1,226 tenderizer recipes

Sweet-sour cucumber salad with paper-thin slices wilted in salt, then tossed in a simple vinegar and sugar dressing. Three ingredients, no cooking, and a crisp-tender texture that pairs with anything.

Chicken Alla Spina braised with red wine, onions, and oregano in a roasting pan. An Italian-American one-pan chicken dinner with tender meat and a savory wine sauce for sopping with bread.

Traditional Mexican beans cooked in a pot (frijoles de olla) with just onion, lard, and salt. Slow-simmered from dried beans for 3 hours until tender and soupy. The foundation of Mexican cooking.

Pecan rice melange marries chewy wild rice and tender long grain rice with toasted pecans, butter, and fresh parsley. A nutty, herbal side that holds its own next to roast chicken or pork.

Baker's bread in a bag is mixed and kneaded entirely in a zip-top bag, no mixing bowl needed. A kid-friendly intro to yeast bread that bakes into a tender white loaf.

Fresh microwave spinach in 5 minutes flat with no oil, no fuss, just clean leaves and steam. The fastest way to a tender, nutrient-packed side that actually keeps its bright green color.

Nutty oatmeal bread with simmered rolled oats, honey, walnuts, and sunflower seeds folded into a yeasted dough. Tender, slightly sweet, and topped with a sprinkle of raw oats for a hearty rustic crust.

Stir-fried zucchini cooked tender-crisp in a hot pan with just oil, water, salt, and a pinch of sugar. Five-ingredient side dish ready in 10 minutes from one summer squash glut.

Reduced-sugar chocolate cake uses egg substitute, margarine, and nonfat dry milk for a lighter tender cake. Cake flour gives a fine crumb in a 9-inch pan, cut into 16 modest squares.

Homemade potstickers from scratch: hand-rolled dough wrappers filled with pork, napa cabbage, ginger and water chestnut, pan-fried crisp then steamed tender. Served with a soy, chili oil and vinegar dipping sauce.

Homemade Purim ravioli with a tender spinach and chicken filling, sealed between paper-thin sheets of pasta and boiled, then served with marinara or meat sauce. An Italian-Jewish holiday labor of love.

Spicy brisket needs just two things: a beef brisket and your favorite barbecue sauce. Baked low and slow until fork-tender, then piled into warm flour tortillas for an easy Tex-Mex dinner.

Crisp-tender cauliflower and green beans marinated in Italian dressing with dill weed, red onion rings, and red pepper flakes. A make-ahead chilled vegetable side that needs at least 4 hours to soak up flavor.

Sweet and sour tofu with peppers and carrots: a vegetarian Chinese restaurant favorite. Tofu poached for tenderness, topped with crisp stir-fried vegetables, and dressed with a tangy ginger-garlic sweet-and-sour sauce.

Oven Barbecued Eggplant salts the slices and rests for 30 minutes before baking with BBQ sauce brushed on both sides until tender but not mushy. A 3-ingredient vegan side dish ready in an hour.

Swiss cheese potato bread from the bread machine, with potato flakes for a soft, moist crumb and melted Swiss for nutty, savory flavor. Just add everything, press start, and bake a tender golden loaf.