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    Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce

    April 17, 2023

    Crispy, healthy baked chicken tenders with honey mustard sauce are the easy, dinnertime win that we all deserve.

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    Healthy homemade Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce

    A Chicken Dinner Guaranteed to Please

    Crunchy, crispy, familiar and yummy, these healthy, easy baked chicken tenders are an instant win. Crusted in coconut and almond flour and baked to golden perfection, healthy, homemade chicken tenders are just the kind of meal you need when you simply cannot hear another dinnertime complaint from the peanut gallery. A combination of almond flour and unsweetened coconut gives them loads of that satisfying crunchy crust that chicken strips absolutely must have, without the unhealthy deep frying. Pair them with a simple homemade honey-mustard sauce for dipping and you’ve got a truly amazing dinner on your hands that’s sure to disappear quick.

    Honey Mustard dressing in a bowl and a Wisk
    raw chicken tenders wit almond flour and coconut on a baking sheet

    Are Chicken Strips and Chicken Tenders the Same Thing?

    We call them chicken tenders, but some people call the small piece of chicken meat that’s attached underneath the breast ‘chicken fingers’ or even ‘chicken strips’, and the terms are pretty interchangeable. Every chicken breast has one chicken tender, and so each chicken has two chicken tenders, and you should be able to find chicken tenders easily at any grocery store.

    Homemade Honey-Mustard: The Best Chicken Tender Dip Ever

    Homemade honey-mustard sauce for dipping gives buttermilk ranch a run for its money. The sweet-sharp flavor of honey-mustard is a perfect foil for the juicy, tender, crispy chicken tenders. Plus, it’s surprisingly easy to make! The mustard seeds give a fun texture and a little extra dose of mustard seeds, but they’re optional so if you don’t have them, not to worry! All you do to make honey-mustard dressing is whisk together:

    • Dijon mustard
    • Honey
    • Mayonnaise
    • Brown mustard seeds
    • Salt and pepper
    homemade baked chicken tenders on parchment paper

    How to Make Chicken Tenders From Scratch

    This is such an easy baked chicken tenders recipe, and it’s always such a hit in our homes, it’s a regular member of our in our weekly recipe rotation. Here’s just how easy it is:

    1. Prep the chicken tender crust by whisking the eggs in one bowl, and whisking the almond flour, salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic and pepper in another, and the coconut in another.
    2. Coat the raw chicken tenders in the flour mixture, then dip in the eggs, then the coconut.
    3. Bake!
    4. Serve, with the honey-mustard sauce for dipping.
    hand dipping baked chicken tender into honey mustard sauce

    Tools You’ll Need:

    More Easy Weeknight Chicken Recipes

    Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce
    Healthy homemade Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce

    Love Me Tender

    We truly hope that this easy chicken tender recipe is a hit in your home! If you make it, let us know how you like it! Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!

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    Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce

    Updated on April 17, 2023

    • Serves:  6
    • Prep Time:  25 min
    • Cook Time:  20 min
    • Calories:  502
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    Ingredients

    • 3 large eggs, beaten
    • 1 cup almond flour
    • 1½ teaspoons sea salt
    • 1 teaspoons paprika
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
    • 1½ pounds chicken tenders
    • 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

    Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

    • ¼ cup Dijon mustard
    • ¼ cup whole grain mustard
    • ½ cup honey
    • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
    • Sea salt, to taste
    • Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. With a rack in the center position. Lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet.

    2. Add the eggs to a shallow bowl. In a second shallow bowl, whisk together the almond flour, 1 teaspoon of the salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper. Add the shredded coconut to a third shallow bowl.

    3. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle the chicken all over with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Working with one chicken tender at a time, coat all over with the almond flour mixture. Transfer the chicken to the egg and coat all over, letting the access drip off. Gently press into the coconut until adhered. Place the chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Making sure the chicken tenders do not touch each other.

    4. Bake in the oven until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

    5. Meanwhile, make the honey mustard sauce. In a small bowl whisk together the Dijon, whole grain mustard, honey and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Can be made ahead and stored for up to a week.

    6. Serve the chicken tenders with honey mustard dipping sauce alongside.

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 502
    • Protein 32 g
    • Carbohydrates 36 g
    • Total Fat 27 g
    • Dietary Fiber 6 g
    • Cholesterol 161 mg
    • sodium 784 mg
    • Total Sugars 26 g

    Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

    or
    • Kyle

      Curious, what a good substitute would be for almond flour because we have a nut allergy. Thanks!

      You could probably just use regular flour if you aren't avoiding gluten

    • Elizabeth

      In the recipe it says to do flour then eggs then coconut but in the description above it says eggs first then flour then coconut. Just wondering which is the correct order?

      The correct order is flour, eggs, coconut. We updated the post to reflect that correctly, thanks for bringing it to our attention! Hope you enjoy Elizabeth!

    • Sarah

      The whole 30 recipes include honey, they mention pasta and rice. Also doesn't tomato paste have sugar in it? Confused.

      The chicken tenders ONLY are whole 30 approved! On the blog post that mentions these as whole30 mentions that! "Would you believe me if I told you that you can have Chicken Tenders on Whole30? Well you can if they’re these coconut chicken tenders. We’ve swapped AP flour for almond flour, and get a helping hand from shredded coconut to make this kid-friendly classic juicy and crisp. You'll just need to find a Whole30-approved dipping sauce to go with them, because our honey mustard unfortunately isn't whole 30 compliant."

    • Selin

      Can you freeze these?

      Yes! Let them cool completely, and then you can store them in the freezer for up to three months.

    • Kathy

      This was delicious and very easy.
      Thanks!

      Thanks Kathy, so glad you loved it!

    • Jackie

      Excellent! Was worried they would be too sweet, but that organic unsweetened coconut I get at Walmart was perfect. I used 1.5 large chicken breast cut in half so they were thinner, then cut into strips. Cook time was good as written Thank you!

      Thanks Jackie, we are so glad you loved it!

    • Jackie

      Delicious! Hobby LOVED the dipping sauce. We used 2 breasts cut into 8 long pieces. The only notable change was using 1/2 c Coconut by "breading" only the top with it.

      Thanks Jackie! We are so happy you both enjoyed it!

    • Amber

      SO. GOOD. I follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for health reasons and really miss a good old fashioned chicken tender. These feel indulgent and are super satisfying!

      Great. So glad you loved them!

    • Nicole

      Super easy to make! Loved the sauce, and that the whole recipe was gluten-free!

      Yes to gluten-free!