Oven baked chicken tenders are lean strips of white meat chicken that are healthy and flavorful – all with no breading! This chicken tenderloins in oven recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make, and kids love them. Add your favorite veggies to the pan for a quick, easy weeknight dinner.
Are tenders, strips, and tenderloins the same thing?
Curious about the difference between tenders and tenderloins? Read What is a Chicken Tenderloin?
Chicken tenders, or chicken fingers or strips, are a classic dinner staple kids and adults love. If you’re a fan of using this small and easy-to-cook poultry cut, check out our chicken tenderloin recipes for a whole lot of dinner inspiration!
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Why This Recipe Works
- Our simple dipping method delivers on an ideal high-protein entree that kids love!
- You can easily double the recipe – and have plenty of baked chicken tenderloins for lunches, snacks, or quick dinners.
- Have them on the table in minutes – from start to finish, dinner is ready in under 30 minutes!
These “naked” oven-baked chicken tenders are naturally gluten-free, keto, and paleo-friendly. But they are more than just a low-carb option – you won’t believe how delicious they are!
What Goes Into This Recipe
- Melted butter—If you’re watching your cholesterol or prefer something plant-based, you can use any healthy cooking oil with a neutral flavor. Great options include avocado oil, coconut oil, and sunflower oil.
- Seasonings – paprika, garlic powder, salt, ground black pepper.
- Chicken tenderloins – Actual tenderloins or strips of breast meat will work for this recipe!
Simple Recipe Variations
- Mix up the spices – use your preferred spices. Feel free to swap or add spices, like Italian seasonings, chili powder, cumin, or cayenne pepper for some heat.
- Air fryer chicken tenderloins – the instructions are in the recipe below!
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Dry the chicken pieces before dipping! This allows the butter and seasonings to adhere better and gives our oven baked chicken tenderloins a crispy exterior but are tender and juicy inside – with no breading.
How to Make Baked Chicken Tenderloins
Step One: Prep the chicken pieces.
Mix the seasonings in a shallow bowl. Shake or dip the chicken breast tenderloins in the butter or oil to coat. Then coat with the seasonings.
Step Two: Layer them on your baking sheet.
Layer them in a single layer to allow the heat to circulate and crisp them on the tops and sides.
Add your favorite fresh or frozen vegetables like green beans, asparagus, bell pepper, broccoli, or small diced potatoes to the baking sheet for an easy sheet pan dinner.
Below, we prepared our chicken tenderloins in oven recipe and added asparagus spears. Using a lined sheet pan is genius because there’s little cleanup!
Step 3: Bake Chicken Tenders in Oven or Air Fryer.
Oven bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes or air fry at 325ºF for 10-15 minutes.
Serving Suggestions – Yummy Dips and Sides
We recommend serving them warm with kid-friendly dipping sauces like ranch, 3 ingredient BBQ sauce, yogurt-based shawarma sauce, or homemade In n Out sauce.
A great side dish would be our cilantro lime brown rice or bake these easy roasted veggie sides with the chicken: easy roasted green beans and potatoes or roasted carrots and asparagus for a complete meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since they’re small, thin slices of chicken, baking chicken tenderloins from frozen is easy! Just add 3 minutes of baking time and check the internal temperature of the chicken to be sure it is 165ºF.
Bake them at 350ºF or air fryer them at 325ºF for tender, juicy poultry.
Bake for 15- 20 minutes, or air fry for 10-15 minutes. Check the internal temperature in the center chicken strips to ensure they are 165º internally before serving.
Put cooked and cooled chicken strips in a sealed container and keep them in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. They also freeze very well! Seal in an airtight bag or storage container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Chicken tenderloins are small, triangular-shaped cuts of meat attached to chicken breasts. They are ideal for quick cooking methods like grilling, broiling, or stir-frying.
Chicken breasts are much larger than a tenderloin. They are popular and versatile, but they have longer cooking times. If you do not have tenderloins on hand, an easy substitution is to cut a chicken breast into finger-size strips.
Other Easy Chicken Recipes Recipes To Consider…
- blackened chicken tenders
- baked BBQ chicken tenders dinner
- smoked chicken thighs
- sheet pan chicken thighs dinner
If you tried making our chicken tenders recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Baked Chicken Tenders Recipe
Equipment
- shallow baking dish - or rimmed baking sheet
- dipping trays - Ziploc bags, or plates
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or cooking oil
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ pounds chicken tenderloins fresh or frozen *for frozen, see Notes below
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF or Air Fryer to 325ºF. Prepare the shallow casserole dish or baking sheet by spraying with cooking oil or use parchment paper.
- Add seasonings to a ziplock bag, dipping tray, or plate. Use a separate bag, tray, or plate for the melted butter or oil.
- Dry the chicken pieces before dipping, dip the chicken strips in the butter or oil to coat on all sides. Let excess butter slide off before dipping them into the seasoning.
- Place dipped chicken on the prepared casserole pan or baking sheet in a single layer. Add fresh or frozen green beans, asparagus, broccoli, or small diced potatoes (see below) to the sheet, if desired.
Baking Instructions
- Bake for 15- 20 minutes, until the chicken tenders reach an internal temperature of 165ºF in the center. Serve the chicken tenders warm with your favorite dipping sauces like ranch, BBQ, or honey mustard.
Air Fry Instructions
- Air fry the chicken tenderloins for 10-15 minutes. Check the internal temperature of the chicken strips to ensure they are 165º internally before serving.
- Serve the chicken tenders warm with your favorite dipping sauces like ranch, BBQ, or honey mustard.
PREVIOUS
Donalyn says
This was a great alternative to breaded chicken and the added veggies made it so easy to get a meal on the table. Thank you for this!
Patricia says
I love it! So simple (and tasty!) and its’s so easy to pull a meal together with so many options to serve on the side!
Lima Ekram says
Ready in 25 minutes? I am so in! I need fast recipes for weeknight dinners and cant wait to try this one.
Nikka says
The chicken came out so tender and juicy, and the coating was crispy and flavorful. It was super easy to make and my whole family devoured them. Definitely a new favorite!