Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 05/25/2022 - Last updated on 10/27/2023
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These Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders are juicy, healthy chicken tenders baked in a lemon olive oil juice for a tangy flavor.
What Are Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders?
Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders are delicious chicken tenderloins marinated in a tangy lemon pepper marinade and baked in the oven.
They are super juicy pieces of meat that are the perfect main for a salad or for a side of roasted vegetables.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This recipe is amazing because it makes delicious juicy tenders, but it’s also:
- Gluten-Free
- Low-Carb
- Keto-Friendly
- Grain-Free
- Nut-Free
- Ready In Under 30 Minutes
How To Make Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders
This recipe is simple and amazing. Let’s have a look at the key ingredients you need:
Key Ingredients
- Chicken Tenderloins – Tenderloins are the best cut for this recipe, but you can also use chicken breast or even chicken thighs.
- Lemon Pepper Marinade – make my Lemon Pepper Chicken Marinade or Chicken Marinade for marinating the chicken tenders.
- Chicken Stock – or vegetable stock, pick what you have!
- Lemon – this recipe uses fresh lemons to make slices and to extract some of the zest.
- Paprika – you can also use smoked paprika or cajun spices.
- Ground Black Pepper – or ground white pepper.
- Black Peppercorn – if you don’t have peppercorn, add some more ground pepper.
Cooking The Tenderloins
Once you’ve made the marinade, place the chicken tenderloins in a large 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish in a single layer. If you overlap them, they will take much longer to cook.
Pour the marinade on the chicken tenders and massage the meat with your fingers to fully coat them.
Seal the baking dish with a lid or with plastic wrapping and place the dish in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours to let the meat tenderize.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) when you’re ready to cook the meat.
Take the dish with the tenderloins out of the fridge and remove the lid or plastic wrap.
Pour the chicken stock on top of the tenders and sprinkle some paprika (or your favorite spices), lemon zest, ground black pepper, and black peppercorn.
Distribute 6 slices of lemon on top of the chicken tenders.
Bake the Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders for 10 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
Baste the chicken tenders with the juice by using a large spoon.
Keep baking for another 10 to 15 minutes at which point the chicken should be tender and juicy.
Cooking chicken is similar to cooking steaks, you need to reach a certain temperature at the core of the meat to ensure proper cooking.
For Chicken, you need to reach 165°F (74°C) for it to be cooked through. You can use a meat thermometer for that.
Serving Lemon Pepper Chicken
Serve the Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenderloins with a side of:
- Smoked Cauliflower
- Cauliflower Potato Salad
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Keto Cobb Salad
- Cooked Spaghetti Squash
- Keto Buffalo Cauliflower
- Keto French Fries (4 Ingredients)
- French Green Beans
- Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Roasted Zucchini
- Greek Fries
Sauce To Serve
This baked lemon chicken is even more delicious if served with creamy sauce on the side like:
- Mayonnaise
- Ranch Dressing
- Avocado Ranch Dressing
- Mustard
- Mushroom Sauce
Storage Instructions
You can store the cooked chicken tenders for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
It’s also possible to freeze cooked tenderloins in individual containers for up to 3 months.
Rewarm your chicken tenders in the microwave for 2 minutes or in a frying pan using the sauce as oil.
You can also pop them back into the oven for 5 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can swap the chicken tenders for chicken breast or even for chicken thighs. What matters the most is the marinade!
Chicken breast and thighs might need an additional 5 to 10 minutes of cooking as the meat is thicker.
To cut chicken breast into tenders, place the meat on a chopping board lengthwise and slice thin tender-shaped pieces of meat.
Make sure to cut in the same direction as the muscle fibers.
More Chicken Dinner Recipes
If you like healthy chicken dinner and lunch recipes, you’ll love these:
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Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 1.4 pound Chicken Tenderloins
- 1 batch Lemon Pepper Marinade
- ⅓ cup Chicken Stock
- 1 lemon Lemon sliced
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon Paprika or smoked paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorn
To serve
- ½ teaspoon Salt optional, adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish, add the chicken tenderloins next to each other, don't let them overlap. Pour the lemon pepper marinade on top. Massage the chicken tenderloins to coat them evenly. Film the dish, and refrigerate from 30 minutes to 12 hours to tenderize the meat.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Remove the baking dish from the fridge, remove the plastic wrap and pour chicken stock on top of the chicken tenders.
- Sprinkle paprika, lemon zest, ground black pepper, and peppercorn on top of the chicken tenders.
- Add slices of lemons around the chicken if desired.
- Bake in the center rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Baste the chicken with the juice, and keep baking for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and cooked in the center – you can insert a thermometer in the center of the meat. If it shows 165°F (74°C) means it's cooked through. Don't over bake or the meat becomes dry.
- Taste the sauce, add more salt, ground black pepper, and finely fresh chopped Italian parsley to serve.
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About The Author
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
Disclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only.
The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized.
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This is super easy to make and received rave reviews from non-keto guests. Delicious, quick and easy to prepare and liked by all – perfect!
Turned out perfect! Even my 3 year old loved it!