Golden crispy chicken, oven-baked and finished with a tangy, spicy hot honey sauce. This version delivers plenty of heat, tender chicken and a satisfyingly crunchy coating — thanks to crushed cornflakes and a simple spice mix.
“Cooked this yesterday evening – lip smacking good. We halved the amount as there’s only myself and hubby. Perfect amount of heat from the sauce, and the chicken was extremely tender. Definitely a regular for us. 👍🏻”
– Sally Walton
Nicky’s Notes
After visiting Nashville, I couldn’t stop craving hot chicken. While the shops there don’t use hot honey specifically, I’ve been making my own hot honey for years — it’s an addictive drizzle for chicken, salmon and more.
This recipe keeps things simple: crunchy, cornflake-coated chicken baked in the oven to avoid splattering oil, paired with an easy hot honey sauce. Crushed cornflakes give a reliably crisp finish, similar to frying but without the mess.
Table of Contents
- Nicky’s Notes
- 📋 Crispy Baked Chicken Ingredients
- 📋 Hot Honey Sauce Ingredients
- 🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
- Pro Tip
- The Secret to the crunch coating!
- 🍽️ What to serve it with
- 📺 Watch how to make it
- Hot Honey Chicken Recipe
- 🍯 More Sticky Chicken Recipes
📋 Crispy Baked Chicken Ingredients
***Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below***
📋 Hot Honey Sauce Ingredients
🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
Halve the chicken breasts horizontally to make thin steaks. Prepare three shallow bowls: seasoned flour, beaten eggs, and crushed cornflakes mixed with a little oil. Coat each piece in flour → egg → cornflakes, place on a lined baking tray and bake at 200°C/400°F (fan) for 20–25 minutes until golden and cooked through. While the chicken bakes, warm the hot honey sauce ingredients in a small pan until butter melts, then drizzle over the cooked chicken and serve.
Pro Tip
- Mix 2–3 tablespoons of oil into the crushed cornflakes before coating. That helps the coating brown evenly and stay crisp in the oven.
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The Secret to the crunch coating!
Crushed cornflakes brown beautifully in the oven and give a crisp texture much like fried chicken. They also create a golden colour and add subtle toasty flavour that panko doesn’t deliver as reliably in the oven.
🍽️ What to serve it with
- Oven-baked chips or air fryer chips
- Creamy coleslaw or potato salad
- Piled into soft brioche buns for a sandwich
📺 Watch how to make it
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Hot Honey Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 4 chicken breasts (about 700g/1.5lbs altogether)
- 90 g (3/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 150 g (5 cups) cornflakes, crushed (cup measurement before crushing)
- 3 tbsp neutral oil (avocado or rapeseed)
Hot honey sauce:
- 180 ml (1/2 cup) runny honey
- 3 tbsp hot pepper sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- ½ tsp garlic powder
To Serve (optional):
- Maldon salt flakes
- Pickled gherkins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F (fan) and line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally to make 8 thin steaks.
- Combine the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and thyme in a shallow bowl.
- Place the whisked eggs in a second bowl.
- Place crushed cornflakes into a third bowl and drizzle the oil over them, stirring until absorbed.
- Dredge each chicken piece in the flour mixture, then the egg, then press into the cornflake mixture so they’re fully coated.
- Arrange the coated chicken on the prepared tray in a single layer.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- While the chicken cooks, make the sauce: combine honey, hot pepper sauce, butter, smoked paprika, cayenne and garlic powder in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring, until butter melts. Remove from heat.
- Divide the cooked chicken between plates and drizzle with some hot honey. Serve the remaining sauce on the side. Finish with Maldon salt and pickles if you like.
Video
Notes
Leftovers / Make-Ahead
Chicken:
You can bake the crispy chicken ahead, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Do not refrigerate the chicken uncooked, as the cornflake coating will go soggy. Reheat uncovered on a baking tray at 180°C/350°F (fan) for 15–20 minutes until piping hot, or in an air fryer at 180°C/350°F for 10–12 minutes, checking to avoid burning.
Sauce:
Cool, cover and refrigerate the sauce for up to a week. Reheat gently in a pan, stirring often.
Freezing
Chicken:
Make and bake the chicken, cool and freeze in a single layer. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven or air fryer as above.
Sauce:
Freezing the sauce is not recommended.
Air fryer cooking
Use an air fryer large enough for 8 steaks (you may need two batches). Cook at 180°C/350°F for 13–16 minutes until piping hot throughout, turning if needed and checking to avoid burning the coating.
Nutritional information is approximate, per serving, based on the recipe serving four people and includes the hot honey sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
This hot honey chicken recipe was first posted in Nov 2023 and has been updated since with improvements and housekeeping edits.
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Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — thank you. Nutrition information is approximate and can vary; use it as a guide.