Marinated in a perfectly spiced yogurt sauce, these Grilled Tandoori Chicken Tenders will make you forget all about that Indian buffet you love. Juicy, flavorful pieces of chicken with all the aromatic spices!

Marinated in a perfectly spiced yogurt sauce, these Grilled Tandoori Chicken Tenders will make you forget all about that Indian buffet. Juicy, flavorful pieces of chicken with all the aromatic spices!

I grew up eating this back home in India every time I went out to dinner. Tandoori chicken was one of those go-to items to order at any Indian restaurant, and my family was no exception.

All those “outside” versions aren’t really the best though. They do have all the taste, no doubt about that, but they also compromise on the ingredients by adding a ton of food coloring to get that bright red color and using more than just a fair bit of oil when cooking.

But the thing is, its SO easy to make a healthy tandoori chicken at home!

What you need for this Indian Yogurt-Marinated Chicken

Chicken
Yogurt (Use coconut or almond based for paleo tandoori chicken)
Lemon Juice
Ginger-Garlic Paste (or ginger & garlic)
Garam masala
Red Chili Powder (From hot red chilis, or use the US chili powder + Cayenne Pepper)
Coriander Seeds
Cumin
Paprika
Turmeric
Salt
Pepper

This Indian food recipe is made without the oven, but you can bake the yogurt masala marinated chicken breast pieces in the oven too and turn them into healthy homemade baked tandoori chicken tenders instead.

Basically a long list of spices to give it all that flavor.

I used chicken tenders (aka tenderloins) to make this grilled tandoori chicken, but you can also use chicken breast pieces. It might take a bit longer to cook though.

What to do to make these healthy tandoori chicken tender strips?

Make an Indian-spiced yogurt marinade sauce for the chicken by stirring together the lemon juice, garam masala and rest of spices.

Marinate the chicken strips in your beautiful homemade tandoori masala for 6 to 12 hours in the fridge. The longer you keep it the better, but chicken tenders are quite absorbant, so even the 6 hours is good enough.

Cook the chicken!

How to make tandoori chicken on a grill pan?

Just cook it over medium heat for about 8 minutes on each side. Use a non-stick pan and you can get the most perfect tandoori chicken recipe without any oil!

Use this easy recipe to learn how to make Indian tandoori chicken (tenders/tenderloins or breast) on a grill pan or baked in the oven.

Can I bake this?

Yes, you can also bake the tenders/breast strips in the oven to get baked tandoori chicken tenders instead. 450°F for 8 minutes each side, basting the chicken with the reserved marinade when flipping.

Does this keep?

You can store the cooked chicken in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Can I reuse the marinade?

No. You cannot!

Make a healthy marinade for the chicken using yogurt (coconut for paleo), garam masala and a bunch of spices, let it rest, and then grill, bake or air fry the tenders - use skewers if you’d like - for the perfect home made Indian tandoori chicken!

More yogurt-marinated chicken tenders?

Baked Lemon-Yogurt Greek Chicken Tenders