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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.
The best chicken tender I’ve ever had a so easy to make I give them a 10 :)
So good! I cut the chicken strips in 1 inch pieces and they came out great and juicy! Love the flavor combinations.
Awesome!
I loved it. So easy to make and the flavors were so good. I wish I could post a pic on here. It was a beautiful thing!
Thanks, Melody.
Turned out great. Thanks
Hi,
I am going to try this tonight. Is there a reason why I shouldn’t add salt when adding paprika and cayenne powder
Yes you can add salt to taste.
Salt will expel the juices and make it dry so you do it last.
I just made this recipe tonight and my husband and I both agree this recipe is a keeper! It was delicious. Very flavorful and tender, juicy chicken. It was easy and quick to make. I can see this being a go-to recipe when we don’t have a lot of time or don’t feel like a long, complicated dish to make. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks Mona.
Didn’t have to try hard at all with this recipe!! The chicken BREAST version was tender, delicious, AND a pretty dish I must say.
Anyone else confused by this ingredient?: 1 teaspoon bottled Italian seasoning (Simply Organic or McCormick brand).
Do you mean basic Italian Seasoning dry spice or do you mean italian season dressing powder mix like Good Seasons. The fact that it says bottled is confusing to me. Sorry if I’m being dumb.
McCormick brand or Simply Organic Brand Italian Seasoning. It’s available in the dry herbs section in bottles.
Best and easiest chicken tenders I have ever made. Thanks for the recipe.
Awesome!
This was so delicious! I loved the flavor! The parsley and lemon tasted so good! So happy my kids loved it too! I’ll definitely make this often! Thank you so much! (tastes great with asparagus on the side)
Hi Sher, thanks for trying my recipe!
This was simple and delicious. I got bunch of chicken strips for healthy meals and this recipe worked so well. I used good olive oil instead of butter, I just prefer oil. Tenders came out plumpy and juicy, thank you for another great recipe!
Hi Marina, thanks for trying my chicken tenders recipe.