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!
How would you reccommend reheating these if it’s necessary to save them? I’m making these for Thanksgiving (we’re not a turkey family) and then driving to my mother’s which is about an hour away…
Also, is it possible to bake these? I made your Honey Sriracha Chicken Thighs and those were great, and I know the sauce is going to be different so it can’t be exactly the same, but I’m just wondering if the recipe can be altered to bake the chicken.
Hmm, reheating will be a bit tricky. Maybe you can put them in a casserole dish with the liquid, cover with foil and pop it in the oven? Or even simmer briefly over low in a skillet with the sauce. Converting it to a baked recipe would definitely take some experimentation, though.
I’m definitely going to give these a try this week! I’m always looking for new, non-boring ways to cook chicken breast and these look both easy and delicious. Thanks for the idea! :)
I know this may be useless information for some, but if you have a local Wegman’s you can get a family pack of 10 individually freezer bag wrapped, vacuumed sealed boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.99 lb. It usually comes out to about $13 or $14 a pack. This price hasn’t fluctuated in the 5 years I’ve been shopping there. Buying in bulk will usually get you that price at most stores, but I love that they are vacuumed sealed! Thanks so much for your hard work and amazing recipes Beth, you’ve inspired me to plan my weekly menu for the first time ever!
do you think it would work out ok if i marinated the chicken while I’m at work (8-9 hours?) Thanks!
Hmm, I haven’t tried marinating it that long. I’ve heard (although not experienced) that marinating chicken too long in an acidic marinade can break it down and make it mushy. So, that’s something to consider.
i just made this recipe yesterday – after preparing it the day before. the marinade stayed in the fridge for close to 24 hours, and the chicken didn’t lose any firmness – it remained easy to cook and came out nice and tender like it should! i say go for the long marinade!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that with us! A lot of people have asked, but I hadn’t tried it. :)
Can these be frozen during the marinade stage, then thawed another day and cooked?
I’ve heard that if you freeze meat in the marinade, especially a very acidic one like this, it can break down the meat and make it mushy. :(
Love the recipe, it came out great with a lot of flavor. The family loved it and wants me to make again. I also added onion powder to the marinade. I served it with a fresh garden salad and sweet potatoes. Thanks again!
The first time I made these they were AMAZebALLS! My fiancé and his brother loved them! The second time I didn’t have butter so they tasted awful, stupid mistake, thought it wouldn’t make that much difference. Well the third time, this past time, I had everything and followed the directions to a T and they taste…burnt maybe…. I have no idea why…I didn’t burn anything…when making the sauce I just turned it up to middle high and gosh I’m just really dissappointed an so are the guys! Do you have any suggestions?
Butter can actually burn pretty easily, so you have to be careful with the heat because of that. :)
I just made this was awesome we just loved it
I only have white balsamic and trying these tonight. Hope they turn out!
How can I convert this recipe for the crock pot?
I don’t feel like this one would work with a crock pot because there would be too much moisture.
I Loved this with the Chicken breast but I made a slight variation the next time I made it. I had some cubed pork (got a great deal on a bone-less pork shoulder that was TOO hard to pass up) that I had planned to make a stew out of … but LOL, I was hungry, and didn’t want to wait, so I did THIS with the pork cubes. SOOOO good!! I had it with some couscous. Made for an easy take-to-work lunch the next day
Tried this tonight, SO GOOD!!!! Great job on this one! :) And so easy!
My hubby loved this, no ketchup needed. Served with creamy mashed cauliflower.
What kind of balsamic vinegar do you use? I have 3 kinds: White balsamic with thin consistence, which is sour; dark balsamic, also thin consistence and sour; and really dark balsamic with thick consistence and is sweet.
It was a very basic dark balsamic, sweet and sour. Nothing fancy. :)
Great recipe! I made way too much sauce so just cooked some veggies in the leftover sauce. So yummy!