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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. It’s a small batch recipe that is easy to double if you’d like to make more.
If you like chicken tenders, check out Baked Chicken Tenders For One and Chicken Parmesan Tenders For One.
Table of Contents
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
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 1/8 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
- 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.
- Melt the butter in a separate medium-sized bowl. Dip the chicken tenderloins in the melted butter.
- Dredge the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
- While the chicken strips are baking, make the buffalo sauce.
Ingredients In Buffalo Sauce
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.
- 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
Yes. Just double the ingredient amounts to make an extra batch.
Absolutely. You can freeze baked chicken strips before tossing in the buffalo sauce for 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in an oven set to 350F. Bake for 15 minutes, until heated through.
Ranch dressing
Blue cheese dressing
Celery sticks
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
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Buffalo Chicken Tenders For One
Ingredients
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter , melted
- 6 ounces chicken tenders (3-4 chicken tenders, depending on the size)
For The Buffalo Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter , melted
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
- Pour the melted butter into a separate medium-sized bowl. Dip the chicken tenderloins in the melted butter and dredge the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
To Make The Buffalo Sauce
- Mix 2 tablespoons of melted butter, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce 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.
- After the chicken strips have baked, pour the buffalo sauce over them.
- Enjoy hot.
Notes
- If you love buffalo sauce, you might like to make up a double batch for a little extra.
- Always preheat your oven before baking.
- 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.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
My mouth waters just thinking about this recipe. I use panko bread crumbs and use more hot sauce. It’s my favorite so far, but I still have a lot of recipes to try