Baked Chicken Tenders with Pasta

Coated in a mixture of honey and apricot preserves or jam and dredged in breadcrumbs before it is baked in the oven until crisp and served on top of freshly cooked pasta, this baked chicken tenders recipe makes a lovely weekday meal and is so simple to make. Kids and adults will love this fast food favorite. This is a healthier version since it is baked and not fried, but is just as tasty and scrumptious. The sweet honey and apricot not only gives the chicken amazing flavor, it also helps keep the meat juicy and succulent.

Also called chicken fingers, chicken fillets, or chicken strips, chicken tenders are made from chicken breast, cut from the rib meat and do not include any bones or skin. They are dipped in a breading mixture and often deep-fried until crispy and golden. This healthier version contains less fat since the chicken is not fried in oil. Only a light coating of oil is used to grease the pan for baking the chicken. Baked chicken tenders can be made part of a healthy diet. While this recipe uses pasta for serving the chicken, you can also serve the tenders with rice, bread, potatoes, chips, fries, or on top of salad. They can also be eaten on their own as a finger food, appetizer, or party food and go especially well with beer.

Chicken tenders are also often served with a dipping sauce. Some of the popular sauces used for dipping chicken tenders include ketchup, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, barbecue sauce, honey mustard, Buffalo wing sauce, plum sauce, apricot sauce, butter and garlic, curry mayonnaise, sweet and sour sauce, or chili sauce. Since this recipe is topped over pasta, you can pour marinara sauce or a mushroom cream sauce over the chicken and the pasta.