Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Tenders with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
Updated Feb 24, 2022, Published May 01, 2016
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Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Tenders with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce are smoky and spicy with the right amount of sweetness. They make a great appetizer or entree.
“I have made this numerous times for my husband and friends and EVERY TIME I get raves!”
I make these A LOT for my clients and they never fail to please!
Everything is better with bacon and chicken tenders are just screaming to be wrapped in a slice of smoky, delicious bacon! Chicken tenders are just the right size with one strip wrapped around to cook through in a non-stick skillet in about 10 minutes.
First, though, you need to remove the tendon from the tender. Yeah, not the most pleasant but eating it is worse.
How to remove the tendon from chicken tenders:
The easiest way I have found to remove the tendon WITHOUT destroying the delicate tender is to simply cut it out with kitchen shears.
- Hold the tip of the tendon with one hand and kitchen shears in the other.
- Run the open scissors along the tendon down to where it ends snipping as you go.
- Done!
You could do two slices around the tender, but I think the bacon would then be overwhelming. Chicken tenders are just the right size with one strip wrapped around to cook through in a non-stick skillet in about 10 minutes.
My amazing 89-year-old father grows some of the most beautiful raspberry bushes on the planet and we are the happy recipients of the abundance each year.
We still had some in the freezer from last year which is what I used. Use frozen raspberries from your local grocery store or even raspberry preserves to make this sauce. (Raspberry preserves can be on the sweet side, so sure to adjust the sweetness to your taste.)
This dish can be adapted easily to the Paleo diet by using honey instead of sugar in the Raspberry Chipotle Sauce.
Now let’s eat!
More great easy chicken recipes!
- Pesto and Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken with Roma Tomatoes
- Chicken with Romesco Sauce and Saffron Cauliflower Rice
- Grilled Citrus Chicken with Spicy Basil Chimichurri
- Southwestern Chicken, Orzo and Black Bean Skillet
- Korean Braised Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Scallopini with Roasted Vegetable Ratatouille
- Almond-Crusted Chicken Tenders
Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Tenders with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped (approximately 1/2 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 bag (12-ounce) frozen raspberries
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar, or as needed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tenders
- 1 package (8-ounce) chicken tenders
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 slices bacon, or 1 per tender
Instructions
Sauce
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often until soft, approximately 8-10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 8-10 minutes or until thickened and reduced by 1/3. Remove from the heat and cool.
- Puree in a food processor or blender.
- Strain through a sieve, pressing on solids to extract as much sauce as possible. Serve sauce with chicken tenders.
Tenders
- Season chicken tenders with salt and black pepper. (You may wish to lighten up on the salt as the bacon is salty.)
- Wrap a bacon slice around each chicken tender.
- Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken tenders in the pan with the end of the bacon strip down. (This will help "seal" the bacon onto the chicken.)
- Brown the chicken well on all sides until bacon is crisp and chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees.
Notes
- Hold the tip of the tendon with one hand and the kitchen shears in the other.
- Run the open scissors along the tendon down to where it ends, snipping as you go.
- The sauce can be made 2-3 days ahead of time. Refrigerate until needed.
- The tenders and the sauce can be frozen in airtight containers for up to 2 months.
- Thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat in the oven.
- The sauce can be reheated in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
REWRITE! My deepest apology as it is Chef Carol (not Joan as previously and wrongly credited in my earlier post – so embarrassed! Too much wine last night and not enough coffee this a.m.!) This recipes always gets raves and frequent requests to make-it-again from my husband and friends! CHEF CAROL via her posts is an awesome resource in how and why of most delicious fare!
Hi, Paula, Ha! Thanks so very much and so happy you love this recipe! And I’ve had those days where the wine seemed like a good idea at the time. :). Appreciate you and appreciate your taking the time to come back and comment.
Oh my, I have made this numerous times for my husband and friends and EVERY TIME I get raves and I point them to Chef Joan – what she offers is excellent in teaching and time tested – thank you!
Thanks, Julie!