Buffalo Chicken Tenders

This small batch of buffalo chicken tenders are perfect for lunch or dinner. The seasoned chicken strips are baked and then tossed in a homemade buffalo sauce. Ready in less than 30 minutes!

Chicken tenders tossed in buffalo sauce have always been popular in my kitchen. My kids called them chicken fingers and they loved them. Because these tender and juicy chicken strips are easy to make, I made them often.

I scaled down our family's buffalo chicken tenders recipe to serve one or two people. It's a small batch recipe that is easy to double if you'd like to make more.

Why This Recipe Works

• The chicken tenders are lightly coated with bread crumbs and spices. You can easily make this a low carb meal by eliminating the bread crumbs. The spices alone provide enough delicious flavor. The breadcrumbs are added to give the chicken a crisp crust.
• These tenders are baked and are a healthier alternative to traditional buffalo chicken that is usually dredged in flour and fried.
• Although I make a simple homemade buffalo sauce, you can use bottled sauce purchased from the grocery store instead.
• The chicken bakes in just 20 minutes!

Ingredients For The Chicken Tenders

Ingredient Notes

See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.

• Chicken tenders: Chicken tenders are an actual part of the chicken. They are the little strips of meat that are attached to the underside of a chicken breast. You can make your own tenders by taking a boneless, skinless chicken breast and cutting it lengthwise into pieces about ½-inch thick or you can purchase chicken tenders already packaged from your grocery store. Chicken tenders are often called chicken tenderloins and can be found in the meat department of most grocery stores near the raw chickens. I recommend using 6-ounces of chicken in this recipe which is approximately 3-4 tenders.
• Breadcrumbs: Use store-bought or homemade bread crumbs. If you don't have access to breadcrumbs, you can leave them out altogether or use any of these substitutes:
  • Rolled oats: Pulverize the oats in a blender or food processor and then add an additional ⅛ teaspoon of salt, if you find it necessary, in addition to the seasonings recommended in the recipe.
  • Cereal: A classic cereal choice is crushed corn flakes which will yield a crispier coating.
  • Potato chips or pretzels: Since these are pre-seasoned, you might not need to add as much salt.
  • Crackers: Crushed Saltines or Ritz crackers are great choices.
• Butter: Use melted butter to dip the chicken pieces in before dredging them in the bread crumb mixture.
• Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated is best.
• Seasonings: Use Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.

How To Make This Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Set the bowl aside.
2. Melt the butter in a separate medium-sized bowl. Dip the chicken tenderloins in the melted butter.
3. Dredge the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

5. While the chicken strips are baking, make the buffalo sauce.

Ingredients In Buffalo Sauce

Ingredient Notes

Buffalo sauce is a simple mix of melted butter, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce (and occasionally vinegar and other spices).

• Hot sauce: Use your favorite brand of hot chili sauce. A few brands that I use and love are Crystal hot sauce, Louisiana hot sauce, and Cholula.
• Worcestershire sauce
• Melted butter

Mix these three ingredients together in a small bowl. Feel free to add more hot sauce for a spicier buffalo sauce, or use less if you don't want your sauce to be as spicy.

6. After the chicken strips have baked, pour the buffalo sauce over them.

Expert Tips

• If you love buffalo sauce, you might like to make a double batch so that you have a little extra.
• If you'd like to make buffalo chicken nuggets, cut the chicken tenderloin into 1-inch pieces.
• To make low carb chicken tenders, omit the bread crumbs and season only with the spices recommended in the recipe.
• You might like to use this buffalo chicken tenders recipe for a Buffalo Chicken Salad: bake the chicken as directed and slice. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in buffalo sauce, 2 tablespoons of chopped celery, and 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing. Serve over lettuce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients left over from this buffalo chicken recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:

• Chicken: Chicken and Dumplings, Chicken Fricassee, Cashew Chicken
• Parmesan cheese: Buttered Noodles, Smashed Brussels Sprouts, Cheesy Baked Eggs
• Italian seasoning: Baked French Fries, Pasta Primavera, Hamburger Casserole
• Garlic powder: Pork Tenderloin, Hash Browns, Cheese Grits
• Hot sauce: Baked Buffalo Chicken, Crawfish Beignets, Red Beans and Rice
• Worcestershire sauce: Salisbury Steak, Mini Meatloaf, Baked Beans
• Breadcrumbs: Giant Italian Meatball, Swedish Meatballs, Eggplant Parmesan

Tools Used In This Buffalo Chicken Recipe

• I use a measuring scale to weigh the chicken. You can view the one we use on our Kitchen Essentials page.
• Two medium sized bowls.
• A small baking sheet.

If you’ve tried this baked buffalo chicken tenders recipe or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.

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