Hot Honey Chicken – A Spicy Perspective

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Best Hot Honey Chicken Recipe – Learn the easy steps and tips to make crispy fried chicken that’s perfect to drizzle with hot honey sauce! Serve spicy and sweet honey chicken with southern side dishes, or use it to make bold and crunchy chicken sandwiches.

Three pieces of fried hot honey chicken on a plate. Chicken is sprinkled with sliced green onions, a jar of honey with a wood spoon in it is in the background.

Why We Love Hot Honey Chicken

Crunchy, sweet, spicy, and savory Hot Honey Chicken is a classic Southern dish that’s become a national phenomenon. If you’re crazy about restaurant-style hot honey chicken, you’ll be happy to know you can make it at home!

We love these thin crispy chicken cutlets with hot honey because they’re easy to cut and are extra crunchy. However, you can also make hot honey chicken using our classic bone-in fried chicken recipe, or drizzle hot honey over grilled chicken as well.

This hot honey chicken recipe is great to serve as-is with comfy southern sides, or use the fried chicken cutlets for hot honey chicken sandwiches!

Top down three pieces of fried hot honey chicken on a plate. Chicken is sprinkled with sliced green onions, a jar of honey with a wood spoon in it is in the background.

PS – You can certainly buy hot honey at the grocery store, but we are CRAZY over our simple hot honey recipe here on the site. It has a bolder, and more balanced flavor. You’ll want to drizzle this hot honey on everything.

Three pieces of fried hot honey chicken on a plate. Chicken is sprinkled with sliced green onions, a jar of honey is in the background. A hand with wand is drizzling honey over the chicken.

Ingredients You Need

Chicken breasts – boneless and skinless, either pounded thin or purchased as cutlets
Dill pickle juice – the secret ingredient for the juiciest fried chicken
Granulated sugar – the sweetness balances the strong pickle juice flavor
All-purpose flour – to dredge the cutlets and get a crispy coating
Cornstarch – makes the breading extra crunchy
Spices – paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt
Milk – whole or 2% milk (or buttermilk)
Eggs – to bind the breading onto the chicken
Peanut oil – for frying
Hot honey – either store-bought or use our fabulous homemade hot honey recipe
Garnishes – chopped green onion and crushed red pepper, both optional but highly recommended

How to Make Honey Hot Chicken

Brine: Cut the chicken breasts into halves, straight through the middle to make two thin chicken breast cutlets from each breast. You should have 8 pieces total.

Pour the pickle juice in a microwave-safe bowl. Warm the pickle juice in the microwave, until hot to the touch. Stir in the sugar until completely dissolved. Add the chicken cutlets and allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. Place in the refrigerator while brining.

Prep the Breading: While the chicken is brining in the pickle juice, mix the flour, cornstarch, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt in a medium bowl. Drain off the pickle juice and thoroughly pat each chicken breast cutlet dry with paper towels. (This helps the breading hold tight to the chicken while frying. Don’t skip!)

Dredge the Chicken: Set out a drying/cooling rack and dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour. Shake off all excess flour so the coating is very thin. Lay the chicken on the rack. Coat all the chicken pieces before moving on.

Hand dredging a chicken breast in flour in a white bowl.

Next beat the milk and eggs in a separate bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of eggwash into the remaining flour mix and work it into little pebbles with your fingers. Dunk the chicken cutlets in the eggwash, then dip them back into the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour and lay them back on the drying rack.

Pro Tip – Also, don’t try to speed up the process… The extra time the chicken lays on the drying rack improves the texture of the breading.

5 pieces of thin chicken breasts, dredged and on a wire rack.

Fry the Chicken: Once all the chicken is double-dipped in the flour mixture, pour the oil in a large sauce pot. Turn the heat on medium-high. Place a clip-on thermometer on the side of the pot and bring the temperature up to 350 degrees F.

Once the oil is ready, gently place 3 of the chicken pieces to the hot oil. Stir once, and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden brown on the outside and tender and juicy inside. Flip once after 3 minutes. (If the temperature dips lower than 345 degrees F, the cooking time may need to be adjusted to 5-6 minutes, but the breading could get too dark. Watch the thermometer and adjust the heat as needed to keep it right at 350.)

Pro Tip – Use a meat thermometer to ensure the center of the chicken is 165 degrees F.

Blue cooking pot with chicken frying and thermometer in the pot.

Use a spider skimmer to scoop the chicken cutlets out of the oil. Place them on a paper towel-lined plate. Allow the temperature to rise back to 350 degrees. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces two more times.

5 pieces of fried chicken breasts on paper towels.

You can keep the fried chicken pieces warm in a 200 degree F oven, while the other batches are cooking. When ready to serve, drizzle a generous amount of hot honey over the top of each piece of chicken.

Then sprinkle the top with chopped scallions and crushed red pepper flakes. Serve warm!

Serving Suggestions

These sticky-sweet and spicy fried cutlets are delicious with classic comfort food side dishes. You can’t go wrong with southern favorites like mashed potatoes, deviled egg potato salad, mac and cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, or corn spoon bread. Because fried chicken tends to be a bit on the heavier side, I also like to serve some vegetables at dinner… But keep things properly southern with collard greens, roasted okra, coleslaw, and creamy cucumber salad with dill.

Pile pieces onto your choice of bread to make the best hot honey chicken sandwiches at home. I like them on toasted hamburger buns or warm hoagie rolls. This is the perfect foundation to make our spicy hot Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich Chick-fil-A copycat recipe!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the breading separate from the chicken after frying?

The chicken must be completely dry in order for the breading to hold tight to it, as it fries in hot oil. After you brine the chicken, drain off the brine and pat each chicken breast with paper towels until fully dry.

Is hot honey fried chicken spicy?

The fried chicken cutlets themselves are not spicy. The hot honey drizzled on top is what adds all of the spiciness. So it’s easy to control how hot (or not) each serving is!

How long do leftovers last?

Fried chicken leftovers are so good! But I do suggest waiting to drizzle on the hot honey until you’re ready to serve. Transfer cooled chicken to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

To get the breading crisp again, reheat leftovers in the air fryer (my favorite method!) or oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes.

What other spices can I add?

For the breading, you can swap or add chili powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, or ground cumin,

Can I use boneless skinless chicken thighs?

Yes, you can! Stretch them out thin for dredging and they will cook according to the direction below. There is no need to cut them into cutlets.

In addition to hot honey, what other sauces can I use?

If you’re a dunker, dip the chicken in hot sauce, ranch dressing, or blue cheese dressing.

Looking for More Classic Southern Recipes? Be Sure to Try:

Hot Honey Chicken Recipe

This easy recipe shows you the steps to make crispy fried chicken that’s perfect to drizzle with hot honey sauce! Serve hot honey chicken with southern side dishes or use to make bold and crunchy chicken sandwiches.

Servings: 4 (or 8 small) servings

Brine: Cut the chicken breasts into halves, straight through the middle to make two thin chicken breast cutlets from each breast. You should have 8 pieces total.
Pour the pickle juice in a microwave-safe bowl. Warm the pickle juice in the microwave, until hot to the touch, but not boiling. Stir in the sugar until completely dissolved. Once the juice has cooled to room temperature, add the chicken cutlets and allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. Place in the refrigerator while brining.
Prep the Breading: While the chicken is brining in the pickle juice, mix the flour, cornstarch, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt in a medium bowl. Drain off the pickle juice and thoroughly pat each chicken breast cutlet dry with paper towels. (This helps the breading hold tight to the chicken while frying. Don’t skip!)
Dredge the Chicken: Set out a drying/cooling rack and dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour. Shake off all excess flour so the coating is very thin. Lay the chicken on the rack. Coat all the chicken pieces before moving on.
Next beat the milk and eggs in a separate bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of eggwash into the remaining flour mix and work it into little pebbles with your fingers. (This helps give the crunchy breading extra texture.) Dunk the chicken cutlets in the eggwash, then dip them back into the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour and lay them back on the drying rack.
Fry the Chicken: Once all the chicken is double-dipped in the flour mixture, pour the oil in a large sauce pot. Turn the heat on medium-high. Place a clip-on thermometer on the side of the pot and bring the temperature up to 350 degrees F.
Once the oil is ready, gently place 3 of the chicken pieces to the hot oil. Stir once, and fry for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Flipping once after 3 minutes. (If the temperature dips lower than 345 degrees F, the cooking time may need to be adjusted to 5-6 minutes, but the breading could get too dark. Watch the thermometer and adjust the heat as needed to keep it right at 350.)
Use a spider skimmer to scoop the chicken cutlets out of the oil. Place them on a paper towel lined plate. Allow the temperature to rise back to 350 degrees. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces two more times.
You can keep the fried chicken pieces warm in a 200 degree F oven while frying the remaining batches. When ready to serve, drizzle a generous amount of hot honey over the top of each piece of chicken. Then sprinkle the top with chopped scallions and crushed red pepper flakes. Serve warm!

Take your time during the dredging process. The longer the breading rests on the chicken before frying, the better the texture.
Fried chicken leftovers are so good! But I do suggest waiting to drizzle on the hot honey until you’re ready to serve. Transfer cooled chicken to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To get the breading crisp again, reheat leftovers in the air fryer (my favorite method!) or oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes.

Serving: 1pc, Calories: 880kcal, Carbohydrates: 106g, Protein: 36g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 173mg, Sodium: 2246mg, Potassium: 718mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 44g, Vitamin A: 1138IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 123mg, Iron: 5mg