Spicy Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich Bake (Print View)

Crispy chicken tenders with hot honey butter, melted cheese, and tangy pickles stacked in soft slider buns for easy pull-apart enjoyment.

# Components:

→ For the Chicken

01 - 12 chicken tenders, approximately 1.5 lbs
02 - 1 cup buttermilk
03 - 1 large egg
04 - 1.5 cups panko breadcrumbs
05 - 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
06 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
07 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
08 - 1 teaspoon onion powder
09 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
10 - 1 teaspoon salt
11 - 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
12 - Cooking spray or 3 tablespoons neutral oil for baking

→ For the Hot Honey Butter

13 - 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
14 - 0.25 cup honey
15 - 1.5 tablespoons hot sauce such as Frank's RedHot
16 - 0.5 teaspoon chili flakes, optional for extra heat
17 - 0.25 teaspoon salt

→ For Assembly

18 - 12 slider buns or Hawaiian rolls
19 - 8 slices cheddar or pepper jack cheese
20 - 0.5 cup sliced dill pickles
21 - 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing buns
22 - 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, optional for topping

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease.
02 - In a bowl, combine buttermilk and egg. Add chicken tenders and let marinate for 10 minutes.
03 - In a shallow dish, mix panko, flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and black pepper.
04 - Remove each chicken tender from marinade, letting excess drip off, then coat thoroughly in breadcrumb mixture. Arrange on prepared baking sheet.
05 - Spray tops with cooking spray or drizzle with oil. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden and cooked through.
06 - While chicken bakes, whisk together melted butter, honey, hot sauce, chili flakes, and salt in a small bowl.
07 - Once baked, toss hot chicken tenders in the honey butter sauce until fully coated.
08 - Lower oven to 350°F. Slice slider buns horizontally while keeping bottoms connected and place bottoms in a baking dish.
09 - Layer cheese slices, then sauced chicken tenders, then sliced pickles over buns. Cover with bun tops.
10 - Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.
11 - Bake uncovered for 7 to 10 minutes, until cheese melts and buns are lightly toasted.
12 - Serve warm and pull apart to enjoy.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It looks like you spent hours in the kitchen when you actually made magic in under an hour.
  • The honey butter hits that sweet-spicy-salty balance that makes you reach for another slider before you've finished the first.
  • Everything bakes together at the end, so the cheese melts into every crevice while the buns toast golden.
02 -
  • Don't skip flipping the chicken halfway through baking; one side will brown much faster than the other if you don't.
  • The hot honey butter really does need to go on the chicken while it's still warm so the sauce clings instead of sliding off.
03 -
  • Double-coat the chicken if you want maximum crunch: dip it in the buttermilk mixture again after the first breadcrumb coat, then coat once more.
  • Use Frank's RedHot or a hot sauce you actually enjoy drinking straight, because you'll taste it clearly in every bite.
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