The Easiest Chicken Parmesan Sliders Start With A Store-Bought Shortcut

You never know just how useful store-bought, pre-made foods can be until you have fumbled your way through a hectic night in the kitchen. In the jumble of preparation and cooking, a jar of tomato sauce or a bag of frozen meatballs can be the lifeline that saves your busy dinners and get-togethers. Nothing else is more concrete a proof than Tasting Table's very own chicken Parmesan sliders recipe, in which store-bought chicken tenders take a familiar treat from ordinary to exciting in one breezy moment.

It may not seem all that time-consuming in theory, but dredging, egg-washing, and breading chicken tenders can be quite the hassle. It requires extra utensils, ingredient preparation, and, more importantly, the kind of effort you can't always afford to spare. Rather than shelling out time you already don't have, use store-bought tenders instead. Fast-forwarding the process, they go straight from the freezer to the oven, allowing you to easily focus on other parts of the dish while they're baking away.

Indeed, our recipe also focuses on other crucial elements like the sauce and the buns. Canned tomato sauce is simmered with aromatics and dried herbs, which is then spread on top of the garlic-buttered sliders. Once the chicken tenders are done, they return to the oven again, this time layered between those ingredients, topped with cheese, and come out as golden and crisp as ever. You wouldn't need any more than 30 minutes to achieve this resplendent result, and that is the magic of store-bought tenders.

While the three main ingredients are already listed in the name, chicken Parmesan sliders never cease to amaze with their twists and turns. Our recipe keeps it foolproof with mozzarella cheese to supply that molten bite you normally don't get with Parmesan cheese, but there is so much more you can do. If you've already prepared the garlic butter for the bread, just sweep a bit onto the chicken as well and taste the melting aroma coating the exterior. Parmesan-crusted chicken tenders are another fun route to take, which you might find already pre-made at the store, as well.

Just think of all the different ways to upgrade frozen chicken tenders, and you've already got loads of inspiration. Swapping out the sauce is a great starting point. You can experiment with other varieties, whether it's something still tomato-adjacent like vodka sauce or branching out entirely to pesto or garlic aioli. On game days, you'll find buffalo sauce to be an impeccable companion — just in case chicken wings have gotten too repetitive. In addition to a flavorful sauce, a bit of extra seasoning can make for a decent enhancement. Never underestimate the power hidden in a dash of paprika, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or garlic powder. Dried herbs are, for sure, an essential, too. Rosemary, thyme, cumin, and pretty much anything you have in the spice rack will work wonders in making the tenders you plucked from the frozen aisle taste restaurant-worthy.