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Home » Mexican Chicken Tenders

Mexican Chicken Tenders

October 15, 2018 by Debi 2 Comments

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Mexican Chicken Tenders are easy to make, baked, delicious chicken tenders covered with rich enchilada sauce and melted cheese.

This is tailgating perfection.

Both kids and adults will love these!

Both kids and adults will love these Mexican Chicken Tenders

We appreciate your support

Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

October is Tailgating Snacks Month 2018

I’ve been making these little chicken tenders often lately, and I thought they’d make a great tailgating snack for Tailgating Snacks Month.

Mexican Chicken Tenders for Tailgating Snacks Month

Great sandwich

They also make a great chicken sandwich. Just butter toast the bun, add some lettuce, and you’re all set.

Add a little extra enchilada sauce or even some mayo to the sandwich if you like.

close up on baked chicken fingers with sauce and cheese

Chicken Tenders

The beauty of this simple recipe is that you can make it from your favorite chicken tenders.

I use frozen vegetarian fake chicken tenders or patties. You can use frozen chicken tenders from any brand.

Or, if you like, make your homemade own chicken tenders. This recipe from Lovefoodies is all from scratch.

And this recipe from A Latte Food uses boxed biscuit mix as its base.

I love the kind of convenience that this recipe offers.

Super easy freezer meal that’s ready in minutes. Or, nice and homemade recipe.

The beauty of this simple Mexican Chicken Tenders recipe is that you can make it from your favorite chicken tenders.

Enchilada Sauce

My easy enchilada sauce makes these Mexican Chicken Tenders super delicious.

It’s so easy to make the sauce from scratch – takes just about 15 minutes. And, it makes a nice big batch of sauce.

I always have a jar in the fridge ready to use for quick and easy meals.

If you feel you won’t be using the sauce right away, it’s easy to stash it in the freezer and thaw it, either in the fridge overnight when you need to use it.

Or, pop it in the microwave on low power to thaw.

I love the kind of convenience that this recipe for Mexican Chicken Tenders offers. Super easy freezer meal that’s ready in minutes. Or, nice and homemade recipe.

Cheese

I love a blend of pepper jack and cheddar for these little nibbles.

Feel free to use some cheese form a bag of shredded Mexican blend cheeses. Or, just use one kind of cheese. It’s all good.

three chicken fingers with sauce and cheese

How to make Mexican Chicken Tenders

All you have to do to make these Mexican Chicken Tenders is to lay them out on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Bake them according to the package directions, usually about 16-20 minutes.

Once you are halfway done with baking, flip the chicken patties, spread the sauce on them, and top with a big pinch of cheese.

Place them back in the oven, and finish the baking.

The cheese gets nice and bubbly brown. The chicken tenders are crisp and moist. These are so good and so easy.

I like to eat them as finger foods, as snacks. They are perfect because you can eat just a couple and have a great protein filled snack.

Or, serve them on top of mac & cheese for a kid friendly meal.

Use the larger chicken patties to make burger-like sandwiches that will be a main dish hit at a football watching party.

Mexican Chicken Tenders - Use the larger chicken patties to make burger-like sandwiches that will be a main dish hit at a football watching party.

Serve these Chicken Tenders with these great side dishes

Mexican Corn Salad, Loaded Southwestern BBQ Pasta Salad, Stuffed Jalapenos, and Jalapeno Ranch Dip for dipping.

Mexican Chicken Tenders - easy to make, baked, delicious chicken tenders covered with rich enchilada sauce and melted cheese

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Mexican Chicken Tenders are tailgating perfection - easy to make, baked, delicious chicken tenders covered with rich enchilada sauce and melted cheese.
Don’t forget to pin this recipe!

Mexican Chicken Tenders Recipe

Mexican Chicken Tenders - easy to make, baked, delicious chicken tenders covered with rich enchilada sauce and melted cheese

Mexican Chicken Tenders

Debi
Mexican Chicken Tenders are tailgating perfection – easy to make, baked, delicious chicken tenders covered with rich enchilada sauce and melted cheese.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American, Mexican
Servings 1 serving

Ingredients
  

  • Chicken tenders, fingers, or patties
  • Enchilada Sauce
  • Cheese

Instructions
 

  • Cook chicken tenders or patties according to package directions, which typically go something like this: Preheat oven to 425 ° F. Place frozen tenders in a single layer on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.
  • Bake frozen tenders for 8-10 minutes. Carefully remove tray from oven, keeping oven on.
  • Flip tenders over, and spread a generous amount of enchilada sauce over the top. Sprinkle with a big pinch of shredded cheese.
  • Place back in the oven, and continue to bake 8-10 minutes more, or until tenders are golden brown, crispy, and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Notes

Notes: The amount of sauce you will need will depend on how large your tenders are. Spread the sauce over the top of the tender just up to the edges. The same goes for the cheese.

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword chicken, tenders
Tried this recipe?Mention @LifeCurrents or tag #LifeCurrents!
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Filed Under: Appetizers, Budget, Chicken, Game Day, Lunch, Main Dish, Mexican Food, Weeknight meals Tagged With: appetizers, cheese, chicken, Cooking, enchilada sauce, Food, Mexican, recipe, Snacks, appetizers, tailgating, tailgating, vegetarian

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about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

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Comments

  1. Madi

    October 15, 2018 at 7:39 am

    5 stars
    This sounds like such an awesome meal! I love how easy these are to make!

  2. Michaela Kenkel

    October 22, 2018 at 6:46 pm

    5 stars
    what a fantastic twist on chicken tenders! We can never get too much Mexican in our house!!

5 from 2 votes

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Hi! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents, where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes with some great desserts and other goodies mixed in! Read More >>>

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