Looking for a restaurant quality chicken sandwich you can make at home using simple ingredients? These Hot Honey Butter Fried Chicken Sandwiches won’t disappoint!

The homemade hot honey butter sauce paired with perfectly crispy chicken is hard to beat!

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These fried chicken sandwiches are made with basic ingredients you probably already keep stocked in your refrigerator and pantry.

Making homemade crispy chicken sandwiches is not difficult and is totally worth the effort of battering and frying your own chicken.

The hot honey butter does have a kick of heat, but that can easily be made less spicy if you want a sweeter fried chicken sandwich.

Ingredients for Fried Chicken Sandwiches

2 lbs chicken
Dill Pickles
Ranch dressing
Buns

Wet Mixture

Milk
Pickle juice
Hot sauce
Salt and pepper

Dry Mixture

Flour
Cornstarch
Baking powder
Seasoning salt
Smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper

Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich Ingredients

Hot Honey Butter

Melted butter
Honey
Hot sauce
Cayenne pepper

Marinate the Chicken

To start making the fried chicken sandwiches, make your chicken marinade.

Slice 2 lbs of chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make them thinner.

Mix together the wet ingredients in one large container.

Add 3 cups milk, 1/2 cup dill pickle juice, 2 tbsp hot sauce, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper to your container.

Add the chicken to the wet mixture and let it sit for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. I usually let mine marinate for 1-2 hours before breading the chicken.

Bread the Chicken

Once the chicken has been marinating for at least 1 hour, it’s time to bread the chicken!

Add the dry ingredients in a second large container.

Wet mixture, dry mixture, and deep fryer

In your container add 3 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups cornstarch, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp seasoning salt, 1 tbsp each smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, 2 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp cayenne pepper.

Stir all of the dry ingredients together well.

To bread the chicken, pour 1/2 cup of the wet mixture into the dry mixture.

Dry mixture in container with wet mixture added

Stir with a fork to make some lumps in the dry mixture.

The chicken will go from the wet mixture, to the dry mixture, back into the wet mixture, and into the dry mixture one last time.

Be sure to press the “crumbs” into the chicken and set aside.

I’ve found that these little crumbs are what helps make the chicken extra crispy.

Once all of the chicken is breaded, I’ve found it’s best to let it sit for 10-15 minutes before frying the chicken.

This will help make sure the breading stays on your chicken as it is cooking in the oil.

Fry the Crispy Chicken

Now it’s time to fry the chicken.

I like frying chicken in peanut oil because it has a high smoke point and gives the chicken a crispy crust.

If you don’t want to use peanut oil canola oil is another solid oil for frying chicken. Canola oil also has a high smoke point and is affordable and super easy to find at your grocery store.

Fry the chicken in a deep fryer or pot at 400 degrees F for about 5-6 minutes or until your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

To make sure you get a nice crisp on the chicken, I like to work in batches by frying three pieces at a time.

Working in batches will help make sure the oil holds the right temperature and your deep fryer or pan doesn’t get over crowded.

As the chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F place the chicken on a wire rack on a sheet pan.

Through testing fried chicken recipes, I’ve found that the wire rack does a much better job of keeping the chicken crispy and letting excess grease drain away from the chicken.

Make the Hot Honey Butter Sauce

Once all of your chicken is fried and resting, make the homemade hot honey butter sauce.

For the Hot Honey Butter sauce, melt 6 tbsp of butter in a microwave safe dish.

Next, add honey, hot sauce, and cayenne pepper.

Stir everything together well.

This sauce does have some spice in it. If you wanted it less spicy you could omit the cayenne pepper or use less hot sauce.

My wife and I think this honey butter sauce has the perfect amount of sweet and spicy for the fried chicken!

Serve Hot Honey Butter Fried Chicken Sandwiches

Once the sweet and spicy butter is made and your chicken is nice and crispy it’s time to build the fried chicken sandwiches!

Crispy Fried Chicken in Hot Honey Butter

Dip the fried chicken in the hot honey butter sauce.

Carefully use tongs to flip the piece of chicken over in the sauce. Be sure not to mess up the breading as you coat the chicken in the sticky sauce.

Build the fried chicken sandwiches on toasted buns and top them with pickles and ranch dressing.

I served the crispy chicken sandwiches with a simple salad and this was the perfect meal!

Plated Hot Honey Butter Chicken Sandwiches with salad

The salad was made with spring mix, strawberries, feta cheese, croutons, chopped pecans, and topped with a store-bought Poppy seed dressing. It’s been our go-to easy salad this summer.

These fried chicken sandwiches would also be so good with a cold loaded potato salad, creamy Italian pasta salad, loaded air fryer potato wedges, or some broccoli salad!

Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

After breading the chicken I’ve found that letting it rest for 10-15 minutes before frying the chicken will help the coating stay on the chicken.
Once your chicken is fried, place it on a wire rack to rest. This will help that breading stay crispy while any extra grease drains away from the chicken. Through testing fried chicken recipes, the wire rack is much more effective than using paper towels.
Don’t skip toasting your buns! Toasted buns will help the bun hold up better to the fried chicken and the sticky Honey sauce. No one wants a soggy bun.
When dipping the fried chicken in the hot honey butter, do it carefully! There’s nothing worse than messing up the perfectly fried chicken breading. I like to very gently use tongs to flip the chicken around in the bowl of sauce.
The biggest tip I can give for frying chicken is making sure you don’t over crowd your deep fryer or pan. It’s best to work in batches. I like to fry 3 pieces at a time to ensure the chicken doesn’t lower the temp of the fryer. If that happens the chicken could end up too greasy and not as crispy.
I like frying chicken in peanut oil because it has a high smoke point and gives the chicken a crispy crust.
If you don’t want to use peanut oil Canola oil is another solid oil for frying chicken. Canola oil also has a high smoke point and is affordable and super easy to find at your grocery store.
The hot honey butter does have a kick of heat, but that can easily be made less spicy if you want a sweeter fried chicken sandwich. Omit the cayenne pepper or use less hot sauce.

Crispy Hot Honey Butter Chicken Sandwich

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If you make these Hot Honey Butter Fried Chicken Sandwiches I hope you love them as much as my family does! If you enjoy them please leave me a comment or save this recipe to your Pinterest account to save it for later.