Spicy Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich Bake (Printable)

Crispy baked chicken tenders glazed with spicy honey butter, stacked with cheese and pickles on slider buns for irresistible pull-apart sandwiches.

# What You Need:

→ 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
16 - 0.5 teaspoon chili flakes, optional
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

# How-To:

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 liquid 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 9x13-inch baking dish.
09 - Layer cheese slices, then sauced chicken tenders, then sliced pickles over buns. Cover with bun tops.
10 - Brush bun 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 Hacks:

01 -
  • It's the crunch and spice of a fried chicken sandwich without the splatter and mess all over your stovetop.
  • Pull-apart sliders mean everyone gets their own little moment of joy without fighting over the last piece.
  • The hot honey butter does something almost magical to ordinary baked chicken, making it taste like you've been cooking all day when it really took less than an hour.
02 -
  • Don't skip the flipping step halfway through baking; I learned this the hard way when my first batch had one pale side, and now I'm religious about it.
  • The hot honey butter only stays truly impactful if you toss the chicken in it immediately after it comes out of the oven, so don't make the sauce ahead and let it sit; whisk it fresh while the chicken bakes.
03 -
  • Arrange your buns in the baking dish so they're touching but not crushed, because they'll compress slightly as everything heats and melts, and you want them to stay as pillowy as possible.
  • If your hot sauce is particularly thin, whisk it with a tablespoon of honey separately before mixing into the butter so it emulsifies properly and coats the chicken evenly instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
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