Crispy pieces of chicken in a seasoned coating, air fried then tossed together in a sweet, spicy sticky hot honey sauce. A tasty crowd-pleasing dinner, appetizer or snack!
Nicky’s Recipe Notes
Yes you can get crispy coated chicken – with a proper coating (not just a dusting) in the air fryer! I’ve tested SO MANY versions of coatings for air fryer chicken, I think I’ve lost count!
This hot honey air fryer chicken recipe came about as a happy bonus when I was doing my Instagram Air Fryer Fakeway Series. I was testing my popcorn chicken recipe (for the 5th or 6th time) and because the family were basically living off mountains of it by this point, I decided to toss it in a simple hot honey sauce. And OMG YES!! A total hit!
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients
Chicken and marinade
Chicken coating
Hot honey sauce
Abbreviated recipe instructions
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
Marinade chicken breast pieces in seasoned buttermilk. Then coat in cornflour, egg, then seasoned flour. Spray liberally with oil and air fry for 15-20 mins at 200C/400F. Meanwhile mix the sauce ingredients and microwave to heat. Toss the cooked chicken in the sauce and serve topped with spring onions and sesame seeds.
Pro Tip
Toss the chicken with the sauce right before serving, so the chicken stays crisp.
If you want to spice it up a little more, sprinkle with chilli flakes or very finely sliced fresh chillies.
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Air Fryer Hot Honey Chicken Bites
Equipment
- Double Stack Air Fryer – you can of course use a regular single-basket air fryer, but you'll likely need to cook in two batches
- Spray Oil – I use avocado oil
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade:
- 500 g (1lb) skinless chicken breasts chopped into small bite-size pieces
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) buttermilk
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic salt (or use garlic powder + an extra 1/4 tsp regular salt)
Crispy Coating
- 100 g (2/3 cup) cornflour (cornstarch in USA))
- 1 large egg
- 120 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- spray oil (I use approx 15ml or 1 tbsp across the whole recipe)
Hot Honey Sauce:
- 180 ml (1/2 cup) runny honey
- 3 tbsp hot pepper sauce (I use Franks hot sauce)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
To Serve:
- sliced spring onions (scallions)
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a bowl.500 g (1lb) skinless chicken breasts
- Add the buttermilk, salt, white pepper and garlic salt. Give it a good mix together and let it marinade for 30-60 minutes (you can get away with 10 minutes if you're in a real rush).80 ml (1/3 cup) buttermilk, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- Preheat your air fryer basket(s) to 200C/400F.
- Take three bowls, to the first add the cornflour. Break an egg into the second bowl and lightly whisk with a fork. To the third bowl add the flour, salt, pepper, garlic salt, celery salt, paprika and thyme and mix together.100 g (2/3 cup) cornflour, 1 large egg, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, 1/2 tsp celery salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 120 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- Spray the preheated air fryer basket(s) with spray oil.spray oil
- Toss a piece of chicken in the cornflour, then dip in the egg (you want to fully coat it so the final layer sticks), then dredge in the seasoned flour mixture.
- Add the chicken in to the air fryer basket. Repeat with the rest of the chicken, adding to the basket in a single layer (you may need to work in two batches). Try to leave a little space around each piece for air flow.
- Spray liberally with spray oil and cook for 15-20 minutes at 200C/400F until golden and crispy. Turn the chicken (or shake the basket) twice during cooking and spray on a little more oil each time.spray oil
- While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. Microwave method:Place all of the sauce ingredients in a microwave-safe small bowl. Cover loosely with a lid and microwave for 2 minutes, or until the butter just melts. Rest for a minute, then carefully stir. Saucepan method:Alternatively, place ingredients into a small saucepan. Heat over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts. Turn off the heat.180 ml (1/2 cup) runny honey, 3 tbsp hot pepper sauce, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- When the chicken is cooked, toss with the sauce and serve topped with spring onions and sesame seeds.sliced spring onions (scallions), sesame seeds
Notes
If you wanted to make the crispy chicken ahead, then cook the chicken (don’t toss in the sauce), cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Reheat them in the air fryer for about 5-6 minutes at 200C/400F until they’re nice and crisp again.
The heat the sauce and toss together. Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (this recipe serves 4)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
🍽️ What to serve it with
- With salt and pepper chips or egg fried rice for a Chinese-fakeaway feel
- Stuffed into flatbreads and drizzled with ranch
- On top of sesame noodles alongside some garlicky broccoli
🍲 More fantastic sticky chicken recipes
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