Healthy and delicious, these chicken tenders are marinated with marjoram, tomato and garlic then grilled or pan-fried. Enjoy the fabulous flavours of the Mediterranean in this nutritious chicken tenderloin recipe with just a handful of ingredients. Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, low-carb recipe.
Chicken Tenders With Marjoram & Tomato Marinade
Flavoured with delicious marjoram, garlic and tomato marinade, these chicken tenders can be grilled or pan-fried as skewers or individual pieces. Serve with a side of green salad or broccoli, this chicken tenderloin recipe is healthy and delicious.
I will often make these as a protein-rich main for dinner or lunch and add extra veggies, rice or potatoes for something more substantial. You can marinate a batch of these chicken skewers for a barbecue. They are very convenient as finger food or to share around.
Chicken Tenderloin vs Breast
Chicken tenderloins (or tenders) are thin strips of muscle loosely attached to the underside of the breast. The tenderloin is often removed and sold separately as chicken tenders, fingers or goujons depending on where you are. Compared to the rest of the chicken breast, the tenderloin meat is more tender when cooked.
The reason I wanted to use tenderloins for this recipe is that they are the perfect size for individual skewers so you don’t need to cut anything up. And, they do come out more succulent once grilled or pan-fried. You can use chicken breast or thigh meat or even pork will work with this super simple marjoram marinade.
What Is Marjoram?
Marjoram is a hardy Mediterranean herb of the same family as oregano and can be used fresh or dried, and added to cooking. It’s popular in the Middle East, Turkey and Cyprus and can be used in many Western recipes. It’s fantastic in a chicken marinade.
You might be wondering what does marjoram taste like? It has camphor-like aromatic green and grey leaves and combines flavours of oregano, pine and citrus. Marjoram goes well in Mediterranean dishes, with vegetables, tomatoes, lemon, wine, garlic, olive oil, fish, duck, mushrooms, most meats, potatoes and spinach. If you’re looking for marjoram recipes, this is a great one to start with!
What can I substitute for marjoram? You can often purchase dried marjoram in the herbs and spices aisle of the supermarket and sometimes it’s sold fresh in the produce section. If you can’t find it dried or fresh, oregano and marjoram are interchangeable.
More Healthy Chicken Recipes
Description
Try these delicious chicken tenders marinated with marjoram, tomato and garlic then grilled or pan-fried and enjoy the fabulous flavour of the Mediterranean in this nutritious chicken tenderloin recipe. If you’re new to cooking with marjoram, put this one on your to-do list.
Marjoram marinade
Plus
Sides I served with chicken tenders
- Combine and whisk dried marjoram, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in bowl.
- Add chicken tenderloin pieces and set aside for at least 15 minutes to marinate. You can leave the chicken in the marinade overnight in the fridge for more flavour. Make sure to leave them out of the fridge for 10-15 minutes before cooking.
- Skewer the chicken tenders onto bamboo skewers (soaking the wooden skewers in some water ahead of time will prevent them from burning). If you don’t have the skewers, you can leave the chicken as tenderloin strips.
- Heat a little oil in a large frying or grill pan. Cook the chicken skewers or strips for 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and sit for a few minutes for the juices to flow back inside the meat.
- At the same time, set a saucepan of water to boil. cook the broccoli for 2-3 minutes and mix rocket/arugula salad leaves with lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil. Toss cooked broccoli with some butter or ghee and a little sea salt.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 skewers + 1 cup arugula salad + 1/2 cup broccoli with butter
- Calories: 361
- Sugar: 1.9 g
- Sodium: 681.5 mg
- Fat: 19.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.8 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 40.4 g
- Cholesterol: 126.6 mg
Keywords: Chicken, Chicken Tenders, Chicken Tenderloin, Marjoram, Skewers, Marinade
Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip
My Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip was a Denny family favorite long before anyone heard of Ranch Dressing! And this family favorite Ranch Dip is a delicious low-carb and keto dip recipe and in my family this makes an appearance at every holiday gathering!
PIN Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip to try it later!
My Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip is one of my favorite memories from childhood! As early as I can remember, my Grandma Denny made a fantastic dip that she served with carrots and celery as an appetizer at every family gathering. In those days we called Grandma’s homemade ranch dip just *Vegetable Dip* as if there was only one kind of dip that could possibly be served with veggies.
This was long before the introduction of Ranch Dressing to the American culinary scene, and obviously my Grandma Denny was ahead of her time, because now people all over the country are eating Ranch Dip with veggies. And in my own extended family, there would never be a holiday gathering without this delicious homemade Ranch Dip on the table.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with making Ranch-Style Vegetable Dip using a package mix if that time-saver works for you. But my grandma’s Homemade Ranch Dip is a bit fresher tasting as well as being low in carbs, and if you usually use the mix but don’t have a package on hand I bet you’ll love my Grandma’s recipe.
Grandma Denny always used full-fat mayo and sour cream, but for anyone wanting lower fat you can obviously make this with reduced-fat products if you prefer. Or if you don’t like mayo, you might prefer the variation below for Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip, made with Greek yogurt and blended cottage cheese for a higher protein, lower-fat dip.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
Can you make this dip with onion powder?
I love the flavor the grated onion gives to my Grandma Denny’s homemade ranch dip. But if you prefer or want to save time, just use 1 tsp. onion powder.
Can you make this homemade ranch dip with Greek Yogurt?
I sometimes make a variation of this that I call Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip that’s lower in fat and higher in protein. For that variation follow this recipe but replace the sour cream with one cup of cottage that’s blended in the food processor until it’s nearly smooth and replace the mayo with one cup fat-free Greek Yogurt. (This is the version I would make when I was strictly following the original South Beach Diet.)
Want a version of ranch dip with more texture?
You can make a variation of this homemade ranch dip recipe with a little chopped red onion, finely diced cucumber, and finely diced red pepper if you’d like a chunkier dip. I would use about 2 T of each.
How to Make Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- My Grandma always used Bon Appetit Seasoning Salt as the secret seasoning in her vegetable dip, but it’s no longer being made (sob!) If you still have Bon Appetit, use it, but now I use Beau Monde Seasoning (affiliate link). If you’re in Europe you can also use Trocomare Seasoning. (affiliate link)
- Grate a small amount of raw onion into a bowl. (I use the large side of a box grater; don’t use a microplane grater which just turns the onion to liquid.)
- Add mayo and sour cream to bowl.
- Then add Beau Monde Seasoning and dried dill weed (affiliate link).
- Mix all ingredients together well with a whisk. You can use a food processor as well, but the whisk is quicker.
- Let the dip chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or two for best flavor.
- Serve with raw vegetables like celery, sugar snap peas, bell pepper strips, jicama, radishes, broccoli, or cauliflower.
- This is also good with carrots or as a dip for baked sweet potato fries for those who don’t mind more carbs.
- I tested this out on my friend Robin and she gave it two thumbs up!
More Tasty Vegetable Dips You Might Like:
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream (see notes)
- 1 cup mayo (see notes)
- 1 tsp. grated onion
- 2 tsp. dried dill weed
- 2 tsp. Beau Monde Seasoning (see notes)
Instructions
- Grate onion into a bowl, using the large side of a box grater or flat grater (not a microplane grater.)
- Add all other ingredients to the bowl and stir together with a whisk (or you can use a food processor, but it’s not necessary.)
- Chill an hour or so before serving.
Notes
I only use Daisy full-fat sour cream and full-fat mayo for this recipe but if you prefer to make a lower-fat version of the recipe you can definitely use reduced fat sour cream and mayo.
My Grandma always used Bon Appetit Seasoning for this. When that was discontinued I started making it with Beau Monde Seasoning (affiliate link), which is almost identical in flavor.
This will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. Nutritional information doesn’t include vegetables and is calculated on 1/4 cup serving size.
Recipe from my Grandma Denny, who was a wonderful cook!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 245Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 6gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 564mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip is great for low-carb diets.Eat with low-carb vegetables like celery, sugar snap peas, jicama, bell pepper strips, radishes, broccoli, or cauliflower for low-carb diets. If you’re making this for the original South Beach Diet the Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip variation above is better for South Beach.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Appetizers to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Kalyn was making this dip recipe long before the existence of the internet, and it was first posted on this site in 2005 (probably without a single photo in those days.) The recipe was last updated with more information in 2023.
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Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
- Calories N/A
- Total Fat N/A
- Saturated Fat N/A
- Cholesterol N/A
- Sodium N/A
- Total Carbohydrates N/A
- Protein N/A
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