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This Oven Fried Chicken is a slightly healthier, and much easier, take on the famous Nashville Hot Chicken. Breaded in corn flakes, oven baked, and finished with a beyond perfect sweet and spicy honey butter sauce, this is a chicken dinner that’s sure to be loved by all!
So you guys, those sentences up there above this first photo? I know, they’re so cheesy, but let me explain some things about the food blogging world that others might not tell you. There’s this thing called SEO, and then there are your Google rankings. I will not get into details about what these really mean, because if I’m being honest, I’m still trying to figure them out in full myself.
Basically, all you need to know is that there is a certain way Google would like me to write out my blog post every single day. Yes, Google ranks how I write my blog, and yes, it’s annoying. So, why do I even care what Google thinks you ask? Well, it’s simple, I really want to share my recipes with as many of you as possible. I work so hard to create new and exciting recipes day in and out, and I want anyone who might be interested in finding them to see them.
When you search in Google, it’s Google who decides what shows up front and center. And you know how you get on Google’s good side? You listen to them, and write your blog post in a very straight forward, kind of boring, and impersonal way. It’s not that cool, and that’s just the truth.
What does all this mean? Well, it just means that sometimes I have to write some cheesy things within the post to stay on Google’s good side. Google would also prefer I limit my story telling. As you might guess, I’m not going to do that. I think one of the things that makes HBH unique is my stories, and how they connect to my recipes. I don’t want to lose that just because Google says I should.
Over the years I’ve learned that you just have to be YOU, and stick to what works for YOU. So I’m listening to Google to a point, but at the same time, I’m sticking with my own personal style. It’s all about balance, right?
I certainly think so…obviously.
Alright, my ranting is now done. Let’s chat about this chicken.
You guys might not know this, but I actually find cooking chicken to be a little boring, so when I do cook with chicken, I have to make sure it’s extra flavorful and delicious. Kind of like the way I do up my salads.
When my brother, Creighton was in town last week, I knew I needed a good chicken recipe to serve him. The man loves himself some fried chicken, so I thought I would throw him a curve ball and turn one of his favorite greasy foods into a healthier recipe that he’d love all the same.
Enter this southern fried hot honey chicken.
I swear, this is just as good as fried chicken. Bold, but it’s true.
The key is to soak the chicken in a little buttermilk before breading. The buttermilk tenderizes the chicken while adding flavor at the same time. From here, you’ll bread the chicken in crushed corn flakes seasoned with herbs, and then oven bake. It’s pretty simple and straight forward.
The flavor is all in the hot honey sauce. Oh this sauce, it’s genuinely just so good.
The sauce was inspired by the famous Nashville Hot 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 you guys know I prefer using honey whenever I get the chance, so I made a few swaps and came out with one of my favorite sauces to date.
As soon as the chicken comes out of the oven, brush the hot honey over the warm chicken and allow it to soak into the crunchy coating. Then eat.
It. Is. SO. GOOD.
And I swear, you can’t even tell it’s not fried.
When I finally had the chicken perfected, I sent the leftovers home with my brother knowing he’d love them. Thing is, you can’t trust brothers to do anything because the chicken somehow managed to get burnt in the oven while re-heating. Either he burned it or my dad did, the stories are unclear, but either way, no one got any of this delicious chicken…well at least not the way it was intended to be eaten.
YES. Totally serious. My family everyone. I love um, but man they cannot cook.
Oh well, bottom line is that this chicken is delicious and you really need to give it a try. Today, tomorrow, this weekend, or maybe even this summer. This chicken would be perfect for warm picnics and summer parties.
Or how about all of the above?
If you make this Oven Fried Chicken and love it, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love, love, love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make this chicken, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! I love looking at the photos of recipes you all have made. It makes my day!
Watch the How To Video:
Oven Fried Southern Hot Honey Chicken
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 651 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs (you can use skin on or off, but I used skin off)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 cups finely crushed corn flakes
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
Hot Honey
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2-3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- kosher salt
Instructions
- 1. Add the chicken to a gallon size zip top bag. Pour the buttermilk and salt over the chicken. Toss well, cover and refrigerate 20 minutes or overnight.2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.3. Add the corn flake crumbs, flour, thyme, and a pinch of salt to a medium sized bowl. Stir to combine.4. Remove each piece of chicken from the buttermilk, 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 the chicken with olive oil. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, then flip the chicken over and continue cooking another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. If using thighs, you may need to cook the chicken a little longer 5. Meanwhile, make the hot honey. Melt together the butter, honey, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. 5. Brush or drizzle the chicken generously with hot honey and serve warm Enjoy!
Sounds good to me.
This post was originally published on May 2, 2018
Disclaimer: I’ve not had “real” Nashville chicken, but thought this was super yummy. I chilled on the cayenne quite a bit for my babies, but I think I would have enjoyed it at full power too. Good job!
Thank you so much Liz! I hope you absolutely loved this!
This looks so good! Sorry if someone already asked this, but what sides would you serve with thme chicken? Thanks!
Hi Brittany! I love to match this recipe with potatoes, potato salad, roasted vegetables or jasmine rice! I hope you love it!
WOW! This was so good and so easy to whip up! One question – how would you suggest crumbling the corn flakes? I tried to do it by hand but they were still too big. Would a food processor make them too fine?
HI! A food processor works great to finely crush the cornflakes. Please let me know if you have other questions. So glad you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Made this yesterday for dinner. My husband Les asked me to make extra, as it reminded him of our time in Nashville when we are at Princes Hot Chicken (a real Nashville experience). Your recipe is easy to make and delicious. Thanks again Tieghan for another fantastic meal.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much Kim!
Would olive oil spray work instead of olive oil? I’ve done it before making homemade wings and it turned out good, but wanted to make sure it would work for this recipe.
Yes, olive oil spray will be great. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
The flavor of this chicken is delicious! I found it best to wait until the chicken was done or basically done before starting the sauce. When the sauce sat for a couple minutes, the seasoning separated from the butter leaving a weird paste consistency on the bottom of the pan. I had to make the sauce twice to pour it over immediately while the butter and seasonings were still coalesced. I would probably bake on a wire rack next time too to make sure both sides of the chicken stay crispy. I will be making again. Thank you.
I am so glad you liked this Jill! Thank you!
I just made this June 3 for dinner and it was fabulous. I cooked the chicken on my gas grill using a flat cast iron skillet. It came out great, I loved all the flavors from the cereal coating to the butter honey sauce. Excellent recipe ! keep them coming!
I am so happy to hear that Kristine! Thank you so much!
I said I would try this recipe out once I got all settled into my new place….and I did! I was missing a few ingredients (such as the corn flakes, substituted with bread crumbs) and seasonings for the hot honey sauce….but it still turned out AH-MAZING. Paired it with savory mashed sweet potatoes and collard greens. Was planning on making dinner for myself and had a few friends come over that night instead– everybody cleared their plates and went as far as to demand the recipe from me. It was definitely a hit 😉
I am so happy to hear that Sara! Thank you so much!
I made this for dinner tonight. OMG!!! So yummy. We are puttting this in our regular rotation. Easy, yummy. I served it with some coleslaw. (The trick is a little diced jalapeño). Thank you for another winner, winner chicken dinner! We love your recipes!!!
Thank you so much Kristi! I am so glad you loved this!
This was amazing. My husband isn’t into spicy so I added an extra tablespoon of honey, omitted the cayenne and added a little chipotle chili powder. It’s so crunchy. I served it with cornbread and slaw. Looking forward to the leftovers!
I am so glad you loved this Donna! Thank you so much!
So good…… Makes You want to slap your mama!!
So glad you liked this! Thanks!
I made this tonight but i didn’t have corn flakes so I used Total cereal. . .and I didn’t have buttermilk so I used watered down greek yogurt. . .and I was out of honey so I used apricot preserves in the sauce. . The taste was very good. . .but I must have done something wrong because when I was baking the chicken and went to flip it over the bottom breading came off. The final production didn’t have the beauty of your website pictures, but the taste was good (even with the Total cereal) and the entire platter was eaten by the five kiddos (including a couple of picky teens). But how do I keep the crust from coming off?
HI! It was mostly likely due to all the changes made in the recipe. If I had to guess the issue was most likely the greek yogurt. I bet it stuck too much to the chicken and cause the cereal to slip off. I am not familiar with total cereal so I don’t know what that texture is. Please let me know if you have other questions. Glad you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I made this for dinner last night and it was a huge hit with my husband and kids! I did opt the cayenne pepper because my my family can’t handle anything spicy. I did add smoked chipotle powder to my honey sauce because I like a bit of kick. Next time I won’t wait until the last minute to make the sauce, I liked it better once it cooled and thickened a little bit. What little leftovers are left are hidden in the fridge to make sure no one gets to them before me.
I am so happy you enjoyed this Jessica! Thank you!
Just made this and it was awesome! Thanks for a delicious new chicken recipe!
Thank you so much Heather!
Made this Memorial Day Weekend! It was absolutely delicious. I will say I didn’t follow the instructions well when you said “finely crushed” cornflakes and thought ‘hey, smashing in a ziploc will work.’ It didn’t. My advice for others would be to actually follow your instructions and finely crush, others it doesn’t stick as well and you end up with globby larger pieces you try to adhere to the chicken. I used a mix of boneless, skinless breasts and thigh–the thighs worked out much better for some reason, the cornflakes stuck better. I’d also let the thighs spread out on the pan as much as possible. I’ll definitely make again! The sauce is fabulous and the cornflake crunch delightful.
Hi Katie! I am so glad that you loved this recipe! Thank you!