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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.
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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
Can I Eat the Tendon (ligament) Attached to Tenders?
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.
Can I Use Chicken Breasts to Make This Recipe?
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.
Is It Healthy?
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.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 311 calories per serving.
What to Serve with Breast Tenders?
Serve this dish with side dishes. For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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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. Set aside.
- Heat up a cast-iron skillet (preferred) on high heat and add 3 tablespoons of butter. As soon as the butter melts and starts to sizzle, add the chicken tenders. Cook uninterrupted for 1-2 minutes, then turn over and start cooking the other side.
- Push the chicken tenders to the side of the skillet. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter follow by the minced garlic on the empty space on the skillet. Add the Italian seasoning on top of 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 the both sides. Add the chopped parsley, 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
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Can you make these ahead of time? Will they stay juicy? And if so, how long?
Yes, they should be fine. Just don’t overcook the chicken tenders.
So awesome. Have made several times. My children and grandchildren love it so much. Thank you for sharing.
Awesome!
I’m definitely making this recipe this week Thanks for recipe!
Awesome thanks!
Really really full of flavor and I love cooking on cast iron so a keeper for me.
Awesome Sherri.
This was soooo good! I used lime juice instead of lemon and didn’t have a cast iron skillet handy but it turned out great. Going down as one of my favorite recipes.
Hi Dawnn, that’s awesome!!! Please try more recipes on my site!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe & useful tips.
Chicken tenders & cast-iron skillet. Butter & Spice. Nice!!!
Shared it here >> https://dodiddone101.wordpress.com/2020/08/24/chicken-tenders-garlic-butter-chicken-tender-recipes-rasa-malaysia/
Awesome thanks!
Hi,
I was wondering if you have – or anyone reading this has – tried this with a good vegetable oil. Would love to use olive oil for flavor, but it’s not great for very high temperatures. Maybe coconut oil would work, in smaller quantity than the butter.
You can try any oil you like.
Never have I ever used smoked paprika before—we have a winner! My picky hubby raved & went back for seconds ?! I also took your advice & used the cast iron skillet. Thanks for recipe!
Hi Sheila, thanks for trying my recipe. Please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
This was so easy and fast! Literally done in 15 minutes. And So delicious!! I’m serving it with rice. This was the best chicken recipe I’ve tasted so far.
These were great! Came out tender and juicy with good flavor. I will definitely make these again.
Awesome please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/