Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
Have dinner ready in 30 minutes with this family favorite Oven Baked Chicken Tenders recipe. These baked chicken strips are an easy weeknight meal all will love.
Whether you call them chicken tenders, chicken tenderloins, or chicken fingers, everyone can agree that they’re the ultimate finger food. And these flavor-packed tenders are no exception. They’re perfect for lunch, dinner, and everything in between.
Made with a seasoning blend of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, and more, I promise you won’t be missing the crispy coating of a breaded chicken tender.
Do more with chicken! Check out some other fan favorites like this Strawberry Caprese Chicken Salad, Pesto Chicken Power Bowls, and Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad! And for even more tenders, check out my Recipe for Honey BBQ Chicken Tenders.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Calorie saver: This easy chicken recipe is a great way to enjoy juicy and tender chicken without the added calories of breaded or fried chicken tenders.
- A Family Favorite: These flavor loaded strips of white meat are kid friendly and a great main to a side of cheesy Grilled Cheese Roll Ups for a delicious kids meal.
- Calling All Sauces: Serve with all the dipping sauces for a fun spread, like my Whole 30 BBQ sauce (or barbecue sauce), honey mustard sauce, Homemade Big Mac Sauce, or my personal favorite, Homemade Chick-Fil-A Sauce!
Ingredients You Will Need
- Chicken: You will need chicken breast tenders. If they don’t have chicken tenders, grab a pack of chicken breasts and cut them into strips when you get home.
- Butter: Helps the seasoning stick to the chicken.
- Seasoning: These tenders get their flavor from paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh parsley, dried oregano, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
*For a detailed list of instructions, ingredients and measurements, please reference the recipe card down below.
Substitutions
- Egg wash: If you are looking to avoid dairy or added calories, use in place of butter.
- Seasoning: Italian seasoning and garlic powder make an excellent combination if you want to switch it up.
How to Make Oven Baked Chicken Tenders without Breading
Step 1: Dredge the chicken. Melt the butter in the microwave. Dredge the chicken tenders into the melted butter.
Step 2: Season the chicken. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over both sides of the dredged chicken.
Step 3: Bake the chicken. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature has reached 165° F.
Step 4: Serve. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired and serve.
Recipe Variations
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders: Looking to use your air fryer instead of the oven? Give these a try.
- Breaded Chicken Tenders: Coat your chicken in panko, regular breadcrumbs, or crushed pork rinds.
- Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Tenders: For a super easy option, you can also air fry chicken tenders right from frozen!
If you tried these Baked Chicken Tenders or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and tell me how it went in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
Video
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 pound chicken breast tenders
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Slice the butter into 1 tbsp cubes and place it in a shallow dish. Melt the butter by microwaving in 30 second increments.1/2 cup unsalted butter
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh parsley, dried oregano, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.1 tablespoon paprika, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, pinch of salt and pepper
- Dredge the chicken tenders in the melted butter, then lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over both sides of the chicken tenders.1 pound chicken breast tenders
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the internal temperature has reached 165° F. When finished, garnish with fresh parsley if desired.2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Air Fryer Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 375° F.
- Place the chicken tenders in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Air fry for 5-6 minutes on each side.
Notes
- Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Eating undercooked or raw chicken can put you at risk for salmonella.
- You can cook at 400 if you’re short on time, but your tenders come out less tender.
- Store leftover seasoning in a small airtight container.
Nutrition
Other Easy Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
Helpful Kitchen Equipment
Nesting bowls: For prepping, I like having a set like this on hand. The set includes a small bowl, medium bowl, and large bowl. One great prep set will take you a long way in the kitchen. However, it is also important to have a shallow bowl, like this. Shallow bowls make it season for rolling meat in seasoning or egg wash.
Sheet pan: These pans have so many different names. You might call it a rimmed baking sheet or even a cookie sheet; either way, when making baked tenders, you will need one!
Wire rack: This might come in handy to cool your chicken before serving. If I’m meal prepping, I like to cool the chicken until it’s about room temperature before transferring it to the fridge and storing it for recipes later in the week.
Recipe FAQ’s
My favorite side dishes to serve with them are Avocado Corn Salad, Sweet Potato Cubes, Quinoa Apple Salad, or Air Fryer Vegetables.
You can cook chicken at either temperature. For juicier, more evenly cooked chicken, 350 degrees is better. However, 400 degrees will cook quicker if you’re short on time.
Use an instant-read thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Eating undercooked or raw chicken can put you at risk for salmonella.
By basting the chicken in butter before cooking, you will help prevent your chicken from drying out.
Once they have reached room temperature, transfer chicken tenders to an airtight container and keep them in the fridge. Enjoy the leftovers for lunch, a protein-filled snack, or consider repurposing them for this Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad.
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These crispy tenders are perfect for lunch, dinner, and everything in between.
So easy! So delicious!! My husband said, “Babe, you gotta print this one out!” and I did 🙂 Thanks!
aww i love that!
very clear and good article easy to understand. Thank you
Wowwww… So delicious! wort it
Tasty enough but we found these to be very wasteful on the butter! We could have easily heavily dredged with a quarter cup, and with butter being a fairly expensive ingredient these days, it’s sad looking at my bowl of raw chicken tainted melted butter left over.
I was short on butter, so, I soaked the raw tenders in buttermilk for about an hour and skipped the butter altogether. They were tender and tasty.
Try using mayonnaise instead of butter, a little cheaper and you only use what you need.
I knew right away that was to much butter so before I even started I used 1/2 of that-no waste here
How to get a very tender chicken taste?
Can I cook these in a air fryer? And do you know the temperature and timing?
Hi! Yes, they are so good in the air fryer. I suggest 375 F for 12-15 minutes, depending on how big your chicken tenders are. Make sure the internal temp has reached 165 F before removing from the air fryer!
These were as absolutely delicious. They had wonderful flavor and were very moist.
This recipe has been a really special recipe for me.
Can u marinate the tenders in Italian dressing then coat with the seasonings?
Yep you can definitely do that
I marinated the tenders in buttermilk for about an hour before starting the recipe. How did yours turn out with Italian dressing?
So delicious! Can’t wait to make it again!
My kids thoroughly enjoyed these chicken tenders and have asked me to make them again! Thank you!
Aw I love to hear that!
I love how easy these baked chicken tenders come together! We made some homemade ranch to serve them with and everyone loved them.
I love that!
My (very picky) family woofed these down and they’re already requesting that I make them again soon. Awesome recipe!
Yum! I can’t have bread so it was nice to find a recipe for baked chicken tenders without breading. And you don’t even miss it thanks to the tasty seasoning!
In the future if you want to coat something in breadcrumbs, try using crushed pork rinds as a substitute.
I love chicken tenders and these were oozing with flavors!!!