Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders
by Chungah
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These grilled honey mustard chicken tenders are juicy and moist with the easiest, flavor-packed marinade. Marinate ahead of time or overnight!
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why you’ll love these grilled honey mustard chicken tenders
- Time-saving, make-ahead dish. This is a great recipe to make ahead of time, marinating the chicken 2 hours in advance or overnight for the easiest prep ever. Your future self will be thanking you!
- Sweet and sticky glaze. The chicken tenders will come out juicy, tender, and incredibly flavorful every single time with the most amazing (and super easy) sticky honey mustard glaze you’ll want on anything and everything.
- Versatile and flexible. This recipe will work with any part of the chicken – breasts, thighs, or tenderloins – whether it’s on the grill, on the stovetop or in the oven (more on that below).
What are chicken tenderloins?
Chicken tenderloins (or chicken tenders) are long narrow strips of meat that can be found attached loosely underneath the breast against the rib bones. Chicken tenderloins are far more lean and tender than chicken breasts.
How to make grilled honey mustard chicken tenders
- Prep the marinade (and glaze). Combine the Dijon mustard, shallot, honey, olive oil, rosemary, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, setting aside 1/2 of the mixture in the fridge for glazing later.
- Marinate. Combine the chicken tenderloins and marinade, marinating for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Prep the grill. Preheat the grill to medium heat (325-375°F) and scrape the grill grates clean to prevent sticking and to guarantee those perfect sear marks on the chicken.
- Grill. Drain the chicken from the marinade, then brush with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until fully cooked through (165°F) and charred, about 8 minutes.
- Apply the glaze. Brush the chicken with the reserved glaze, cooking for another 1-2 minutes until caramelized and sticky.
- Rest and serve. Let the chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving warm.
what to serve with chicken tenders
Tools For This Recipe
Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders: Frequently Asked Questions
If chicken tenderloins are not readily available, substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cutting them into thin large strips, about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick.
Substitute thyme (dried or fresh!) or any other herb of your choosing. And because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary = 1 teaspoon dried rosemary.
Brush the chicken with the reserved glaze at the very end of cooking as the sugars can burn easily.
Absolutely! The chicken can be marinated overnight and placed in the fridge.
No grill, no problem! A cast iron grill pan or a large cast iron skillet will work beautifully here, especially during those winter months when it’s too cold to grill out!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, reheating in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Tenders
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coarse ground Dijon mustard
- ½ shallot, diced
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ pounds chicken tenderloins
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together Dijon, shallot, honey, olive oil, rosemary, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside 1/2 of the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken and Dijon mixture; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, up to 8 hours, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade.
- Preheat grill to medium heat.
- Brush chicken with canola oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 8 minutes.
- Brush with reserved Dijon mixture, cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- An outdoor grill is not necessary. Too cold to grill outside? A cast iron grill pan can be used to get those favorited grill marks and charred flavor. These can also be baked at 400°F for 15-20 minutes (reaching an internal temperature of 165°F), brushing with the reserved marinade during the last few minutes of cook time.
- Use chicken breasts. If tenderloins are not readily available at your local supermarket, chicken breasts can be used instead, cut into large strips about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick.
- Fresh herbs are best. Although you can certainly substitute dried herbs, fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage or basil) are ideal here, delivering the best kind of flavor.
- Let your meat rest. Let your chicken rest for at least 5 minutes prior to serving, allowing the juices to redistribute – this will allow for maximum flavor and juiciness.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover chicken can be rubbery when reheated. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
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Made this tonight exactly as posted – so delicious! I feel like a lot of chicken start to seem similar but NOT this one. Very different and unique flavors that tasted amazing. Not overpowering with mustard, just enough. The rosemary added an awesome flavor. Thanks for all your amazing recipes!!
The best tasting chicken!
This was delicious!!!
Absolutely delicious! Simple recipe using staple ingredients that turned into an amazing meal. Another winner added to my recipe box. Thank you.
My teens absolutely loved these. I made this dish as written, and they are already asking me to make them again. The prep is fast and easy, and using the grill helps keep the house cool during these hot summer months.
Forgot to reserve the marinade for basting and it was still the best grilled tenders I’ve ever made! Thank you!
This was simple and yummy!
These look spectacular and have made it to my “test it on my picky girls” list. Out of curiosity, is it possible to substitute dried herbs instead of fresh? I live in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin and fresh can be hard to find at times and thanks to Mother Nature playing yo-yo with the temps/weather my herb garden died on me.
Absolutely!
These look great, I will have to make these next weekend and see if I can them to come up as good as yours! Thanks for posting this.
This was really tasty. I don’t have a grill, so I baked at 425 for 15 minutes, then brushed with the reserved marinade and baked one more minute. Thanks for a simple yet delicious recipe. I find so many great recipes on your blog. Thanks!
Great way to do it without a grill! 🙂
If I have both options…. would you say to do the grill over the oven?
I personally prefer to grill whether possible for that smoky, charred flavor. 🙂
How about the air fryer?
Made tonight, delicious!
These grilled tenders are calling my name! It’s supposed to be raining for the next few days so outdoor grilling is off for us but I am going to try making these on my small indoor grill instead. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂