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Keeping things fun and easy with these baked Spicy Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Fingers. They’re seasoned with homemade honey mustard, breaded in salty pretzel crumbs, oven baked, then dipped in a spicy-hot honey sauce, followed up with a cooling ranch. These are the “grown up” version of chicken fingers…that kids love too. And yes, they’re even healthier (these tenders are baked, not fried), and so much tastier. Serve with oven baked french fries and veggies for an easy dinner that’s different, sweet and spicy, and full of flavor.
So what do you do when life tells you to stay and home and work with what’s in your pantry? You make chicken fingers…breaded in pretzel crumbs…and you serve them with your favorite spicy honey sauce. At least that’s what I do. When you don’t have a lot to work with, you gotta try and make the best of what you got. And these chicken fingers are some of the best I’ve made.
Tangy from the honey mustard glaze, salty from the pretzel coating, and sweet from the spicy honey sauce, these flavors are hard to beat. Not only are these chicken fingers fun to eat, but they’re pretty easy too! Perfect for a quarantined Wild Wednesday night.
The story.
If you look back through past HBH recipes, you’ll see a handful of chicken finger and popcorn chicken recipes. There’s also my beloved (and popular) southern hot honey chicken as well. Yes, breaded chicken recipes are big favorites in my family. Personally, I love to bake the chicken fingers…and then add plenty of sauces for dipping. They’re so good, fun, and a nice switch up from the average weeknight dinner. You know?
But these chicken fingers are extra special, they’re a mash-up of a few oldie recipes I’ve shared in year’s past. For those of you who’ve been following along all the way back since the start of HBH (in 2012). You might remember that I once shared a pretzel crusted chicken salad with honey mustard. For whatever reason, as I was staring at the back of a pretzel bag I had in the pantry, I thought back to that chicken. And then, I knew I was making pretzel coated chicken fingers. I mean why not? I had frozen chicken tenders in the freezer. What else would I make with those two ingredients? It was a no brainer.
From there, I added the seasonings, plus the spicy honey sauce. In less than a few hours, I had these pretzel chicken fingers perfected. From there, I sent photos to my older brother Creighton, who loves chicken fingers more than anyone I know. Wishing he could have been here to enjoy them. Very much missing the rest of the family these days.
Creighton loved the photos and said to freeze some for his next trip out to Colorado.
The steps.
To start, mix up the honey mustard and toss it with trimmed chicken tenders. The honey mustard is our flavor and our “glue” that helps adhere the pretzel crumbs onto the chicken tenders.
Next, finely crush the pretzels into crumbs to bread the chicken. The finely crushed pretzels are key. They flavor the chicken with the perfect amount of salt, which pairs wonderfully with the sweet and tangy honey mustard.
Tip? Pulse the pretzels in the food processor to really break them down into a fine crumb. If you don’t have a food processor, just add the pretzels to a ziplock bag, then step on the bag with your feet to finely crush them. Trust me, this works. You can even just use the actual pretzel bag and step on that. It’s what dad used to do when he’d make potato chip chicken when I was a kid. This trick is an oldie but a goodie.
Next, bake the chicken in the oven until it crisps all over. My secret is to gently dab/brush the chicken with olive oil before it bakes. This helps the coating to really crisp up nicely in the oven. You can’t skip this step, it’s crucial.
On to the sauce.
No chicken finger is complete without a dipping sauce…our two. In this family, you can never have enough sauce.
So first…the Spicy Honey Sauce. It’s inspired by the famous Nashville Hot Chicken and it’s the same sauce I use on my southern oven fried chicken. It’s spicy, but balanced with a touch of sweetness. The classic way to add sweetness to this spicy sauce is with brown sugar, but I prefer using honey for better flavor and texture.
In addition to the spicy honey sauce, I wanted to pair the fingers with something cooling…
Enter the cool ranch. I like to simply mix up a quick homemade ranch, but you can easily use your favorite store-bought ranch too. I like to use both sauces. Then you get a little buttery sweet and spicy sauce mixed in with a little creamy cooling ranch.
It is SO GOOD!
Once the chicken is done cooking, serve it up along with the sauces. I like to add these Tuscan style fries. If you’re going to do a chicken finger night, you might as well add the fries. Hey, this is quarantine life, we have to try to make some fun. Plus, just like the chicken, these fries are baked, not fried.
To sum things up, the chicken is a touch tangy and perfectly salted. The sauce is spicy, yet buttery. Put everything together and you’ll have tangy, salty, sweet, and spicy chicken fingers. So much (really) good flavor.
The best part about this recipe is that you’ll hopefully be able to find all of the ingredients in your pantry and your freezer. With such a large family, I always try to keep chicken tenders in the freezer at all times. They thaw much quicker than chicken breasts, and they make for a great last-minute protein source. The rest of the ingredients are all taken from the pantry shelves… honey, mustard, spices, and dried herbs.
Simple and easy!
Lastly, if you make these spicy honey mustard pretzel chicken fingers, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Baked Hot Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Fingers.
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 888 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt, sour cream, or olive oil mayo
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 pounds boneless chicken tenders
- 2 cups finely crushed salted pretzel twists
- 1 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil for brushing
- ranch dressing for serving (optional)
Spicy Honey Sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper using more or less to your taste
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- kosher salt
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, whisk together the mustard, yogurt, and honey. Add the chicken and toss well to coat. 2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.3. Add the pretzel crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and a pinch of pepper to a medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.4. Remove each piece of chicken from the honey mustard, and dredge through the crumbs, pressing gently to adhere. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the chicken has been used. Make sure not to crowd your pan, if necessary use two baking sheets. Lightly brush/drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.5. Meanwhile, make the spicy honey sauce. Melt together the honey, butter, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, and a pinch of salt. 6. Serve the chicken topped with flaky salt and spicy honey sauce for dipping. I'd add a side of ranch too. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on April 1, 2020
My three kids were losing their minds over this. It’s so rare that I make a dinner that they all enjoy, so THANK YOU! One question: is the 2 cups of pretzels measured before or after crushing them? I wasn’t sure so I just eyeballed it, but ended up running out halfway and making more. Thanks again, Tieghan!
Hi Lindsey,
So glad your family has been enjoying this recipe. I usually measure out the two cups before crushing, but sometimes I end up needing more. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These are soooo moist and tasty! This recipe is getting added to my ‘go-to’’s.
Love to hear that! Thank you so much Tanisha! xTieghan
This was our second recipe from HBH and let me tell you – this is AMAZING. Followed the recipe to a T and we gobbled up enough to leave us full and content after. Thank you for all these great recipes!
By the way – that spicy honey sauce is SO TASTY. Honestly, I could probably eat it solo.
I am so glad you have been loving my recipes, Heather! Thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy all of the recipes you try! xTieghan
Ok wow. SO good. Made these with Trader Joe’s Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel pieces and 10/10. In the words of my fiancé “this is the best dinner you’ve ever made” (paired with a kale salad and Chrissy Teigen’s buffalo blue cheese smashy potatoes). Can’t wait to play with this some more!
That is so great to hear! Thank you so much Amanda! xTieghan
THESE ARE AMAZING. I love your similar hot honey chicken recipe (breaded with cornflakes) but am shocked to report that I actually find these even tastier! The chicken really soaks up the honey mustard flavor and my tenders got so crispy! I was running too low on butter to make the hot honey sauce so just served alongside a simple kale salad with homemade avocado ranch and it was a great dinner!
Thank you so much Caroline! I am so happy these turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying! xTieghan
Made this recipe last night for dinner along with a chopped salad. It was a big hit with my family!!
Thank you so much Mary Jane! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for all of you! xTieghan
Ohhhhh my these are good. We cooked ours in the air fryer! 400 degrees for 12 minutes, flipped after 7. I may go slightly longer for slightly crispier but they were delicious as is. Not only am I keeping this recipe, it may go into my breakfast folder as the topping for chicken and waffles. Mother’s day breakfast may have to be hot honey + pretzel chicken + waffles 🙂
HAha I love that!! So glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you Tori! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it is as delish as it sounds! I only used a pound of chicken and was running out of the pretzel mix by the last piece so maybe I measured wrong, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a little extra. I also reserved a bit of the honey-mustard-yogurt mix before dredging to use as a dipping sauce. Yum! Will definitely make again. The best part? No chopping! Thank you <3
Yes!! Thank you so much Jeannie!! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan
SO SO GOOD…. I love all your stuff.. This was easy and amazing. I have made about 20plus of your recipes. Keep posting and I will keep cooking…
Haha I will keep posting! I am so glad you have been loving my recipes! I hope you continue to! Thank you Mary! xTieghan
That was a very nice one! I have made some pieces with olive oil like in the recipe and some withou just to try. I liked the ones without a little more, they got crispier.
I was cooking the chicken on a rack, because I assumed that the coat can get soggy. Mine were turned out crispy.
The sauce was good, but I think some acidity would be nice (to balance it out).
Ketchup was also great there.
Thank you so much! I am really glad these turned out crispy and delicious! xTieghan
We don’t like mustard in our house. Any substitutes?
Hi Alison,
Just leave the mustard out. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this for dinner last night and was amazed. Not only were the chicken tenders nice and crispy, which I have had a hard time succeeding with in the past, but the spicy honey dipping sauce was on another level. Highly recommend this recipe!
Thank you so much Sara! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was perfect recipe for the comfort food meal we were planning. I love how very easy it is to make. I appreciated that I didn’t have to buy anything to make this, it is a great combination of staples I already have. The sauce is very flavorful and with quite a kick, but it really enhanced the flavor of the chicken fingers so I couldn’t do without it! Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you Stephanie! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Can you make marinate the chicken in the yogurt, honey, mustard mixture ahead of time and then bread it and cook it the next day?
Hi Lauren,
You can absolutely do this! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this recipe last night with a few tweaks. It is incredible delicious! Thank you so much for this! It was a hit with the whole family!
Coat tenders in seasoned flour [1 C flour, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder] before you dip in honey mustard mixture
Add 3 eggs to mustard, yogurt, and honey for dredge.
Add 1/2 cup panko to pretzel coating, helps everything crisp a little more!
Air Fry tenders @ 350 for 14 minutes. Turn at 7 minutes.
Phenomenal!
Hi! I am really glad this turned out so well for you!! Also, thank you for showing how you did it in the air fryer! xTieghan