Baked Nashville Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich
Baked Nashville Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich checks all the boxes…spicy, sweet, and crispy. Check, check and check! On top of that it’s somewhat healthy in that it’s baked as opposed to fried! Delicious is an understatement!
We all know that hot honey chicken sandwiches from Nashville have been a thing for a number of years. For me, trying to recreate it says major mess to my cooktop, floor, hood as well as major pounds added to my tummy, hips and thighs! No joke! But, when we can bread the chicken and bake it, all of that is eliminated. I say “Bring it on”!!!
I was taught as a young girl watching my mom make chicken Parmigiana that to properly bread chicken you need a shallow dish filled with flour, another one with eggs that have been beaten and a third one with breadcrumbs.
In our case, we are going to spice up the flour a bit with garlic powder, turmeric, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. The eggs are the eggs. Instead of breadcrumbs, we are using Japanese panko that is also spiced with the same spices as the flour.
Dip one piece of chicken in the flour and shake off any extra. Make sure the chicken is completely coated. Next, dip it into the eggs, letting any excess egg drip off. Then, dip it into the panko, pressing to make sure that as much of the panko sticks. Place the chicken on a rack set over a sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Pop the chicken into a hot oven and spray a little cooking spray on both sides of the chicken. This helps it to crisp up. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.
While the chicken is cooking, make the hot honey butter. Combine melted butter, honey, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
Once the chicken is cooked through, brush the honey butter all over both sides of the chicken, coating completely. If the butter gets too thick, you can microwave it for 15 seconds.
To assemble the sandwiches, spread ranch dressing over the insides of the bun. Add a piece of chicken followed by shredded lettuce and the top of the bun.
Enjoy this delicious sandwich!
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Baked Nashville Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich
Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes plus fridge time 30 minutes
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 (8 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each split in half lengthwise (so you have 4 thin breast)
- 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp garlic powder, divided
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Hot Honey Butter:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Assembly:
- 4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted
- 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 cup buttermilk ranch
Instructions
Chicken:
Pat each chicken breast dry with paper towels. Season both sides of each piece of chicken with salt and pepper.
In a shallow baking dish combine flour, 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Whisk together.
In another shallow bowl whisk together eggs. In a third shallow dish combine panko and remaining spices. Whisk together.
Dredge each chicken breast into the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Dredge each chicken breast in beaten eggs until fully coated. Last, dredge each chicken breast in the panko mixture, pressing the crumb coating firmly onto each piece of chicken. Transfer coated chicken to a well, greased cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet, about 1 & 1/2 inches apart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Remove chicken breasts from refrigerator and spray each coated chicken breast with cooking spray on each side and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until coating has lightly browned and the chicken has cooked through.
Hot Honey Butter:
While chicken is baking, combine melted butter, honey, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt in a small mixing bowl and whisk together.
Once chicken is done baking, remove from oven and carefully brush spicy-honey butter all over each piece until fully and evenly coated.
Assembly:
Spread ranch over the inner sides of each bun. Top with a piece of coated chicken. Top chicken with a handful of shredded lettuce. Place top buns over each sandwich and serve.
Chef’s Notes:
Splitting each breast in half lengthwise will even out the thickness of each breast and create a shorter baking time without having to pound out each breast.
It’s important to really press the panko mixture onto each chicken breast to ensure it sticks well.
Allowing the breaded chicken to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes will also really help the breading adhere to the chicken.
Recipe by Spoon Fork Bacon
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