Grilled Chicken Tenders (No Grill Needed)

Recipe Ingredients

• Lime juice
• Zesty Italian dressing (or just plain Italian dressing)
• Honey
• Chicken

How to Make Easy Grilled Chicken Tenders Without the Grill!

Prepare the Marinade

First, I usually mix my marinade in a quart-sized mason jar. Begin by pouring in your dressing.

The original recipe said to strain and discard the spices but I really like them in here and I have never once actually noticed them on the finished chicken. They either cook up or magically disappear. Either way, why add another step if we don’t have to?

Add your honey…

and lime juice…

Screw the lid on the jar and give it a good shake.

If you are making your grilled chicken tenders with chicken breasts, cut them into strips.

Here is our chicken, all ready for the marinade ingredients.

Now what I do is put all of my chicken in a big gallon ziplock bag and just pour the chicken marinade in there with it. Seal the bag and stick it in your fridge for at least an hour.

Grilling the chicken tenders

After at least an hour, dump the entire contents of the bag into a large skillet.

You are going to be thinking “Wow, this is awful watery, there is no way it is going to look like hers” but oh yes it will!! Hang in there with me, this just takes a little patience (actually it takes about thirty minutes or so).

This is how it will look after ten minutes over medium heat. Just hang in there and let it cook.

I keep my stove eye/burner dial on five. Good thing is, you don’t have to fret over this, just go check on it about every ten minutes and turn it and you’ll be fine!

This is after about twenty minutes.

30 minutes later… now we’re starting to get somewhere!

A little after the 30-minute mark, the sauce thickens and begins to caramelize.

It’s getting really thick on the bottom now and this is where I start moving my meat around a lot, getting it all nice and browned.

These grilled chicken tenderloins are full of flavor that I like to serve them with a simple side dish. Tonight we’ll have it with butter stewed potatoes. YUM!

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them either on the stovetop or in the oven or air fryer. You can also keep leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating as mentioned.

Recipe Notes

• In a pinch, you can substitute the lime juice for lemon juice if you like. Another option is apple cider vinegar. I know I usually have lemon juice on hand but not lime. I happened to have this because I made Bananaritas the other morning. For any new readers, Bananaritas are not alcoholic and make a delicious breakfast.
• You can prepare the marinade and chicken tenders the night before if you like and just keep them in your fridge until you’re ready for supper. Another thing I have done before is mix up the marinade and chicken and just freeze the whole bag. Then on a morning, before you head off to work, just pop the bag in the fridge to thaw out during the day.
• If you’re using a grill to make your grilled chicken tenders, it will take about 10 minutes (turning halfway). You’ll want to make sure the internal temperature is 165 degrees before taking them off the grill.
• A different serving suggestion: sprinkle with parsley and serve with lime wedges.
• If you love garlic, add one clove of minced garlic or a teaspoon of garlic powder to the chicken marinade.
• Make sure you don’t overcrowd your pan or move the chicken too much while cooking.
• Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving, as this gives the chicken time to soak up the juices.

Recipe FAQs

What type of chicken do you use for this grilled chicken tenders recipe?

You can purchase chicken tenderloins or just do like I do and buy boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut them yourself. It’s cheaper to buy them this way and I just use my kitchen shears – by far the greatest utensil known to mankind. This is what I call a “fish and loaves” recipe because the chicken tends to plump up and be extra filling, therefore feeding a much larger amount than it normally would have. I used four chicken breasts and we easily have enough left for another meal (or some great lunches!).

What do you serve with your grilled chicken tenders?

The options are nearly endless, but here are some serving suggestions:

• Serve them with a dipping sauce like our chipotle ranch dressing.
• Do a side of crispy fries or mashed potatoes.
• Serve with a side salad, a simple vegetarian dish like zucchini and squash, or roast vegetables.
• Place them on a bed of rice or pasta, like my cilantro lime cauliflower rice.

You may also enjoy these chicken recipes:

Cheesy Chicken And Rice Crock Pot Version

Fuss-Free Fried Chicken

Sticky Chicken

Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

You may also like this Cracker Barrel Copycat recipe:

Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole Cheesy Copycat