7 Best Healthy Sides for Chicken Tenders (Updated 2024)

Name: 7 Best Healthy Sides for Chicken Tenders
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Side Dish
Ingredients: Glazed Veggies; Baked Potatoes; Zucchini Chips; Mashed Potatoes; Pea Salad; Cinnamon Applesauce; Rice Pilaf

Updated Jan 30, 2023Recipe Marker

Are you trying to decide what healthy sides to serve with chicken tenders? Stick around as we share a list of the most popular side dishes that go well with chicken tenders.

Chicken is a great source of protein and is highly nutritious. And eating it with healthy sides makes it more beneficial and satisfying.

Ever wondered what are the Best Healthy Sides for Chicken Tenders? Let’s find out more about it here.

Best Healthy Sides for Chicken Tenders

1. Glazed Veggies

Try dipping your chicken into some glazed veggies for a dish that’s light on calories but yet feels luxurious.

In a saucepan, mix the butter, sugar, and lemon juice, then pour over the veggies.

Many people like using this approach with vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and celery.

2. Baked Potatoes

You may eat baked potatoes as-is, or you can dress them up with anything from ham and cheese to a variety of sauces. Potatoes and sweet potatoes can be baked together.

The sweetness and creaminess of sweet potatoes provide a very diverse flavor.

If you have any leftover baked potatoes, heat them before serving them with chicken tenders or any other meal.

3. Zucchini Chips

Zucchini chips are a fun way to spice up fried foods. You shouldn’t only prepare them while you’re serving chicken tenders, but rather often.

You can whip up this quick and easy side dish with little more than zucchini, some olive oil, and your favorite spices.

Instead of frying zucchini, you might bake it in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes at 425 degrees.

4. Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are a healthy side dish that pairs perfectly with anything but mostly with chicken tenders.

Aside from its flavor, you can be freely creative in making your mashed potatoes look more appetizing and appealing when served.

To have the perfect mashed potato for your chicken tenders, you need to prepare your ingredients and make sure that everything is fresh.

So, for the ingredients, you will be needing russet potatoes, a cup of cold water, butter, and seasonings.

After gathering all the ingredients, make sure to clean your russet potatoes, peel them and let them boil for around 10 minutes.

Once the potatoes are cool, you may now mash them using a masher or a fork.

While mashing the potatoes, you can gradually add your other ingredients, such as butter, salt, and pepper.

You can also choose your preferred flavor, for instance, sour cream, cheese, or anything that you want.

5. Pea Salad

A pea salad with pecorino is a wonderful complement to chicken tenders. This dish is simple, flavorful, and a great way to highlight the natural sweetness of peas.

Two cups of peas, one garlic clove, six tablespoons of olive oil, three teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper are all you need to whip up this tasty dish.

All of the ingredients should be thrown into a big glass bowl and mixed thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

If you’re serving chicken tenders, season them to taste with salt and pepper. As a quick and healthy side dish, this salad is perfect for when you don’t have much time.

6. Cinnamon Applesauce

Chicken tenders go well with cinnamon applesauce.

Its delicious flavor can be achieved with a few ingredients, such as butter, a cup of water, peeled apples, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and salt.

You can start by preparing your saucepan and butter, and cook it over medium heat.

, get your sliced apples, water, and cinnamon sticks ready. Be careful to not overheat your butter and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

After that, mix the sliced apples and other ingredients. Once done, you can now enjoy your chicken tender with cinnamon applesauce.

7. Rice Pilaf

Chicken tenders go wonderfully with a serving of rice pilaf. It’s less complicated than it seems, and the greatest thing is that you may pick from a wide variety of delicious tastes.

It may be made hot or mild, and colorful vegetables like carrots and peas can be added for taste and texture.

Rice pilaf may be made in a flash. Simply toast the rice in a saucepan, then add the boiling broth and let it simmer for 15 minutes covered.

As the rice steams, it becomes perfectly cooked and ready for serving.

As both the chicken tenders and the side are quite light, they complement each other beautifully while still enabling the excellent tastes of each to come through.

Conclusion

Chicken tenders are best served on their own, but who would not want their meal to be in another level of flavor? You can pair it with rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, pea salad, and more.

Hopefully, the list provided here has helped you choose what side to try next for your chicken tender meal.

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