Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders Recipe
With just Five Ingredients and Five Minutes of prep time, these baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders will be your new easy dinner. This is our favorite easy Chicken Tenders Recipe.
It can be difficult to make simple ingredients taste good quickly on busy weeknights. My Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenderloins Recipe does just that. With a five-minute prep time, you can pop them in the oven and help kids with homework, get a couple of chores done, or sit back and put your tired feet up.
Making this Parmesan garlic chicken is simple and effort-free. It’s great for serving a crowd of hungry guests or kids! This juicy chicken also pairs well with many different side dishes like green beans, broccoli, or a fresh salad and crusty bread.
These Healthy Baked Chicken Tenders are also a great kid-friendly option! Or if you want some heat in a chicken tenderloin recipe, try my Blackened Chicken Tenders!
Ingredients
- Chicken tenderloins – Tenders are cut from the side of a chicken breast. They are more tender. They do have tendon that runs through them. It is easy to cut out with kitchen shears. Alternatively, you can cut chicken breasts to this same shape.
- Mayonnaise – Mayo is the binder to hold on the cheese. Since it has egg in it as it cooks the cheese will adhere to the chicken.
- Parmesan cheese – You can use freshly shredded Parmesan or pre-shredded. Grated cheese can be worked in a pinch, but it isn’t my top choice for this recipe.
- Garlic powder – Regular garlic powder or roasted garlic powder both work well. You can use fresh minced garlic if you prefer.
- Salt – We’ve been using Real Salt lately, but kosher salt also works well. You don’t need much extra salt since Parmesan is naturally salty.
See quantities and the full recipe in the recipe card.
How To Make Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders
Step One: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with olive oil cooking spray. Mix together the mayonnaise, ¼ cup of cheese, garlic, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
Step Two: Place the chicken in the bowl and stir until it is coated in the Parmesan sauce.
Step Three: Lay the pieces of chicken on the baking sheet in a single layer. Spoon any extra creamy sauce on top.
Step Four: Add the rest of the cheese on top of the chicken. Bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes until the internal temperature is 160.
Optional Step Five: If you want the chicken to be golden brown, broil it for 2-3 minutes. This will brown up the cheese.
Top Tip💡
If you decide to broil the chicken, it’s important not to cook it too long and keep a close watch. It can burn really quickly in the broiler. Plus, if it cooks too long, it can dry out.
Variations
- Seasoning – Try adding Italian seasoning, black pepper, or onion powder to boost the flavor of this easy recipe. For a bit of heat, add some crushed red pepper flakes.
- Breasts – If you prefer to use boneless skinless chicken breasts, you may. Just cut them into strips and proceed with the rest of the garlic parmesan chicken recipe.
- Thighs – You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Storage
Let the chicken cool down after cooking it, then place the chicken tenderloins in an airtight container and place it in the fridge. This garlic chicken will last 3-4 days, and it’s incredible for leftovers.
You can also freeze the chicken. I like to flash freeze it on a baking dish for around 2 hours, then take the pieces and put them in a freezer bag.
Reheating
A quick way to reheat the tenders in the microwave is to put them in a microwave-safe container and heat it for a minute or two.
You can also lay the chicken tenders on a baking sheet and heat them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Once they are warm all the way, you can eat them.
Common Questions
Mayo? Do I have to use Mayonnaise in Garlic Parmesan Chicken?
Mayo is my favorite condiment ever. It takes almost any savory dish and kicks it up a notch. It is my go-to for making anything dairy-free creamy. That delicious emulsified oil can replace cream in many recipes.
You cannot taste it in this recipe. Really. But if you are adamantly opposed to using mayonnaise I’ve had readers use yogurt or sour cream successfully.
What Temperature Do Chicken Tenderloins Need to Cook to?
Chicken should be 160 degrees F. before it’s consumed. As the chicken bakes, once it reaches 158 degrees, you can remove it from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes. This gives it time to finish raising the temperature to 160 degrees F as it sits.
When it comes to chicken (or any meat really), you don’t want to overcook it. I know it sounds like a good idea to cook it until it’s hotter in theory, but you will end up with a dry and flavorless meal if you do. As long as it’s prepared to 160 degrees F., it’s safe to consume the tender chicken, and you don’t need to worry.
Can cooked chicken be pink?
Yes, sometimes chicken that’s fully cooked will have a slight pink color in the center. As long as it’s not raw and you are positive that it reads the correct temperature, it’s okay to eat. Undercooked chicken can make you very ill, so it’s always a good idea to check the temperatures when making any type of chicken dish.
Can I use the sauce in other ways?
This recipe has the same topping I use on my Garlic Parmesan Zucchini. It is a family favorite, and I knew it would also be great on chicken. My kids gobbled this up.
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Video
Five Minute Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds chicken tenderloins
- 3/4 cup mayo
- 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the mayo, 1/4 cup of the cheese, garlic, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Put the chicken on a large baking sheet in a single layer.
- Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.
- Bake for 15-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. It should read 160 on a meat thermometer. I try to take it out at about 158 and let it rest for a few minutes.
- Optional: Broil for 2-3 minutes to brown the cheese. Watch the chicken closely if you are broiling so it doesn’t burn.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally published on November 3, 2017. Revised and republished on September 12, 2025.
I’m definitely going to try these in the oven. But I live my air fryer and wondering if anyone has tried this in an air fryer? If so, how did they turn out? Did it make a mess in the fryer?
*I love, not live my air fryer. 😂
I would love to make this recipe for a friend who is suffering from her 4th relapse of chronic Lyme disease. BUT she is on a gluten free, sugar free, DAIRY free diet, so what could I sub for the Parmesan cheese? Her husband is doing his best, but… a little flavor in your food is a good thing! (snicker)
A good sub for cheese in this recipe would be nutritional yeast. It has a cheesy taste without having dairy.
Never heard of nutritional yeast …I live in a rural area – where would I find this?
Juanita, you can get Nutritional Yeast via Amazon. We get Braggs Nutritional Yeast from our Walmart.
Has anyone tried this in the grill?
I think the coating would burn and/or stick to the grill. You could grill the chicken most of the way and then coat it and finish it off on a grill mat.
I would think if you put tinfoil in the grate you’d be fine.
I have made this using ranch instead of mayo, used to make it quite often. Yum
Can chicken breast be cut up and used for this?
Yes
I’m actually making these for the second time in a week. Its SOOO good!! My husband is doing keto (not me, I love my carbs too much), this is perfect for him, and it’s something we can all eat together.
Regarding the oil left in the pan, I’ve had that too. I figured it was supposed to happen since mayo is made with oil. I used Heinz mayo.
Try adding in a can of chopped up artichoke hearts…I mix the mayo with all of the parmesan and add the chopped artichokes…then I spoon the mixture over the tenders…delicious!
I was craving garlic parmesan chicken and have went through many recipes that just didn’t quite meet up to what I’m used to getting from my favorite wing place. I decided to try this and I think it’s even better. My very hard to please mother even fell in love with these. Thank you!
I used Duke’s Mayo (because that’s all we believe in in the South), Grated Parm (I took the recommendation to cut it down to 1/2 cup instead), garlic powder, salt, and added 1/8 tsp onion powder.
Fantastic recipe! Loved by everyone and will be added to our regular dinner rotation period. So thankful for bloggers like you who impart such tasty recipes. 🙂
I made this some friends last weekend and was SO good. I’ve shared the recipe with 4-5 friends so far. I didn’t change a thing, so moist!
Could I swap out for mozzarella cheese? If so how much do you think?
Yes, but they won’t get as crispy. Probably the same amount.
Yum! This tastes fantastic, and I love how easy it was! The chicken was incredibly moist too.
My family and I are going to start camping this summer, and I was wondering about turning this into a foil packet meal? I have no experience with cooking in foil packets and would love any tips from anyone who has camped if it would be possible with this recipe. Most of the foil packet recipes look the same to me and have starchy veggies in them, so I’m hoping to find some lower carb (and tastier) alternatives. Thank you!
My family makes foil packs all the time while camping and this would be perfect for a foil pack meal. We usually add cauliflower and zucchini to our foil packs too. My son loves putting all sorts of veggies in his foil packs.
How many chicken tenders for one serving?
Hi Nina, that depends on the size of your chicken tenders. Just count how many and divide by 8. It should be 3-4 per serving.
My whole family loved this recipe. The first time I made as written and it was wonderful. Husband doesn’t love mayo so the next time I did a mix of half mayo and half full fat sour cream. That time I also added some dry Ranch powder and used half parmesan and half cheddar cheese. Delicious! This recipe is so quick to make and so easy to customize. Next time I am going to try it with some cajun seasoning with parmesan and cheddar or possibly some oregano and thyme with parmesan and feta. lol The possibilities are endless! One note – it took about 25 mins in my convection oven so watch your time and use a thermometer if you have one. Thanks so much for your amazing blog!
I made these last night. They were absolutely delicious, but there was so much oil left in the pan after making them! The tenders were swimming in oil. Just wondered why this is and if it’s normal. I used Kraft real mayonnaise.
That’s not normal. I wonder if it was the kraft mayo. I normally use just mayo.
Mine also had a lot of oil in the pan about half way through cook time, so I just drained the oil off and put back in to finish. I make my own olive oil mayo and used that. Great recipe, thanks!
When I cook with Parmesan cheese things seem to be oily. Just a thought