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Baked Crispy Hot Honey Chicken Tenders – a family favorite that everyone loves! Simple breaded chicken tenders are baked up until crispy and delicious. Top these tenders with sweet honey sauce. Made simply with honey and the perfect combination of sea salt and spices. A delicious casual dinner to serve up to family or friends on game nights, movie nights, and everything in between. Always serve with extra hot honey sauce and a side of home-baked fries. The homemade version of everyone’s favorite crispy fried chicken. These are the best!
I spoke about this on Friday, but often, the recipes I want to make the most are the simple, basic ones. Recipes like those classic, really great brown butter brownies with crinkled tops. And now these chicken tenders.
I wanted to come up with a great chicken tender that wasn’t fried, had very little fuss, and was still delicious.
And I knew I wanted to coat each tender in this delicious, hot honey sauce. It was/is what I seem to be craving at the moment!
Let’s get into the details
Ingredients – for the chicken
- boneless, skinless chicken tenders – if your grocery store does not have tenders available, just pick up chicken breasts and cut the breasts into tenders
- onion and garlic powder
- all-purpose flour – or you can use your favorite gluten-free flour blend
- grated Parmesan cheese
- smoked paprika
- ground turmeric
- an egg
- hot sauce
- salted butter or olive oil
Ingredients – for the sauce
- honey
- cayenne pepper
- chipotle chili powder
- onion and garlic powder
- flaked sea salt
Steps
Step 1: the chicken
Start with the chicken. First, toss the chicken tenders with a mix of seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add flour and parmesan, then toss again.
Next, add one egg and a couple of tablespoons of hot sauce. Toss the chicken again, making sure each tender is coated in the beaten egg.
Add the remaining flour, the smoked paprika, and the turmeric. Give the tenders a toss one last time. The idea is to have each piece of chicken coated in flour. Use your hands to really squeeze the flour onto the chicken.
The flour allows the chicken to get crispy in the oven. And I love that crispy texture.
Add butter or oil to coat the chicken. Bake the chicken up in a super hot oven. It takes maybe 20 minutes to cook.
Step 2: the sauce
Before the chicken is done, warm the honey on the stove in a small saucepan with hot sauce, cayenne, and chipotle chili powder. The chili powder adds a very subtle smokiness to the sweet, spicy, salty sauce.
Do not boil the sauce; very gently warm the sauce over low heat. If you boil the sauce, it will get too thick.
You can use as little or as much of the sauce as you’d like, but I end up drizzling every last drop of the sauce over the chicken. It’s SO DELICIOUS.
Step 3: coat the chicken in sauce
You can drizzle, pour, or even dunk the chicken into the sauce as soon as the tenders come out of the oven. The heat helps the sauce to really adhere to the chicken.
The coating soaks up all the sauce. It’s going to leave you saying, YUM!
I always finish with some flaked sea salt.
For serving, these are so yummy with home-baked French fries. We love the thicker cut ones. Delicious!
Perfect for everyone in the family!
Looking for other game night recipes? Try these!
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Salmon with Caesar Roasted Potatoes
One Skillet Cheesy Green Chile Chicken
Sheet Pan Honey Buffalo Chicken with Broccoli
Lastly, if you make this Baked Crispy Hot Honey Chicken Tenders, 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 on social media you all have made is my favorite!
Crispy Baked Hot Honey Chicken Tenders
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 302 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken tenders
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup flour or gluten-free flour
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- olive oil or melted butter
Hot Honey
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2-3 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1-3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- green onions cilantro, or parsley, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or rub with oil.2. In a bowl, toss together the chicken, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons flour and parmesan and toss again. Add the beaten egg and hot sauce. Toss to coat, making sure all the chicken is coated. Add 1/2 cup flour, paprika, and turmeric. Toss well, allowing the flour to coat all pieces of chicken.3. Arrange the chicken evenly on the baking sheet. Add oil or butter over each tender. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and crispy. 4. Just before the chicken is done cooking, make the sauce. In a sauce pot, warm together all ingredients. Do not boil. 5. Drizzle the warm sauce over the chicken or serve the sauce on the side for dipping. If the sauce thickens, warm for 5 seconds in the microwave. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on March 10, 2025
My whole family loves these tenders!! Pleasing all 3 kids mouths an my husbands is no easy task! 😂 I’ve got to start doubling this recipe!
Hey Sarah,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Summer!
Tenders were great! Wasn’t a huge fan of the hot honey sauce. It was too Smokey tasting. What would you recommend for a sauce that’s is t so Smokey flavored?
Thanks so much for trying this recipe, Antoinette! I would skip the chipotle chili powder next time. I hope this helps! xT
All your recipes hit it out of the park, and this was no exception!! I inhaled it. It was fantastic. To anyone reading this, pls make this!
Thanks so much, Kristina:) So glad to hear this recipe was a hit, I appreciate you making it! Happy Sunday!
loved this recipe. chicken tasted amazing! the sauce definetly makes everything come together. will be making it again!
Hey Carol,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a winner! Have the best weekend:)
Thank you for giving different levels of spices. That helped me out a lot.
Thanks so much, Eileen! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe and appreciate you making it! Have the best week! XxT
We loved this recipe! I cut up a chicken breast because that’s what I had on hand. I also used saffron and mustard powder because no turmeric. I used butter flavored no stick spray for the oil. It crisped just great. Super tasty! Definitely spicy! Yum!
Hey Heather,
Happy Sunday!! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was enjoyed:) x
Would brown rice flour work well for these? I’ve made some of your other tenders that have turned out bomb so I’m excited to try these, but I’ve heard brown rice flour can make them extra crispy 🙂
Or – would the sauce in this recipe work with your turmeric tenders?
Ps thank you for always responding! 🙂
Hey Chelsey,
Sure, brown rice flour would also be a nice option here! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I was excited to try this recipe. Unfortunately the hot honey was beyond edible because it was scorchingly hot. Luckily I made the hot honey first and didn’t add any peppers to the chicken. They were also not very crispy.
Hi Sonia,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx