Hot Honey Chicken Tenders

Crispy chicken tenders tossed in a deliciously sweet and spicy hot honey sauce, these are just delicious! With a crispy corn flake coating and a homemade hot honey drizzle, these hot honey chicken tenders are packed with flavor. Perfect with a side of ranch for dipping!

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Being somewhat Nashville-adjacent here in Memphis, we love a hot honey chicken dish like it was our own. We can’t always make the drive up I-40 to snag an order of the OG when a craving strikes, though, which is where homemade versions like these hot honey chicken tenders really save the day. Sweet and sticky with the perfect amount of heat encasing juicy strips of chicken. What could be better?
• The chicken strips are wonderfully crispy – way crispier than you typically get with floured chicken!
• They’re oven-baked, not fried, so they’re not heavy or greasy. You don’t need any special equipment to make them, either!

Cheryl’s Tips

• When it comes to the beautifully crispy, crunchy coating, baking the chicken strips on a wire rack is crucial! It keeps them elevated, which 1) allows the air in the oven to reach all sides of the chicken strips, and 2) keeps them from sitting in any liquid that may drip off during cooking.
• Feel free to use a store-bought, already-prepared hot honey instead of making your own! I prefer to control how much heat is in my sauce, but sometimes I just don’t feel like doing that extra step.
• To get all the chicken strips fully-cooked at the same time, make sure you start out with them all the same basic size and thickness! If they’re all over the place, you’ll end up with some chicken strips that are way overdone and others that are just barely ready. Keep the amount of breading on each one as even as possible, too!

More Delicious Chicken Recipes

• Chicken Ranchero
• Creamy Marry Me Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Etouffee
• Ground Chicken Soup
• Ultimate Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl
• Blackened Chicken Alfredo
• Air Fryer Frozen Popcorn Chicken
• Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
• Jerk Chicken Tacos
• Air Fryer Chicken Katsu
• Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
• Air Fryer Chicken Legs
• Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken in the Air Fryer

Hot Honey Chicken Tenders

Crispy cornflake-coated chicken tenders, tossed in a sweet and spicy hot honey sauce.

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 25 minutes minutes

Total: 45 minutes minutes

Recipe Makes: 6 servings

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Equipment

• oven
• large sheet pan
• parchment paper
• wire baking rack
• cutting board
• sharp chef's knife
• large, shallow bowl
• 2 whisks
• sealable, food-safe plastic bag
• neutral-flavored cooking spray
• internal meat thermometer
• small mixing bowl

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• ▢ 1-1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or chicken tenderloins)

For the Cornflake "Breading"

• ▢ 2 tablespoons milk of choice (or water)
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 2 cups crushed cornflakes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper (more or less to taste)

For the Hot Honey Sauce

• ▢ ¼ cup hot sauce
• ▢ ⅔ cup honey
• ▢ 3 tablespoons melted butter

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Line large sheet pan with parchment paper, then fit wire baking rack on top of lined sheet pan. Set pan aside.
• Place 1-1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts on cutting board. Trim chicken as needed, then cut chicken breasts into long strips. Set chicken aside.
• Add 2 tablespoons milk of choice and 1 large egg to large, shallow bowl. Whisk ingredients together until fully incorporated into pale mixture with no streaks remaining. Set bowl aside.
• Add 2 cups crushed cornflakes, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper to large sealable, food-safe plastic bag. Seal bag completely and shake bag until ingredients are well blended. Open bag and set aside.
• Place one strip of chicken in egg wash, submerging chicken completely. Lift chicken strip out of egg wash, allowing any excess egg wash to drip back into bowl, then place chicken strip in bag of cornflake breading.
• Seal bag, then shake or flip bag over until chicken strip is fully coated, gently pressing cornflake breading onto chicken as needed.
• Remove chicken strip from bag and place chicken on wire baking rack. Repeat process with remaining chicken strips until all chicken strips have been breaded.
• When all chicken strips have been breading and arranged on wire rack, lightly spray tops of chicken strips with neutral-flavored cooking spray.
• Place sheet pan in preheated oven. Bake chicken strips until internal temperature of chicken strips reaches 160° Fahrenheit according to internal meat thermometer, approximately 20 minutes.
• When target temperature is reached, carefully remove pan from oven. Set pan aside and let chicken rest 5 minutes.
• While chicken rests, add ¼ cup hot sauce, ⅔ cup honey, and 3 tablespoons melted butter to small mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until fully incorporated.
• Drizzle prepared hot honey sauce over chicken strips, flipping chicken as needed to coat on all sides. Serve chicken strips immediately for maximum crispiness.

Recipe costs provided are approximate. Actual cost per recipe & serving will vary by location, store, brand, etc. Approximate cost shown does not include costs for any optional ingredients.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 347kcal | Protein: 26g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 119mg | Sodium: 913mg | Potassium: 509mg | Total Carbs: 40g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Net Carbs: 39g | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 25mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes. Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used. To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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Recipe by Cheryl Malik