Description
Hot Honey Chicken Tenders: crispy, juicy, and drizzled with a bold spicy-sweet glaze for a crave-worthy dinner or game day snack.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb chicken tenders or boneless chicken breast strips
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp black pepper
- Oil for frying (or air frying)
Hot Honey Sauce
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1–2 tbsp hot sauce (adjust to taste)
- ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Pinch of chili flakes (optional for extra heat)
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix buttermilk with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt. Add chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes (or overnight for best flavor).
- In another bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, and black pepper.
- Heat oil in a deep pan to 350°F (or preheat air fryer to 400°F).
- Dredge marinated chicken in the flour mixture, pressing to coat well. Shake off excess.
- Fry in batches for 5–7 minutes until golden and crispy, or air fry for 12–15 minutes, flipping halfway.
- While chicken cooks, warm honey, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chili flakes in a saucepan over low heat until smooth.
- Drizzle hot honey sauce over the cooked tenders or toss to coat fully. Serve hot.
Notes
- Adjust heat by adding more or less hot sauce or chili flakes to the honey glaze.
- For gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour blend and cornstarch.
- Marinating the chicken overnight yields deeper flavor.
- Serve with celery sticks and ranch or blue cheese dip for dipping.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Frying (deep fry) and Air Frying
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (3-4 tenders)
- Calories: 520
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 170 mg
Keywords: hot honey chicken tenders, crispy chicken tenders, spicy honey glaze, fried chicken tenders, game day snack, American chicken recipe, hot sauce honey chicken