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Chicken tenders with garlic butter is one of the best chicken tender recipes. Made with garlic, butter and spices on skillet. Juicy and easy chicken dinner made in 15 mins!
Chicken Tender Recipes
I love chicken breasts, especially chicken tenders because they are the tenderest portion of the chicken breast.
What is a chicken tender?
They are the long strips of meat attached to the underside of chicken breasts.
Every chicken has two tenders. They are often detached from chicken breasts and sold separately as tenderloins.
They are commonly used for making chicken strips, chicken fingers or chicken fillets, breaded and deep-fried or baked in the oven.
How To Make Chicken Tenders
This is one of the best breast tender recipes, made in a skillet with spices, garlic butter, salt, lemon juice and herb.
While I love them deep-fried, skillet cooking produces juicy and amazing results. I love a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet for this recipe.
The perfect heat to cook tenders is high heat. This is an easy chicken tenders recipe and perfect for lunch or dinner.
DO NOT overcook because the texture will turn dry and tough.
Cooking Tips
To make your chicken juicy and tender, follow the tips below:
- Use a cast-iron skillet because it heats up evenly and retains the heat well.
- Cook the tenders on high heat so they are seared to brown on the outside while retaining the juice inside.
- Add lemon juice to the chicken to make them extra juicy.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is a tendon attached to the breast tender. They are like little white ligament at the end of the piece of chicken. I usually trim it off with a knife or a pair of kitchen scissors before cooking. It’s slightly chewy in texture and it’s tasteless. Avoid pulling off the tendon by hand as stripping away the entire tendon will make the chicken tender fall apart.
Absolutely! Tenders are part of the chicken breasts but they are sold separately. If you use regular chicken breasts, cut the breasts meat into strips similar to the tenders.
Yes, breast tenders are very healthy because they are lean white meat with little fat contents. They are also skinless and boneless, lower in calories because there is no skin attached to them.
This recipe is only 319 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Garlic Butter Chicken Tenders
Serve this dish with side dishes. For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Garlic Butter Chicken Tenders (The Best!)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken tenders
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 dashes cayenne powder
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon bottled Italian seasoning, Simply Organic or McCormick brand
- salt, to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Season the chicken tenders with smoked paprika and cayenne pepper, then set aside.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet (preferred) over high heat and add 3 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter melts and begins to sizzle, add the chicken tenders. Cook undisturbed for 1-2 minutes, then flip and cook the other side.
- Push the chicken tenders to the side of the skillet. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, followed by the minced garlic, to the empty space in the skillet. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning over the chicken tenders and stir to combine well with the chicken and garlic.
- Add salt and lemon juice, and continue to cook the chicken tenders until they are slightly charred on both sides. Add the chopped parsley and stir to combine well. Turn off the heat and serve immediately with lemon wedges. Squeeze the lemon juice on top before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe for the first time tonight and it definitely won’t be the last time!!! It’s delicious thank you so very much for sharing this!!
Awww Joann, thanks so much for trying my recipe. Please try more recipes on my site, they are all good: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Hi Rasa, I wanted to tell you that the chicken recipe turned out great. I decided to use the remnants in the pan and put heavy cream, a little chicken broth, and parmesan cheese to make an alfredo sauce. I sliced up the chicken and used spaghetti noodles, it made a good alfredo.
OMG, that is such a good idea Latanya. I will have to try. I have tenders in my fridge. :)
I made this Garlic Butter Chicken Tender recipe tonight and followed the recipe exactly and it looked just like the picture but had no taste, my son grabbed the bottle of hot sauce to flavor it….I had 5 pretty thick chicken tenders instead of small and thin ones, that’s the only reason I can think of that made a difference….they were rubbery also. What do you think went wrong?
Sorry to hear that, if you have 5 pretty thick chicken tenders, it’s equivalent to double the recipe, so I would double all the seasonings. My son really loved this dish when I made it for him.
Could I make this with ghee/clarified butter? We don’t do dairy but they look so yummy!
Yes.
I made this last night for me and my son, came out great!!! I used my grill pan and looks just like picture!!! Thanks
Hi Karen, that’s awesome. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Super kid friendly recipe! Stumbled on this recipe as I am running out of ideas for dinner! We all loved it! Super tender and juicy! Paired with Mac N Cheese and Roasted Parmesan broccoli! Delish!!!
Hi Dani, that’s awesome. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/. Other kid friendly recipes are: chicken patties, https://rasamalaysia.com/spaghetti-with-meat-sauce/
This recipe is awesome! I cooked it twice and it came out great both times. I think the key is the butter. The chicken stayed tender and had a nice toasty grilled flavor. I substituted some other spices including cumin.
Hi Amy, awesome. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Can you use frozen tenders?
Yes, you can!
This was so good! And super quick!
Simple and bursting with flavor! I no longer have to just fry chicken tenders1
Hi Tammie, thanks for trying my recipe, please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Had this for dinner tonite… easy to make and it was really good! Definitely will be making it again. Thank you! :)
Yes, this recipe is great. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Thank you so much for this recipe, cooked it tonight for the second time.