7 Minute Easy Healthy Pan Fried Chicken Tenders is a recipe you’ll use over and again. It’s a work horse in your kitchen because you can make a batch of these chicken tenders and turn them into different meals all week long. You can also just make up your favorite veg and serve them as is. The possibilities are endless.
How to Cook Chicken Tenders on the Stove
These chicken tenders get their golden brown color from a super easy method. The secret to browning chicken on the stove top is to give it room and season well. The seasoning you use will create a nice crust on the chicken.
I use a variety of seasonings when I make these, and I’ve given you suggestions in the recipe notes below. You’ll want to give the tenders room in the pan. I’ll often cook 5-6 at a time so that I don’t over crowd the pan.
Seasonings for Pan Fried Chicken
I love to use spice blends like lemon pepper, chili lime (great for a grilled chicken taco), Italian seasoning or plain old Salt and Pepper. The flavor is locked in by pan searing the chicken and making a nice crust. That carmelization from pan searing just adds another layer of flavor by developing the natural sugars in the meat.
How do you get chicken tenders brown without breading?
You also need to ensure that you season evenly and get the pan hot before adding the chicken. Adding chicken to a cold pan will cause it to not brown. It can also cause you to overcook it as you await the pan to come to temperature and brown.
Just the same as you shouldn’t put a pan in an oven before it’s preheated, you should also preheat your pan when cooking chicken.
This might seem counter intuitive, but you also don’t want a lot of oil. Yes, I said don’t. You want an even light coating of oil.
A puddle of oil will create steam and steam is the enemy when pan searing. In addition to light oil you need to leave space. Space allows the tenders to brown because you’re not creating pockets of steam. Contact with the pan is key.
Easy Healthy Pan Fried Chicken Tenders with no BREADING
These chicken tenders do not need breading to have a little crisp and big flavor. If you’re on a lower carb plan for eating or you are gluten free, these chicken tenders will be an easy, delicious and grain free alternative to those made with breadcrumbs.
I hope you’ll PIN this RECIPE for later and let me know how you like it in the comments!
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7 Minute Easy Healthy Pan Fried Chicken Tenders
7 Minute Easy Healthy Pan Fried Chicken Tenders are the perfect item to meal prep for the week. Use these tasty tenders on salads, along with your favorite vegetables, or on top of a healthy pizza.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
- 12 Chicken Tenders Be sure to trim. They often have a small piece of cartlidge on the back that is not edible.
- 1-2 tbsp. Your Favorite Seasoning see notes for suggestions
Instructions
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Drizzle the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet. Preheat the skillet to medium. You want the oil to get shimmery, but do not allow it to smoke.
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Trim your chicken and add your favorite seasoning in an even coating on both sides. You'll probably need 1-2 tbsp.
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Add the chicken to the pan, but be sure to give it plenty of room. Giving the chicken plenty of room will ensure the brown crust forms from adding the seasonings. You may need to do this in 2 batches. Cook the tenders for about 3.5 minutes per side. I like to check mine with an instant read thermometer. When it reaches 165-170 degrees, I know they are done.
Recipe Notes
I like to use What's Gaby Cooking- Gaby's Go to Seasoning. You can get this at Williams Sonoma. I also Like Trader Joes Lemon Pepper , Chili Lime or Flavor God Brand seasonings. You can use your favorite. If you are gluten free, you should ensure the bottle of seasoning says "certified gluten free."
This is great! It made the tastiest chicken with a tender inside and crispy outside.
Hi Liza! thanks for stopping by! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
So good. I went a little crazy with some blackening seasonings so it is so spicy but I like it. Thank you for the comment to look for the cartilage. I would not have noticed save for that.
Awesome! So happy you enjoyed them Dawn!
I have not made them yet but I did use this recipe with chicken thighs because I couldn’t figure out how to use the insteant read thermometer on chicken tenderloins since they are so thin but the thighs came out great, of course cook them a little longer!
That’s awesome Karen! So happy to hear it! 🙂