Hot Honey Chicken Tenders are the best game day appetizer and absolutely packed with flavor. Crispy Panko breaded chicken tenders are coated in a 3 ingredient spicy hot honey sauce that is out of this World! Ready in just 30 minutes.
These are one of my top football foods and everyone is obsessed with the flavors. Serve them as an appetizer with Wingstop Ranch, or for dinner paired with these Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries or Loaded tater tots.
It's almost the Super Bowl and these will certainly be on my grocery list. For more popular game day recipes, try these Bacon Wrapped Sweet Peppers, Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups, and Turkey Cheese Pinwheels.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Big on Flavor. From the crispy breaded chicken to the spicy hot honey sauce, these chicken strips have the most incredible taste.
- Easy to Make. Simple step by step instructions make this recipe super easy to whip up.
- A Game Day Must Make. It doesn't get better than this recipe on game day. Surprise your guests with Sweet and Spicy Chicken Tenders.
- Quick. Ready to enjoy in just 30 minutes.
For more quick football party appetizers, check out this Cream Cheese Salsa Dip, Fried Pickle Dip and Ham and Cheese Crescent Rolls.
Ingredients:
Chicken Breast: I love the Smart Chicken brand and prefer to use Chicken breast and cut it into tender shape to avoid removing the tendons from chicken tenderloins.
Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil: I don't use seed oils often, but this is one of the recipes I recommend using Canola or Vegetable Oil, due to its high burning point and neutral taste. It fries the chicken perfectly for a really crispy result.
Panko Breadcrumbs: Typically found in the Asian section in the grocery store and creates the best textures. Buy the plain version if you can, because we are seasoning it ourselves.
Hot Sauce: I prefer Cholula Hot Sauce because it's not too spicy and has great flavors. I don't recommend a super spicy hot sauce, unless you just love heat.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations:
Chicken tenderloins can be swapped out for the chicken breast, but I highly recommend removing the white tendon running through each tender. A lot of people pull it out with a fork. I find it difficult and would rather use chicken breast.
I highly recommend Canola or Vegetable Oil for the best frying experience with these tenders. Avocado oil would be my next choice, followed by a combination of 3 tablespoons olive oil with 2 tablespoons butter. The downside to using the butter and oil mixture is the burning point isn't as high and will most likely need to be dumped out and replaced before cooking the second batch of tenders. You can reuse the oil with the canola or vegetable oil. I haven't tested the avocado oil, but it has a higher burning point and should be fine too.
Not big on spicy? Mix the honey with an original bbq sauce instead of hot sauce for less heat.
Want more spice? Add in ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper with the spices or add ⅓ cup of hot sauce to the hot honey sauce mixture.
For more Crispy Chicken Recipes, check out this Crispy Chicken Fritta, Buttermilk Chicken Burgers and Chicken Romano.
How to Make Hot Honey Chicken Tenders:
Step 1: Trim any excess fat off chicken breasts and slice into similar sized chicken tenders. From one large chicken breast, I can cut about 7 tenders. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.
Step 2: For the Hot Honey Sauce: Into a medium sized pot or skillet, pour in honey, hot sauce and apple cider vinegar. Stir and set aside.
Step 3: Prepare 3 shallow bowls or pie plates for dredging ingredients. Bowl (1) Pour in flour and half of the seasoning blend. Whisk to combine. Bowl (2) Add in the 3 eggs and combine with whisk or fork. Bowl (3) Pour in Panko breadcrumbs and remaining half of spice mixture and combine with spoon or hands.
Step 4: Dredge each chicken tender in flour mixture, then egg mixture, and lastly the Panko mixture. Note: Make sure to coat entire tender in each mixture.
Step 5: Place the tenders on a cookie sheet once they're dredged in batter.
Step 6: Add one cup of oil into a large skillet or dutch oven on the stovetop over medium heat. Allow it to heat up. Toss a piece of Panko crumb into the oil and look for a good sizzle. Add half of the chicken tenders to the oil, spreading them apart, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until the internal temperature on each tender reaches 165 degrees.
Step 7: Heat the hot honey sauce on the stovetop over low heat as the chicken tenders cook. Increase the heat towards the end of cooking to medium and allow it to come to a low boil. Then, turn off heat and stir well. Pour ¾ of the sauce into a large bowl and reserve the rest for topping or dipping. Allow the sauce to cool for about 5 minutes before tossing with the tenders.
Step 8: Once the tenders reach 165 degrees, remove to a baking rack, and begin next batch. Note: I like to place a sheet of foil under the baking rack so the excess grease can drip through.
Step 9: Add the tenders into the bowl with the sauce and toss to coat each tender in spicy hot honey sauce.

Step 10: Drizzle remaining hot honey over tenders or serve on the side. I like serving with ranch too because they're spicy. Enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- When dredging, make sure the chicken tender is completely coated in flour, egg, then Panko.
- Don't add the chicken tenders to cool oil or it will soak into the batter and taste weird. It needs to be hot (check FAQs below for tips)
- Allow the hot honey sauce to cool for about 5 minutes before tossing the chicken into the sauce.
For more spicy game day recipes, try this Buffalo Chicken Dip with Franks Buffalo Sauce, Sweet Chili Sauce Meatballs and Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups.
Recipe FAQs:
Usually you would use a candy thermometer, but because we're using only a cup of oil, it's shallow and doesn't hit the thermometer end. To test heat: Toss a piece of Panko crumb into the oil and look for sizzling. If it doesn't sizzle much, wait for the heat to increase. If it's popping and burns quick, the heat is too high and you'll want to decrease the temperature.
Store the leftover tenders in the fridge in a sealed container. To reheat, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until hot.
More Game Day Recipes To Try:
If you tried this Hot Honey Chicken Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Hot Honey Chicken Tenders
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10-14 tenders 1x
Description
Hot Honey Chicken Tenders are the best game day appetizer and absolutely packed with flavor. Crispy Panko breaded chicken tenders are coated in a 3 ingredient spicy hot honey sauce that is out of this World! Ready in just 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs) or 1.5 lbs of chicken tenderloins with tendons removed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 and ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil for frying
Spice mixture:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Hot Honey Sauce:
- ¼ cup hot sauce, I prefer Cholula
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup honey
Optional: Ranch for dipping
Instructions
- Trim any excess fat off chicken breast and slice into similar sized chicken tenders. From one large chicken breast, I can get about 7 tenders. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper.
- For the Hot Honey Sauce: Into a medium sized pot or skillet, pour in honey, hot sauce and apple cider vinegar. Stir and set aside.
- Prepare 3 shallow bowls or pie plates for dredging ingredients. Bowl (1) Pour in flour and half of the seasoning blend. Whisk to combine. Bowl (2) Add in the 3 eggs and combine with whisk or fork. Bowl (3) Pour in Panko breadcrumbs and remaining half of spice mixture and combine with spoon or hands.
- Dredge each chicken tender in flour mixture, then egg mixture, and lastly the Panko mixture. Note: Make sure to coat entire tender in each mixture.
- Place the tenders on a cookie sheet once they're dredged in batter.
- Add one cup of oil into a large skillet or dutch oven on the stovetop over medium heat. Allow it to heat up. Toss a piece of Panko crumb into the oil and look for a good sizzle. Add half of the chicken tenders to the oil, spreading them apart, and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until the internal temperature on each tender reaches 165 degrees.
- Heat the hot honey sauce on stovetop over low heat as the chicken tenders cook. Increase the heat towards the end of cooking to medium and allow it to come to a low boil. Then, turn off heat and stir well. Pour ¾ of the sauce into a large bowl and reserve the rest for topping or dipping. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes before tossing into the chicken.
- Once the tenders reach 165 degrees, remove to a baking rack, and begin next batch. Note: I like to place a sheet of foil under the baking rack so the excess grease can drip through.
- Add the tenders into the bowl with the sauce and toss to coat each tender in spicy hot honey sauce.
- Drizzle remaining hot honey over tenders or serve on the side. I like serving with ranch too because they're spicy. Enjoy!
Notes
- When dredging, make sure the chicken tender is completely coated in flour, egg, then Panko.
- Don't add the chicken tenders to cool oil or it will soak into the batter and taste weird. It needs to be hot (check FAQs below for tips)
- Allow the hot honey sauce to cool for about 5 minutes before tossing the chicken into the sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: appetizer
- Method: fried
- Cuisine: American
Payton
Obsessed with these chicken tenders and can’t wait to eat them again for Super Bowl Sunday!
Tara Smithson
Yay! We're making them too. Seriously so good!