Spicy Buttermilk Baked Chicken Tenderloins
A quick buttermilk and spicy hot sauce marinade for juicy chicken tenders that are essentially carb and fat free!
Servings: 10 Tenders
Calories: 81kcal
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenderloins*
- 3/4 C 180mL Low Fat Buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp 30g Hot Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt divided
- 1 tsp Black Pepper divided
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper divided (optional)
Instructions
- For the Marinade
- Whisk the buttermilk, hot sauce, paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper together in a resealable container. Add the chicken tenderloins and marinate for at least 2 hours.
- Baking the Chicken Tenderloins
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Transfer the chicken tenderloins from the marinade to a baking sheet with a wire rack.** Discard the remaining marinade.
- Mix the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper with the remaining 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper to sprinkle on top of the tenderloins.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the chicken tenderloins reach an internal temperature of 165F. Remove from the oven and let the chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
*Chicken tenderloins vary in size. Use 1 1/2 pounds of chicken. Smaller tenderloins will cook a bit faster and affect nutrition information.
**If you don't have a wire rack, bake directly on the sheet. This may accelerate cooking so check on them earlier.
For Air Fried Chicken Tenders
Using my Nashville Hot Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets as a guide, 8-10 minutes at 400ºF should do the trick. Though you'll likely need to cut the recipe in half or cook in two batches unless you have a BIG air fryer.Nutrition Facts Notes
- Each chicken tenderloin has 0 Smart Points.
- The nutrition facts include the marinade (even though it's discarded) since there's no way to accurately track what's absorbed/discarded. As always, nutrition facts are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Tender | Calories: 81kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.1g | Protein: 16.3g | Fat: 0.8g