Southwest Chicken Tenders
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This southwest chicken recipe is sure to please all the eaters in your house. It’s easy, healthy, freezer-friendly, and full of flavor but not spicy. You can bake it or–even better–grill it!
These Southwest Chicken Tenders take main stage in our Southwest Chicken and Bacon Wraps and Southwest Chicken Burrito Bowls recipes. However, we’ve also learned that they are delicious on our Southwest Chicken Salad or a chicken sandwich. There are so many ways to use them.
Ingredients
As a mom of three younger kids, what I love about this marinade is that it’s so very flavorful but not too spicy. The resulting meal is a home run with all ages.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredient Notes
- Avocado or olive oil – Use a fairly neutral oil keeps things moist without an overpowering flavor.
- Apple cider vinegar – Cider vinegar adds a delicious twist on the acid component but white vinegar will work.
- Fresh chopped cilantro (or parsley) – Adds a pop of green and fresh flavor. Use dried parsley (half the amount) as a sub.
- Optional: Red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper – To add a little more heat, if desired. I usually opt for this!
Make It A Freezer Meal
Freeze For Later: Combine all ingredients except the chicken tenders in a gallon-sized freezer bag, seal, and shake/massage to combine the marinade. Then add in the chicken tenders, seal tightly, and shake/massage again. Freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: Place the frozen chicken in the fridge and let thaw for about 24 hours. If you need your chicken defrosted sooner, use one of these safe thawing methods. Then, cook immediately (so you don’t over-marinate the chicken) according to one of the methods below.
How to Cook Southwest Chicken Tenders
The two best ways to prepare southwest chicken tenders are:
Cooking Method #1: Grill It
Grill chicken tenders over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes per side. Chicken is done when there is no longer any pink inside or it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. (source)
Cooking Method #2: Bake It
Bake at 425°F for about 15 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking time. Chicken is done when there is no longer any pink inside or it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. (source)
How to Serve Southwest Chicken Tenders
Here are some ways to use your chicken tenders:
Make Wraps
Serve them in Southwest Chicken and Bacon Wraps. This is my personal favorite, and I make it all the time for groups.
Use in Bowls
Use it for Southwest Chicken Burrito Bowls. We love this option because everyone can personalize their own bowl.
Use on a Sandwich
Turn it into a chicken sandwich like the Gourmet Grilled Chicken Sandwich.
Add to a Salad
Dice the chicken and use on top of our Mexican Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.
However you serve it, be sure to double and freeze a batch for later. Your crew is going to love this southwest chicken recipe!
Want More Grilling Recipes?
We’ve rounded up our best grilling recipes just for you! Steak, burgers, peaches, side dishes, and more.
FAQ
Can I Use a Different Cut of Chicken for this Marinade?
Yep! We know our readers love versatility. The marinade will work for almost any cut of chicken. You can use it on:
- Chicken breasts
- Drumsticks
- Thighs
- And, of course, tenders
Can I Freeze Southwest Chicken Tenders?
YES YES YES! This recipe is one of my go-to freezer meals. It’s so easy to scale up and make multiple batches at once.
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Southwest Chicken Tenders
These southwest chicken tenders are sure to please all the eaters in your house. They are full of flavor but not spicy.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup avocado oil or olive oil
- 1/3 cup apple cider or white vinegar (Gluten-Free: Make sure your vinegar is gluten-free.)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
- Optional: a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper (to add a little heat)
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a large zip top bag, seal, and shake/massage the bag to combine the marinade. Then, add in the chicken tenders, seal, and shake/massage again. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
- Place bag in a dish and set in the refrigerator. Let chicken marinate for 2 to 24 hours, occasionally turning the bag to evenly distribute the marinade. Do not marinate longer than this.
- Cook the chicken tenders using one of the following two methods. Chicken is done when you cut into it and there is no more pink or it registers 165°F internally.
- Grill: Grill chicken tenders over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes per side.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake on a sheet pan for about 15 minutes, flipping half way through.
- Enjoy these warm on their own or serve on a wrap, burritos bowl, salad, nachos, or with Southwest Ranch Sauce.
Freeze For Later: Follow Step 1. Seal and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw using one of these safe thawing methods. Cook the chicken according to Step 3.
Our family’s favorite chicken! Even our pickiest eater loves this one!
Great news Ashley! Hope you find some other recipes to win over that picky eater. 🙂
Would be great if the marinading time was included in the recipe time, definitely not 23 minutes total!
Thanks, I’ll add that in. Good idea!
Amazing marinade! Made double the marinade since I’m freezing them. I’m sure the kiddos will love this grilled.
Thanks, Natalie. Yep, such a kid-friendly one.
This marinade is amazing! It has so much flavor. My whole family loves it. It is definitely better fresh. I made a batch and froze it. When we thawed the chicken it was very dry. The flavor was still there, but the chicken was not enjoyable. Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Sarah. I’m glad to hear you enjoy the marinade. About the freezer meal, did you freeze the chicken in the marinade BEFORE cooking? That’s what our directions say and we always suggest that in our cookbooks, too. Cooking it after thawing is the best way to ensure your chicken tastes fresh after freezing. I hope that helps!
I was wondering why this recipe is different from the recipe/marinade in the southwest chicken and bacon wrap recipe. I thought they were the same. Am I missing something? They have the same ingredients but different quantities of some of the ingredients. I made the recipe above and it did seem to have too much oil and a lot of chili powder. Unfortunately we didn’t love it. We could only taste chili powder and plain grilled chicken. I think this recipe could be really yummy, so was wondering about the different recipes. Anyway, we have tried lots of other recipes from here and all are super yummy. Thanks.
Jerusha, Thank you so much for this feedback. I went back and compared notes and you are right! This was totally my fault. I corrected the amounts and now it should be the same marinade amounts as the chicken in Southwest Chicken and Bacon Wraps (which I agree is spot on!). I’m so very sorry that you had a fail with this, but again I am grateful you pointed it out and saved others from the same fate. Bless you! Everyone, please note…the recipe is correct now.
Hi Rachel,
So I’m back, two years later from the above comment but not from your site because I love this blog!) and was looking through all the yummy recipes and noticed this recipe again. I remembered I made the above comment and just had to come back and tell you that I now know what went wrong the first time when I tried the recipe. I mentioned that the recipe tasted very strongly of chili powder and was way too spicy, and we love spicy food. Anyway I have discovered that American Chili powder is much more mild than other areas in the world and so when I put the chili in the dish it was way too hot. So I thought I should let you and your readers know that if they are not from America they may need to be careful with the spice they use. So I tried the recipe again with the equivalent of what would be similar and it was delicious! Thanks again,
Jerusha
Oh and FYI our chili powder is similar to your cayenne pepper 🙂