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This Oven Fried Southern Hot Honey Popcorn Chicken is spicy, saucy, and so delicious. It’s an easier, yet still fun, twist on the famous Nashville Hot Chicken. Breaded popcorn chicken bites are oven baked until crispy. Then they’re finished with a beyond perfect sweet and spicy honey butter sauce with crisp garlic and chili flakes. Out of this world good. Great for dinner or served as a game day appetizer.
With the Olympics starting up on Thursday, and the Super Bowl to follow, I’m all about creating some fun recipes with sports in mind. That said, these have been on my “to-make recipe list” for a while now.
My brothers are big chicken guys, especially bite-sized chicken covered in sauce. They usually request some kind of buffalo chicken, but I thought I’d throw them a curveball and do something southern-inspired. If you’re not familiar with it, there is a Nashville hot honey chicken that people rave about. It’s deep-fried and covered in a spicy honey butter sauce.
I’ve only been to Nashville once, and it wasn’t a long trip, so I’ve never gotten to try this chicken. I’ve googled the recipe and everyone’s is slightly different. The biggest thing is lots of cayenne, honey, and butter.
I’ve made a version in the past, but wanted to do something bite-size.
What ended up happening was simple. I made my own hot honey sauce as I was cooking this chicken. It’s very different from the Nashville sauce, but it sure is delicious.
I did a little combo of chili crisp garlic oil and hot honey. It turned out so well, I’ve been excited to share this ever since I made it!
The details – the chicken
Like a lot of my “oven fried” chicken recipes, this doesn’t require much effort. I love to use finely crushed corn flakes for the breading. Then bake the chicken in a super hot oven until it’s crispy all around.
While I love using cornflakes, you could also use Panko or gluten-free bread crumbs.
The sauce – the most important part
I’m not sure there’s a better sauce for these, this sauce is extra special.
It starts with cooking butter and garlic together until the butter slowly browns around the garlic and the garlic turns golden crisp. Basically, I’ve been really into the chili garlic crisp sauce everyone also seems to be into right now. I love the slight crunch of the garlic and all the chili flakes. So I took the concept and applied it to the butter sauce.
When the sauce is off the stove, add the honey, cayenne, and spices. Then some chili flakes. Make sure to add the cayenne and chili flakes to your taste.
If you love sauce like we do, I would double the recipe. Never enough sauce.
As soon as the chicken comes out of the oven, drizzle that hot honey over the chicken and give it a little toss. It’s important to use most of the sauce right away. As the sauce cools, the butter separates from the honey, making it a little tricky to drizzle.
Serve the chicken warm. It doesn’t need any extra sauces or garnishes. Just the chicken and that honey sauce! So delicious.
If you want to make this into an easy dinner, I’d serve the chicken and sauce over rice. Then add a side of roasted vegetables and a nice big house-style salad.
Everyone really enjoyed this, my dad, brothers, mom, I even think Asher loved it. Though it may have been a little spicy for her…but she had rice, so all was good! Excited to make this for the Olympics this week!
Looking for more game day 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 , 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!
Oven Fried Southern Hot Honey Popcorn Chicken
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 541 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 1 1/4 cups corn flakes – finely crushed, or use Panko
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- kosher salt and black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Hot Honey
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes, to taste
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, add the chicken and toss well to coat. In a separate bowl combine the cornflake crumbs, flour, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.3. Dredge the chicken through the crumbs, covering fully. Place on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking.4. Just before the chicken is done cooking, make the sauce. In a small skillet, melt together the butter and garlic over medium heat. Cook until the butter is browning and the garlic turns golden. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the honey, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, and chili flakes. 5. Drizzle or pour the warm sauce over the chicken, tossing to coat. The sauce thickens quickly, so be sure to use while still warm. Serve um up!
Notes
Sauce: if you like extra sauce for drizzling/dipping, double the hot honey recipe.
My family and I loved this! I reduced the spice a little and even my toddlers were asking for more! So so good.
Hey Emily,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit. Have the best week:) xx
These were absolutely delicious!! So crispy and flavorful with just the right amount of spice. Perfect finger food/appetizer to serve on game day!
Hey Kat,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
These were so delicious! I had some questions… the recipe called for 1 egg however in the instructions it said to beat the eggs. Should more than one be used? I also had to double the breading recipe because I ran out when using 2 pounds of chicken. I loved the sweet honey flavor that balanced out the heat. Will definitely make again.
Hey Ashley,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit. Just one egg:) Have the best week:) xx
Great recipe ! I just made these for my family and everyone loved it ! Greetings from Chile 🙂
Hey Catalina,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
This was delicious. The sauce definitely has a kick to it, so you might want to adjust spices to your preferences. I used gluten free panko, and I used a lot more than recommended. Instead of a drizzle of olive oil, I used not-stick olive oil spray.
Hey Brynne,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! Have the best weekend! xxT
These are so good! I’ve made them twice now and can’t believe how easy and delicious they are. Thank you for the recipe (:
Hey Emma,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! Have the best weekend! xxT
AMAZING! This will now be a favorite go-to meal for the whole family!
Hey Jackie,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks sos much for making it! xTieghan
Sooo good! Served with a simple slaw. Perfect!
Hey Linda,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxT
Made these for super bowl and they were definitely a hit. The hot honey was perfect with great flavor and not overly spicy. I did double the sauce. I think I’ll be making them again!
Hey Holly,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxT
Yum! I only had panko, but next time I’ll do corn flakes for the extra crunch. Loved how surprisingly simple this was. I made roasted sweet potato fries for the side as well as a salad (it’d go best with a vinaigrette salad or a vinegary coleslaw).
I feel so confident and happy to know how to make this popcorn chicken, as it was relatively quick and easy to make, delicious, and easy to envision other possible dips and sauces for the future!
This was fantastic! I didn’t have either panko or corn flakes, so I used a sleeve of Ritz crackers and they worked great! Blitzed in food processor then mixed with rest.
Also sharp kitchen scissors are your friend for cutting up the chicken!! Thank you for a great recipe Tiegan!
Hey Paulina,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxT
Hey Sarah,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxT
Super delicious! I ended up needing more of the cornflakes/flour mixture to complete breading all my chunks but it only took a second to make more mid-process. Sprinkled on some green onions after tossing with the sauce and it’s a huge hit!
Hi Gina,
Happy Wednesday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Wow, my husband couldn’t stop raving about this one. I love how the cornflakes added a crunchy coating and the hot honey with butter and garlic was the best. He told me to make sure I didn’t lose the recipe.
Hey Tracy,
Happy Wednesday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Another great recipe!!! The sauce is the perfect flavor with a bit of kick and the corn flakes made the chicken so crispy.
Hey Laura,
Happy Wednesday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
My husband is a big fan of Nash, and now a big fan of this chicken! I made it for his birthday and it turned out so good! Another great recipe ❤️ Thank you!!
Hey Hope,
Awesome!! Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a hit!! xxT
Thank you so much for this recipe! We made two batches for our Super Bowl party and it was a hit, I had three friends call me today because they couldn’t stop talking about how good it was!
Hey John,
Awesome!! Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a hit!! xxT
Thank you so much for another delicious recipe. Another hit! Better than at any restaurant, but homemade with fresh ingredients:) Made it for the game with rice and raw veggies.
Hey Meg,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed!! ?xTieghan