasoned flour. If the flour tastes bland on its own, the tenders will too. The flour needs to taste almost too salty before it goes on the chicken.

The recipe below fixes all four.

Ingredients for Copycat Hardee’s Chicken Tenders

Exact amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

For the chicken and brine

• Chicken breast tenderloins: Whole tenders stay juicier than strips cut from breasts.
• Whole buttermilk: Tenderizes the chicken and helps the breading cling tightly.
• Egg: Thickens the brine so the flour grabs on.
• Kosher salt: Seasons the meat all the way through while it brines.
• Hot sauce: Adds a tangy brightness without any noticeable heat.
• Black pepper: A little bite in the brine, mirroring the flour.

For the seasoned flour

• All-purpose flour: The base of the light, Hardee’s-style breading.
• Cornstarch: Keeps the crust thin, crisp and shatteringly light.
• Baking powder: Creates the blistered, crackly edges on each tender.
• Kosher salt: The flour should taste clearly salty before breading.
• Paprika: Gives the crust its warm golden-red color.
• Garlic powder: Savory depth that reads as “fast-food seasoned flour.”
• Onion powder: Rounds out the garlic with a sweeter note.
• Black pepper: Gentle heat and those little specks in the crust.
• Cayenne pepper: Optional faint warmth; leave it out for kids.

For cooking

• Cooking oil spray: Coats the flour so the air fryer browns it.
• Vegetable or peanut oil: For deep-frying only; neutral and high smoke point.

Ingredient notes

• Pull the white tendon out of each tenderloin with a paper towel and a fork so it doesn’t curl while cooking.
• Low-fat buttermilk is too thin; the coating won’t cling as well.
• Cornstarch plus baking powder is the light-breading trick from my Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich. Don’t skip either one.

How to Make Hardee’s Chicken Tenders in the Air Fryer

Step 1: Brine the chicken. Whisk the buttermilk, egg, salt, hot sauce and pepper in a bowl or zip-top bag. Add the tenders, turn to coat, and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 24. Overnight is best.

Step 2: Mix the seasoned flour. Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and cayenne in a shallow dish. Taste a pinch; it should taste clearly salty and seasoned.

Step 3: Make the crust craggy. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk brine into the flour and rub it in with your fingertips until you have small, uneven clumps. Those clumps become the crunchy ridges on the finished tender.

Step 4: Bread the tenders. Lift each tender from the brine, let the excess drip off for a second, and press it into the flour. Flip and press firmly with your palm so the flour sticks. Shake off loose flour and set on a wire rack. Let them rest 10 minutes so the coating hydrates and stops looking dusty.

Step 5: Spray generously. Coat both sides with cooking oil spray until no dry white flour shows. Dry flour turns pale and chalky in an air fryer; this step is the whole difference between golden and gray.

Step 6: Air fry. Preheat to 390°F for 3 minutes. Arrange the tenders in a single layer with space between them (work in two batches if needed). Cook 7 minutes, flip, spray any pale spots, and cook 5 to 6 more minutes, until deep golden and 165°F inside.

Step 7: Rest and serve. Let them sit on a rack 2 minutes so the crust sets, then serve hot with the sauces below.

Air fryer tips

• Don’t crowd the basket. Tenders touching each other steam instead of crisp.
• Line the basket with perforated parchment if your coating tends to stick, but don’t use solid foil.
• Every air fryer runs a little differently. If yours is weak, add 2 minutes; if it’s a powerful basket model, check at 11 minutes total.

Deep-Fried Hardee’s Chicken Tenders (Closest to the Drive-Thru)

Hardee’s fries these, and if you want the exact texture, frying gets you there. Follow steps 1 through 4 above, then:

1. Heat 2 inches of vegetable or peanut oil in a Dutch oven to 350°F. Use a thermometer; too cool and the crust soaks up oil, too hot and it browns before the chicken cooks.
2. Fry 4 or 5 tenders at a time, 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and 165°F inside. Bring the oil back to 350°F between batches.
3. Drain on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Never on paper towels; the bottoms steam and go soft.
4. Salt lightly the moment they come out of the oil.

The fried version is a shade darker and crunchier than the air fryer version. Both taste like Hardee’s; the fryer just sounds more like it.

Which Sauces to Serve With Hardee’s Chicken Tenders

At the counter you pick from four: Honey Mustard, Buttermilk Ranch, Creamy Buffalo, and (since 2025) Duke’s Carolina Gold BBQ. Here’s how to put the same lineup on the table at home.

Sauce	Tastes like	Make it
Honey Mustard	Sweet, tangy, the #1 pick	My Hardee’s Honey Mustard copycat, 5 minutes
Buttermilk Ranch	Cool and herby; the Nashville Hot partner	1/2 cup mayo, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1 tsp dried dill, 1/2 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder, pinch of salt
Creamy Buffalo	Mild heat, tangy, rich	1/3 cup Frank’s RedHot whisked into 1/3 cup ranch (above)
Carolina Gold BBQ	Mustard-forward, sweet, a little vinegar bite	1/4 cup yellow mustard, 2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Big Twin Sauce	Thousand-Island style burger sauce that’s great on tenders	My Hardee’s Big Twin Sauce recipe

For a full Hardee’s tenders platter, add seasoned fries, coleslaw and a slice of garlic toast.

Pro tips

• Rest after breading. Ten minutes on the rack lets the flour absorb moisture and grip the chicken. Breading that goes straight into the heat flakes off.
• Press, don’t toss. Pressing the tender into the flour with your palm builds the craggy crust. Tossing in a bag gives a smooth, thin coat.
• One tender at a time out of the brine. Letting them all sit in the flour together turns the flour to paste.
• Use a thermometer. 165°F is done. Tenders are thin and go from juicy to dry in about 90 seconds.

Make ahead

• Brine: up to 24 hours in the fridge.
• Breaded, uncooked: refrigerate on a rack, uncovered, up to 4 hours. Don’t leave breaded chicken at room temperature.
• Freeze breaded, uncooked: freeze on a sheet pan until solid, then bag for up to 2 months. Air fry from frozen at 380°F, 16 to 18 minutes, flipping halfway.

Storage and reheating

• Refrigerate cooked tenders up to 3 days in a container with a paper towel underneath.
• Reheat in the air fryer at 375°F for 4 to 5 minutes. The crust comes back nearly as crisp as fresh. Skip the microwave.
• Nashville Hot tenders reheat the same way; brush with a little fresh glaze after if they look dry.
• Cooked tenders freeze well for 1 month. Reheat from frozen at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many calories are in Hardee’s chicken tenders? A 3-piece order has 260 calories and a 5-piece has 440, before sauce. The full nutrition table is in the calories section above. This copycat lands at about 320 calories per 3 air-fried tenders.

How many carbs are in Hardee’s chicken tenders? About 13 g of carbs for a 3-piece and 21 g for a 5-piece, nearly all from the flour breading. If you’re watching carbs, order them without sauce; ranch is the lowest-carb dip, honey mustard and Carolina Gold the highest.

Are Hardee’s chicken tenders real chicken? Yes. They’re whole chicken breast tenderloins, not formed or chopped meat, hand-dipped in buttermilk and breaded in the restaurant. That’s the difference between these and most fast-food chicken strips or nuggets, which arrive frozen and pre-cooked.

Does Hardee’s have chicken nuggets? No. Hardee’s doesn’t sell chicken nuggets or chicken strips; the Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders are the only fried chicken pieces on the menu. Kids’ meals come with a 2-piece tenders order instead of nuggets. If you want a nugget-sized bite, cut each tender in half before breading and cook 2 minutes less.

What sauces come with Hardee’s chicken tenders? Honey Mustard, Buttermilk Ranch, Creamy Buffalo, and Duke’s Carolina Gold BBQ (added in 2025). Honey mustard is the one most people order. All four are in the sauces section above.

Does Hardee’s have Nashville Hot chicken tenders? Hardee’s sells a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, and has run spicy tenders as a limited-time item. Availability varies by location and season, which is why the Nashville Hot glaze above is worth having on hand.

How spicy is Hardee’s Nashville Hot? Medium. It’s a slow, smoky-sweet burn rather than a sharp one. The heat-scale table in the Nashville Hot section lets you dial it up or down.

Can I make these in the air fryer without them turning out dry? Yes, as long as you brine (2 hours minimum), spray the breading until no dry flour shows, and pull them at 165°F. Dry air-fryer tenders almost always come from skipping the brine or overcooking.

Can I use chicken breast instead of tenderloins? You can. Slice a breast lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips of even thickness and pound thicker ends to match. Tenderloins stay juicier, so use them when you can find them.

Can I make these gluten-free? Swap the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free blend and keep the cornstarch and baking powder. The crust comes out slightly lighter but still crisp.

Why isn’t my breading sticking? Three usual causes: the chicken was too wet (let the brine drip off for a second), you skipped the 10-minute rest after breading, or you moved the tenders too early in the cook. Flip once, and only after the first side has set.

What’s the difference between Hardee’s chicken tenders and Carl’s Jr.? Same parent company and the same hand-breaded recipe. Carl’s Jr. sells them under the same “Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders” name, so this copycat works for both.