Pineapple Chicken Tenders

Pineapple Chicken Tenders are an easy recipe to make, and it smelled amazing while it was cooking in the oven.

Let me put you at ease, there is really no way you could mess up this recipe. It’s a quick mix, pour, and bake recipe. We are all about simple, yet delicious. You can’t go wrong with this chicken dish.

A no-fail recipe at it’s finest.

Love chicken tenders? Try our Sticky Honey Baked Chicken Tenders or our Brown Sugar Bacon Chicken Tenders! They are so good.

make ahead dinner

Pineapple Chicken Tenders can easily be made ahead of time. We love recipes we can prepare in the morning when we know we have a busy day.

This recipe calls for about 30 to 60 minutes of marinating time. If you choose to marinate for longer, it will enhance the flavor even more and the chicken will be moist.

After the Pineapple Chicken Tenders are prepared in the pan, cover them well and then place them in fridge until ready to bake.

Chicken Breasts vs Tenders

The chicken tender is part of the chicken breast. Chicken tenders are a strip of breast meat connected to the chicken breast. Chicken tenders are all white meat.

If you did not have any chicken tenders for this recipe, you could easily slice up some chicken breasts and use them. It would taste exactly the same. 

Chicken strips are thinner than a chicken breast, so they cook a lot quicker. Chicken tenders are less expensive than chicken breasts. We love to use them in our recipe for Baked Honey Lime Chicken Tenders.

Chicken tenders work great in slow cooker recipes in place of chicken breasts. Many prefer using them in various recipes to save money, and because the flavor is the same.

Chicken tenders have a tendon that runs through them. You can cut it out if it bothers you, or you can leave it in. It will not hurt you.

Depending on where you buy your chicken, sometimes the tendon is already removed when they cut the chicken tender away from the chicken breast.

how to make pineapple chicken tenders

Arrange your chicken tenders in a 9 x 13 inch pan that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray.

In a separate dish combine the drained pineapple chunks, barbecue sauce, soy sauce, and honey in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Pour 3/4 of the mixture over the chicken.

Cover with foil or plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the chicken and place in the heated oven and cook for 25-30 minutes or until no long pink in the center.

You can marinate the chicken longer for even more amazing flavor. These pineapple chicken tenders are so moist you can cut them with your fork.

You can sprinkle sesame seeds on top if desired. Serve the pineapple chicken tenders with the remaining marinade that was not used. It makes a great dipping sauce.

can pineapple chicken tenders be cooked in a slow cooker?

Pineapple chicken tenders could easily be adapted to cook in a slow cooker. The cooking time in the oven is only about 25 to 30 minutes.

You will still need to give the chicken time to marinate before placing in the slow cooker.

The slow cooker time will vary. You can cook it on low for about 4 -5 hours or until the chicken reaches a safe temp of 165 degrees F.

Items needed for this recipe:

• 9 x 13 inch baking dish – We love this 9 x 13 inch glass dish. It comes with a clear cover for a dish on the go.
• Blender – This blender is great for this recipe, we also love using it for smoothies.
• Mixing Bowl – This is a great set that comes with 3 bowls in different sizes. We use them for so many recipes.

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Check out these side dishes with Pineapple chicken tenders:

• Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad
• Mom’s Traditional Pasta Salad
• Roasted Baby Potatoes
• Twisted Cheese Breadsticks
• Captain America Fruit Platter