Name: Garlic Butter Chicken Tenders (The Best!)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Western
Ingredients: 1 lb. (0.4 kg) 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

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.

Healthy chicken tenders recipes made with spices, garlic and butter in a skillet.

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.

Boneless skinless chicken tender recipes with chicken tenders and garlic butter on skillet.

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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.

Easy chicken tenders recipe with garlic, butter and lemon juice.

Cook’s 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.

Close up picture of juicy chicken tenders on a skillet.

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.

Yield: 3 people