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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 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 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. 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 becoming crispy as it bakes.
Next, I dredge the chicken through eggs beaten together with hot sauce, then through the crumbs. 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 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.
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 is fantastic! Great on its own or served over a salad (I made a simple fresh apple slaw salad with avocado, mixed greens and a vinaigrette to compliment the spice of chicken!). Really easy to make— more so than other similar recipes I’ve tried.
Hey Madeleine,
Happy Tuesday! Thanks so much for giving this chicken a try, I am so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Can you think of some reasons why the crust would come out more soggy? The bottom of the chicken was soggy too. I followed the recipe and dipped in egg and corn flake mixture twice.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try, so sorry to hear it was soggy for you! Any chance it just needed to bake longer? A wire rack also helps prevent the bottom from getting soggy. I hope this helps! xx
Would love to try this recipe…..what can I use instead of hot sauce?
Hi Kathy,
I would try another chicken recipe, one of these might be better:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/baked-chicken-nuggets/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/baked-boneless-honey-bbq-chicken-wings/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/baked-spicy-ranch-chicken-fingers/
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I made this recipe on Friday night then again on Saturday night as Crunchy Chicken Sandwiches…delicious either way! Still enjoying the spicy honey on everything we can think of.
Hey Lisa,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and thanks so much for trying it out! xx
The chicken itself was good. I only put 1 TB of hot sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in the hot honey and it was too hot for my taste. I might eat the leftover chicken with a drizzle of plain honey.
Hi Melissa,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear about the spice!! xT
The chicken came out great and was delicious, but the hot honey was REALLY hot. We barely drizzled any on our chicken because it was too spicy, but we made some honey mustard and alternated bites with the two sauces.
Hi Alison,
So sorry about the spice!! Thanks for giving the chicken a try and sharing your feedback! xT
Wonderfully delicious. We love spicy foods and this hit the spot tonight! And the sauce was a great addition.
Hey Jen,
Happy Monday!!⛄️ Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
We had the left overs as a delicious sandwich. The hot honey was a great addition. Could be an awesome super bowl sandwich
Hey Carol,
Happy Monday!!⛄️ Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
suggestions for substitue if allergic to eggs?
Hi there,
You could use buttermilk in place of the eggs! Let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Made the crunchy hot chicken. Everyone loved it. I really loved the fact there wasn’t any ingredients that I had to search for. Had all of them in my kitchen. Will definitely be making it again. Thank you.
Hey Catherine,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for trying it! xx
What do you think about subbing rice crispies or Chex mix for the corn flakes?
Hi Kristi,
I wouldn’t Rice Krispies:) Do you mean Chex cereal? That should work! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
I’m working my way through TG’s fabulous recipes on her website. This one was delicious and is now in my personal recipe cookbook. I served it with roasted sheet pan vegetables. I’ve forgotten to comment on several others I tried but can honestly say every single one has gone into my cookbook file. Waiting to get my reserved cookbook copies from the library. I think those recipes cannot be found on the website (can you confirm is that correct???). Looking forward to getting those!!
Hey Dee,
Thanks so much for trying so many recipes!! Yes, the recipes that are in the cookbooks are exclusive to the books and not available online:) Love to hear that this was enjoyed! xT
Omgosh soooo easy & DELISH! You’re right, 25 mins. & the chicken came out perfect! I was loving the extra sauce, was drenching my chicken pieces in it. The rest of the fam thought adding more sauce was way too spicy, that’s fine, more for me! Thanks for adding the tip about putting the cornflakes in a ziplock bag and crushing it up, because I’m lazy and as soon as I heard food processor I didn’t feel like taking it out and having to clean all the parts later lol so that was a great tip, thanks!
Hey Susan,
Happy Monday!!⛄️ Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
This chicken was sooooo amazing!! Made it for dinner and it was easy to follow instructions, I felt like a fancy chef how well they turned out! I love all the tips and notes included in the recipe. My family LOVED this one! Thank you for sharing it!
Hey Becky,
Happy Sunday!!🪷 I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you making it! xT
Wow!! Another fantastic recipe. Thank you.
Hey Julie,
Love to hear this!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! Happy Sunday! xT