These grilled chicken tenders are coated in a flavorful mixture of olive oil, honey, and hot sauce. This quick 20-minute recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner.

Grilled chicken tenders are served with a tomato salad.

These grilled chicken tenders are part of my weekly dinner rotation because they are delicious and truly easy to make. The sweet-and-spicy marinade is incredible, and it's not too spicy for the kids, but you can use less of the hot sauce if you'd like. If you like chicken tenders, check out these recipes for gluten-free chicken tenders, pork rind chicken tenders, and parmesan chicken tenders.

Ingredients and Substitutions

The ingredients needed to grill chicken tenders.

See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.

For the marinade, you'll need olive oil, honey, hot pepper sauce, and kosher salt. You can substitute avocado oil or melted ghee for the olive oil and maple syrup for the honey.

You will also need about one pound of raw chicken tenders (chicken breast tenderloins). Depending on their size, their number could range from eight to twelve. If you can't find tenderloins, you can use chicken breasts. You will need to butterfly the chicken breasts - cut them in half horizontally to make them thinner and more even.

Instructions

The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.

Preheat your grill to medium-high. Whisk together the olive oil, honey, hot sauce, and kosher salt. Brush the mixture all over the chicken tenderloins.

Brushing the chicken tenders with the marinade.

Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side, or a total of 4 minutes on a dual-contact grill. Remove it as soon as it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F to prevent it from becoming too dry.

Serve immediately.

These are delicious! I made some regular and some with mustard replacing the hot sauce for my non spice eaters and we all loved them. Simple and yummy. Definitely making this recipe often.
Susan
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Recipe Tips

How long to grill: This depends on the type of grill you use. In my dual-contact electric grill, I grill for a total of 4 minutes. In a grill pan or a gas grill, you will need to grill them for about 3 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. To make sure they're ready, check their internal temperature. It should reach 165°F.
Baking instructions: You can bake the tenderloins uncovered in a preheated 450°F oven for about 20 minutes. Their internal temperature should reach 165°F. There's no need to flip them midway.
Storage: You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I don't like to reheat them because it dries them, so I shred and use them in chicken Cobb salad or a lettuce sandwich. If you decide to reheat them, do so gently in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers for up to three months.
Marinating the chicken: I usually brush the marinade over the chicken and grill immediately. It comes out perfectly juicy and flavorful. However, marinating the chicken will enhance its flavor. To do it, coat the chicken in the marinade, place it in a resealable bag, pour in any remaining marinade, and seal the bag. Place it on a plate and refrigerate until ready to grill, and up to six hours, as shown in the image below.

Marinating the chicken tenders in a resealable bag.

Serving Suggestions

These chicken tenders go well with so many side dishes. They are truly versatile! I like to serve them with a salad for the ultimate easy meal. A few of my favorite salads to serve with them are homemade coleslaw, creamy cucumber salad, broccoli salad, and cherry tomato salad (as shown in the photos on this page).

If you have space on your grill, you can also serve them with grilled vegetables, such as grilled portobello mushrooms, grilled zucchini, or grilled eggplant.

Recipe Card

5 from 11 votes

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Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken Tenders

These grilled chicken tenders are coated in a flavorful mixture of olive oil, honey, and hot sauce. They're ready in less than 20 minutes!

Prep Time10

Cook Time6

Total Time16

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Vered DeLeeuw

Video

Ingredients

Marinade:

▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil - or avocado oil
▢ 1 tablespoon honey
▢ 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce - such as Frank's
▢ 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ½ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt

Chicken:

▢ 1 pound raw chicken tenders - 8-12 pieces, depending on their size

Instructions

Preheat the grill to medium-high.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, honey, hot sauce, and kosher salt.
Brush the mixture on both sides of the chicken pieces.
Grill the tenders until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Their internal temperature should reach 165ºF. Serve immediately.

Notes

If using a dual-contact grill, the cooking time will be shorter. I made these in my dual-contact electric grill, and they came out juicy and perfect after a total of 4 minutes.
While you want the chicken to be cooked through, you also want to avoid drying it out. So keep a close eye on it and check the internal temperature. As soon as it reaches 165°F, remove the chicken from the grill.
Baking instructions: You can bake the tenderloins uncovered in a preheated 450°F oven for about 20 minutes. Their internal temperature should reach 165°F. There's no need to flip them midway.
Marinating the chicken: I usually brush the marinade over the chicken and grill immediately. It comes out perfectly juicy and flavorful. However, marinating the chicken will enhance its flavor. To do it, coat the chicken in the marinade, place it in a resealable bag, pour in any remaining marinade, and seal the bag. Place it on a plate and refrigerate until ready to grill, and up to six hours.
Storage: You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I don't like to reheat them because it dries them out, so I shred them and use them in a salad. If you decide to reheat them, do so gently in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers for up to three months.

Nutrition per Serving

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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.

Grilled Chicken Tenders

Ingredients and Substitutions

Instructions

Recipe Tips

Serving Suggestions

Recipe Card