Well folks, labor day weekend is upon us and this means that the fall season is almost here! I’m not sure where the summer went, but I’m SO looking forward to my favorite time of the year and hopefully some cooler weather! This dry, Florida heat is killing me! I am already counting down the days until October 1st so I can start decorating for Halloween (one more month to go!!). One of the other great things about fall is football season! And what better way to celebrate football season than with a bunch of junk food?! Pizza, wings, chips and dip, you name it! But, of course, none of those things are very healthy so I am all about finding healthier substitutes for my favorite game-time foods.

I first saw this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Tenders on one of my favorite blogs, How Sweet It Is. All I needed to see was the title to know that I had to make these for me and the hubster! These chicken tenders are healthier because they are baked, not fried. They also use whole wheat flour and panko bread crumbs. These tenders came out really good and the buffalo sauce gives them a nice little kick. We dipped ours in ranch, but blue cheese dressing or gorgonzola dressing would also be wonderful with these!

Buffalo Chicken Tenders

From Active Foodie

Serves 2

Ingredients:

– 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken tenderloins

– 2 tsp. salt

– 2 tsp. chili garlic sauce

– 2 tbs. Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, plus about 1/4 cup for serving

– 1 cup low fat buttermilk

– 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

– 1 1/2 cups whole wheat panko crumbs (or use regular if you cannot find the whole wheat kind)

– 8 tbs. whole wheat flour

– 1 1/2 tsp. paprika

– 1 tsp. cayenne

– 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

– Cooking spray (olive or canola oil)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine buttermilk, Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, apple cider vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and 2 tsp. of salt. Whisk together. Add the chicken and marinate over night.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray an oven-safe wire rack with cooking spray.

3. Combine panko, flour, cayenne, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and paprika in a large bowl. Dredge chicken in the flour and breadcrumb mixture. Place chicken tenders on a wire rack. Spray each tender completely with more cooking spray. Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Turn over and spray other side with cooking spray and bake for another 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked completely. Using a pastry brush, brush more of the buffalo sauce on top of each tender and serve.

Notes:
– When I first made these, I used skim milk and I didn’t have a wire rack. This made the breading come off really easily and they were a little hard to eat with our hands. Make sure you use a wire rack to avoid getting the breading stuck to the pan. Jessica, from How Sweet It Is also told me that if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own! Just combine 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice/vinegar to 1 cup milk, stir and let sit about 5-10 minutes!

Related posts:

Low-Fat Buffalo Chicken Bites Buffalo Chicken Pizza Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese Buffalo Chicken Meatballs