This is one of the simplest Go-To meals you can make! Delicious, rich BBQ sauce, comforting potatoes, and some veggies on the side to be healthy (right!). Baked using fresh or frozen chicken tenders, it is a quick meal that comes together in no time. That is why I love this Go-To Meal for BBQ Chicken!
You can easily customize the dinner to meet your preferences. I love the flavor of BBQ sauce with potatoes, so I usually serve it with either a microwave-baked potato or instant mashed potatoes and a canned veggie side. See my notes below for suggestions of modifications to this recipe. You can’t get any more simple or delicious than this BBQ Chicken recipe.
Let’s get cooking!
Go-To Meals: BBQ chicken
Ingredients
- 4 each Chicken Tenders thawed
- 4 tbs BBQ sauce I love Sweet Baby Ray's but use your favorite brand!
- 1 package Instant mashed potatoes
- 2 servings Frozen Veggies of your choice
Instructions
- Arrange chicken tenders in a 9” X 9 ” pan minimizing touching.
- Spoon one tablespoon of BBQ sauce on chicken tenders spread out slightly to cover the entire tender.
- Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 20 minutes
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare your side dish
- Remove chicken from the oven and ensure it is cooked through to a safe temperature.
- Heat up the microwave veggies.
- Plate your potatoes, veggies, and chicken and dig in!
- Plus you have an extra serving for lunch tomorrow, so put that right into a container to take to work!
Notes
- Any quick-cooking side dish will work with this meal, rice, pasta, quinoa, potatoes, etc. Pick your favorite!
- You can use frozen chicken tenders without being defrosted, but the cooking time will need to be increased to 25-30 minutes total. I would bake the frozen chicken tenders without the sauce for the first 15-20 minutes, and then sauce them and return for 10-15 minutes. The sauce might burn if it is cooked in the oven too long.
- You can use whole chicken breasts for this too. Either slice into smaller tenders to cook quicker, or increase the cooking time to 40 minutes for thawed chicken breasts.
- This makes 2 servings, one for dinner tonight and something to take for lunch tomorrow. Increase the number of chicken tenders to increase the servings.
- There are a ton of different sauce options you could use for this. Check out the sauce aisle at your grocery store for ideas! I rotate between teriyaki, bibimbap, BBQ, sweet chili, honey mustard, and peanut sauce.
- Bake a few extra tenders and use them as a protein base for wraps or salad for the rest of the week! I love the sweet chili flavor in a salad with ranch dressing or the BBQ in a wrap with some coleslaw.
Are you hungry yet?
One of the goals of go-to meals is to have a hot tasty meal ready to eat quickly. So, let’s coordinate and get the cooking going quickly when you start! I will continue to share more of my Go-To meals and other ideas for Go-To meals that may inspire you to add them to your rotation. Remember, the base of these Go-To meals is quick, ingredients you can have on hand at all times, satisfying, and cheaper than takeout!
Do you have a chicken-based recipe that is one of your go-to meals? I have another one I will share in a couple of weeks! Please share it in the comments below or on our Go-To meals Pinterest board!
Barbecue chicken is definitely a staple in our house. This recipe sounds great!
It is a staple in my house too! A classic comfort meal!
I am always looking for a good, quick go to meal! Will have to remember to keep BBQ chicken in the rotation a little more.
It’s a great choice and always tastes good!
Oh my I love having easy chicken recipes to try! This one definely seems like it’ll be amazing! Crockpot ranch chicken is one of my favorite!
Yes! Chicken is the best for quick and tasty dinners! I will have to give your crockpot ranch chicken a try! Thanks for sharing!