Funny story – I was going to make this honey balsamic chicken with chicken thighs, but they were $3.49/lb. and the boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale (again) for $1.99/lb… so… yeah. Chicken tenders it was!
Obviously not everyone will catch this $1.99/lb. chicken sale as often as I do, so go with whatever cut is the best deal. To make this recipe with something like chicken thighs, just brown the thighs in the skillet (just like I did with the breasts) and finish cooking them in the oven for about 20-30 minutes at 375 degrees. Prepare the sauce in the skillet in the same manner as listed below. The sauce should be enough for four medium sized chicken thighs.
This chicken is bursting with flavor from the tangy balsamic vinegar, sweet honey, and rich butter. I seasoned mine simply with salt and pepper, but if you want a more herbal flavor you could always add a pinch of dried basil or thyme.
Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders
Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 medium 1.5 lbs. chicken breasts ($2.99)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar ($0.80)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided ($0.24)
- to taste salt & pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ($0.40)
- 3 Tbsp honey ($0.33)
Instructions
- Slice the chicken breasts on a diagonal into six strips each. Place the strips in a quart sized zip top bag along with 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, one clove of garlic (minced), 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients in the bag and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- When you’re ready to cook, heat the second tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the strips until browned on both sides (about 2-3 minutes each side). You may have to do two batches. Place the cooked chicken on a clean plate.
- Turn the heat down on the skillet to medium-low and add the butter and last 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to the skillet. Use a spoon to stir the mixture and dissolve the sticky bits off of the bottom of the skillet. Once the mixture has dissolved together, add the honey, increase the heat, and allow the sauce to simmer until thickened (about five minutes).
- Once the sauce has thickened, season to taste with salt and pepper (I just used a pinch of each). Add the chicken back to the skillet and toss to coat in the warm balsamic sauce. Serve immediately.
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Step By Step Photos
First slice the chicken into strips approximately 1 inch wide. Cut the strips on a diagonal across the chicken breast so they are a fairly uniform length and width.
Place the sliced chicken in a zip top bag along with 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, a clove of minced garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at elast 30 minutes.
When you’re ready to cook, heat the second tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil is nice and hot, add the chicken strips. Cook until golden brown on both sides. You may have to cook in two or three batches.
The more browned your chicken is at this step, the better the color will be at the end. This first batch of strips was kind of blond…
But the next batch got nice and brown. Place the cooked chicken on a clean plate.
Your skillet will likely have a coating of sticky residue in it, which is a good thing. This is flavory goodness and will dissolve into the sauce.
After removing the cooked chicken, reduce the heat to medium-low so that the butter will not burn. Add the butter and balsamic vinegar. Stir the mixture together, allowing the butter to melt and the residue on the bottom of the skillet to dissolve into the liquid.
Once everything has dissolved off of the bottom of the skillet, stir in the honey. Increase the heat (if needed) and allow the mixture to bubble and simmer until thickened. This should happen fairly quickly – about 5 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
Add the cooked chicken back to the skillet and coat it in the honey balsamic sauce.
Serve warm and ENJOY!
I have one thing to say about this recipe, INSANE!!!!! My daughter end myself loved it!! this one is a total win!!
I was addicted to making your spicy honey chicken thighs but these are my new favorite. I used thighs like you mentioned you were going to do because thats what I had. WOW! Everyone comments on all the neat dinners I am making and I owe it all to you! lol I am no longer boring. I used raspberry balsamic because thats what I had but I wanna use regular next time. I think this will def freeze raw well. I have been doing that a lot lately after buying meals that sells them prepped and ready to cook.
Michaela
Anon – I don’t use any special type of balsamic, just whatever looks like it’s a good deal at the store :P I think the brand I have right now is Pompeiian?
What type of balsamic vinegar do you use. I see many types are for sale? Love your site. Very excited to hear about the coming cookbook.
I have done this before and tossed it in a big salad, with the glaze as a dressing, SO good!
I made this tonight, and it was DELICIOUS! I tossed some bowtie pasta in with the tenders in the final coating stage. YUMMY.
Looks so good! Definitely going to try.
Just tried this last night for dinner with a side of curry rice! Very delicious thank you for posting this easy and inexpensive recipe!
I’ve just discovered your site in the last month or so and have tried a few of the recipes you’ve shared, including this one tonight.
It was really good!
I also bought some fresh sugar snap peas as a side dish and, instead of the basil/thyme, decided to try some fresh bay leaves instead.
Love your site, by the way…
I just made these, and they are amazing. :)
Made this today and my family loved it!! My husband said it tasted like it came from a restaurant. Thank you so much for this blog :)
I am going to try this tomorrow, it sounds very delicious, I just grabbed a bunch of frozen chicken breast @ Costco, 4kg for $20.00 which is an amazing buy in Nova Scotia, Frozen or not. So I’ve come to you for some great chicken recipes as I know you have the very best that a palette has to offer.
I am not normally a balsamic person but I love this. I agree with one commenter above that adding a little extra honey helps and I can see how it would work great with pasta! Love your blog.
This was just amazing! I paired it with parsley rice and added just a little more honey towards the end for an extra sweet touch.
Granted, I did forget I had the chicken marinating so it had a good 24 hours to marinate. Probably made it even more tasty! Will use this recipe again and again.
Super easy, super delicious. Can’t beat that!
I made this and it was actually the first recipe on your blog that I didn’t care for it too much :(. I served it with white rice, but I found the taste to be a bit bland and a little too balsamic-y for my liking.
Thank you though :)