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Baked Crunchy Honey Buffalo Chicken – weeknight or game night, this chicken is everyone’s favorite easy meal. Today we have a very well-loved recipe—simple cornflake-crusted chicken baked up on a sheet pan until crispy and delicious. And a double coat of crumbs provides the perfect crispy, crunchy breading. But it’s the sauce that everyone really loves. Spicy honey buffalo sauce with the perfect combination of hot sauce, butter, and spices. A delicious weeknight dinner to serve up to family and friends that’s even better on game day!
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You guys! I’m so happy I’m finally sharing this recipe. This is the very same buffalo chicken recipe I’ve been making for my family for so many years. I think I made the first variation when I was 14. And now, here I am, however many years later, still making the same buffalo chicken.
My sauce has always been my best-kept secret, but I finally nailed the chicken coating last year, and now I feel as though I really do have our perfect caked, crunchy, spicy buffalo chicken.
And it’s just in time for all the playoff NFL games – and then, of course, the Super Bowl too. We’re excited!
When I first started to cook for my family, I started with the basics. Pasta, stir fry, tacos, chicken and rice. When we moved to Colorado and I had even more time to play in the kitchen, I started making baked buffalo chicken bites.
Back in Ohio, we’d order buffalo wings from BW3’s every so often. The boys especially loved their spicy wings. I wanted to recreate the meal for everyone, so I did just that. Only I skipped frying the wings. I’ve always baked the chicken.
It took some time to get the breading just right, but the sauce has been the same for years. It has just the right amount of spicy-salty flavor. It’s pretty perfect. When I felt like I nailed the chicken coating last January (it’s the same coating used for my Hot Honey Chicken), I pocketed the recipe to save for before the Super Bowl.
The time is here to share – wahoo!
Every Single Detail
Step 1: The coating
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 mine online. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have good options if you’re looking for something in-store.
And, of course, you can always use a box of the traditional cornflakes that we all grew up with. I just prefer the organic, no gluten, no sugar option.
Crunch up the cornflakes in a food processor with paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Then add the parmesan cheese. I use the cheese in place of flour, it adds a salty flavor that melts over the chicken becoming crispy as it bakes.
Step 2: coat the chicken
Dredge the chicken through eggs beaten together with hot sauce and then dredge through the crumbs. For a thicker coating, you can dip each piece of chicken back through the eggs and the crumbs for a second time. This takes slightly longer, but the thicker coating is always delish.
Drizzle the chicken with olive oil before baking. This helps the coating get crisp in the oven. Line the chicken up on a pan, then bake. I don’t do anything fancy, just bake for 25 minutes, and this chicken comes out perfect every time. You could also do this in the air fryer.
Totally no fuss.
Step 3: the buffalo sauce
Now the sauce. First the hot sauce, Franks red hot, is my favorite. Add some salty butter, then a couple of teaspoons of seasoned salt, and a pinch of black pepper. I also add a small amount of chipotle chili powder . Melt this all together on the stove until just combined. Then, turn the heat off and mix in the honey.
The honey makes this buffalo sauce so special. It gives it the lightest bit of sweetness. Pour the sauce over the baked, crispy chicken. What happens is that the coating soaks up all the sauce. As Oslo says, yummy!
I love to serve these with home fries on game day. Then I usually serve these with rice any other night of the week. Oh, and some broccoli on the side is so yummy too!
Or just some carrots and celery for dipping in extra sauce. Delish!
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
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Buffalo Potatoes
Lastly, if you make this Baked Crunchy Honey Buffalo 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 Honey Buffalo Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 cups cornflakes , (use gluten, free if needed)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 pounds chicken breast or skinless thighs
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- blue cheese or ranch dressing, for serving
- sliced green onions, for serving
Honey Buffalo Sauce
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1-2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 3/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons honey
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.4. 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 second time. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crisp all around.5. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a saucepan set over medium heat, melt together the hot sauce, butter, seasoned salt, and cayenne. Stir until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and mix in the honey.6. Drizzle the buffalo sauce over the chicken. Top with green onions and blue cheese/ranch dressing. I love this over rice, but it's also great with french fries. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
This was amazing and easy to prepare. Thank you.
Hi Sheila,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
Thanks for using Hon’s honey’s hot honey in this wonderful revipe!!!
Your support is helping women rise in south Baltimore…
https://www.honshoney.com/
Absolutely loved this recipe!! I used Panko instead of corn flakes because that’s all I had but still turned out so delish. My husband was already asking me to make this again a couple days after I made this so looks like a new staple recipe. And next time I’ll make sure I grab cornflakes because I’m sure it will be even better that way:)
Hey there! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment as well! 🙂 xT
OMG!! This was the most delicious! 😉 Will definitely make again.
Hey there! Thank you so much! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂 xT
Absolutely to. die. for! I made this for my husband’s birthday dinner and he LOVED it. The sauce is the perfect mix of spicy, sweet and tangy. Definitely adding this to the rotation!
Cooking can sometimes overwhelm me and loved how easy and fast this dinner came together. My entire family loved it. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Thank you SO much Gaby! I’m so glad you enjoyed this chicken! xT
Loved this one! Heats up great as leftovers in the air fryer the next day, too. Left my tips & tricks for this one within my recipe review, here! > https://whatnatisdoing.com/recipe-roundup-what-i-made-this-week-1-22-24/
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Natalie! xT
Perfect for football day with the family. They loved it!
Thank you SO much for trying out this recipe! Loveee to hear that you enjoyed it! 🙂 xT
Amazing recipe! so simple, so tasty – it will definitely be a new go to for our family!
Thank you SO much for trying out this recipe! Loveee to hear that you enjoyed it! 🙂 xT
Fantastic recipe!!
Thank you sooo much Lauren! Love to hear that! 🙂 xT
Did you use whole chicken breasts? Or cut them up into pieces? This looks amazing and cannot wait to try this recipe.
Hi stacie! Depending on the size of the chicken breasts I will either leave them whole or cut them up into smaller pieces if I feel they are too big! xT
The whole family loved this recipe! Used chicken tenderloins and served it up with salad and onion rings. 14 year old said it was better than Raising Canes 🙂
Thank you for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have a great rest of your week! 🙂 xT
Soooo good! This was such an easy and delicious dinner. I ended up drizzling some sauce on the chicken in the last 5 minutes it was in the oven and then turned it to broil, so crispy and crunchy!
Hi there! SO happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for trying it out, and have a cozy week! 🙂 xT
I think I need to try this. My bottoms were soggy
I recently discovered HBH, and I am so happy that I did.
We made this last night for dinner and we really enjoyed it. We dredged the chicken twice, and the breasts were crunchy outside and tender and juicy inside. We’ll most definitely be having these again soon.
Hi Courtney! Thank you so much! Welcome to the HBH community! xT
Loved these! Made them for the Cleveland Browns playoff game on Saturday. Too bad, our team loss, but we LOVED these. My picky 30 year old son, who didn’t want to eat the wings from Around The Corner, he prefers boneless wings, was suspect, but once he tried them, he went back again and again! Thanks Tieghan and now we move on to the Cavs and the Guardians! Try again next year, Browns!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Lynda! And ugh darn it, Browns! xT