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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Nutrition
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!
So so good! I don’t often comment on recipes, but this one I had to because of the simplicity and the incredible flavor. I made this in my cast iron pan which made the chicken really brown and so the sauce turned out so rich. I will be checking out more of your recipes….keep them coming!
WOW.
This dish is incredible. Loved it! Perfect for students (like myself) or anyone really wanting to make something simple and quick-ish. This is gonna become a go-to supper for me.
Keep dem delicious dishes coming :)
HOLY COW. This tastes amazing. I made it for dinner and served it over rice and with sauteed mushrooms and it was divine. Just waiting for the chicken to thaw so I can make another batch to take to work for lunch tomorrow.
10/10 would eat again.
What herb is in the final photo? Parsley? Basil?
Thanks!
Just some parsley that I had in the fridge. Used only to give the photos more color. :)
Literally just got done making this and eating it for dinner!! My fiancé and I loved it and it’s definitely going to be a dinner that we will make again …. And again :)
Please help I thought my receipes would go to my mailbox and they are going where I cantsve them help I need the receipes
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I made this last night for my boyfriend and I, since I was tired of making the same thing over and over. He seemed to love it; he went back for seconds!! :-) I thought it was okay. I think I was expecting it to have a sweeter taste due to adding the honey. It was still good enough for me to want to make it again, just slightly modifying the recipe.
Question for you have you made this again yet and if so how much honey did you add? I would like for mine to be a little sweeter as well. Thanks
Thank you thank you thank you!!!! This will be dinner tonight!!! And thank you even more for detailed step by step instructions!!! I can’t wait!!!
Made this for dinner tonight, and we loved it! It was so simple, and it uses ingredients I always have on hand. I will be adding this to our regular rotation. Thank you for sharing!
I tried it tonight and it was really good. I will defenitly make this again. It was easy and quickly done.
Made these last night. Absolutely easy & delicious. Will be adding these to my weeknight menu. :)Thank you!
Found your website via pinterest. I usually never comment on blogs, but I just had to say how awesome this recipe is. I made this last night, and followed the recipe to a T. I think it is the best thing I’ve ever cooked! The sauce was to die for. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks!
I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it this evening. I love it!!!! I will be serving this to company in the near future!!! Delicioso!!!!!!!!
I made this recipe tonight and was disappointed at first. It was smelling so incredibly delicious, but when we took a bite, it was super bland. I tried pouring a healthy amount of the extra sauce that was left in the pan over the chicken on my plate and WOAH that is where all of the flavor was! For me, simply “coating” the chicken tenders in the sauce wasn’t enough, but pouring some of the extra sauce made ALL the difference. Will definitely make this again! Thanks!
I have made this two times so far & it is fast, easy, and most of all DELICIOUS. My husband loved it & he’s pretty picky.
I felt the need to leave a comment & 5 stars because I read several others’ comments saying that this wasn’t very good…don’t listen to those people; they probably effed up the recipe or don’t know how to cook.
Thanks Beth, as always you’ve come up with a masterpiece!