If you are looking for an easy family friendly meal you have come to the right place. Our easy pretzel crusted chicken tenders are just that. Chicken tenders are definitely a childhood favorite. When they are coated in crunchy pretzels they take on a whole new flavor. We serve them with a hot honey butter sauce that is the perfect compliment. Salty and sweet perfection. If you are serving them to your kids you can use regular honey instead. Or you could opt for ranch or your favorite dipping sauce. Options are endless.
These pretzel crusted chicken tenders are so easy to make! They are not only easy but they only require a few ingredients. I know they will become a family weeknight favorite!
What to Serve with Pretzel Chicken Tenders
I served cinnamon sweet potato fries with toasted marshmallow dip with our tenders. The combo is insanely good! I know it sounds like more of a sweet treat than a side, and I mean it kind of is. Sweet potatoes ARE vegetables though so it totally passes as a side dish. If you want to try them you can find the recipe here. Some other side options would be a side salad, french fries, mac and cheese, or roasted potatoes.
Ingredients Needed for this Recipe
The ingredient list is short and sweet and so is the time required to make them! You will need:
Pretzels – it does not matter which size or shape because you will crush them up!
Eggs
Flour
Seasonings: garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and salt and pepper
Chicken tenderloins- trim any excess fat and pound to equal size for even cooking
Hot honey- we LOVE Mike’s hot honey. If you don’t like spicy feel free to use regular honey instead.
Dipping Sauce- ranch, bbq, or honey mustard. Use your favorite
Flaky sea salt- This is optional but it adds the perfect amount of extra saltiness when you garnish the tenders with it.
And that is it! See, short and sweet. An optional add in would be parmesan cheese! Add 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan to the pretzels for a flavor twist!
Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken tenderloins trimmed of fat and pounded to equal size
- 4 cups pretzels
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
- flaky salt for garnish
Hot Honey Butter Sauce
- 3 T butter
- 1/4 cup hot honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Pour pretzel into a food processer and pulse into crumbs, leaving some bigger pieces. Or place pretzels into a large zip loc and use a rolling pin to crush them.
- Pour the pretzels into a shallow bowl. Crack eggs into a separate bowl and whisk. Mix flour and seasonings in a third bowl and stir to combine.
- Pat chicken tenders dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, eggs and finally pretzel crumbs. Shake off excess coating after each step. Place chicken onto prepared baking sheet.
- Lightly spray the tenders with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake 5 minutes more until crispy and cooked through.
- While the tenders are baking make the honey butter sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in honey and cook until combined.
- When the tenders are done sprinkle with flaky sea salt and drizzle with honey butter. Serve with additional honey butter or your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
