Okay, ya’ll, listen to me here, YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THESE Grilled Chicken Tenderloins! So you need to make them, alright? Trust me.
I’m not sure where I got the recipe because it is all over the internet, but I’ve been making them on a regular basis for the past twenty years and they are a beloved family favorite.
To make these Grilled Chicken Tenderloins you’ll need: Lime juice, Zesty Italian Dressing, honey, and some chicken.
You can purchase chicken tenders or just do like I do and buy boneless skinless breasts and cut them yourself (its cheaper!). The original recipe called just for Italian dressing, but I LOVE this with Zesty Italian.
I usually mix this up in a quart sized mason jar. Begin by pouring in your dressing.
The original recipe said to strain and discard the spices but i really like them in here and I have never once actually noticed them on the finished chicken. They either cook up or magically disappear. Either way, why add another step if we don’t have to?
Add your honey..
and lime juice
Screw the lid on the jar and give it a good shake.
If you are making your Grilled Chicken Tenderloins with chicken breasts, cut them into strips.
You can also buy tenderloins instead and avoid the cutting but it’s cheaper to buy them this way and do it yourself, sometimes $2 per pound cheaper.
I used my kitchen shears, by far the greatest utensil known to mankind. This is what I call a “fish and loaves” recipe because the chicken tends to plump up and be extra filling, therefore feeding a much larger amount than it normally would have. I used four chicken breasts and we easily have enough left for another meal (or some great lunches!).
Here is our chicken, all ready to go.
Now what I do is put all of my chicken in a big gallon ziplock bag and just pour the marinade in there with it. Seal the bag and stick it in your fridge for at least an hour.
You can do this the night before if you like and just keep it in your fridge until you’re ready for supper. Another thing I have done before is mix this up and get it to this stage and just freeze the whole bag. Then on a morning you are headed off to work just pop the bag in the fridge to thaw out during the day.
After at least an hour, dump the entire contents of the bag into a large skillet.
You are going to be thinking “Wow, this is awful watery, there is no way it is going to look like hers” but oh yes it will!! Hang in there with me, this just takes a little patience (actually it takes about thirty minutes or so).
This is how it will look after ten minutes over medium heat. Just hang in there and let it cook.
I keep my stove eye dial on five. Good thing is, you don’t have to fret over this, just go check on it about every ten minutes and turn it and you’ll be fine!
This is after about twenty minutes.
About thirty…now we’re starting to get somewhere!
A little after the thirty minute mark the sauce thickens and begins to caramelize.
Its getting really thick on the bottom now and this is where I start moving my chicken around a lot, getting it all nice and browned.
Once it gets dark, I take every piece of chicken and one by one rub it around in that marinade before taking it out of the pan and putting it on my platter.
These Grilled Chicken Tenderloins have so much wonderful flavor that I like to serve it with a simple side dish. Tonight we’ll have it with butter stewed potatoes. YUM!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips.
- 1 cup zesty Italian dressing
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 3 teaspoons honey
Instructions
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Place chicken in gallon ziplock bag. Combine all other ingredients and pour over. Seal and marinate for at least an hour.
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Pour all ingredients into a large skillet and cook over medium heat until liquid evaporates and remaining marinade becomes thick and caramelized, about thirty minutes (May take up to forty).
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Coat each piece of chicken in marinade by rubbing it around on the bottom of the pan before removing it
This recipe was originally published in 2008. I updated the photos in January 2020.
Yum