Grilled Chicken Tenders (No Grill Needed)

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A copycat version of Cracker Barrel’s grilled chicken tenderloins, these juicy grilled chicken tenders are marinated in a zesty flavoring that no one can resist!

 

Okay, y’all, listen to me here: you are going to love these grilled chicken tenders! This is a widespread copycat version of Cracker Barrel’s grilled chicken tenderloin dish and they are absolutely amazing. I’ve been making them on a regular basis for the past 20 years and they are a beloved family favorite.

Fortunately, this grilled chicken tenders recipe is super quick and easy to make. All you have to do is marinate the chicken tenders in the deliciously zesty marinade and then cook them on the stovetop or grill. These grilled chicken tenders are as flavorful, juicy, and tender as the name suggests.

So, what’s in this flavoring? You’ve got lime juice, zesty Italian dressing, and honey. They combine to make a marinade that’s to die for (trust me on this, folks).

I like to serve my grilled chicken with a simple side salad (check out Texas caviar and my Greek salad) or some vegetables like grilled asparagus.

Ingredients for grilled chicken tenders.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Lime juice
  • Zesty Italian dressing (or just plain Italian dressing)
  • Honey
  • Chicken

How to Make Easy Grilled Chicken Tenders Without the Grill!

adding Italian dressing to jar

Prepare the Marinade

First, I usually mix my marinade in a quart-sized mason jar. Begin by pouring in your dressing.

The original recipe said to strain and discard the spices but I really like them in here and I have never once actually noticed them on the finished chicken. They either cook up or magically disappear. Either way, why add another step if we don’t have to?

adding honey to marinade

Add your honey…

adding lime juice to marinade

and lime juice…

Marinade for grilled chicken tenders in jar.

Screw the lid on the jar and give it a good shake.

cutting chicken breasts into strips.

If you are making your grilled chicken tenders with chicken breasts, cut them into strips.

Chicken cut into strips.

Here is our chicken, all ready for the marinade ingredients.

Pour marinade on the chicken in ziplock bag and refrigerate.

Now what I do is put all of my chicken in a big gallon ziplock bag and just pour the chicken marinade in there with it. Seal the bag and stick it in your fridge for at least an hour.

Chicken tenders grilling on stovetop.

Grilling the chicken tenders

After at least an hour, dump the entire contents of the bag into a large skillet.

You are going to be thinking “Wow, this is awful watery, there is no way it is going to look like hers” but oh yes it will!! Hang in there with me, this just takes a little patience (actually it takes about thirty minutes or so).

chicken tenders cooking

This is how it will look after ten minutes over medium heat. Just hang in there and let it cook.

I keep my stove eye/burner dial on five. Good thing is, you don’t have to fret over this, just go check on it about every ten minutes and turn it and you’ll be fine!

Chicken tenders cooking.

This is after about twenty minutes.

cooking tenderloins

30 minutes later… now we’re starting to get somewhere!

Sauce will thicken around the 30-min mark.

A little after the 30-minute mark, the sauce thickens and begins to caramelize.

It’s getting really thick on the bottom now and this is where I start moving my meat around a lot, getting it all nice and browned.

Grilled chicken tenders on serving plate.

Once it gets dark, I take every piece of chicken and one by one rub it around in that marinade before taking it out of the pan and putting it on my platter.

Plate of grilled chicken tenders.

These grilled chicken tenderloins are full of flavor that I like to serve them with a simple side dish. Tonight we’ll have it with butter stewed potatoes. YUM!

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them either on the stovetop or in the oven or air fryer. You can also keep leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating as mentioned.

Recipe Notes

  • In a pinch, you can substitute the lime juice for lemon juice if you like. Another option is apple cider vinegar. I know I usually have lemon juice on hand but not lime. I happened to have this because I made Bananaritas the other morning. For any new readers, Bananaritas are not alcoholic and make a delicious breakfast.
  • You can prepare the marinade and chicken tenders the night before if you like and just keep them in your fridge until you’re ready for supper. Another thing I have done before is mix up the marinade and chicken and just freeze the whole bag. Then on a morning, before you head off to work, just pop the bag in the fridge to thaw out during the day.
  • If you’re using a grill to make your grilled chicken tenders, it will take about 10 minutes (turning halfway). You’ll want to make sure the internal temperature is 165 degrees before taking them off the grill.
  • A different serving suggestion: sprinkle with parsley and serve with lime wedges.
  • If you love garlic, add one clove of minced garlic or a teaspoon of garlic powder to the chicken marinade.
  • Make sure you don’t overcrowd your pan or move the chicken too much while cooking.
  • Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving, as this gives the chicken time to soak up the juices.

Recipe FAQs

What type of chicken do you use for this grilled chicken tenders recipe?

You can purchase chicken tenderloins or just do like I do and buy boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut them yourself. It’s cheaper to buy them this way and I just use my kitchen shears – by far the greatest utensil known to mankind. This is what I call a “fish and loaves” recipe because the chicken tends to plump up and be extra filling, therefore feeding a much larger amount than it normally would have. I used four chicken breasts and we easily have enough left for another meal (or some great lunches!).

What do you serve with your grilled chicken tenders?

The options are nearly endless, but here are some serving suggestions:

You may also enjoy these chicken recipes:

Cheesy Chicken And Rice Crock Pot Version

Fuss-Free Fried Chicken

Sticky Chicken

Easy Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

You may also like this Cracker Barrel Copycat recipe:

Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole Cheesy Copycat

chicken tenderloins

Grilled Chicken Tenders

A copycat version of Cracker Barrel's grilled chicken tenderloins, these grilled chicken tenders are marinated in a delicious zesty flavoring.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken
Servings: 4
Calories: 330kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • 1 cup zesty Italian dressing
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • 3 teaspoons honey

Instructions

  • Combine all marinade ingredients in a mason jar and shake well to combine.
    1 cup zesty Italian dressing, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 3 teaspoons honey
  • Place the chicken strips in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and pour over the marinade. Seal and marinate for at least an hour.
    4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • Pour all of the ziplock bag's ingredients into a large skillet and cook over medium heat until liquid evaporates and the remaining marinade becomes thick and caramelized, about 30 minutes (May take up to 40).
  • Coat each chicken piece in marinade by rubbing it around on the bottom of the pan before removing it.

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

 
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289 Comments

  1. I did a search for chicken tenderloin recipes and I came across yours. Tried this tonight. I didn’t have any italian dressing, but I did have a walnut-raspberry dressing. The chicken was delicious! A great way to have chicken and for me to use up the walnut-raspberry dressing–didn’t like it on salad.

    Thank you for the yummy recipe!

  2. Well, I tried it in my cast iron skillet and did everything just like last time (except the chicken, of course) and while the chicken turned out good, I did not get that nice glaze like you are supposed to. It was almost like an oily mess rather than the glaze. Maybe that was because I used dark meat. I’ll definitely make this recipe again, but I’ll use the boneless tenders like you are supposed to.

  3. Christy, I tried these last week, and my husband and I LOVED this dish. It was so easy to cook, though! I had some chicken thighs in the freezer, so I laid them out to thaw this morning, and I was planning on trying this recipe with the chicken thighs. Do you think that will work? I know it calls for boneless tenders, so I’m not sure how it will work with the bone-in chicken. What do you think?

  4. Absolutely delicous. Made it for 9 people & all 9 had something great to say about thm. Thank you for this great recipe. I will be using it often. Yummy!!!!

  5. I fixed this tonight using a nonstick skillet and it came out perfect. My husband kept asking if I was sure I was doing it right. Told him yes and to wait and see. He loved it. I am not a big meat eater but did think it was good. I served it with purple hull peas, fried okra w/onions <<<all from our garden) and broccoli slaw. Thanks for giving us some good and easy recipes

  6. We all loved the chicken tenders! Will definitely make again. I have a question about freezing the chicken and marinade to cook later. Is it okay to refreeze uncooked chicken breasts? I usually buy the large bags at Sams that are frozen individually. Maybe I should just prepare the marinade, pour over frozen breasts and put back in the freezer. Always nice to have something in the freezer that requires minimal preparation for dinner.

    1. If you grill outside, I have a good suggestion for a quick and easy meal. I buy the lg pkgs of boneless skinless chicken breast at Sams also. Rub with oil and season…I use a salt, pepper & garlic powder mix. Grill outside on the grill, JUST TIL DONE, do not overcook. Bring in and put on a Pam sprayed cookie sheet and put in freezer. Take out in a few hrs and put in a freezer bag and put back in freezer. When you want an easy quick meal, take how much chicken you want and put in skillet with med heat and pour about 1/4 cup water over chicken and cover. Cook about 15-20 min then turn, recover and cook about 10-15 more min. The chicken should be fairly moist and will have the grilled outside flavor. Our HEB store sells chicken in a bag that use these directions which is good. I got to thinking, if they can do it, why can’t I and it cost less.. It took about 3 times for hub to get it right. I always have a bag of chicken in the freezer for when I don’t feel like cooking. I have also taken the chicken out and made a good chicken salad that has a nice grilled tastes. Hope this might help sometime…lindia

  7. DELICIOUS!!!

    I just made this for dinner tonight, and it’s a HIT — even with my 4-year-old boy. I marinated overnight in the fridge from frozen chicken tenderloins I found on sale a while back. They marinated and thawed in plenty of time for dinner tonight.

    BTW, I did use a nonstick skillet, though I beefed up the quantity of the marinade since I had a good bit more chicken. It all reduced just perfectly and ended up looking just like the finished picture of yours, Christy — though I did adjust the temperature a little since it was cooking a good deal faster than I was ready for!

    THIS ONE IS DEFINITELY A KEEPER! THANKS SO MUCH!!!

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