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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My husband said, “Babe, you gotta print this one out!” and I did 🙂 Thanks!
These chicken strips are the ultimate finger food and my whole family loved them
Very yummy & delicious
Words can not speak for this delicious dish. My family had given up eating chicken until I made these chicken tenders.. Bursting with great flavor. A must keep. thank you!
Very good!
I wasn’t expecting these too be so good!
These were fantastic!
Unfortunately I had no butter or brown sugar, so off the bat I had to use sesame oil, olive oil, and honey. I painted each strip with that mixture and then rolled it in the spice mixture to which I added a little bit of cornstarch.
I’m not a big fan of paprika but I went with it.
On a baking tray for 30 minutes exactly with a 1-2 minute rest on and about a 2 minute rest of the tray. These were PERFECTLY cooked.
When all was said and done, I couldn’t tell that I was eating something with paprika they were so delightfully flavorful!
Pinned for many future uses! Thanks!
Yay! I’m so glad it worked out well for you 🙂
So delicious and easy to make! the flavors are great together and the chicken is great alone or in a salad or on a wrap!
How do you store and reheat leftover oven-baked chicken tenders to maintain their taste and texture?
Store them in an airtight container once they’ve cooled down and reheat in the oven at 350F, loosely covered with foil.
The flavor was not what I was expecting. sweetness overpowered the garlic even which seems odd since there isn’t that much. I love garlic but missed it in this
Were you using fresh garlic cloves? Sometimes the jarred garlic can be underwhelming.
i messed up and just mixed the melted butter with all the spices.
parchment paper and dredged the chicken in the mixture.
baked at 350 convection for 22 minutes. Fantastic mistake.
I love when that happens 🙂
The flavor was not what I was expecting. sweetness overpowered the garlic even which seems odd since there isn’t that much. I love garlic but missed it in this. Also, definitely double check the time. Had I not checked at 15 minutes, the chicken would have been too dry to eat. Luckily I had other amazing things on my plate or I’d still be hungry.
Sorry to hear that, I’m not sure why yours cooked so much faster than all the times I’ve made this recipe! Maybe your chicken tenders were smaller than mine.
my husband thought it was delicious, I don’t really cook very much anymore and wanted to try something different, this was right up he’s Ally thank you.
Very good!! Not used to cooking with oregano, but gave it a unique and yummy taste!! A keeper for sure!! Gonna use boneless skinless thighs next time, for bigger pieces of meat…Hubs loved it!!
So glad you enjoyed! Fresh oregano is delicious on eggs if you want to try that next!