Zero breading, just tender, flavorful chicken — these keto grilled chicken tenders let the pesto-dijon marinade do the heavy lifting. Five minutes of prep, ten on the grill, 0.4g net carbs and 44.6g protein. They hit my grill at least twice a month.
I came up with this marinade almost by accident. I had half a jar of pesto, some dijon, and white vinegar sitting on the counter, and I figured why not. Turns out pesto works as a marinade base in a way that oil and herbs alone just don't. The basil and garlic are already built in, the oil keeps everything moist on the grill, and the dijon adds a bite that balances the richness. I've been making this version ever since.
What makes these keto chicken tenders different from a typical grilled chicken recipe is the basting. Most recipes say "brush occasionally" and leave it at that. I brush with the leftover marinade every 30 seconds while they're on the grill. That sounds fussy, but it's the reason the outside caramelizes instead of drying out. You want to use up every drop of that marinade before the chicken comes off. If you like marinades that build flavor on the grill, my grilled marinated chicken uses a similar technique with a different flavor profile.
A reader named Jordan asked about scaling this for 6 pounds, and I tested it. Don't just triple everything. The vinegar gets overpowering at higher volumes. For 6 pounds of tenderloins, I keep the vinegar at 1 cup and triple the mustard, pesto, garlic, and seasoning. The mustard and pesto carry the flavor. The vinegar is just there for the acid to tenderize.
I go back and forth between white vinegar and apple cider vinegar depending on what's open. The ACV version has a little more tang, but honestly both work. If you have a bottle of either in the pantry, use that one.
For serving, I usually plate these over a big salad. My grilled chicken caesar salad is the obvious pairing, but they're also great sliced over a Thai chicken salad if you want something lighter. When I'm feeding the kids, I skip the salad and set out a keto BBQ sauce for dipping. They'll eat the whole plate that way.
These are also solid low-carb meal prep. I grill a double batch on Sunday, slice them up, and store in airtight containers. They reheat well in a skillet over medium heat (microwave makes them rubbery). Three days in the fridge, easy. If you want another chicken tender option that's completely different in style, try my bacon wrapped chicken tenders for oven nights.
These grilled tenders take five minutes of prep and about 10 minutes on the grill.
If You Can't Find Chicken Tenders
Chicken tenders are the small strips of meat on the underside of each breast. Most grocery stores sell them on their own. If yours does not, buy chicken breasts and pull the tenders off the underside. Or cut a skinless, boneless breast lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick strips.
I aim for a grill surface temperature between 375 and 400 degrees F and keep brushing on the leftover marinade the whole time they cook.
The tenderloins go into the vinegar, dijon and pesto marinade before they chill.
Other Ways to Cook These Tenders
This recipe is written for the grill, but a few other methods work too.
A skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat
How to grill chicken tenders without drying them out
The biggest mistake with grilling tenders is closing the lid. Tenderloins are thin, and a closed lid turns direct heat into convection heat, which overcooks the outside before the center is done. I leave the lid open the entire time and flip every 3 to 5 minutes.
Let the chicken come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before it hits the grill. Cold chicken straight from the fridge seizes up and tightens. Room temp chicken relaxes on the grate and cooks more evenly. I set mine on the counter while the grill preheats.
Pull them at 165°F internal, not a degree more. I use an instant-read thermometer on the thickest tender. If you're new to grilling keto chicken, start with medium heat and work from there. High heat chars the marinade before the inside cooks through. If you don't have an outdoor grill, a cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat works. You won't get smoke flavor, but the sear is almost identical. An oven at 425°F for 15-18 minutes is another option. Same marinade, same basting, just a different heat source. For more grilling ideas, my spicy chicken kebabs use a similar open-grill technique.
In a large bowl, add the vinegar, dijon, pesto, garlic, sweetener, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
2
Marinate chicken
Add the chicken tenderloins, cover and chill for at least 2 hours, up to 6 hours. After the chicken is done marinating, take the chicken out of the marinade and let come to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Add the remaining marinade to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, boil for 1 minute, take off the heat.
3
Grill
Heat the grill to high and prepare it for cooking. Lower the heat to medium, place the chicken directly on the grates, brush with the leftover marinate every 30 seconds or so. Turn occasionally until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side. They are ready when the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Make sure to use all the marinade up while the chicken is on the grill, this makes it extra flavorful!
Nutrition
Per serving: 1/4 of recipe
Calories
247
Fat
5g
Protein
44.6g
Total carbs
0.7g
Net carbs
0.4g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cook these without an outdoor grill?
I've made these on a cast-iron grill pan plenty of times. Medium-high heat, same basting routine, about 4 minutes per side. You lose the smoke flavor but the sear is great. I've also done them in the oven at 425°F for 15-18 minutes, flipping halfway through. The marinade caramelizes nicely under high oven heat.
How long should I actually marinate the chicken?
I go 2 hours minimum, but my sweet spot is around 4 hours. I've let them sit the full 6 hours and the texture gets a little softer than I like from the vinegar acid. If I'm short on time, even 30 minutes gives you decent flavor because the pesto and dijon are strong on their own. I wouldn't skip the marinating entirely though.
Can I freeze the chicken in the marinade before cooking?
I do this all the time for meal prep. I toss the raw tenders and marinade into a freezer bag, press out the air, and freeze flat. They keep for about 3 months. When I'm ready to cook, I thaw in the fridge overnight. The chicken actually absorbs more flavor while it thaws, so these come out even better than fresh-marinated ones.
How do I keep grilled chicken tenders from drying out?
Three things I always do: let the chicken come to room temperature before grilling, keep the grill lid open so you're cooking with direct heat only, and baste with the leftover marinade every 30 seconds. That constant basting is the real trick. I also pull mine right at 165°F internal temp. Even 5 degrees over and tenders get chalky.
What should I serve with these?
My go-to is slicing them over a big salad. I love them on my Thai chicken salad or in a low-carb chicken fajita rice bowl. For the kids, I just set out a keto BBQ sauce for dipping and they're happy. These also work great chopped into wraps or over cauliflower rice.
How do I scale the marinade for a bigger batch?
I tested this when a reader asked about 6 pounds. Don't just triple everything. The vinegar gets overpowering at higher volumes. For 6 pounds of tenderloins, I use 1 cup of vinegar and triple the mustard, pesto, garlic, and seasonings. The mustard and pesto carry the actual flavor. The vinegar is just there for the acid.
Is there a keto-friendly alternative to dijon mustard?
I've swapped in yellow mustard and spicy brown mustard and both work. Yellow is milder so the pesto comes through more. Spicy brown adds a grainier texture that I actually really like on the grill. Just check the label for added sugar. Most basic mustards are fine, but some honey mustard varieties sneak carbs in.
That char on the outside while the inside stays completely tender. I almost didn’t try this because two tablespoons of dijon plus all that white vinegar sounds like it’ll taste like salad dressing the whole way through, but it doesn’t. It just cooks into the chicken and everything evens out. Nothing I’ve made on the grill comes close.
I’ve made these twice and my son keeps asking what’s in the marinade. Explained pesto-dijon with vinegar, got a blank stare. He still digs through the fridge for leftovers before I’ve even cleared the table.
Ran this through a cast iron grill pan since I don’t have an outdoor grill, and the pesto-dijon sears onto the edges in a way that made my kitchen smell better than any chicken I’ve cooked. I doubled the garlic from the two cloves in the recipe because I wasn’t sure two would carry through the marinade, and it pushed the flavor somewhere much more interesting than I expected from something this fast. For grill pan users: get the pan very hot before the chicken goes in. The crust sets almost immediately and you don’t lose any of that flavor.
Four batches in now, and fresh pesto is worth the extra step. The flavor comes through cleaner without the preservative edge jarred pesto has, and the color on the grill stays brighter. Still not skipping the dijon.
Chicken tenders were the one thing I actually missed on keto. Not just chicken, these specifically. First recipe that feels like I didn’t have to give them up, and the pesto-dijon prep is nothing (five minutes). Might dial back the salt but whatever.
Two years into keto and grilled chicken was just something I ate, not something I looked forward to. Made this three times in two weeks. Not sure what took me so long.
This is batch four and I finally let it marinate the full six hours instead of bailing at two. The garlic is SO much more present and everything just tastes more locked in. Also used Primal Kitchen pesto because it was open, and that combo is going on permanent rotation. The ten-minute grill time still catches me off guard every time.
Made this probably eight or nine times now. The pesto-dijon marinade is already well-balanced, but around batch four I started adding a teaspoon of lemon zest and it lifted everything. The pesto flavor comes through sharper, the vinegar reads more like brightness than straight acid. I pull mine at nine minutes on medium-high rather than medium and tent for two minutes before cutting. Slice right away and you lose the glaze the marinade builds on the surface. The full six-hour marinade is worth planning for if you have the time.
Lemon zest with the pesto-dijon makes sense, it cuts through without adding more vinegar. And yeah, slice right away and you watch that glaze just disappear.
Tried probably four different keto chicken tender marinades this year, and the pesto-dijon combo here beats all of them. Something about the vinegar cutting through the pesto that the standard olive oil bases just don’t have. Four stars because mine needed a couple extra minutes on the grill, but I’m not done tweaking.
Yeah the vinegar-pesto thing has no equivalent in an oil base. Extra time is usually cold chicken. Let them rest out of the fridge for 10 minutes before they hit the grill.
Been testing keto chicken marinades for months and nothing stuck until this pesto-dijon. First one I’ve made twice in a row. The vinegar base makes everything taste more pulled-together.
Making this for family dinner Saturday and scaling up to about 6 lbs of tenders. Should I triple the marinade straight across, or back off the white vinegar a bit? In my experience, vinegar-heavy marinades get overpowering at higher volumes.
