Healthier chicken tenders cooked in a simple delicious garlic butter sauce. The chicken tenderloins turn out so tender, juicy, succulent, and flavorful. A weeknight dinner ready in just 15 minutes! This one of the easiest and best chicken tender recipes.
Chicken Tender Recipes
Chicken tenders are so easy to cook. I always make them on busy weeknights as they’re ready in no time, and everyone in my family loves them. Sometimes I take out my grill pan and quickly make these grilled chicken tenders. And when I’m craving crunchy restaurant-style chicken tenders, I either make the crunchy buttermilk fried version or the healthier oven-baked chicken tenders.
If I’m not making a large batch, I make them in the air fryer. And another favorite recipe is these unbreaded garlic butter chicken tenders that I make in a skillet. They turn out so juicy, tender, and the garlic and butter make these tenders so special!
What are Chicken Tenders?
Chicken tenders are known as chicken mini fillets in the UK. Many people think that chicken tenders are just thin strips of chicken breast. But a chicken tender is a cut of meat found underneath and attached to the chicken breast, it’s the most tender part of the chicken breast even though it’s so small. Every chicken has 2 tenders, they’re moist and tender when cooked properly.
You can find chicken tenders sold separately from chicken breasts in supermarkets on trays, so you can buy a tray with 10-20 chicken tenders to grill up, fry, or bake.
They are also known as chicken strips, tendies, and chicken fillets.
So if you’re like me, and you prefer home cooked food, grab a tray of chicken tenders next time you go grocery shopping and make this recipe!
The Ingredients
- Chicken tenders – if using frozen, then thaw in the fridge overnight. You can use a boneless skinless chicken breast cut into thin strips.
- Butter and olive oil – Olive oil gives the tenders a great flavor, but can be substituted with any neutral oil.
- Garlic – fresh garlic and lots of it! If using jarred, use 1 and half teaspoon of jarred garlic for every garlic clove.
- Salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning – I always make my own homemade Italian seasoning blend, it’s so easy to make, healthier, and cheaper than store-bought.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Chicken Tenders
- Add olive oil and melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan/skillet over medium heat.
- Add the chicken tenders, season with paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Cook for 3 minutes on each side (season each side as you cook).
- Make room for the garlic, melt the remaining butter, and add the garlic. Cook for 30 seconds or until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Season with Italian seasoning, and cook for one more minute.
- Add 2 tablespoons of water to the pan to deglaze it, and scrape off any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (that’s where all of the good flavor is).
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves, and serve warm.
Top Tips
- Don’t overcook the garlic. Garlic cooks very quickly (about 30-60 seconds), and burnt garlic tastes terrible so keep an eye on it as you cook.
- Don’t overcook the chicken tenders, they cook so quickly and if they’re overcooked they can turn out stringy, dry, and tough.
- To create a flavorful sauce, make sure to deglaze the pan with a splash of water as that’s where the flavor is.
Common Questions About Chicken Tenders
Yes! Just slice the skinless and boneless chicken breasts into thin strips and cook.
Attached to the chicken tender is a tough white tendon. Leaving it on and cooking in is fine, but it’s always recommended to remove it for better results.
It is not recommended to rinse poultry before cooking as that can promote spreading bacteria all over your sink and utensils. All bacteria burns off when the poultry is cooked with high heat (165°F).
Chicken tenders are very lean and healthy. They are also low in calories since they’re skinless
What Should I Serve With Chicken Tenders?
- Garlic butter pasta pairs SO well with these tenders!
- Homemade coleslaw
- Oven-baked French fries with the best ever French fry seasoning! For a healthier version of fries, try these delicious rutabaga fries! Ans for the sauce, try my copycat cane’s sauce!
- Red potato salad
- Basil pesto
- Homemade caesar salad
More Easy Chicken Dinners
- Teriyaki chicken stir fry
- Chicken scampi (Olive Garden copycat recipe)
- Chicken fajita casserole
- Creamy lemon chicken
- Marry Me chicken
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Chicken Tenders Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter divided
- 1 pound (450g) chicken tenderloins (chicken fillets)
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped – for garnish
Instructions
- Add olive oil and melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan/skillet over medium heat.
- Add the chicken tenders, season with paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Cook for 3 minutes on each side (season each side as you cook).
- Make room for the garlic, melt the remaining butter, and add the garlic. Cook for 30 seconds or until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Season with Italian seasoning, and cook for one more minute.
- Add 2 tablespoons of water to the pan to deglaze it, and scrape off any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (that’s where all of the good flavor is).
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves, and serve warm.
Notes:
- Don’t overcook the garlic. Garlic cooks very quickly (about 30-60 seconds), and burnt garlic tastes terrible so keep an eye on it as you cook.
- Don’t overcook the chicken tenders, they cook so quickly and if they’re overcooked they can turn out stringy, dry, and tough. They are ready when the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).
- To create a flavorful sauce, make sure to deglaze the pan with a splash of water as that’s where the flavor is.
Video
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
M Barber says
Tasty and much beloved by the whole family. Very simple – I didn’t even premix the Italian seasoning I just added those herbs as I was cooking the garlic. Doubled-ish the recipe for my family of 6 and we had 3 tenders leftover for somebody’s lunch the next day.
Diana says
Thanks for sharing this with me! So happy your family loved it!
Evelyn says
Excellent, moist, flavorful dish (didn’t add all garlic), served with rice and salad. Quick and easy to make! I use a digital thermopen to ensure they were cooked no more than 165 degrees.
Adam says
Amazing recipe!! So juicy and tasty! Made with rice on the side and some veggies. My only question is if I should strain some of the chicken juice out before adding the garlic? Nothing stuck to the pan in my case since there was a thin layer of juice all around the pan. Overall excellent recipe!
Lynne everson says
Delicious! Instead of water I used Marsala wine. The recipe was great for tender and juicy chicken tenderloins!
SUSAN BRUDNY says
Great simple recipe with flavor and gluten free. Uncomplicated on those nights you want a simple easy & flavorful recipe. I used sunflower olive 🫒 oil and butter.
Josephine Ouellette says
I always shied away from chicken tenders because I either had to deep fry them or if I fried them they were dry and tough.
After trying this recipe I will never go back to deep frying again. The sauce is phenomenal!
My son came by and said what’s for supper? He tried it and said Wow that is the best, so juicy and tasty. Thanks for sharing.
CincHouse says
Super quick and tasty.
Paired great with leftover potato salad from dinner last night. The whole meal was ready in under 15 minutes. My hubby even commented on the sauce…which never happens. A must try for busy schedules!
Christine says
This is a delicious, easy recipe to make that comes together with just a few simple ingredients! It tasted so good, the flavor was delicious!! The deglazing of the pan was such an important step in getting that delicious flavor!! My only question is with the nutritional information. It doesn’t say what the serving size is. I’m logging my food to keep track of all of my calories, and this recipe will be in my rotation. The serving size to go along the nutritional information would be very helpful.
Diana says
Hi Christine, I’m so glad to hear you liked it! Each serving is about 5.5 ounces of chicken.
Christine says
Thank you Diana! So, 5.5 ounces of chicken is 292 calories? I made it again for dinner tonight, and it was delicious again! My boyfriend and I love the flavor so much.
Jennifer Gomez says
Hi I was gonna ask I don’t have minced garlic nor paprika can you substitute minced garlic with powdered garlic and chili powder with paprika… my mom is sick so I decided to make something but didn’t have the right ingredients so I hope you could help me 🙂
Diana says
Hi Jennifer, the flavor will be a little different but it will still be delicious. I hope your Mom feels better soon. Enjoy!
Maya says
Just cooked it, nice didn’t have Italian herb but still went fine, thank you. My kid loved it
Mary says
Wonderful, tasty, and the chicken tenders were moist.