Prepare yourself for the most addictive chicken ever. It’s crunchy, sweet, salty, spicy, and I find myself making it OFTEN. It’s easy to pull together and is baked to crunchy perfection! You’ve got this!
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This recipe is…
I cannot express to you how much I love this crunchy, spicy, sweet chicken. I love it SO MUCH and if I were ever to open a restaurant (not very likely, but I like to dream), this would be on the menu. It’s so crunchy and satisfying, you’ll never know it’s actually baked. Get ready for your new favorite way to eat chicken!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
All of the ingredients needed for this incredibly delicious dinner are below. We’ve also listed any possible substitutions! Find exact ingredient amounts in the recipe card.
- Eggs
- Chili garlic sauce
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs – use any cut of chicken you love here!
- Panko bread crumbs
- Garlic powder, sea salt, and cayenne pepper
- Spray oil
- Honey
We served our hot honey chicken alongside crispy roasted potatoes garnished with chives (pictured). They were a DELICIOUS pairing! Read below for more serving ideas.
How to Make
There are several REALLY great things about sheet pan meals, but I think the absolute best thing about them is that they are always really, really simple to pull together, and this hot honey bake is no exception! Here’s how you’ll do it:
- Prep – preheat the oven to 375°F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray it with oil.
- Whisk together the eggs, chili garlic sauce, and salt – in a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of chili garlic sauce.
- Pour the panko bread crumbs into a shallow dish.
- Combine the garlic powder, remaining teaspoon of salt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
- Coat the chicken – dip the chicken thighs in the egg wash, then press them into the panko bread crumbs and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with the spice mixture – sprinkle the panko-coated chicken with the spice mixture, then spray with oil.
- Bake – add the chicken to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Flip and continue baking – when the timer goes off, flip the chicken and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Make the hot honey sauce – in a small bowl, whisk together the honey and 2 tablespoons of chili garlic sauce.
- Drizzle the hot honey, serve, and enjoy – when the chicken is done baking, drizzle it with the hot honey sauce, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
Adjust the spice – this recipe *is* for hot honey chicken, but if you’re looking for slightly less spice, feel free to omit the chili garlic sauce in the egg wash (and the sauce too, if you’d like) and either reduce the amount of cayenne sprinkled on top of the panko-coated chicken or omit it altogether.
Use regular panko – we made this recipe with gluten-free panko, but you can absolutely use regular panko if that’s what you typically grab for.
Use a different cut of chicken – feel free to use chicken breasts here! Just be sure to pound them out so that they are a half-inch thick and use that instead.
Use smaller, thinner chicken thighs – the thickness of the thighs can have a big impact on how crispy they get, so if you’re looking for a really crispy end product, use smaller, thinner thighs.
Don’t overcrowd – be sure to give each chicken thigh plenty of space on the pan. If you need to use more than one sheet pan, do that!
Keep cooking – if the thighs aren’t getting crispy as you’d like, leave them in the oven for as long as 40 minutes (watching to make sure the Panko doesn’t burn).
Add time if you double the recipe – if you double the recipe, leave it in the oven for 10 extra minutes (flipping when there are 10 minutes left).
What to Serve with Hot Honey Chicken
We served our hot honey chicken with crispy baked baby Yukon gold potatoes, but there are an endless amount of side dish accompaniments for this crispy chicken dish. Here are our favorite options:
Starchy Sides
- Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Best Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Air Fryer French Fries
- Oven Roasted Potato Wedges
- Quick and Easy Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Veggie Sides
- How to Roast Asparagus
- Easy Oven Roasted Green Beans
- Steamed Broccoli
- Oven Roasted Broccoli
- Best Spinach Salad with Spicy Lemon Salad Dressing
- Perfect Oven Roasted Vegetables
- Lemon Sea Salt Arugula Salad
How to Store and Reheat
Store your leftover hot honey chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stored this way, it’ll keep for up to 5 days.
You’ve got a couple of options when it comes to reheating your leftovers:
- In the microwave – pop your chicken on a microwave-safe plate and microwave it for 1-2 minutes (until warmed through). This option results in the *least* crispy reheated chicken.
- In the oven – place your leftover chicken on a sheet pan and reheat it in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes (until warmed through). This option results in crispy reheated chicken.
- In the air fryer – place your leftover hot honey chicken in the air fryer and reheat it at 350°F for 5-7 minutes (until warmed through). This option results in the *most* crispy reheated chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can absolutely use a different type of chicken in this recipe! Use bone-in, skin-on thighs, or another cut entirely (chicken breasts or tenders are also GREAT options). If you do use a different cut of chicken, be sure to check the internal temperature of the chicken for doneness (using a meat thermometer) before pulling it out of the oven.
The chili garlic sauce used in this recipe definitely has a kick to it, but there isn’t a ton of it in this recipe (1 tablespoon is used to coat the eggs, and 2 tablespoons are combined with the honey to drizzle over the baked chicken), so the finished product isn’t SUPER spicy. I probably would not serve it to my 3-year-old, but my husband and I happily eat it with no issues.
You can definitely make hot honey chicken in the air fryer! You’ll follow the recipe instructions to prep the chicken and then air fry it at 375°F for 8 minutes, flip it, and continue to air fry for another 8 minutes.
More Favorite Chicken Recipes
Crispy Baked Hot Honey Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons chili garlic sauce divided
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons sea salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Spray oil
- ½ cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with oil.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of chili garlic sauce.
- Pour the panko bread crumbs into a shallow dish.
- Combine the garlic powder, remaining teaspoon of salt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
- Dip the chicken thighs in the egg wash, then press them into the panko bread crumbs and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the panko coated chicken with the spice mixture, then spray with oil.
- Place the chicken into the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, flip the chicken and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- While the chicken is baking, whisk together the honey and 2 tablespoons of chili garlic sauce together in a small bowl.
- Drizzle the hot honey mixture over the chicken, serve alongside crispy potatoes, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- The thickness of the thighs can have a big impact on how crispy it gets, so if you’re looking for a really crispy end product, use smaller, thinner thighs.
- Don’t crowd them in the pan! Be sure to give each chicken thigh plenty of space on the pan. If you need to use more than one sheet pan, do that.
- If you double the recipe, leave it in the oven for 10 extra minutes (flipping when there are 10 minutes left).
- If the thighs still aren’t getting crispy as you’d like, leave them in the oven for as long as 40 minutes (watching to make sure the Panko doesn’t burn).
Nutrition
Commented below but forgot to rate! Five star dinner! The flavor is terrific- used paprika instead of cayenne pepper so it would not be that hot and it worked great.
I just made this as well. Followed to a T but did use thin chicken breast and not nearly the crunch I was hoping for. Help pretty please. It appears the oil on the paper was the issue but I could be wrong. Still delicious! Just really wanted the crunch.
Oh man, Tara! We’re so sorry the crunch wasn’t there for you. We’ve got several troubleshooting tips at the bottom of the recipe card!
The flavor was really good! My Panko came out a bit softer than I would have liked. Any tips for getting it crispier? I followed the recipe to a T
DELISH! Easy and delicious. I want to try and get mine crispier next time. Maybe broiler for a minute? This with roasted and broccoli and roasted potato for meal prep this week. Thank you! Def going into the rotation.
My family *loved* this! I did a double batch: one as written which came out perfectly, one with a substitution of honey garlic sauce instead of chili sauce for the non-spicy crew. It was milder and lighter in color but still got eaten up. My husband said it was restaurant quality! They can’t wait for me to make it again.
That’s amazing, Samantha! Thank you so much for sharing this with us – it means more than you know!
This is screaming my name! Going on my list of things to make!
We can’t wait to hear what you think of it, Michelle!
Wonderful, simple recipe! I wish I had used thinner chicken thighs to make them crispier, but I loved the sauce and the honey together! Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the flavors, Rose! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Made this the other day, and it is now going to be a staple especially on nights when we need a quick simple dinner! It’s so easy to make and relatively quick as well. We made it with sweet potato fries & served it with salad. I was nervous about the spice level, so actually halved it, but definitely could have gone full spice! I actually craved that full spice level once I got the taste of what it was supposed to be…that sweet & spicy perfection. SO. SO. Good.
Danielle! That’s so great to hear! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Delicious! The chicken was moist yet crunchy from the coating. My husband loved this and he’s not a big chicken fan. I did serve the honey sauce on the side for the kids.
Aw, we’re so glad you loved this recipe, Rachel! Thank you for sharing this with us!
So good! Couldn’t find chili garlic sauce or sriracha at the store but decided to use gochujang instead. The recipe was easy to follow and the chicken was tender and juicy. Next time I’m going to make sandwiches with it!
Great sub, Chloe! Hot honey chicken sandwiches would be delicious!
OMG! This hit the spot! The perfect amount of heat (in my opinion), crunch garlic and panko bread crumbs, and juicy chicken thighs. We paired this with roasted broccoli and air fryer sweet potato fries. My husband said to add this to our monthly rotation!
Wahoo! We’re so glad y’all loved it, Courtney!
Tried this recipe over the weekend. SO delicious! Even my 8 year old “picky eater” loved it! This one will now be on rotate!
Wahoo! That’s great to hear, Ashley! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
Cassie!!! So good!!! Hubby loved it too! I made two different versions, the regular version and an egg free version with flax egg that one didn’t turn out as well taste delicious, but all the coating came off in the oven. Any suggestions for an egg free version?
We’re so glad y’all loved it, Pamela! I just asked Cassy – she said she’d actually start with heavy cream as the egg substitute (if you can do dairy). We haven’t tested it, though, so we can’t guarantee that it’ll turn out.
Made this dish twice this month! So delicious and heating up in the air fryer for 2nds was a breeze and gave it that extra little crunch!
That’s awesome, Kara – we’re so glad you love it! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Great recipe, the whole family absolutely loved it.
Perfect level of spicy & sweet – I used sriracha.
That’s so great, Emilie! We’re so glad everyone loved it! Thanks so much for taking the time to share this with us.
This recipe was so delicious! I even made extra and we had hot honey sandwiches on day two. Not too spicy. It was just right! Thank you for the great recipe.
Wahooo! Hot honey chicken sandwiches sound DELICIOUS! Thanks for taking the time to share this with us, Felecia!