Everyday Grilled Chicken Tenders

Use The Grill For Meal Prep This Summer

These Everyday Grilled Chicken Tenders are easy enough to marinate and throw on the grill to use in salads and sandwiches all week long. Olive oil, lime, and a variety of pantry staple seasonings will have you loving the versatile flavors of this grilled chicken.

This past Memorial Day weekend we were having friends over for a taco night. As usual when we are at our lake house, we always have stragglers coming over to join us for dinner.

I didn’t want to go to town to the store but needed more proteins for tacos. I decided to marinate the tenders I had, grill them, and use them for taco filling.

This chicken was a huge hit! It stayed juicy and delicious and was great on tacos!

Lime for the Chicken Nuts

As you’ll see in the recipe card below, I use a generous helping of lime as part of the marinade for the chicken. In addition to flavor, this helps keep the tenders… well, tender.

You may have noticed some chicken has gained a tough, woody texture in recent years. From what I’ve heard, this is due to a genetic condition in certain chickens but the acid in the marinade can help maintain a good texture.

The card also covers everything you need to know for cooking and flipping on the grill for a great summer cookout meal.

Don’t Be Afraid Of Flavor

When seasoning chicken, remember that you do need a lot of seasoning to add flavor so don’t be afraid to be heavy handed with your spices and herbs. That being said, you can certainly adjust the ratios to your taste preference.

I love my tenders with a bit of a kick, so I tend to be generous with the cumin and cayenne. If you can’t stand any heat, you can go heavier on the salt, pepper, and garlic powders and use a lighter touch with the hot pepper.

If you’re concerned about your sodium, you can lower the salt and go bigger on the pepper and other spices.

Whatever blend you choose, go all out. The last thing you want is bland tenders!

Thickness Matters

When marinating these chicken tenders, be sure to note how thick they are. The chicken tenders I buy are usually about one inch thick, which means they can withstand a longer marinade time.

If they are very thin and you are adding salt and citrus, if they marinate too long the chicken will start to cure and harden. This is also how you will get dry chicken.

Therefore, if you have thinner chicken, just reduce the marinade time.

The Secret to Grilling Chicken

One of the things you need to remember when grilling anything, and especially chicken, is that it is not ready to flip if you are fighting to lift it from the grill grates.

If it sticks to the grill, it needs more time. If it’s sticking and you’re worried it’s getting overcooked, turn down the heat rather than flipping too early.

The Best Grill

I always get a lot of questions about what kind of grill we use. I LOVE my smaller Weber grill.

I have it on my Amazon Shop along with some other grilling essentials.

*This is an Amazon Affiliate link that I shared which means I make a small commission if you use the link at no extra cost to you.*

I DO recommend doing some price comparison because I have seen the grill cheaper from time to time.

What I like about this grill is that it doesn’t take up a lot of space but it has a large cooking area, as you can see with how much chicken I have on this small grill.

I also like that I can take the grates off easily and wash them in my kitchen sink or dishwasher. The inside is also very easy to clean.

We have ours hooked up to a larger propane take since we purchased the conversion kit. This does take the smaller propane cans which may be ideal for those who live in apartments and condos and don’t want to carry a big tank up the stairs.