These baked chicken tenders are coated in a deliciously savory crust, yet have zero breading, which makes for an awesomely low carb meal!
Eating healthy has never tasted so good! You won’t even miss the breading on these baked chicken tenders… and the flavor is crazy addictive. Who says you can’t have it all?
So for those of you with little munchkins… do they get stuck in food ruts? My kids sure do…. if it isn’t a fish stick, hot dog, or chicken nugget… they don’t want it. Sound familiar? Doesn’t it make you want to pull your hair out? Cooking a great meal for your family, working hard, and they take one look and promptly say “that looks gross, I want a hot dog”. *insert flip out moment here*
To be fair, I shouldn’t say my “kids”… because my son is the human disposal… he will eat just about anything, and in large amounts! There are some nights I swear he eats more than I do… which honestly, is hard to do… Mama likes to EAT! He is, however, picky about what he wants on certain nights. And my daughter used to be a fantastic eater, and still is, just ohhhhhh my lord is she stubborn!! I shouldn’t even complain because let’s face it, she got it from me… but I’m constantly wracking my brain to get her to eat something that doesn’t come out of a frozen bag.
Chicken is generally a safe bet, especially when I can cut it up into “nuggets” and voila… she’ll eat, especially with some dipping sauce. We eat a good deal of chicken around here 🙂
This chicken… it is beyond addictive and you’ll want it alllllll the time!
Does that look yummy or what?! But wait, it gets even better! These chicken tenders aren’t breaded… that’s right… no breadcrumbs, no panko… zero bread (bring on the low-carb!). A mix of Parmesan cheese and a variety of spices combine to make the “crust” on these baked chicken tenders. And what a delicious crust it is!!
These chicken tenders are also baked, so no babysitting them in a skillet… just pop them in the oven and relax. Okay, maybe not relax, because odds are you’re fixing something else to have alongside the chicken… but at least you don’t have to fuss with the chicken while you’re working on the side dish 🙂
Okay, here’s the breakdown… just mix up your cheese and spices in a large dish and set aside, and melt some butter in a microwave-safe dish.
Dip each chicken tender in the melted butter (seriously, how can you go wrong dipping chicken in butter first!), then roll it in the spice mixture and place in a foil-lined pan. Repeat with remaining chicken tenders and bake for 20-30 minutes. That’s it! So simple right? Plus it’s a fun one that your kids could help you with… they’ll love it! 🙂
These got gobbled up pretty quickly! It was lucky I was able to save a couple of tenders for the pictures the next day 😛
Recipe adapted from Food.com
I want to share that the original name of the recipe on Food.com was Heroin Chicken Tenders, and out of respect for that recipe creator, I originally kept the same name when I shared them. I have since re-named this recipe, but unfortunately the URL still reflects the original name. Any nasty comments pertaining to the name of the recipe will be deleted. I’m sure the original recipe creator named them before heroin was as prevalent a problem as it is today. No one is in poor taste here, just trying to share recipes 🙂
I love serving these with some 3 ingredient slow cooker ranch mushrooms, super crispy parmesan and garlic potato wedges, or a great Caesar salad with homemade dressing!
Helpful Tools for This Recipe:
- NORDICWARE HALF SHEET PANS – I’m a huge fan of these baking sheets, and own them in quite a few sizes!
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Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken tenders
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons parsley minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Line rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Melt butter in a shallow dish.
- Dip each chicken tender in butter then roll in seasoning mixture and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Monique says
Can you freeze and reheat these chicken tenders in the oven.. are they just as good??
Thank you in advance
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested freezing these tenders, so I can’t say for certain that the coating won’t be affected.
DAS says
I froze mine and reheated them in the microwave. I thought they were just as good as when eaten fresh from the oven.
Ellen says
What are all of the nutritional values beyond calories, such as net carbs, fats, proteins, sugar, fibre etc?
The Chunky Chef says
As I’m not a nutritionist, I don’t provide full nutritional information for my recipes (don’t want to inadvertently pass along incorrect information). Your best bet would be to copy the ingredients into your favorite online nutritional calculator.
Shari says
The family loved the keto chicken tenders! They were tender juicy and the kids thought they were coated in flour. They said they loved them better than going to kfc😄 My grown daughter who rarely asks for a recipe wrote it down and went to store and purchased all ingredients so she could make for dinner tomorrow for her husband and kids. He was sick.😷
It’s also delicious with greek feta finely shreeded cheese 1/4 cup with 3/4 cup parmesan cheese.
This a keeper!
AW says
These came out great.
Tashina Schimming says
Wow!! Ummm, YUM!! This chicken was SO perfect!!!!
Jill says
Is the parsley fresh or dried?
The Chunky Chef says
I used fresh, but you could use dried, although you won’t need as much if it’s dried.
Jessica says
So easy— so tasty!!! Delicious!! My 8 year old loved them!! Thanks!
Gene says
I just tried this recipe myself. It was great! Thanks for all of the recipes:)
Rita says
Made this for supper this evening – delicious!
Betsey says
Can this be cooked in an air fryer?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Betsey 🙂 I don’t have an air fryer, so I can’t say for certain.
Terdralynn says
These things are delicious! I made them a while back, and my grandsons all said they were the best chicken “nuggets” they’d ever had. That really means a lot coming from the youngest, who would only eat McDonald’s nuggets. My eldest son and I eat low-carb, and these were perfect for us. A lot of low-carb stuff has something lacking, but not these babies!
Stephanie, One Caring Mom says
This is one of my absolute favorite ways to make chicken. It is always so good and moist. And I love eating it cold the next day!
Danny Sommers says
This is crack. I can’t stop eating!!!!! Super easy to make. Thanks a whole bunch for making dinner a blast for my family.
TC says
This was delicious. I followed directions exactly. After 20 minutes was finished, I drained midtown of the juices from baking sheet, moved to top shelf of oven, and broiled for about 4-5 minutes. Lightly crispy outside, tender and juicy inside. This recipe is a keeper!
Jackie Harmon says
Do u have an actual carb count? Going to try today!!
The Chunky Chef says
I’m not a nutritionist, so I don’t provide full nutritional information on all my recipes, as I don’t want to inadvertently give false information. My advice is to copy the ingredients into whatever nutritional calculator you usually use 🙂 The online calculator I usually use shows 3g carbs per serving!
Nichole Wainwright says
I would like to know the macros for this recipe (# of carbs; protein; fats)?
The Chunky Chef says
I’m not a nutritionist, so I don’t provide full nutritional information on all my recipes, as I don’t want to inadvertently give false information. My advice is to copy the ingredients into whatever nutritional calculator you usually use 🙂
stephanie says
How many calories is low calories?
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t provide full nutritional information on all my recipes, as I don’t want to inadvertently give false information. But the calories are actually listed in the recipe card itself. 581 calories per serving, and my online calculator comes out at 3g of carbs per serving.
Richard says
In type 2 diabetic so this low carb recipe is great. Thanks! I’m making it for dinner tonight. The tenders are in the oven right now and smell great. It was so quick & easy to make. These will become a staple for me. 😀
Pamela DiCandia says
I make this recipe all the time. I do cut the chicken in smaller pieces/ nugget size and freeze them raw.
Whenever my daughter wants them, I pop them right in the oven. She absolutely loves them
Ramona Bell says
CCONCERNING Rebecca’s remarks to CHUNKY CHEF….. Im glad you apologized for your misguided remarks but if you had bothered to read her entire post; you’d have understood where and why the name of the recipe still applies! Adding her kids to the post was even more tacky than the rude attack toward her about the name of the recipe. She is MUCH more gracious than me because I’d have given you some choice words to swallow down with this wonderful recipe once you tried it.
Most people have family or friends who’ve struggled with certain drugs and I’m so sick of the overly sensitive folks blaming a name of a recipe as if it caused the troubles in our country with the drug epidemic! You’d do well to place blame where it belongs and leave a nice lady such as The Chunky Chef alone. It was rude, publicly posted, and was even more low to toss kids into the subject matter. Maybe next time you’ll read and understand her entire POST before having a hissy fit on a public forum. I’ve met too many folks like you who enjoy a war of the words before doing your much needed reading before hand. So again…. glad she handled your remarks so gracefully because I doubt I could have. The recipe will go into my oven tomorrow night and I can’t wait to let my family (and me) enjoy it.
Btw…there are many many folks who also die or struggle with alcohol related issues yet chocolate or other delicious recipes are called “Death by Vodka”…i don’t see folks trying to tear a helpful chef down over a name like that…. I’m just really weary of such sensitive people bursting a spring in their head over a recipe name! It takes one vengeful person to nearly ruin all the other positive posts in her forum… pretty sad it just had to be you I suppose and now me because I can’t abide bullies!! Better luck with the mis- informed attitude next time!!!
R.B. Kentucky USA
Barbara Maxwell says
Ramona in Kentucky – what an absolutely wonderful, sensitive, empathetic message. Really, it made me cry, I was so grateful to you for posting it. Thank you from someone who agrees with you 100%.
Kathleen says
I’m glad she explained the name, but it’s perfectly fine to find the name in poor taste. You assert that people should place the blame on the cause of the problem, but that doesn’t mean that people should go around naming recipes “crack this” or “heroin that” Heroin, FFS! Of course I wouldn’t criticize the Chunky Chef for this as she has rightly changed the name & can’t edit how it shows up on the web, but honestly you really shouldn’t criticize people who find this offensive. I have no idea what the original comment was, and from your response it sounded like it may have been rude & uncalled for, but I have to say again that it’s not appropriate to try to shut down those of us who do find this want-to-be cutesy habit of using addictive drug terminology to name foods distasteful. Those who do this are likely far removed from the cities that have been ravaged by crack, though I suspect less divorced from an environment where opioids have taken the lives of so many. The point is, it’s a distasteful practice to callously use these terms to describe food, & it’s rude to try to dismiss people who feel this way as “overly sensitive”. Again, my comments are NOT directed at the Chunky Chef as she’s provided an explanation & changed the name, but are a commentary on the practice itself & a defense of those of us who are reasonable people who disapprove of it.
Kim Quinn says
Bravo, bravo and bravo! Well voiced in such a respectful and classy manner.