Spicy Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich Bake (Printable)

Crispy baked chicken smothered in hot honey butter with cheese and pickles on slider buns

# What You’ll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 12 chicken tenders, approximately 1.5 pounds
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 - 3 tablespoons neutral oil or cooking spray for baking

→ Hot Honey Butter

13 - 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
14 - 0.25 cup honey
15 - 1.5 tablespoons hot sauce
16 - 0.5 teaspoon red chili flakes, optional for additional heat
17 - 0.25 teaspoon salt

→ Assembly

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

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease the surface.
02 - In a bowl, combine buttermilk and egg. Add chicken tenders and allow to marinate for 10 minutes.
03 - In a shallow dish, combine panko breadcrumbs, all-purpose flour, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
04 - Remove each chicken tender from marinade, allowing excess liquid to drip off. Coat thoroughly in the breadcrumb mixture and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
05 - Spray chicken tops with cooking spray or drizzle with oil. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking, until golden brown and cooked through.
06 - While chicken bakes, whisk together melted butter, honey, hot sauce, red chili flakes, and salt in a small bowl until well combined.
07 - Once baked, toss hot chicken tenders in the honey butter sauce until fully coated on all sides.
08 - Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice slider buns horizontally while keeping the bottoms connected, then place bun bottoms in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
09 - Layer cheese slices over the bun bottoms, followed by the sauced chicken tenders and sliced dill pickles. Cover with the bun tops.
10 - Brush the bun tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
11 - Bake uncovered for 7 to 10 minutes until cheese melts completely and buns are lightly toasted.
12 - Remove from oven and serve warm. Pull apart individual sandwiches and enjoy immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • These pull-apart sliders stay gloriously crispy even after baking, which honestly feels like a small miracle given how many times I've had breaded chicken turn soggy at a potluck.
  • The hot honey butter hits that exact sweet-spicy-savory trifecta that makes people reach for thirds without even thinking about it.
  • Everything comes together in one baking dish, meaning you're not juggling multiple pans or timing headaches on busy days.
02 -
  • If you skip the oil or cooking spray step, your coating will steam instead of crisp, turning you from victorious to regretful in one bite, so genuinely do not skip this part.
  • The honey butter needs to go on the chicken while it's still hot so it actually adheres and becomes silky rather than sliding right off like you just waxed your tenders.
  • Assembling everything in the baking dish well before baking gives the pickles time to release their brine, which seasons everything and prevents the buns from drying out in the oven.
03 -
  • Double-coating your chicken in breadcrumbs creates an almost bulletproof crunch that survives cheese and sauce without surrendering any of its integrity.
  • Letting the assembled baking dish sit for 15 minutes before baking allows the buns to hydrate slightly from the pickles and sauce, creating a texture that's crispy outside but never dry inside.
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