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!
Omg I made this tonight and it was to die for. Had it with brown rice and kale and put the sauce all over my rice. I am definitely going to be making this often! I used the balsamic vinegar from trader Joes. I also have a bottle of prickly pear balsamic I got recently and next time I am going to try it with that. I can’t wait!
Made this a few weeks ago and everyone here loved them.
Making it again for dinner tonight, but didn’t read the recipe right and tossed the honey in the marinade – hope it still turns out okay!
ignore the 2 star rating, it wouldn’t let me give 5 and then got stuck at 2.
This was ok. The chicken tasted too bitter.
My super picky almost eight year old LOVED these! A huge win for me. Making it a second time tonight.
Was excited about this but then it was just sorta blah. I didn’t have time to marinate it and from other comments it seems that may have been my down fall. I will definitely try it again!
I’m honestly not a big balsamic vinegar woman, so i tenderized and marinated my chicken overnight; added red onion, a few tablespoons of italian dressing, and cooked the recipe as added still minus balsamic vinegar and yummy. It was juicy, tender and delicious. Thank you for sharing. Another recipe to add to my book.
I made this last night with your jewel pasta – AMAZING! Quick, easy and delicious! My husband loved it so this is going to my staple recipe repertoire!
Hi, I was wondering what sides could you serve this with or can you cook pasta and make some additional sauce and serve it with the pasta noodles?
Yes, the extra sauce + pasta is a great idea. I also like to serve something green on the side, like broccoli.
Cooked this tonight. Not bad. Thanks for some quick and easy and delish.
Sooooo gooood! Will be making more
I made this tonight for dinner. The flavor was spectacular! My husband couldn’t get enough of it! (Literally… there were no leftovers!) I used turkey cutlets that I had thawing instead of the chicken (just because that was what was in the fridge). I served it over brown basmati rice with steamed broccoli and doubled the glaze so it was more like a sauce for the whole dish. DEFINTELY making this again. My two-year-old son also love it!!!
Hi, I’m a vegetarian, but I made these for my very picky boyfriend and he really liked them :)
THIS IS AWESOME!!! I actually used maple syrup in place of the honey and also sprinkled some rosemary into the blend…
OMG!!! LICK YOUR PLATE delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe!!!!
I just made this for dinner….delicious and very easy!! Thank you for posting. I’ll be checking out your other recipes now!
I have the chicken marinating right now! Can hardly wait to make supper!!!