Baked Chicken Tenders over Baby Spinach
with cherry tomatoes / avocado
Sweet and tangy honey mustard dressing works both as a marinade and dressing in this fast, fresh meal.
Smarts: If you'd prefer not to turn on the oven, feel free to cook the chicken tenders in a skillet with some oil instead of baking in the oven.
Ingredients
- Chicken breast tenderloins - 1 lb (sub boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips)
- Honey Mustard Dressing (ingredients listed separately) - 4 Tbsp
- Almond meal - 1 cup
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp (not garlic salt)
- Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
- Foil - for baking
- Tomatoes, cherry or grape - 1 cup, halved
- Carrots - 4 oz, shredded (look for pre-shredded)
- Avocados - 1, cubed
- Baby spinach - 8 oz
- Honey Mustard Dressing (ingredients listed separately) - 6 Tbsp
- Oil, olive - 4 Tbsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 2 Tbsp
- Honey - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Vinegar, red or white wine - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Mayonnaise, paleo-friendly - 1 Tbsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make dressing - Whisk together olive oil, mustard, honey, vinegar, and mayonnaise. Season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Marinate chicken - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating while chicken marinates.) Combine chicken with dressing (portion for chicken tenders). Tenderize with a fork. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to 1 day. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Prep breading - Combine almond meal, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in a plastic bag or shallow baking dish. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Tomatoes / Carrots (if not pre-shredded) / Avocados - Prep as directed.
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Make
- Heat oven to 425F / 218C degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray or brush with some oil.
- Use a fork to transfer chicken tenders to container with breading (discard any remaining marinade). Turn chicken to coat and firmly press chicken into breading to help it stick.
- Spread chicken out in a single layer on sheet pan. (Note: For a little extra crispness and browning on the top, drizzle chicken tenders lightly with some extra cooking oil.)
- Bake chicken until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
- While chicken cooks, toss together baby spinach, tomatoes, carrots, and avocado. Divide between serving plates.
- Top each serving with chicken tenders and finish with dressing (portion for salad). Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
Incredibly tasty, even cold as leftovers. I really loved the simplicity of baking these. I’ve tried many tenders recipes over the years, these are the most flavorful with the least amount if work/mess!
1 Helpful29 reviews
This was good - but we have a version we make in the IP that we like a little better. That recipe uses dry mustard and a little lemon juice - maybe that's the difference?
0 HelpfulSurprisingly tasty for such a simple meal! The chicken tenders and dressing tasted really fun, like something you wouldn’t expect to come with a light healthy salad. Definitely keeping this in the repertoire for an easy, healthy meal in the future!
0 HelpfulThe chicken was a great hit! I liked the homemade dressing recipe as well. I'll be keeping that for other uses too!
0 HelpfulAlways a little dubious when cubed cheddar appears in a salad, but can’t deny it was delicious!
0 Helpful