I love easy dinners for the busy school week. After school extra curricular activities and homework sometimes limits the time I have to prepare a good homemade meal for my family. I’m a huge fan of casseroles and slow cooker meals this time of year to make sure that my family gets a great tasting, well rounded meal that doesn’t require me running around like a crazy person to get it on our table. To make dinner extra fun this week, I made these Easy Pretzel Chicken Tenders. My kiddos loved them and they are definitely less expensive than any packaged chicken tender variety you find at the grocery store!
If you’re like me, you always have a bag of pretzels on hand for snacks. They are crunchy, a little salty and perfect for this kid-friendly recipe. The fun part about this recipe is that you get to smash them up too! This is a nice for you children to help with or if you need to get a little frustration out after a long day. 😉
After preheating your oven, simply dip each seasoned (a little salt, pepper and garlic powder) boneless, skinless chicken tender into a bowl with the egg wash and then dredge the chicken into the crushed pretzel mixture to coat well. Don’t be afraid to get right in there either. The more pretzel the better!
For easy cleanup, I like to place the chicken tenders on a lightly sprayed, foil lined baking sheet. Then you pop these in the oven and they are ready in only 25 minutes!
My family likes to dip these yummy chicken tenders in a little homemade honey mustard (1/2 cup mustard with 1-2 Tbsp. honey) and enjoy them along with a baked potato and steamed vegetable.
This whole pretzel/mustard flavor combination really got my little ones excited about this chicken though. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box and know that a great dinner doesn’t have to be very complicated at all!
This recipe serves 6 generously, and we had absolutely no leftovers! That’s always a good sign!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken tenderloins
- 1/2 lb. salted pretzels, smashed (either with a mallet or in food processor)
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- non stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Set up a mini breading station with a bowl of egg wash (eggs lightly beaten with the water) and the crushed pretzels.
- Add the salt, pepper and garlic powder to the pretzel mixture and mix.
- Season your chicken tenders with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Dip each chicken tender in the egg wash, then dredge the chicken in the pretzel mixture and coat well.
- Place the breaded chicken tenders on a lightly sprayed, foil lined baking sheet for easy cleanup and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.
- For extra crispy tenders, turn your broiler on for the last few minutes of baking.
- Serve warm with honey mustard (1/2 cup mustard + 1-2 Tbsp. honey) or ketchup along with a baked potato and steamed veggies for a well balanced weeknight meal.
- Serves 6.
- Enjoy!
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