11 Surprising Sauces That Go Perfectly with Chicken Tenders

We all love chicken tenders, but let’s face it, they don’t get a whole lot of respect. They’re typically viewed as the default food of picky children and drunken sports fans rather than a respectable meal for serious adults with fully developed palates. So while we’ll happily scarf down a whole plate of them, few of us would publicly proclaim them to be a favorite food, at least not if we want to be seen as cultured and worldly diners.

This is a shame because well-executed chicken tenders really do deserve the love. Unlike chicken nuggets, which are molded from ground-up chicken scraps, chicken tenders are slices of chicken breast that are typically marinated, breaded, and fried until golden brown and crispy. They offer all the crunch and juiciness of fried chicken without the inconvenience of bones. So why the disrespect? A possible reason is that the dipping sauces that typically accompany them, tasty as they are, give off distinct picky kid vibes — honey mustard, ranch dressing, and barbecue sauce are precisely the sorts of things parents use to disguise vegetables and proteins so finicky five-year-olds will eat them. If you love these, go ahead and enjoy them without apology (we do), but you have plenty of other options if these start to get old. Here are some creative ways to add a fresh twist to your next chicken tender feast.

As any devotee of Chinese-American takeout can tell you, there is no actual duck in duck sauce, and it doesn’t even have to be served with duck. In fact, it usually isn’t. Instead, the sweet-salty, fruity condiment is typically made with apricot jam, salty pickled plums, and a bit of soy sauce and vinegar. It resembles a loose jam and is a popular dipping sauce for crispy foods such as crab Rangoons, ever-popular egg rolls, and fried wonton skins. (It’s not bad on roast duck, either.)

Since duck sauce is such a good match for other crunchy savory treats, it’s also a good match for chicken tenders. The idea of pairing the two isn’t new: It originated with one of the many intrepid cooks who claim to have invented fried chicken tenders. In 1974, Charlie Pappas, then owner of the Puritan Backroom in Manchester, New Hampshire, began serving fried chicken tenders accompanied by his own version of duck sauce, a bit thinner and sweeter than the standard Chinese variety. The combo was a huge hit, enough so that Manchester later declared itself the Chicken Tender Capital of the World. It might not be the dip of choice outside of Manchester, but if you’re in the mood for a sweet and sour accent to your tenders, give it a try.

Chicken tenders, and fried chicken in general, may have a reputation as a casual food, but they’re so tasty they can easily be elevated to special-occasion meals. At his buzzy restaurant Momofuku, for instance, chef David Chang rolls his spicy fried chicken in caviar. Other cooks fry their chicken in a champagne batter to give it an upgrade. Of course, it’s easy to elevate a basic batch of chicken tenders just by upgrading your choice of sauce.

For a luxurious and unexpected twist, try a Hong Kong classic: XO sauce. It’s a spicy, funky, salty umami bomb of a sauce made from a ground-up mixture of dried scallops, dried shrimp, and Chinese cured ham mixed with fried, minced chilis, garlic, and shallots suspended in a flavorful oil. The term XO in Hong Kong slang denotes high-end luxury, and true to its name, jars of the sauce (available in well-stocked Asian markets) can be seriously pricy. But the sauce is so intensely flavored that a little goes a long way; just a few dabs will be enough to transform a fast-food chicken tender into a serious treat for grownups — and it’ll still be cheaper than rolling your tender in caviar.

Barbecue sauce is a pretty standard accompaniment to chicken tenders, but with the ubiquity of familiar tomato-based barbecue sauces, it can be easy to forget that many other types are out there and well worth trying. Most of us are familiar with marinades and glazes from global grilling traditions, such as teriyaki sauce and Korean barbecue sauce. Ironically, however, we often forget the lesser-known regional American barbecue sauces sitting right under our noses.

Among these unsung treats is Alabama white barbecue sauce, a mayonnaise-based sauce flavored with vinegar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and onion. It’s little known outside its home state, but within the state, fans love the sauce for its versatility. It’s not only used as a table condiment for grilled chicken and other meats but also as a marinade to ensure the meat comes out flavorful and tender before it’s even sauced. While it was originally developed for use on grilled chicken, its creamy tang with a bit of spice would be a great complement to fried chicken tenders as well, and a lively change-up from the usual ranch dressing.

If sweet, crunchy orange chicken is your go-to Chinese takeout order, try serving your next batch of chicken tenders as a deconstructed, handheld version of orange chicken. Instead of rolling the fried chicken pieces in the sauce, just serve the sauce on the side for dipping.

While you might think of orange sauce as super-sweet, good versions are way more than just syrupy orange-flavored goo. While the sauce gets some sweetness from orange juice, it also has a savory backbone from chicken stock, oyster sauce, and vinegar as well as aromatics such as garlic and ginger. In addition, it gets spice and depth from dried chiles, dried tangerine peel (a traditional condiment in Chinese cooking), and star anise, along with a bit of Chinese rice wine. In short, if you make your sauce correctly, you won’t have to worry about it being cloying or goopy; it has enough going on to please even diners with exacting culinary standards.

Chicken tenders have a reputation as a prototypical American junk food: bland and generic, but weirdly enticing. However, their typically neutral flavor profile gives them an advantage: You can change out their flavor in new and radical ways just by switching up your choice of sauce. There are no rules that limit you to the typical fast-food sauce choices — as an astute commenter on Reddit noted, “That’s like asking what kind of cereal is good with milk.”

To take your chicken tenders in a new direction, consider one of the many dipping and drizzling sauces from international cuisines. Don’t limit yourself to sweet or creamy sauces, either. For instance, Thai vinegar-chile sauce, a sharp, spicy vinaigrette-like condiment, can add brightness and heat to plain chicken tenders. This sauce, basically vinegar generously laced with crushed garlic, crushed dried chiles, and a bit of fish sauce, is a refreshing change-up from the syrupy sweet sauces normally served with tenders.

A favorite casual meal in Peru is grilled marinated chicken with a creamy dipping sauce on the side. This can be a green sauce flavored with jalapenos and cilantro, a sunny yellow sauce flavored with aji amarillo chiles, or if you’re lucky, a bit of both. Since they’re both a proven match with grilled chicken, there’s no reason they can’t pair equally well with crispy chicken tenders.

Of the two, aji amarillo is the least familiar to American diners, which is a great reason to try it. The bright yellow aji amarillo chiles are hard to find fresh in the United States, but jars of aji amarillo paste (and hot sauce) are available in Latin American specialty markets or online. To make the traditional dipping sauce, mix a bit of the paste with mayonnaise, yogurt, garlic, shallots, crumbly white cheese such as queso fresco, and a bit of lime juice, and whirl everything together in a blender or food processor until smooth. You’ll get a pleasantly hot, bright yellow sauce that will add color to your plate and give your tenders a whole new personality.

American eaters aren’t the only ones with a passion for crunchy fried things. Japan, for instance, had no history of deep-fried foods, but when Portuguese missionaries introduced them to Japan in the 1600s, the locals eagerly adopted them and put their spin on them. Today, shrimp tempura is among the most common items you’ll encounter on Japanese menus. In the 19^th century, another European-inspired fried treat emerged — tonkatsu, a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet, typically served with rice and shredded cabbage.

Among the features that make tonkatsu special — besides its delicate crunch — is the tangy, Worcestershire-adjacent sauce that tops it. At once sweet, salty, and tart, it offers a bright flavor contrast to the rich, fatty meat and breading. For the same reason, it can also be a great topper for chicken tenders. You can find bottled versions of tonkatsu sauce at Asian markets, or make your own with a mixture of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and mirin, and you can experiment with a variety of additions like garlic powder, brown sugar, or a little Dijon mustard.

Honey mustard is a classic dip for chicken tenders, but it’s not the only way to enjoy the zing of mustard with your tenders. For more intense mustard heat with distinct South Asian vibes, try a mayonnaise made with mustard oil and flavored with fried curry leaves. (Don’t expect these leaves to smell or taste like curry powder; rather, they have a warm, nutty aroma that complements more intense flavorings.) Mustard oil, available at Indian markets, is a pretty yellow with a more intense, pungent heat and aroma than prepared mustards, making this dip a good choice if you’re a fan of spicy sauces and a great way to liven up a run-of-the-mill chicken tender.

A brief word of warning, however: When you pick up a bottle of mustard oil in the United States, it will be marked “For External Use Only.” This is because the FDA has deemed it unsafe for consumption due to its high levels of erucic acid, which is thought to contribute to heart disease. It’s worth noting, however, that cooks and eaters throughout Asia have enjoyed mustard oil for centuries with no apparent problems. However, if you’re concerned about its safety, you can find low erucic acid, FDA-approved mustard oil online.

The only thing more seductive than a big bowl of potato chips is a big bowl of potato chips next to a bowl of creamy dip. Something about the combination of crispy, fatty chips and cool, creamy, savory dip is irresistible — after all, it’s nearly impossible to eat just one dipped chip. If you’re a fan of savory sour cream dips but also know you shouldn’t make a meal of chips and dip, try a slightly more responsible alternative: Enjoy your dip with chicken tenders.

The combo makes perfect sense: Chicken tenders have the crunchiness and saltiness of potato chips, plus the added juiciness and flavor of the chicken. Since sour cream dips are close cousins to ranch dressing, the taste will be familiar, but with a twist. For instance, try a sour cream dill sauce — basically, a sour cream base enlivened with garlic powder, dill, parsley, and lemon. It’s close enough to ranch dressing to please traditionalists, but different enough to entice those craving something new.

As its name suggests, this under-the-radar barbecue sauce is a regional favorite with roots in South Carolina, and yes, it is actually gold in color. It was the invention of the state’s sizeable German immigrant population, who first arrived in the 1700s and brought their love of mustard with them. It’s this ingredient that gives Carolina Gold sauce its distinctive color and flavor.

While Carolina Gold sauce is traditionally served with pork — its sweet-hot flavor cuts through the richness of a pulled pork sandwich nicely — it also makes a great match for chicken tenders. A simple mixture of yellow mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, honey, vinegar, and garlic, Carolina Gold is like a mashup between honey mustard and basic red barbecue sauce — two classic chicken tender sauces. So if you’re a fan of these traditional favorites, Carolina Gold would be a fun way to enjoy the best of both in a single bite.

The term bang bang sauce can be a bit confusing since it refers to two very different sauces. The first of these, which has roots in the Sichuan province of China, is a thin, spicy sauce of black vinegar, soy, chile oil, Sichuan peppercorns, and sugar, which is traditionally tossed with cold, shredded chicken and cucumbers to make a spicy chicken salad. The second version of bang bang sauce, developed by the Bonefish Grill restaurant chain in Florida, is a sweet, creamy concoction of mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, and Sriracha sauce that’s typically tossed with fried shrimp or chicken morsels.

The latter version was an instant hit when Bonefish Grill introduced it in 2007, and today, when most Americans hear the term bang bang sauce, the sweet mayonnaise sauce is what comes to mind. While bang bang shrimp and chicken are typically knife-and-fork meals, the sweet-spicy sauce is just as appealing as a dip for handheld chicken tenders.