5 Homemade Chicken Strip Recipes that Make Your Family Think You Ordered In
Homemade chicken strips can be used in a variety of dishes, such as salads, pasta dishes and tacos. In fact, you might even make a big batch of these chicken pieces to use in different meals throughout the week, including ones that your family might think were delivered from a favorite restaurant near you. Keep reading to learn more about chicken strips, including recipe ideas that feature homemade chicken strips!
Chicken Strips, Fingers and Tenders: What’s the difference?
While the first dish that likely comes to mind for any of these references may be the preparation with a crispy coating and a dipping sauce, a chicken tender or tenderloin is a specific part of the chicken. As explained at Tasting Table, “chicken tenders are made from the pectoralis minor muscles, which are found on either side of the chicken’s chest.” Strips and fingers can be made from these pieces, come from other parts of the chicken (like the chicken breast) or even be formed from different chicken parts. However, the terms chicken strips, chicken tenders and chicken fingers are often used interchangeably in association with boneless chicken pieces that are long and slender in shape.
5 Popular Recipe Ideas Using Homemade Chicken Strips
Whether you buy a package of chicken strips or cut your own, there are many recipes centered around these chicken pieces. The following list of suggestions may provide some inspiration for your next homemade chicken strip preparation:
1. Put them on pizza!
BBQ sauce is one of the most popular dipping sauces for crispy chicken tenders and often appears on pizzas with chicken, like the one described in this recipe from Allrecipes. If Buffalo sauce or blue cheese dressing top your list of preferred condiments, then you may be interested in a pizza recipe that includes both ingredients in addition to chicken. While many recipes call for cooking chicken breasts to then cut up into smaller pieces, using pre-cooked homemade chicken strips or ones from the store may make your pizza preparation even faster!
2. Make homemade chicken strips part of a taco bar.
Build-your-own bars are appearing more and more frequently on catering menus across the country. As with the opportunity to customize menu items at Freddy’s, this catered meal idea invites guests to prepare dishes to their specifications. Fortunately, you can create a similar experience at home with homemade chicken strips as the star. Delish offers some guidance on preparing chicken for tacos, as well as what accompaniments to include in your taco bar.
3. Serve up a hearty casserole.
Homemade chicken strips are a great choice for use in casseroles, one-pot meals, sheet pan dinners and many other all-in-one serving preparations. Sometimes, they may be cooked simply prior to their incorporation with other ingredients or given extra treatment for texture or more flavor. A dish like this one from The Cozy Cook may make your fellow diners think that you ordered from the local Italian restaurant and just reheated the meal in the oven prior to dinner.
4. Add them to a green salad, quinoa bowl or cold noodle dish.
Instead of ordering that salad or bowl for lunch or dinner near you, make your own homemade chicken strips for use in a variety of dishes. Some recipes may include chicken as part of the preparation, as in this recipe for a Chicken Caesar Salad from The Kitchn. However, you can also just chop up cooked homemade chicken strips to top otherwise standout salads, bowls and more, as noted in the recipe for the quinoa dish with peanut dressing from Ambitious Kitchen. For even more flavor, consider marinating your homemade chicken strips or tenders prior to cooking.
5. Skewer your homemade chicken strips.
Like crispy chicken fingers, homemade chicken strips served on a skewer are another handheld dish that’s perfect for dipping and sometimes one that can be an impressive meal choice when dining out. However, both preparations can also be made at home. For example, this recipe from The Pioneer Woman combines chicken pieces and veggies on a skewer. These kebabs are then grilled and served with a creamy dip and pitas, as you may have similarly enjoyed at a favorite restaurant.
These 5 recipe ideas are just a few of the ways that homemade chicken strips can be incorporated into your upcoming meals. Even though many of these dishes may make it seem like you’ve ordered in, you can also skip the cooking entirely and have delicious chicken tenders, chicken sandwiches and more delivered from Freddy’s. Download the Freddy’s app on Google Play or the App Store to find your closest Freddy’s, place an order for delivery or pickup, or track your Freddy’s Rewards points!