These air fryer Hot Honey Chicken Sandwiches are topped with a creamy homemade coleslaw and a spicy hot honey & Tabasco sauce! It’s the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and savory flavors.
Seems like chicken sandwiches have been having a major moment the last few years and I have to say: I’m on board.
We love testing out all the restaurant favorites and even entered our own air fryer chicken sandwich as a contender for the best chicken sandwich award (the contest only exists in my head, but that’s ok).
We’re leveling things up with the addition of a homemade hot honey sauce. Crispy chicken, sweet and spicy saucy sauce, and a cool, crisp coleslaw to top it all off. This is my kind of meal.
I’m really loving these because on ‘one of those days’ (you know the ones) you can easily use frozen chicken patties instead of my homemade version. Check the ingredients section – I’ll link my favorite frozen brand.
Ingredients, Swaps, Tips:
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Breaded Chicken – Use our homemade air fryer chicken sandwich recipe if you’ve got the time, or keep things simple with store-bought frozen breaded filets. Both work perfectly. We like this brand of frozen chicken patties.
Honey – You’ll of course need honey to make this sweet and spicy sauce. We use regular honey – not the creamed kind.
Tabasco – It’s spicy and tangy and it’ll add some heat to the honey! Frank’s works well here too.
Sauce – You’ll also need some butter, garlic, and salt. It’ll add a savory component to the sweet and hot honey that’s perfect for these chicken sandwiches!
Coleslaw – For the coleslaw topping you’ll combine some coleslaw mix, mayonnaise, dill pickle juice, sugar, salt, cracked pepper, and celery seed! It’s a classic mix, but you can also use a container of store-bought coleslaw here.
Sandwich – I like to top these off with an extra smear of mayo (totally optional) and a few dill pickles to add a little crunch and tang. Highly recommend serving these on toasted buns for the best experience.
Spice level: Want more heat? Add ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or more) when you add the honey. Just strain the sauce before using it to keep things smooth.
Hot honey uses: I always make extra hot honey sauce because it’s good on everything. I’ve used leftovers on pizza, drizzled it over roasted vegetables, and tossed it with chicken wings. It’ll keep in a jar in the fridge for at least a week.
How to Make Hot Honey Chicken Sandwiches:
If starting with frozen breaded chicken filets, air fry according to package instructions or prepare your own breaded chicken for air frying.
While the chicken is cooking prepare the hot honey sauce by melting the butter with the garlic in a saucepan. Add the honey and Tabasco and simmer for about 5 minutes until it has thickened up. Remove and discard the garlic.
Prepare the coleslaw topping by adding the coleslaw mix, mayonnaise, dill pickle juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and celery seed to a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside while you toast the buns.
To assemble the sandwiches first baste each piece of cooked chicken with the hot honey sauce, coating each side. Top the toasted buns with the chicken, the coleslaw, and the pickles. Serve hot!
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FAQ:
Yep! We like to use our homemade air fryer chicken sandwich recipe here but you could keep things simple and use frozen breaded chicken patties, or even grilled chicken instead of breaded.
The honey sauce does add some heat but you can control that by adding more or less, or by using a hotter or milder sauce in place of the Tabasco.
Sure! We like to make our own with some Tabasco sauce and our favorite local honey but you could just use a brand of hot honey from the store, like this one. Ours has butter mixed with it to make it more saucy, so add a bit of melted butter to the store bought kind if you want.
Recipe Tips!
To keep things simple you can make the coleslaw and hot honey sauce ahead of time, up to a few days, and store until ready to use! Frozen chicken patties can also be a way to speed things up in this recipe.
Comments & Reviews
Debs says
Fantastic easy quick very tasty hot honey chicken. Definitely on repeat and using the got honey sauce on waffles!
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! This would be great for chicken and waffles! 🙂