We are always trying to come up with new recipes that are crowd pleasing but also fairly easy to put together and our Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich with Honey are one of our favorite sandwiches ever!
Nashville hot chicken became super popular in recent years so we wanted to take a stab at making a baked version (for sandwiches) that also had a sweet and spicy combination. Baking the chicken makes it so much easier to make this recipe for a larger group of people and they’re healthier! Our baked Nashville hot chicken sandwich still has the awesome crunch and flavor of the fried original, so you’re definitely not missing out there!
How to Make Our Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
Process
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 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
- To assemble: Spread ranch over the bottoms and tops 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.
Tips and Tricks for Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Success
- 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.
Vegetarian Friendly Version
Although we love is baked Nashville hot chicken sandwich just the way it is, every now and then we enjoy sinking our teeth in a vegetarian friendly version using tofu steaks!
To do this, simple swap the chicken breasts for 1 inch thick slices of extra firm tofu. Wrap each slice of tofu in paper towels and press between weighted rimmed baking sheets for an hour to release as much excess liquid possible. Then dredge, refrigerate, bake, brush, and assemble sandwiches according to the original instructions! Simple and delicious!
Side Dishes to Serve with a Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich
Some of our favorite sides to serve alongside these delicious sandwiches are:
- Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese
- Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Creamy Potato Salad
- Corn Salad
- Fried Pickle Chips
More Delicious Sandwich Recipes You Will Love
Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich with Honey
A Delicious Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich with Honey that is easy to make, just as delicious, but healthier than fried version! We guarantee everyone will absolutely love this mouthwatering sandwich!
Servings:
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
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
hot honey butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted and divided
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
assembly
- 4 burger buns lightly toasted
- 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- ½ 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.
NOTES
Tips and Tricks for Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Success
- 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.
Calories: 720kcal Carbohydrates: 74g Protein: 14g Fat: 42g Saturated Fat: 18g Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g Monounsaturated Fat: 10g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 162mg Sodium: 1366mg Potassium: 332mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 24g Vitamin A: 2354IU Vitamin C: 2mg Calcium: 140mg Iron: 5mg
CUISINE: American
KEYWORD: chicken, nashville hot chicken, sandwich
COURSE: dinner, lunch
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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This recipe is definitely amazing! I have tried it today because my mom came to visit me for the first time in new flat..She was impressed because we didn’t see for 1 month, she saw my flat for the first time and she flew away while eating these sandwiches! It was a perfect meal to eat for late dinner! What’s more, I added lettuce I have grown on my own on my balcony..It’s small but it can hold a few veggies! https://gardenseedsmarket.com/crisp-leaf-lettuce-regina-dei-ghiacci4.html – this lettuce is co crisp and almost perfect for such sandwiches and burgers. Thanks!
Super good recipe.
Really delicious and simple! Very versatile meal too
Could you substitute buttermilk with heavy whipping cream or milk?
I use buttermilk bc the slight amount of acidity tenderizes the chicken a little bit. If you don’t have buttermilk, I recommend adding a little bit of lemon juice or vinegar to some milk (about 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of milk) and letting the mixture sit for about 5 minutes and using that instead. It’s sort of a makeshift buttermilk!
Stores were out of buttermilk so I did buy heavy whipping cream because I hadn’t read comments. I’d hate to waste it, do you think I could add some lemon juice to it instead of milk? And if so, only soak for 5 minutes? Excited to try this!
I think that should be fine!
These sandwiches were amazing and super easy to make. Do you have any advice on how to keep the coating on when the chicken is done baking?
If you’re having trouble keeping the coating on, it’ll actually help to stick the coated pieces of chicken in the fridge until they chill (about 30 minutes) before baking them
Absolutely amazing. I did make mini chicken pieces to put on the Hawaiian sweet rolls and added slices of polish dill pickles. Soooooo good! And great for appetizers!
Ooh, love Hawaiian rolls! Glad you enjoyed!
Yummmmo ty for sharing so good hubby and I loved them and will definitely be putting these in our dinner rotation! Delicious!!
Hi, I want to make them tomorrow for a family dinner , i was just wondering how hot these really are? we all like a little spice but not where we are drinking water after every bite lol. What ingredient should i decrease if i dont want it too spicy?
Or do you think these arent that spcy. We all love Nashville hot chicken but we had it once where it was just too hot !
Hi Susan! I’d say there’s definitely a kick in these sandwiches! You can adjust the heat by lessening some of the cayenne pepper from the butter mixture. :) Hope you enjoy them!
Absolutely delicious! My husband and I loved them! They are restaurant quality! Will be making these often! Thank you!
These were fantastic! My family and I loved them! Make sure to coat every part of the chicken before putting it in the oven. That is what helps it brown???? . I also love how you can increase the cayenne to get more spice or decrease if you aren’t a fan of spice????
What is a good substitute for the turmeric? My grocery didn’t have any!
you can just omit it! its mainly for the color here, but the taste won’t change! :)
Hi,
Checking back in. The sandwiches turned out great! I recommend adding pickle chips! it was a great addition! Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! So glad you liked it. Pickle chips sound really great too – such a good suggestion thank you!
A few things, 1. lightly season with what ? I did salt and pepper? 2. I assume the same measurements for the season (smoked paprika) for both the honey mixture and dredge, I also added the garlic to the dredge, it didn’t say. Chicken is in the oven. I will comment after we try it. I’m sure it’s a great recipe. Just please update with the exact directions. Thanks for sharing :)
This was so delicious!! I was wondering if almond flour could be used in replace of all purpose flour?
!I think so!…it may just not stick together quite as well, but should still work! Glad you enjoyed this recipe! :)
What does it mean by lightly season? With what?
We have made these twice so far. Absolutely delicious. We did, however, substitute olive oil spray on top of the chicken instead of drizzling the butter.
Glad you enjoy it!
Super good and fairly easy. Happy to bake them since there’s so much butter anyway!
In step 1 it says to lightly season chicken, what do you season it with? I don’t think I either added enough salt and/or cayenne.
I seasoned it like I would season any other meat I cook. Cajun seasoning Adoboe all purpose and salt and peppe
How long can I keep the chicken in the buttermilk? I’m thinking I want to do this step ahead of time. Thanks!
You can soak them for about 24 to 36 hrs…i wouldn’t soak them any longer as the chicken will begin to breakdown and will have a different texture
OMG This was AMAZING! Mind you, mine didn’t look a thing like the picture and we added pickles, tomatoes and lettuce. But this was so good! I hate chicken – but this recipe will have me eating chicken. We threw the garlic powder in with the dredge since it didn’t say where to put it. YUMMMY
The best spicy chicken sandwich I have had! These were restaurant worthy. I made them exactly like the recipe and they were perfect.
Could you use regular Italian bread crumbs??
Yes, the texture will just be a little different…you won’t get quite the same “crunch” but still delicious!
Made this it was amazing but i thought i might bring up the ingredients ask for garlic powder but it’s not in the directions.
Ah, thanks so much for letting me know! It’s for the “dredging mixture”…will update shortly!
My husband and I absolutely loved these. I love spice and his stomach can’t always tolerate it and this was a perfect medium for both of us. Great recipe!
Oh yay!! So glad you enjoyed them!!
These look seriously awesome! I LOVE hot chicken. The hotter the better. Nicely done.
This is a recipe where you can easily increase the spice too! Just add a little extra cayenne! I love spice too.