Sweet and spicy Hot Honey Chicken – Chicken strips are breaded in crushed cornflakes then oven-baked until tender, then they’re finished with a prominently flavored fiery hot honey sauce that will leave your taste buds craving more!
Crispy Baked Chicken Strips with the Best Sauce
Sweet and sticky, peppery and bold, this hot honey chicken will be an absolute hit for spicy food-loving fans.
To make it it’s a simple process of dredging chicken pieces through a trio of coatings and then baking them all at once. And the final finish of tempting hot honey sauce couldn’t be easier to make. It only requires 3 ingredients that together create the most crave-able sauce. Honey, Sriracha, and butter.
The honey of course brings the sweetness, the hot sauce perfectly enhances it with striking brightness, and the butter balances and tones it out as well as bringing in a layer of richness. You’ll want to add this sauce to everything!
This hot honey chicken can be served as a party appetizer, a game day favorite, or as a main dish entree paired with the classic sides (see ideas below).
My few tips with this recipe are to generously coat the chicken with finely crushed-up cornflakes, which will offer plenty of crunch. And wait to add the sauce until immediately before serving or even use it as a dip to keep the chicken strips extra crisp.
Baked Hot Honey Chicken Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: Flour helps the eggs stick to the chicken for breading.
- Spices: Smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. These spices add lots of layered background flavor to the chicken.
- Eggs: Eggs act as glue to hold the cornflakes in place.
- Cornflakes cereal: These replace standard breadcrumbs but create a much crunchier more flavorful alternative.
- Olive oil and butter: These fats are used to add richness to the recipe.
- Chicken breasts: I recommend using 3 large chicken breasts about 10 to 11 ounces each. You’ll cut them into even strips for quicker cooking and easier eating.
- Honey: Honey creates a thicker sweet sauce without having to thicken with cornstarch.
- Sriracha: I tested this recipe with several types of hot sauce and Sriracha was the clear winner. I also appreciated its thickness to keep breading from getting soggy so quickly.
Possible Variations Hot Honey Chicken
- Cornflakes sub: If you don’t have cornflakes try 2 cups panko in their place.
- Hot sauce sub: Try with another thick hot sauce such as Valentina or Franks Red Hot Thick, and add cayenne pepper to taste if you want it spicier like Sriracha.
- Chicken tenders: If you don’t want larger strips of chicken you can just use store-bought chicken tenders.
- Gluten-free: To make gluten-free use gluten-free cornflakes, and in place of regular white flour use rice flour or chickpea flour.
- Egg replacement: If there’s an egg allergy you can use 1/2 cup heavy cream in place of eggs for breading the chicken then omit olive oil from the cornflakes.
How to Make Hot Honey Chicken?
- 1. Heat oven, and prepare baking sheet: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large oven-safe cooling rack with non-stick cooking spray then set over a rimmed 18 by 13-inch baking sheet.
- 2. Prepare breading: In a shallow dish whisk together flour and spices. In a second shallow dish whisk together eggs until very well blended.
- 3. Mix cornflakes and oil: Then in a third shallow dish toss together cornflakes with olive oil using your fingertips until cornflakes are evenly coated with oil.
- 4. Season chicken with S&P, coat in flour mixture: Season both sides of chicken pieces with a fair amount of salt and pepper (if they aren’t lightly moist I recommend first spraying with a little water), then working with one piece at a time dredge all sides in flour mixture, shake off excess flour.
- 5. Dredge chicken in egg, then cornflakes: Transfer to egg and coat all sides in egg, then transfer to crushed cornflakes and coat both sides (while scooping some cornflakes over top and pressing so they stick well and there’s a generous, even coating on both sides). 6. Place chicken pieces on the pan: Transfer the coated chicken strip to a cooling rack and repeat the process with the remaining chicken pieces.
- 7. Bake through: Bake in preheated oven until chicken is baked through (165°F in center of thickest portion), about 15 to 20 minutes.
- 8. Make hot honey: In a microwave-safe bowl heat together honey with butter until butter is nearly melted, remove and add sriracha, season with salt to taste, and stir.
- 9. Spoon it over chicken: Spoon the hot honey mixture over chicken and serve right away, or serve the hot honey sauce as a dip on the side.
Storage and Reheating Hot Honey Chicken recipe
- I highly recommend only adding sauce to the chicken you plan on serving (and adding it immediately before serving) this is so the coating doesn’t get soft and soggy.
- Store leftover pieces in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Reheat in a 350-degree oven on a baking sheet tented with foil, or in an air fryer until warmed through.
- Warm hot honey sauce then add to chicken.
Got a question?
How can I tell the chicken is cooked?
If your oil is at 390F/180C – it SHOULD be perfectly cooked through in 5 or so minutes. If you’re worried, just cut into a piece to check it’s white all the way through. Or, use your probe thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken – when cooked, it should be at least 165F/75C.
What can I serve with the tenders?
I love to pair them with some pickles and a dipping sauce (aioli or gochujang aioli are great choices), along with some loaded wedges or a crunchy slaw. You could also stuff them into fluffy bao buns.
Can I make them ahead of time?
You can! I’ve done this while catering for a party of 40, and it worked perfectly. Fry the chicken as per the recipe, but don’t toss it with the hot honey sauce. Let the fried chicken cool completely on the wire rack, then transfer it to containers and pop into the fridge.
The next day, you can reheat it for 8 minutes at 350F/150C fan on a wire rack set over a baking tray in the oven (this will let the air circulate and crisp up the coating). After that, continue with the recipe and serve.
Recipe!
Hot Honey Chicken Recipe!
Equipment
- oven
- pot
Ingredients
- 6 cup cornflakes
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 lb chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp Olivia oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- parsley optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a large oven safe cooling rack with non-stick cooking spray then set over a rimmed 18 by 13-inch baking sheet. Set aside.
- In a shallow dish whisk together flour, smoked paprika, garlic powder, ancho chili powder, and onion powder
- Then in a third shallow dish toss together cornflakes with olive oil using your fingertips until cornflakes are evenly coated with oil.
- Season both sides of chicken pieces with a fair amount of salt and pepper then work with one pieces at a time dredge all sides in flour mixture, and shake off excess flour.Transfer to egg and coat all sides in egg, then transfer to crushed cornflakes and coat both sides (while scooping some cornflakes over top and pressing so they stick well and there's a generous, even coating on both sides).
- Bake in preheated oven until chicken is baked through (165°F in center of thickest portion), about 15 to 20 minutes (if you find chicken is over-browning near the end just lay a sheet of foil over top, don't seal).
- In a microwave safe bowl heat together honey with butter (about 30+ seconds) until butter is nearly melted, remove and add sriracha, season with salt to taste and stir.
- Spoon hot honey mixture over chicken and serve right away. For the crispiest option you can serve the hot honey sauce as a dip, though you may want to double the amount.
Notes
- *To crush cornflakes place in a gallon size resealable bag. Seal bag while pressing out excess air then crush cornflakes with a rolling pin until they are tiny bits nearly the size of panko bread crumbs.
- If desired you can serve garnished with thinly sliced green onions.
“This Hot Honey Chicken recipe was a hit! The sweet and spicy flavors paired so well with the tender chicken. Definitely adding this to my regular dinner rotation. Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe!”