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25 Ultra-Clever Chicken Tenderloin Recipes

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Using the best and most tender part of the chicken breast to create delicious dinner entrees is made easy with these Chicken Tenderloin Recipes.

Chicken Tenderloin Recipes

From crispy tenders to succulent stir-fries, these recipes do the thinking for you and provide the best ideas to please every member of your family!

1. Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

Everything tastes great when it’s made in an air fryer, and these chicken tenders are no exception. Juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, they’re seasoned with salt and pepper. Perfect with rice, veggies, or mac and cheese.

2. Baked Pesto Chicken

This chicken recipe is perfect for the pesto lover in your family. Covered with cheese and pesto, this baked chicken dish is easy to make and chock full of flavor. Serve by itself or alongside the pasta of your choice.

3. Lime Chicken

Have leftover lime juice, olive oil, and soy sauce lying around? This lime chicken recipe puts them to good use. Chicken tenderloins are smothered in a tangy soy-lime-olive oil blend and baked with garlic for a sweet yet savory bite.

4. Greek Chicken Gyros

These Greek chicken gyros are chock full of robust Mediterranean flavors. They’re easy to make, too, with a few simple ingredients like tomato cucumber salad, fresh tzatziki sauce, pita bread, and chicken marinated in garlic, yogurt, and white wine vinegar.

5. Buffalo Chicken Tenders

These buffalo chicken tenders will be your go-to party staple moving forward. Great-tasting and easy to make, you can customize your heat level by adjusting how much homemade hot pepper sauce you add to your buffalo sauce. Serve with ranch.

6. Extra Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders

Why order takeout to enjoy some extra crispy baked chicken tenders when you can just make them at home? Full of savory flavor and a little bit of heat, these tenders are ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.

7. Copycat Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Tenderloins

You can make your favorite Cracker Barrel recipe at home with just a few ingredients, like honey, lime, chicken, and Italian dressing. Toss in a bag, then shake to marinate before you start cooking. It brings out the sweet flavors!

8. Easy Moo Shu Chicken

Easy to make in as little as 20 minutes, this Chinese fan favorite contains chicken, fresh cabbage, and hoisin sauce. Serve with a side of rice or scoop everything together and fill an egg roll for a quick lunch on the go.

9. Easy Doritos Chicken Tenders

Find a new way to enjoy cheesy Doritos chips with this easy-to-make chicken tender recipe. Crushed Doritos chips cover fresh chicken tenderloins as breadcrumbs before being baked. For even more crunch, deep fry them. Experiment with the ranch flavored, too!

10. Sticky Chicken Finger Wraps

For a healthier alternative to fried chicken, try these sticky chicken finger wraps. Served with crisp lettuce and a juicy tomato, tenderloins are glazed in spicy hot sauce and brown sugar. Use ranch, barbeque, or honey mustard sauce for dipping.

11. Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken

This crunchy hot honey chicken combines the best of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors in a weeknight meal that takes less than an hour to make. Cornflakes and honey are used as the breadcrumbs for a little pop of sweetness.

12. Chicken Cordon Bleu

A classic, you’ll be surprised by just how easy it is to make this famed chicken cordon bleu dish. Swap the egg and flour out for mayonnaise and Dijon mustard to make the batter, bake for 30 minutes, and enjoy.

13. Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken & Potatoes

The honey mustard pretzel flavor puts a unique spin on the classic meat and potato dish. Tenderloins are doused in honey mustard and then tossed into a crushed pretzel batter before being popped into the oven. Every bite is crunchy!

14. Everything Bagel Chicken Tenders

Turning breakfast flavors into an evening meal, you’ll be surprised by just how good this weird pairing is. Chicken tenderloins are covered in everything bagel seasoning and then baked for a crunchy, salty bite. Best served with honey mustard dipping sauce.

15. Easy Baked Chicken Tenders

If you don’t want extra crispy tenders, then this easy-baked chicken tenders recipe is perfect. Ready to eat in as little as 35 minutes, these chicken tenders can be glazed with honey or hot sauce for a unique flavor.

16. Sesame Encrusted Chicken Tenders

Cooked either in the oven or the air fryer, these crunchy tenders are covered in toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce for an on-the-go snack with a hint of an Asian flare. Top with green onions for extra flavor.

17. Crispy Coconut Chicken Tenders

Full of iconic Caribbean flavors, these chicken tenders are sprinkled with a blend of panko breadcrumbs, chili powder, and shredded coconut flakes for a bite that’s both sweet and spicy. Cook them in the air fryer to make them healthier!

18. Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

Fresh romaine lettuce, sliced chicken tenderloins, sweet strawberries, refreshing avocado, and spicy honey mustard sauce come together to make a salad that’s perfect for any summer celebration. Toss in a bowl and customize with your favorite fresh veggies. It’s great!

19. The Best Greek Chicken Marinade

This marinade will transport you to Greece! Full of Mediterranean flavors like lemon, olive oil, garlic, and dried oregano, this marinade will elevate any chicken recipe. Just put your tenderloins in a bag of marinade to sit overnight before cooking.

20. Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Crunchy, healthy, and full of Asian flavors, these lettuce wraps rival anything you’d find in a chain restaurant. Tenderloins are marinated in rich hoisin sauce before being baked, glazed, and served in crispy romaine lettuce sleeves. Top with sesame seeds.

21. Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken

This chicken recipe is not just easy to make, but full of refreshingly sweet and zesty flavors that make it a summertime staple. It uses freshly squeezed lemon, honey, garlic, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar. Each bite is delicious.

Whether marinated, tossed into a salad, or as the star of your weeknight dinner, these chicken tenderloin recipes offer robust flavors that take less than an hour to enjoy.

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