Hot Honey Chicken

Published February 10, 2024

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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 tastebuds 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 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 the finely crushed up corn flakes, 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 a 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 it’s thickness to keep breading from getting soggy so quickly.

Possible Variations

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 chick pea 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, 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 recommending first spraying with a little water), then working with one pieces 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 pan: Transfer coated chicken strip to cooling rack and repeat process with 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 hot honey mixture over chicken and serve right away, or serve hot honey sauce as a dip on the side.

Storage and Reheating

I highly recommend only adding sauce to 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.

What to Serve with It

Suggested sides for hot honey chicken include:

Mac and cheese
Coleslaw or sauteed cabbage
Baked potatoes or mashed potatoes
Dinner rolls
Cornbread
Fried rice or steamed white rice

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