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–+ servings
overhead image of lemon pepper chicken tenders
Melanie Lorick

Lemon Pepper Baked Chicken Tenders

5 from 1 vote
Baked tenders that won't have you missing the fried version. Delightfully flavored with lemon, black pepper, thyme, and Parmesan cheese, these tenders will have you asking for seconds.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Calories: 406
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound chicken tenders
  • ¾ cup soy milk or other plant-based milk
  • 1 lemon juiced, half reserved for buttermilk and half for breading
  • ¾ cup Panko bread crumbs
  • ½ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoon salt (we prefer pink Himalayan)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
  2. Whisk together milk and lemon juice from half a lemon and set aside.
  3. Combine dry ingredients (bread crumbs, thyme, salt, pepper, shredded cheese) in a shallow, medium-sized bowl. Add lemon juice and zest and stir to combine.
  4. Add "buttermilk" to a bowl large enough to dredge chicken tenders. One at a time, dip tenders in buttermilk before dredging through breading mixture. As the breading mixture clumps, use your fingers to press the breading more firmly onto each tender.
  5. Place tenders on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown on the exterior and no longer pink in the middle.
  6. Serve warm with your choice of sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25lbCalories: 406kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 32gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 1896mgPotassium: 246mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2g

Notes

You are welcome to substitute regular buttermilk for the plant-based buttermilk listed earlier. If you do, the lemon juice from ½ lemon is no longer necessary, unless you would like to add to the breading (for an extra lemony flavor). 

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