Nashville Hot Honey Chicken Sliders

I love serving sliders at my parties, and I find that the more creative the sliders I put out, the more guests get excited about them. But they don’t want something wholly unfamiliar, which is why these Nashville hot honey chicken sliders are a frequent find among my party appetizers.

The expectation is in the name: freshly fried hot honey chicken tenders layered with coleslaw, pickles and cheese in squashy Hawaiian rolls. These sliders expertly toe the line between familiar and out-of-the-box. With all the crispy and crunchy textures, tang, heat and richness, they’re certainly worth getting excited over.

The made-from-scratch hot honey packs enormous flavor. It’s not hard to make—a hot honey recipe requires only a few kitchen ingredients, but you can certainly use a go-to brand in lieu of homemade. The sticky-sweet heat calms a bit next to the creamy coleslaw and tangy pickles so it’s not overpowering, but feel free to control the spice level if you find the 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes a little daunting.

Ingredients for Nashville Hot Honey Chicken Sliders

• Hot honey: Our hot honey chicken sliders recipe makes a from-scratch hot honey with crushed red pepper flakes, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper and quality honey.
• Chicken tenders: For these sliders, we highly recommend tenderloin cuts—they are normally all the same size and will fry evenly, plus they’re a flatter cut, which is nice for slider layering. Chicken thighs and breasts are much too big for the small sliders.
• Egg: An egg keeps the breading from falling off the chicken. But an egg isn’t a magic cure-all for this, so help the egg by patting the chicken tenders dry with a paper towel before moving them through the dredging station.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk provides a pleasant, tangy flavor that cuts through the richness of the deep-fried chicken and helps tenderize the chicken tenders just a little further.
• All-purpose flour: The best breading for deep-fried chicken is all-purpose flour. It creates a nice, even and thick coat without overpowering and being too bready.
• Spices: Our herb and spice blend is no joke, but it’s not too leveled-up because the hot honey delivers the perfect amount of spice. Here, we’ll use six spices you probably already have: garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, salt, paprika and thyme.
• Oil: The best oils for frying are any with a high smoke point, such as avocado oil, peanut oil, corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil. Most of these oils have a neutral flavor, but peanut and avocado oils each have a bit of nuance, which is nice in savory dishes like deep-fried chicken.
• Hawaiian sweet rolls: Most slider recipes are built on Hawaiian sweet rolls. They’re soft, spongy and perfectly portioned. Plus, they toast well if you want to go that route. I love their slight pineapple flavor; it pairs surprisingly well with savory foods.
• Mozzarella cheese: For a little more richness, melt slices of part-skim mozzarella cheese on the bottom layer of slider rolls before adding the fried chicken and other toppings.
• Coleslaw: Prepared deli coleslaw makes quick work of assembling, but you can make your own coleslaw recipe at home.
• Pickles: Pickle slices add a satisfying tang, crunch and pleasant freshness. We suggest dill, but feel free to use your favorite type of pickles here.

Directions

Step 1: Make the hot honey

Place the honey, apple cider vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and salt in a small saucepan. Simmer the mixture over medium-low heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly.

Strain the hot honey through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the solids, if desired. Set the hot honey aside.

Step 2: Dredge the chicken tenders

In a shallow baking dish, whisk together the egg and buttermilk until completely homogeneous. In a separate shallow baking dish, stir together the all-purpose flour, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, salt, paprika and thyme.

Toss the chicken tenders in the egg mixture, then dip each chicken tender in the flour mixture on both sides, shaking off any excess flour. Place the dredged chicken tenders on a plate or baking sheet until you’re ready to cook.

Editor’s Tip: Make sure all parts of the chicken are completely coated in the flour mixture. Well-coated chicken is the key to crunchy cutlets.

Step 3: Deep-fry the chicken

In a large Dutch oven, deep-sided skillet or electric fryer, heat the oil to 375°F. Fry the chicken tenders, a few pieces at a time, until the internal temperature reaches 165°, two to three minutes per side.

Transfer the fried chicken to a wire rack placed over a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken tenders.

Editor’s Tip: Do not overcrowd the skillet with chicken tenders. You can cause a dangerous boil-over, or the oil’s temperature will drop significantly, leaving the chicken soggy instead of crisp.

Step 4: Assemble the sliders

Preheat the oven to 350°. Without separating them, cut the slider rolls in half horizontally using a bread knife. Arrange the roll bottoms in a greased 15×10-inch baking dish or pan. Place the cheese slices over the roll bottoms, overlapping as needed. Bake the slider bottoms and cheese until the cheese is melted, three to five minutes.

Toss the deep-fried chicken tenders in the hot honey sauce, then place them on top of the cheese. Add the coleslaw and pickles, then replace the top halves of the rolls and serve.

Recipe Variations

• Air-fry the chicken tenders: Don’t want so much grease? Make air-fryer fried chicken instead. The chicken is coated in a mixture of blitzed Ritz crackers, six spices and an egg to bind everything together.
• Omit the cheese: If the mozzarella feels too rich for you among all the other ingredients, feel free to skip it. Doing so won’t make the sliders dry—there’s plenty of moisture still from the hot honey coating, prepared coleslaw and dill pickle chips.
• Try other rolls: Not a fan of Hawaiian rolls? We get it—the pineapple flavor isn’t for everyone. Instead, try brioche slider buns, Martin’s potato roll sliders or Sara Lee’s Artesano white bread bakery rolls.
• Finish with a garlic-butter sauce: To add just a little more flavor, finish the baked sliders with a melted butter, minced garlic and dried parsley mixture. Raw garlic is a little pungent, so use it sparingly.

How to Store Nashville Hot Honey Chicken Sliders

Allow any leftover Nashville hot honey chicken sliders to cool completely to room temperature, then do your best to remove the coleslaw and pickles. (It’s best to store them separately for reheating purposes.) Store the coleslaw and pickles in an airtight container, then cover the sliders with storage wrap or transfer them to an airtight container. Everything can be kept in the fridge for up to two days.

How do you reheat Nashville hot honey chicken sliders?

To reheat Nashville hot honey chicken sliders, remove the coleslaw and pickles from the sliders if you haven’t already. Place the sliders, uncovered and with the top slider buns off, in a 350° oven until the chicken is warmed through. Reassemble with the coleslaw, pickles and top buns.

Nashville Hot Honey Chicken Slider Tips

Can you use a store-bought hot honey instead?

Yes, you can use store-bought hot honey instead of making it yourself. Always make sure to buy the best hot honey—they’re all quite different! Some have a nice spice level and a thick, honey-like viscosity, while others are overly spiced or not very well spiced and have a super thin, watery consistency.

Can you make Nashville hot honey chicken sliders gluten-free?

Yes, you can make Nashville hot honey chicken sliders gluten-free. Make gluten-free fried chicken and assemble everything on gluten-free Hawaiian rolls. Canyon Bakehouse makes a great product, or you can make gluten-free Hawaiian rolls from scratch. Ensure all other packaged products are certified gluten-free as well.

Why are my Nashville hot honey chicken sliders soggy on the bottom?

Your Nashville hot honey chicken sliders might be soggy on the bottom if the melted cheese and hot honey have pooled at the bottom of the baking dish. Avoid this by not adding more hot honey than the recipe calls for. It’s so good, but you can let guests add more as they please when you serve the sliders. Toasting the buns beforehand also helps.