Easy Sauteed Chicken Tenders (Perfect for Meal Prep)

These easy sauteed chicken tenders are honestly SO easy I’m not even sure this should be called a recipe. With only two simple ingredients, they’re so flavorful and the perfect protein for SO many meals (and even meal prep) that I’m sharing anyway. Don’t judge me based on how simple they are, K?!

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Easy Sauteed Chicken Tenders

While I’m a fully grown woman (and elder millennial), I still love chicken tenders. This easy sauteed chicken tenders recipe is a little on the healthier side with no breading. The flavor comes from your favorite store bought or homemade vinaigrette or marinade. You can keep it subtle with Greek or Italian dressing or have it pack a punch by adding spices and herbs of your choosing.

I grew up with my parents making oven baked chicken in Italian dressing and while that was delicious, I like the caramelization and added depth of flavor of cooking these on the stovetop.

Finished in around 10 minutes, these are a PERFECT weeknight meal and can be served with your favorite veggie and carb sides or on top of your favorite salad or grain bowl.

Versatile. Delicious. Healthy. Quick. Easy. Affordable. What more could we want? 

WHY THIS EASY SAUTEED CHICKEN TENDERS RECIPE WORKS

Two Ingredients: With only chicken and marinade needed, this two ingredient meal is perfect when you just don’t have it in you to make something complicated.

Versatile: Make it your own! Use thin sliced chicken breast instead of tenderloins, try boneless skinless chicken thighs. Use any chicken marinade or vinaigrette dressing you love and add as many spices and seasonings as your heart desires.

Under 15 Minutes: This quick chicken can be made in less than 15 minutes. Pop some frozen veggies and minute rice on and the whole meal is finished before you can even pull up the Doordash app.

Perfect for Meal Prep: Double or triple the recipe to have chicken for a few days! We love this on top of salads (bagged salad kits for life!), in wraps, served as part of grain bowls like mediterranean grain bowls or taco/fajita inspired bowls. 

Affordable: Chicken is a great, affordable protein. You can buy frozen to save money or even buy whole chicken breasts and chop them into chunks instead of using the pricier chicken tenderloins. 

ONLY TWO SIMPLE INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenderloins (or chicken breasts cut into chunks)
• ¼ cup vinaigrette dressing of choice (I like Greek, Italian, and Balsamic)

You can substitute any store bought or homemade chicken marinade as well such as Lawry’s or Stubbs brands.

In lieu of a marinade, feel free to combine oil and vinegar with herbs or seasoning blends of your choice. These chicken tenders are great with taco seasoning, chile lime seasoning, rotisserie seasoning blend, and more. Get creative! You truly can’t go wrong!

HOW TO COOK THESE EASY SAUTEED CHICKEN TENDERS:

1. Add chicken to a bowl or ziplock bag and add marinade.
2. Toss to coat.
3. Store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or overnight for best flavor.
4. When ready to cook, heat the skillet over medium to medium high heat.
5. Add chicken and cook internally until 165 degrees, approximately 4 minutes on each side. 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

The best thing about this recipe is that you can truly serve it with anything! Chicken tenders are a great, versatile protein that can be served with simple veggie and starch sides or used as the base of other recipes like wraps, sandwiches, burritos, and salads.

Be sure to make extras for leftovers as these are PERFECT for meal prep.

Some of my favorite ways to serve these chicken tenders are:

• Mashed Potatoes
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Green Beans
• Roasted Vegetables
• With pasta
• Over rice
• In Tacos
• In stir fries

STORAGE

Allow chicken to cool fully. Add cooled chicken to sealed storage container and refrigerate for up to four days. 

FAQ

Should you saute chicken covered or uncovered?

For this recipe you should leave the skillet uncovered. There might be a bit of splatter so feel free to use a splatter screen for your frying pan. Otherwise you can simply wipe up the oil splatter with a mixture of dish soap and water to remove the grease easily.

What causes chicken tenders to be tough?

Overcooking the chicken leads to toughness. Be sure to cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. You can use a meat thermometer for monitoring temperature if desired.

I’ve always been a little scared of undercooking meat and have a tendency to overcook it when I’m left to my own devices. With the meat thermometer, I love that I have perfectly cooked proteins every single time. I’m a huge proponent of the KitchenAid Yummly thermometer linked above because it’s a digital wireless thermometer that makes the process seamless with its state of the art mobile app. Truly incredible!

What heat should you pan fry chicken at?

You should use medium to medium high heat for best results.

Do you need oil to sauté chicken?

Typically you would need oil to saute chicken; however, using vinaigrette dressing as your marinade (and dumping it into the skillet along with your chicken) adds enough oil for sauteing the chicken in this recipe.

If you are NOT using a vinaigrette dressing and choose to make your own marinade, ensure it includes a neutral oil like avocado oil.

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