A delicious dinner that the whole family can enjoy is just minutes away with this easy recipe for Skillet Chicken Tenderloins. You only need olive oil, chicken strips, and your favorite seasoning mix to make this simple 30-minute meal.
The best part is that it’s easy to make extra to enjoy throughout the week in salads, sandwiches, and wraps.
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If you’re looking for a quick weeknight dinner, you can’t go wrong with this versatile chicken tender recipe. Skillet chicken is one of my favorite quick fixes! With just three ingredients, you can have an easy chicken dinner protein ready in just minutes without a lot of fuss or mess.
Not only that, but you can mix and match the seasonings you use or how you serve the pan-fried chicken tenders so that you’re never bored. This is a great way to enjoy a chicken dinner without a lot of work.
Why Make This
It’s quick. Cooking chicken tenderloins on the stove top takes just a few minutes when you’ve got a favorite spice mix on hand. You can easily make a big batch in the same time it takes to make one meal. It’s a great alternative to deep frying and much more accessible for busy weeknights.
It’s delicious. Quickly cooking chicken fillets or tenders in a large skillet keeps them tender and juicy without drying out. Seasoned with cajun seasoning or another favorite spice mix, the chicken is a perfect main dish on its own or added to your favorite recipes calling for cooked chicken.
It’s a great meal prep. I love to make a big batch of these homemade chicken tenders at the beginning of the week. We can enjoy them for a dinner with some favorite sides and leftover chicken tenders are so handy for packing lunches the next day!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for Skillet Chicken Tenderloins:
olive oil – I like to use olive oil for sautéing, but you can also use avocado oil or vegetable oil if you prefer.
chicken tenderloins – Also known as chicken tenders or chicken strips, these are a thin strip of chicken attached to the breast. They are often sold on their own in the meat department of the grocery store or in bags in the freezer section. Frozen chicken tenderloins have been a kitchen staple in my house for years. They are cheap to buy, quick to thaw, and easy to cook up. You can also use chicken cutlets or cut chicken breast meat into strips.
favorite seasoning – You can use your favorite spice mix that contains salt and black pepper or mix and match your spices, such as using Italian seasoning alongside salt and pepper. When you’re generous with the spices, it makes a nice crispy crust on the outside of the meat.
Pro tip: If you prefer more of a fried chicken flavor, be sure to try our crispy fried chicken strips for another easy dinner option. Those are a family favorite as well.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make Skillet Chicken Tenderloins:
Season the chicken pieces generously with the spice mix.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces to the hot oil and allow them to cook in the pan, undisturbed.
Saute the chicken, turning once, until cooked through, about 7 to 10 minutes. The chicken is considered safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Test the largest pieces with a meat thermometer to verify food safety.
Serve the chicken tenderloins hot, warm, or cold with rice, potato wedges, or pasta. They are delicious with ranch dressing or BBQ sauce for dipping.
To make this as a meal prep: Prepare the chicken according to the recipe and divide the batch into 4 meal prep containers along with your preferred side dishes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Consume within 4 days.
To make this as a freezer meal: Prepare the chicken according to the recipe and allow it to cool. Wrap in an airtight container or ziptop freezer bag and chill in the fridge until very cold. Then transfer to the freezer. Store for up to 6 weeks. Thaw before serving.
More 30-Minute Meals
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Skillet Chicken Tenderloins
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ lb chicken tenders
- 2 teaspoon Spicy Chicken Seasoning or other favorite seasoning
Instructions
- Season the chicken pieces generously with the spice mix.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and allow them to cook in the pan, undisturbed.
- Saute the chicken, turning once, until cooked through, about 7 to 10 minutes. The chicken is considered safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Serve the chicken tenderloins hot, warm, or cold.
Margaret
Spice recipe: ingredients were simple, easy and quick to combine. Brushed chicken tenders with avocado oil since I was low on olive oil. Generously covered tenders with seasoning, massaged and cooked in skillet for 7-10 minutes. Turned out perfect. Thank you. I will use this again.
Jessica Fisher
Glad you enjoyed it!
Robb
Hi Margaret;
Thanks for the recipe, I slightly modified it due to seasoning on hand.
Being a man and not really cooking all that much, (don’t want to make myself sick ya know) I ran across your website via a search on how to cook chicken tenderloins.
I must say, I actually surprised myself with this one. SOOOOOOOOO I sort of adapted your recipe just a tad bit and it turned out great.
Here’s how it worked out…
2 chicken tenderloins
My seasoning was/is a premade bottle of … Garlic, Onion, Black Pepper, Sea Salt. Add it with some chicken gravy from a bottle and walla.
I used your suggestion on the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in my non stick pan. While that was warming up (about 3 minutes), I poured the seasoning onto a plate and put the tenderloins in the seasoning and flipped like I was breading them.
Then I started to cook them at number 4 on my stove for about 4 1/2 minutes before flipping them over in the pan. After I flipped them, I poured some of the gravy sauce over the top of the chicken and lightly basted, then cooked the other side for another 4 1/2 minutes.
After that, I turned the heat down to #2 on my stove = (light simmer I guess), and let them continue to cook for another 2 minutes (maybe)
The gravy actually served up like a coating on the pan, almost as if it was a piece of gravy bark. I only used enough gravy from the bottle to cover the one side of the chicken.
I set my thermometer for 169 degrees, let it beep and turned the stove off.
Total time to prepare and cook 11 minutes
Total cost $2.50 (not including electric)
They were actually pretty tender, not overly moist, nor dry, but certainly cooked all the way through and then I added some sweet corn to the plate.
That’s all I got
Hope it helps
Thanks again
Robb N