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Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken – a family favorite loved by everyone! Simple cornflake-crusted chicken baked up on a sheet pan until crispy and delicious. A double coat of crumbs is the secret. But my sauce…well it’s even more special. Sweet honey with the perfect combination of spices and sea salt. A delicious weeknight dinner to serve up to family and friends.
If there’s one recipe I was really excited to share this week, it’s this hot chicken. I know it’s not anything too out of the ordinary, but we love this recipe. My family always enjoys any kind of saucy baked chicken, but I usually do more of a buffalo-style sauce.
It’s a dinner everyone agrees on, so that makes my life easy!
Every so often, I’ll switch gears and do my version of a Nashville hot honey sauce. I’ve been making hot honey sauce for years and years, but this is my perfect sauce that came to be over trial and error.
Of course, it’s the simplest sauce, but I’ll never complain about simplicity when it comes to cooking!
Ingredients
- cornflakes
- grated parmesan cheese
- smoked paprika
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- large eggs, beaten
- tablespoons hot sauce
- chicken breast tenderloins
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
HOT HONEY
- honey
- hot sauce
- cayenne pepper
- chipotle chili powder
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- sea salt
- fresh thyme, cilantro, or parsley, for serving
Details
The coating is key for this hot honey chicken recipe. Crushed cornflakes are the star, they give the chicken that perfect crunch. I’ve tested other cereals, but everyone in the family agrees cornflakes have the best taste and crunch.
I use Nature’s Path, Organic Corn Flakes Cereal, which is naturally gluten-free and non-GMO. I order online, but if you’re looking for something in-store, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are both good options.
And of course, you can use the box of regular ole’ cornflakes we all grew up with. Either one works, I just prefer the organic, no gluten, no sugar option.
Crunch the cornflakes up in a food processor with paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Then add the parmesan cheese. It may sound odd, but the cheese adds a salty flavor that melts over the chicken tenders becoming crispy as it bakes.
Next, I dredge the chicken through eggs beaten together with hot sauce, then through the crumbs mixture. For a thicker coating, I’ll take the chicken and dip it back through the eggs, and the crumbs for a 2nd time. This takes slightly longer, but the thicker coating is always delish.
Next, olive oil on the chicken to help it crisp up…then bake! I don’t do anything fancy, just bake 25 minutes and this chicken comes out perfect every time.
Totally no fuss.
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.
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.
Herbs, then sea salt to finish. This really is the perfect hot honey chicken. Plus, I love how easy it is to prepare.
I serve this with sweet potato fries and my fav wintery salad. Highly recommend some crispy sweet potato fries on the side. So yummmy with the spicy sauce!
For leftovers, save the rest of your chicken in an airtight container and bake the next day or heat up in the air fryer.
Looking for more recipes? Here are a few to try:
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels
Fried Buffalo Goat Cheese Balls
Baked Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Buffalo Cauliflower with Spicy Tahini Ranch
Lastly, if you make this Baked Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken, 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 Crunchy Hot Honey Chicken
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 403 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
- 6 cups cornflakes (use gluten free, if needed)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
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
- sea salt
- fresh thyme, cilantro, or parsley, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In a food processor, combine the cornflakes, parmesan, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. Pulse until you have fine crumbs. Alternatively, you can crush the crumbs in a ziplock bag by stepping on them. Dump the crumbs into a shallow bowl.3. Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the hot sauce and chicken, and toss well to coat. 3. Dredge the chicken through the crumbs, covering fully. Place on the prepared baking sheet. For a thicker coating, dip the chicken back through the eggs, then through the crumbs a 2nd time. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp all around. 4. Just before the chicken is done cooking, make the sauce. In a sauce pot, warm together the honey, hot sauce, cayenne, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder, plus a pinch of salt. 5. Drizzle the warm sauce over the chicken. Top with herbs. If the sauce thickens, warm for 5 seconds in the microwave. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on January 4, 2023
Ohmygoodness!
We loved it however I didn’t have Chipotle anything so i used slam yo momma and harissa. Was absolutely delighted.
Thank you
Thank you so so much Laurel! Hope you enjoyed the recipe! xT
Could I leave the cheese out? Would I need to add any other salty spice to get that bite from the cheese if so? I’m thinking of doing a loose yet healthy KFC dinner featuring this chicken, an apple cider vinegar based slaw, & mashed potatoes.
I have made many of your recipes and they’ve all been great, but this one is my favorite! I wasn’t sure my family would like it, but they scarfed it down and hoped there was enough for lunch the next day. It really turned out perfectly, crunchy and flavorful and not unpleasantly hot. Just good all around!
Wow thanks so so much! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT
How long does the hot honey sauce last?
This is so so delicious. For the sauce, I added a tablespoon or so extra of honey, plus a little oregano and rosemary. I paired this with Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch salad base, some pepper jack cheese and a little ranch dressing. I’ll be making this again and again!
Thank you so much Mary! 🙂 xT
Hi! I’m wanting to make this for dinner tonight…any suggestions for sides?
Hi there! A yummy salad or maybe some Brussels sprouts would be good! Or mashed potatoes 🙂 xT
Okay this recipe is amazing. I used gluten free corn flakes and swapped out nutritional yeast for the Parmesan cheese because I can’t have gluten or dairy. It did not disappoint. I thought the flavor was extremely well balanced and the chicken was juicy and perfectly crunchy on the outside. My husband love this too. I generally don’t enjoy any kind of breaded chicken because it’s too heavy but this wasn’t at all. Definitely will be saving this recipe to make again in the future!
Thank you so so much Tess! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT
Ive made these before and they are amazing!
Hoping to make this for guests but wondering if I would be able to bread them and freeze them in advance.
Thanks:)
Hi Sara! I haven’t ever tried that before but I can’t see why that wouldn’t work well! 🙂 Let me know how it goes! xT
Yuuuummmy!! Put it in the air fryer and worked beautifully….so crispy and delicious. My whole family enjoyed ut!!
Thanks sooo much! Love to hear that this recipe was a success! xT
Joanna – what temp and time did you use in the air fryer?
My husband and I loved this, it was really easy to make and came out nice and crispy! It was a little too spicy for us so I’m going to cut back a bit next time, but I’ve been sharing the recipe with everyone!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have a great week! xT
This sauce is so good. I’m addicted and using it on everything. Made a large batch and gifted jars of it. Sooo good
Thank you so much! That’s such a fun idea 🙂 xT
Could this work in the air fryer. Any idea on cooking time and temp?
Hey Denise! I’m not too familiar with air fryers so I can’t say for sure, sorry! xT
Make this tonight, slightly altered as I pan fried the chicken first before the oven and used Panko since I didn’t have the cereal. Sauce was absolutely delicious! I will definitely be making again and trying the corn flakes.
Hi Lindsay,
I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Have a great week! xT
Are the pieces of chicken in the photo tenderloins? They look bigger than tenderloins. Could you use boneless chicken breasts?
Hi Cindy,
You can use either one, if your breasts are super big I would cut them into smaller pieces. I hope this helps! xT
This was really good! My entire family really liked it. I didn’t use as much of the hot sauce and cayenne (personal preference only) and it came out just right for us. Spicy but not overwhelming. Also, the crust was great, dredging it twice made it extra crunchy!
Hi Kelley,
Happy Wednesday!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this dish, thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
Loved these! So easy and very tasty!!
Hey Katie,
Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for trying it and your feedback! xT