Skip the drive-thru and make these easy, healthier Hot Honey Chicken Tenders instead. Make them in the air fryer or oven!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken tenders – you can buy tenders pre-cut at the store or cut two chicken breasts into four pieces each.
- Flour – swap out for a gluten-free flour of your choice. Potato starch or arrow root would also be good.
- Buttermilk – mayo or egg will help coat the chicken if you don’t have any buttermilk.
- Crushed cornflakes – panko breadcrumbs can be used instead.
- Paprika – cayenne will provide a similar flavour but has more of a kick.
- Garlic powder – swap out for onion powder or garlic salt. If you’re using garlic salt, go easy on the rest of the salt in the recipe.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Cooking spray – you’ll need this to coat the air fryer.
- Carrots – serve your tenders with another veggie of your choice.
- Celery stalks – see substitution notes above for carrots.
Hot honey sauce
- Honey – the honey is the star of this recipe. You could try making the sauce with agave or maple syrup, but it won’t have the same flavour.
- Buffalo sauce – add in more if you want your sauce to be spicier. You could even try using hot sauce for more of a kick.
- Chili flakes – these are optional so feel free to skip them if you don't have any on hand.
How to make hot honey chicken tenders
Step 1: Make the flour mixture.
Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl, the buttermilk in a second bowl, and the cornflakes in a third bowl.
Step 2: Coat the chicken.
Coat each chicken tender in the flour mixture, then coat in buttermilk.
Step 3: Coat the chicken in crushed cornflakes.
Step 4: Cook the tenders.
Add to the air fryer basket, season with salt and air fry the tenders.
Step 5: Make the hot honey sauce.
Mix together the honey, buffalo sauce and chili flakes to make the hot honey sauce.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Drizzle the chicken tenders with sauce, then serve with veggies and your fave dipping sauces.
How to serve these chicken tenders
Here are some of my favourite ways to serve these hot honey chicken tenders:
- On their own with dipping sauce, like my hot honey sauce, homemade ranch or BBQ sauce
- With a side of tater tots or sweet potato fries
- As a topping on this strawberry spinach salad or another salad of your choice
- In a wrap or in lettuce wraps for a low-carb option
Frequently Asked Questions
The air fryer is a great way to make chicken tenders super crispy. Instead of deep frying the chicken, you’ll coat it in flour, buttermilk and crushed cornflakes, then pop it in the air fryer. It tastes just like your favourite fast food but with way less calories!
The hot honey sauce definitely has a bit of a kick to it, but you can adjust the amount of buffalo sauce and chili flakes depending on your spice tolerance.
If you want to turn these hot honey chicken tenders into hot honey chicken nuggets, you can! It's super easy. Just cut the chicken into nugget-sized pieces, and bread as normal. You'll likely need to reduce the cooking time by a few minutes, so keep an eye on the nuggets to ensure they don't overcook.
If you find that your chicken tenders are dry, you likely cooked them for too long. They only need to cook for 5-7 minutes per side in the air fryer, and 7-8 minutes per side in the oven. You can use a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
While this recipe is for honey hot chicken tenders, you can serve them with pretty much any dipping sauce of your choice. More popular options include homemade ranch, BBQ sauce, store-bought plum sauce or honey mustard sauce.
Storing and reheating
If you happen to have any leftover hot honey chicken tenders, you can store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the air fryer or in the oven to help them stay nice and crispy! Just stick them back in the air fryer for 5 minutes or reheat them in the oven for 10 minutes at 375° Fahrenheit. You could also reheat them in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, they’ll just lose their crispiness.
Freezing this recipe
You can freeze these cooked honey hot chicken tenders for up to 3 months. Stick them on a tray in the freezer for an hour first to flash freeze them so they don’t stick together. Then, transfer the tenders to an airtight container or Ziploc bag and freeze.
When you’re ready to enjoy your tenders, pop them in the air fryer right from frozen for 5 to 7 minutes per side. Drizzle with the hot honey sauce and dig in!
More air fryer chicken recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this chicken into leftovers.
- I own and love the Philips Digital Airfryer XXL (this is the biggest size so you can cook your chicken all at once, it's the best size for families).
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Homemade Hot Honey Chicken Tenders {Air Fryer or Oven}
Ingredients
- 8 chicken tenders or 2 chicken breasts cut into 4 pieces each
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup crushed cornflakes
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- Cooking spray
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 celery stalked chopped
Hot honey sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tbsp buffalo sauce or more to taste
- 1 pinch chili flakes optional
Instructions
Air Fryer instructions
- Add flour, paprika and garlic powder to a bowl, mixing to combine. Add buttermilk to another bowl and crushed cornflakes to another bowl. Coat each chicken tender in the flour mixture, then coat in buttermilk, coating in crushed cornflakes last. Meanwhile, preheat air fryer to 400 for 5 minutes.
- Add to air fryer basket, spraying with cooking spray and seasoning generously with salt. Air fry for 5-7 minutes per side depending on how full the air fryer basket is. I have the XXL so all of mine fit in one go, and I found 6 minutes per side was ideal. You may need to do yours in batches to avoid crowding.
- Meanwhile, make the hot honey sauce by mixing honey, buffalo sauce and chili flakes in a large bowl. When chicken is done, drizzle sauce overtop then serve with carrots and celery and your fave dipping sauces. Enjoy!
Oven instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Add flour, paprika and garlic powder to a bowl, mixing to combine. Add buttermilk to another bowl and crushed cornflakes to another bowl. Coat each chicken tender in the flour mixture, then coat in buttermilk, coating in crushed cornflakes last.
- Add each coated tender to a parchment-lined baking sheet, spraying with cooking spray and seasoning generously with salt. Bake for 7-8 minutes per side.
- Meanwhile, make the hot honey sauce by mixing honey, buffalo sauce and chili flakes in a large bowl. When chicken is done, drizzle sauce overtop then serve with carrots and celery and your fave dipping sauces. Enjoy!
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