Easy Grilled Chicken Tenders

Ready in less than 20 minutes, this ultra-quick recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner. I can’t help but make chicken often. It’s accessible and affordable, and my kids really like it. The grownups, however, do need some variety. This tasty recipe is a good way to make somewhat boring meat into a rather palatable dish. I make these grilled chicken tenders regularly because they are delicious and very easy to make. The sweet-and-spicy marinade is wonderful. Even the leftovers are good!

Ingredients

You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty chicken recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need: For the marinade, you’ll need olive oil, honey, hot pepper sauce, and kosher salt. If you’d rather use an oil with a high smoke point, you can replace the olive oil with avocado oil. Although olive oil is certainly more flavorful. You will also need 8 raw chicken tenders (aka chicken breast tenderloins). Their total weight before cooking should be about 1 lb.

Instructions

Making these grilled chicken tenders is so easy! It’s actually one of my easiest recipes. Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps: Your first step is to preheat your grill to medium-high. Now, in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, honey, hot sauce, and kosher salt. Brush the mixture all over the chicken pieces. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side, or a total of 4 minutes in a dual-contact grill such as George Foremen.

Expert tip

While you certainly want the chicken to be cooked through, you also want to avoid drying it out. So keep a close eye on it and check the internal temperature. As soon as it reaches 165°F, remove the chicken from the grill.

Frequently asked questions

Variations

I love this recipe as is and almost always make it as written. But in case you’d like to vary the basic recipe, here are a few ideas for you:

Use melted ghee instead of olive oil. It’s delicious!Add spices. Try a pinch of paprika and a pinch of cumin.Replace the honey with maple syrup.If you like your food truly spicy, add chili powder or a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Serving suggestions

These tasty chicken tenders go well with so many side dishes. They are truly versatile! I do like to serve them with a salad for the ultimate easy meal. A few of my favorite salads to serve with them are creamy cucumber salad, broccoli salad, and tomato salad.

Storing leftovers

You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in a sealed container, for 3-4 days. I don’t like to reheat them though, because reheating dries them out. So I shred them and use them in this chicken cobb salad or in a lettuce sandwich. If you decide to reheat them, do so very gently, in the microwave, covered, on 50% power.

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