Air Fryer Hot Honey Chicken Tenders
Hot honey chicken tenders have a deliciously crunchy coating brushed with a sweet and spicy hot honey sauce. This dairy free and gluten free recipe will surely be a family favorite.
Ingredients
Crispy Chicken Tenders
- ½ cup all purpose flour use GF if needed
- 1 ¼ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt reduce to ¾ teaspoon if using anything else
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley optional
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3 cups corn flakes crushed
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1.5 inch strips
- avocado oil spray or another cooking spray
Hot Honey Sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey or more to taste, if too spicy
- 3 tablespoons hot sauce such as Frank's Red Hot or Cholula
- 2 tablespoons dairy free butter or unsalted butter if not dairy free
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
Air Fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF.
- Use a paper towel to pat the chicken dry and set up your dredging station with three shallow bowls. Mix the flour, kosher salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, dried parsley, and cayenne pepper in one bowl. Beat the egg in a second bowl with water, and the crushed corn flakes to a third bowl.
- Dip the chicken strips into the flour mixture first, then in the egg mixture, followed by the corn flake breading. Transfer to a plate.
- Arrange the breaded chicken pieces in a single layer in the tray. Spray the tops of the chicken with avocado oil or olive oil spray. Cook for 10-12 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through and spraying the tops of each piece with a little more oil. Transfer the cooked pieces to a wire rack and continue until you’ve cooked all the chicken.
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together hot sauce, honey, dairy free butter, and salt. Heat for 3-5 minutes stirring often until it comes to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and adjust the flavors as needed. Set aside
- Use a pastry brush to brush the spicy sauce over the fried chicken. Garnish with sliced green onion or parsley if desired. Enjoy as is or with your favorite dipping sauce.
Stove-top
- Follow steps 2 and 3 for the air fryer instructions.
- Place a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Once hot, add a few coated chicken pieces at a time so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown on the outside, and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165ºF/74ºC.
- Transfer the cooked pieces to a wire rack and continue with this process until you’ve cooked all the chicken.
Notes
See the blog post for helpful tips, storage, and recipe FAQs.