Honey Sriracha Chicken and Waffles
Spice up your brunch menu with this honey sriracha chicken and waffles recipe. The honey sriracha sauce is dangerously addicting. You get the perfect balance of sweet and spicy with each bite. Combined the fluffy waffles and the crispy juicy chicken, and this breakfast recipe is hard to beat. Perfect for weekend brunch, you’re going to want to give this chicken and waffles recipe a try.
This recipe post is sponsored by Smart Chicken. I was compensated for my time, however, all opinions are my own.
About this recipe
Typically, bone-in fried chicken can take a long time to prepare. You marinate it overnight in buttermilk and then bread it before frying. Since the bone is still attached to the meat, you can expect the cooking time to increase.
However, for this quick honey sriracha chicken and waffles recipe, I used Smart Chicken’s tenderloin product. I like using chicken tenderloin for this recipe because this cut of meat tends to cook more quickly than bone-in chicken breasts. I also did a quick breading for this recipe that tasted so good. The chicken was crispy on the outside and perfectly tender and juicy on the inside. This is a great way to make fried chicken without spending the entire day in the kitchen. This recipe makes four large waffles with two pieces of fried chicken per waffle.
I highly recommend using Smart Chicken for this chicken and waffles recipe. Their chickens are fed a high-quality diet, humanely handled, and never given antibiotics, hormones, or animal by-products. All Smart Chicken is 100% pure air chilled, without added water. You can genuinely taste the difference in their products.
How to fry chicken tenderloins
When prepping the chicken tenderloins to be fried, allow it to rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before breading. Next, you will dredge the chicken through the flour spice mixture, followed by the whisked egg, then back through the flour spice mixture. Make sure it is well coated each time. Heat vegetable oil in a pan until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slowly add the chicken, two pieces at a time to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides. You will want the internal temperature to reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure doneness. In the event that the chicken isn’t fully cooked through, finish it in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees.
Homemade waffle tips
When prepping the batter for the waffles you will need one egg. Be sure to separate the yolk from the white of the egg. You will beat the egg white in a separate bowl until it forms stiff fluffy peaks. Fold the beaten egg white into the batter as final step before cooking. This will help make the batter fluffy and light.
Storage
Store any leftover waffles in the refrigerator or freezer. If you freeze the waffles make sure they are cool before adding them to an airtight freezer bag. Place a piece of parchment paper between each waffle to prevent them from freezing together. They’ll last for 30-60 days in the freezer.
Store any leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days. Reheat in the microwave until heated through. Looking for more tasty brunch recipes? Try my banana oat pancakes or my baked French toast breakfast casserole.
Honey Sriracha Chicken and Waffles
Ingredients
Fried Chicken
- 1 lb. Smart Chicken tenderloin, about 8 pieces boneless skinless
- 1 cup AP flour, all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1 cup vegetable oil , for frying, you can also use an air fryer if you prefer
Honey Sriracha Sauce
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup sriracha
- ½ cup salted butter, 1 stick butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- Pinch red pepper flakes
Waffles
- 1 cup AP flour, all purpose
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream, I used light sour cream
- ½ cup 2% milk
- 3 tablespoon melted butter, not hot
- 1 teaspoon vanilla flavor
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 egg white, separated form the yolk and beaten until fluffy
Equipment
- 3 plates for breading chicken
- 9-inch saute pan for frying chicken
- sauce pot for sauce
- 2 large mixing bowls – one for waffle batter and one for sauce
- waffle iron
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Grab a baking tray and set it aside.
Prepare the chicken:
- Let the chicken sit at room temp for 15-20 minutes before breading.
- Grab three plates.
- One the first plate, combine the ap flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and dried mustard powder. Mix well.
- One the second plate, add two whisked eggs.
- Begin by dredging the chicken tenderloins through the flour mixture.
- Next, you’ll dredge them through the whisked egg and then back through the flour mixture again. So it goes, flour, egg, flour. Repeat until all of the chicken is breaded.
- Place the breaded pieces on the third plate.
- Heat the vegetable oil over medium / high heat in an 9-inch sauté pan.
- Once the oil is hot, or reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit, you can begin to carefully lower 2 pieces of chicken into the oil.
- Flip the chicken after a few minutes. Once it is golden brown on both sides, place it on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat until all of the chicken is crispy.
- Next, we will place the chicken on the baking tray and cook it in the oven for 10 more minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
- Remove the chicken from the oven. Set it aside.
Prepare the honey sriracha sauce:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, sriracha, honey, soy sauce and lemon juice. Stir well.
- Once the sauce is well combined, turn the heat down to a simmer. Stir occasionally.
Prepare the waffles:
- Preheat your waffle iron.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the AP flour, cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sour cream, vanilla, melted butter, milk and egg yolk. Whisk well.
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until it forms stiff peaks.
- Gently fold the beaten egg white into the batter.
- Spray your ladle and waffle iron with baking spray.
- Using the ladle, pour the batter onto the waffle iron.
- Close and bake for 2-2 ½ minutes per waffle.
- Repeat until all of the batter is used.
Assemble the dish:
- Place one waffle per plate.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the fried chicken with the sauce.
- Place two pieces of chicken on each waffle. Enjoy!
One Comment on “Honey Sriracha Chicken and Waffles”
Oh. My. Goodness. From the chicken breading to the waffles to the sauce this recipe is incredible! I kept the spicy sauce separate and also made the blueberry maple sauce from the French toast stick recipe so people could pick their flavor profile.