Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders Recipe

When you hear chicken tenders, you’re probably thinking crisp fried chicken tendies, but I want you to think bacon wrapped chicken tenders. Fried chicken tenders are great from your favorite fast food joint, but when you want a crunchy and delicious appetizer, this bacon wrapped chicken tenders recipe is the way to go.

Chicken tenders are an actual a cut of meat, not just processed fast food item. I know that may be surprising to, but it’s true! Chicken tenders are delicious little strips of meat that come from the underside of a chicken breast. They taste exactly the same as chicken breast, but are perfectly individually sized and tender bites.

We love using chicken tenders for quick and easy meals. Their small size makes them perfect to feed kids (or give a couple to an adult) and they cook quickly. To cook them, you only need to give them a quick bath in BBQ sauce or season them then toss them on the grill for a few minutes. Those are the quick and easy ways – but for this recipe, we’re going to add one more step, a little extra time, and we promise the results are totally worth it.

Bacon wrapped chicken tenders are easy to make, they just take a little bit of time, but like all good things, your patience will be rewarded! After seasoning the tenders with your favorite BBQ rub, carefully wrap them with bacon, then roast them in the oven. Your house will smell amazing as they cook, and when they’re done, you’ll have an incredible appetizer for your next party.

I want to take a second here to talk about the BBQ rub because it’s a key part of the recipe. It’s easy to think that bacon wrapped chicken tenders sound like they’d get enough flavor from the bacon that you don’t need to season the chicken, but that would be incorrect. Using a BBQ rub adds a little sweet and a little heat to complement the bacon, and it’s key! We used our LGCM Apple Rump Rub (or try this Heath Riles Apple Rub from Amazon) to add a bit of fruit flavor too, and it was delicious!

Perhaps the best part of this bacon wrapped chicken tenders recipe is that when they’re ready to serve, you can serve them with a huge assortment of dipping sauces. We chose to serve them with BBQ sauce, honey mustard, and a delicious sriracha aioli. Of course you can feel free to use whatever sauce your heart desires. The bacon wrapped chicken tenders won’t judge you for your choices!

What do you think of our bacon wrapped chicken tenders recipe? Do you have any tips or tricks to share with your fellow bacon and chicken loving cooks? Leave us a comment with your tips – we’d love to hear them!