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This hot honey chicken sandwich has a crispy chicken patty coated with spicy honey, served between fluffy burger buns with pickles and a crunchy, cooling slaw. Like Wendy’s, but even better!
If you love the heat in this recipe, try my spicy Buffalo chicken sandwich and this copycat Quizno’s Baja chicken sandwich, next!
Table of Contents
We love to indulge in our favorite sandwich at Wendy’s every once in a while. But, if you ask me, this homemade hot honey chicken sandwich is even better! It’s packed with all the flavor we crave, minus the mystery ingredients often found in fast food. I make the hot honey from scratch using just honey, crushed pepper flakes, cayenne, and vinegar. It keeps in the pantry for months, ready to be smothered over this chicken sandwich whenever a craving strikes!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Bold flavor. These crispy hot honey chicken sandwiches are a mouthwatering combination of sweet, savory, spicy flavors. The chicken definitely has a kick, but the spicy honey gets cooled down nicely with a crunchy, creamy homemade coleslaw. Perfection!
- Satisfying crunch. I make this sandwich with my favorite frozen fried chicken cutlets because I can’t resist the crunch. Paired with crisp pickles and crunchy cabbage in the coleslaw, there’s plenty of irresistible texture to go around.
- Make it your own. Once your hot honey and chicken patty are ready to assemble into a sandwich, the variations are endless. Dress your buns with mayonnaise (or homemade mayo), swap out the slaw, add cheese, and more.
What is a Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich?
If you’ve ever had the hot honey chicken sandwich from Wendy’s, you already know the fast food favorite that inspired this recipe! Their version has crispy fried chicken coated in spicy hot honey topped with cheese, bacon, and pickles in a fluffy bun.
My recipe lightens things up with cool and creamy homemade coleslaw instead of bacon and cheese. Of course, feel free to dress your chicken sandwich any way that you’d like! I include some more easy topping ideas later on.
What You’ll Need
I love this quick weeknight version of a hot honey sandwich that needs just a few easy ingredients. You can use just about any chicken you like. Check out my notes here, and scroll to the recipe card for a printable ingredients list with the complete recipe details.
- Chicken Filets – These can be frozen or unfrozen, fried or grilled. Frozen crispy chicken filets are extra convenient, but you can also make your own fried chicken patties. Use whole chicken breasts and follow the frying directions for my boneless chicken wings. Or, use the breaded chicken from my air fryer crispy chicken sandwich.
- Coleslaw – I use my favorite homemade coleslaw. It’s creamy, crunchy, and perfect on everything from this fried chicken sandwich to pulled pork sandwiches.
- Pickles – Sliced thin. Choose your favorite, whether it’s bread and butter pickles or dill. If you dislike pickles, feel free to leave them off.
- Buns – I use hamburger buns, but you can use any bread roll you’d like. Brioche buns work great, as do pretzel buns, ciabatta, or sandwich rolls.
- Hot Honey – Hot honey is honey that’s been infused with chili to make it sweet and spicy. You’ll find jars of hot honey in most grocery stores. It’s also easy to make yourself (see below and in the recipe card).
Homemade Hot Honey
Sure, there are plenty of great store-bought options out there, but I always come back to this super easy hot honey recipe. All it takes is a handful of pantry ingredients and it tastes amazing in this chicken sandwich. Plus, I can use any leftovers to make hot honey chicken bites! Here’s how to make it.
- Combine. Combine honey with crushed red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper in a saucepan.
- Simmer. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, then take the honey off the heat and stir in apple cider vinegar.
- Strain. Optional, but straining the honey makes it slightly milder. Simply pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the pepper flakes. Otherwise, if you like it hot, leave the peppers in.
Storage Tip: If you have leftover hot honey, keep it in a jar at room temperature. Store it in a cool, dark spot, like your pantry, and it will keep for up to 3 months!
How to Make a Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich
When you’re ready to assemble this sandwich, follow the steps below. You’ll find the printable instructions in the recipe card below the post.
- Cook the chicken. Prepare your chicken how you like it. Meanwhile, whisk together your hot honey if you’re making it from scratch.
- Coat the chicken. Once your chicken is ready, brush the honey generously over all sides.
- Assemble. Serve the coated chicken over buns, layered with coleslaw and pickles. I like to give mine an extra drizzle with leftover honey!
Easy Variations
- Different dressing. Not a fan of spicy honey? Swap out the coating for barbecue sauce or ranch dressing instead.
- Add cheese. Stay true to the Wendy’s chicken sandwich and add sliced Pepper Jack cheese. Or, use any sliced cheese and let it melt over the hot chicken.
- Add bacon. Also in line with the Wendy’s version, go ahead and add some air fryer bacon on top of the chicken.
- Go bunless. Hot honey chicken topped with homemade slaw is just as delicious without the bun! Feel free to skip it if you’re keeping things low-carb.
Serving Suggestions
This chicken sandwich is a meal on its own, but whenever I feel like adding a side (or two), I’ll throw a batch of frozen French fries into the air fryer, or make a simple tossed salad to have with it. It’s also great with a side of potato salad or my savory dill pickle pasta salad.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. I recommend storing any leftover fried chicken patties before they’re assembled into a sandwich. Keep the chicken airtight in the fridge. The homemade coleslaw can also be refrigerated. The chicken will lose its crispiness and the slaw tends to get watery with time, so enjoy both as soon as possible.
- To reheat. It’s best to reheat chicken patties in the oven or you can use an air fryer if you have one. This way the outside can crisp up again. Warm the chicken well, then assemble your sandwich as usual and enjoy!
More Easy Sandwich Recipes
Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 frozen chicken breast filets, see note
- 2 cups Coleslaw
- Pickle slices
- 4 hamburger buns
Hot Honey
- ½ cup honey
- 1 Tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven or air fryer and cook chicken according to package directions.
- Meanwhile mix together honey, crushed red pepper and cayenne pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.
- Pour through a strainer into a glass jar. This step is optional, if you like things extra hot you can omit this step and let the peppers continue to infuse the honey. It will also give you texture when you use it later.
- Once the chicken is cooked, brush each side generously with honey.
- Assemble sandwiches by topping each bun with a piece of coated chicken, about ½ cup of coleslaw and sliced pickles. Drizzle with more hot honey if desired.
Notes
- You can use any chicken you’d like. Grilled chicken breast works great if you don’t want it fried. Want to make your own fried chicken patty? Follow the cooking instructions for my boneless chicken wings using a whole chicken breast instead.
- The hot honey will have a nice, subtle heat after you pour it through a strainer. If you prefer it hot, don’t strain.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The sweet and heat of this recipe is absolutely perfect. I have a hot seasoned french fry recipe I made this with last night, and it was amazing.
Love how the cool, crunchy slaw balances out the heat. Pickles add the perfect tangy bite.
The Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich was a game-changer! The flavors were bold and delicious, and the sandwich was so satisfying. I can’t wait to make it again for my family.
We had these sandwiches twice now and we really like them! They always turn out so good!
That hot honey was just plain tasty. So good! Thanks!