Our recipe for hot honey chicken tenders features chicken tenderloins that are fried until golden and crispy, then generously drizzled with a sweet and spicy hot honey.

Chicken tenders are always a family favorite, especially on busy weeknights when time is of the essence. While it’s easy to grab a bag of frozen chicken tenders from the freezer section in the grocery store, it’s nearly just as easy to make them from scratch at home—all it takes are a few simple ingredients. This hot honey chicken tenders recipe adds another level of flavor by combining honey with peppers to make a sweet and spicy hot honey—’swicy’ is everything right now!—that’s perfect for drizzling over the crispy fried chicken strips.

These hot honey chicken strips are perfect for a family weeknight dinner, or save this recipe for the weekend and serve these tasty bites of chicken as a craveable football food. It’s perfect as part of a game day spread alongside a flavorful ranch dip.

Ingredients for Hot Honey Chicken Tenders

Hot honey:

• Honey: You can use any type of honey you like for this recipe, but you don’t need to use anything too fancy. (I use a basic clover honey.) If you don’t have a favorite honey to use, try one of the best honey brands as tested and chosen by the Taste of Home Test Kitchen.
• Apple cider vinegar: The sour and bright flavor of apple cider vinegar, as opposed to that of other types of vinegar, adds a bit of acidity to complement the sweetness of the honey.
• Crushed red pepper flakes: Crushed red pepper flakes are a pantry staple spice that makes this hot honey, well, hot.
• Cayenne pepper: Ground cayenne pepper adds a subtle smoky, slightly sweet flavor and a pungent punch of spice.
• Kosher salt: Salt enhances the flavors of this hot honey.

Chicken tenders:

• Chicken tenderloins: Both fresh and frozen (thawed) meat will work in a chicken tenderloins recipe. In a pinch, chicken breast strips will work as well.
• Buttermilk: A dip in tangy buttermilk helps ensure the fried chicken is moist and tender inside the crisp breading.
• Egg: An egg is combined with buttermilk to help the breading bind to the chicken.
• Flour: Seasoned all-purpose flour is used to make a simple but flavorful breading for the chicken. For gluten-free hot honey chicken strips, use a gluten-free flour mix, cornstarch, rice flour or tapioca flour in place of the all-purpose flour.
• Seasonings: The flour is seasoned with a combination of garlic powder, onion powder, coarse black pepper, salt, paprika and dried thyme.
• Oil: You will need to use a neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point to fry the hot honey chicken tenders recipe. A few of our favorite oils for frying include soybean oil, peanut oil and safflower oil.

Taste of Home