Hot Honey Garlic Chicken Sliders
Crispy double-dredged chicken tossed in a spicy-sweet hot honey glaze and dry rub, layered with pickles and creamy ranch, all tucked into buttery garlic bread sliders. These sliders are next-level.
- 2 lb chicken breast (pounded to about ½-inch thick and cut into slider-sized pieces)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup pickle juice
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 300 g all purpose flour
- 150 g cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup honey (more or less based on personal preference)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 pack slider buns
- pickles
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 packet Hidden Valley Restaurant Style Ranch seasoning (0.4 oz)
- Pound the chicken breasts to about ½-inch thick, then slice into slider-sized pieces (roughly palm-sized or slightly smaller).
- In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, pickle juice, and hot sauce. Mix well, then add the chicken.
- Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight for maximum flavor.
- In a bowl, whisk together mayo, buttermilk, and the ranch packet. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use to let the flavors meld.
- In a separate large bowl, mix together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper.
- Remove chicken from the marinade. Dip each piece into the dry batter, then back into the wet marinade, then once more into the dry batter.
- Once chicken is in the oil, don’t touch it for the first 2–3 minutes to let the coating set and crisp. Fry until golden brown and fully cooked, then remove to a wire rack or paper towel-lined tray.
- Let rest, then return to the oil for a second fry until extra crispy.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in cayenne pepper and honey (adjust the amount based on your spice preference). Let it come together and then remove from heat.
- In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt.
- Drizzle the hot honey sauce over the fried chicken pieces and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle the dry rub over the sauced chicken and toss again for even coverage.
- Melt butter and stir in garlic powder and chopped parsley.
- Place sliders on a baking tray, insides facing up and brush garlic butter on them.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 5–10 minutes until golden and toasted. You can broil for 1 minute for extra color—just watch closely!
- Spread ranch on the bottom half of each slider bun. Add pickles. Top with a piece of hot honey garlic chicken. Add the top bun and brush more garlic butter on top for a glossy, flavorful finish.
Why You’ll Love These Sliders
If you love crispy fried chicken with bold flavor and crave-worthy texture, this recipe is your new go-to. The chicken is ultra flaky and crunchy thanks to a double dredge technique and immediate frying. It’s tossed in a buttery hot honey glaze and a smoky-sweet dry rub that packs heat and depth. Add cool ranch, sharp pickles, and golden garlic slider buns, and every bite hits all the right notes—sweet, spicy, tangy, creamy, and crispy.
Customize It Your Way
I love building these sliders with pickles and homemade ranch, but you can make them your own! Try adding:
The chicken and garlic buns are the star—so what you layer in between is up to you.
The Garlic Bread Bun Upgrade
We’re not using plain slider buns here. Before assembly, we brush the buns with garlic butter and parsley and toast them until golden. It gives the sandwich that warm, buttery, garlicky richness that takes these sliders to another level—like Texas toast meets Nashville hot chicken.
How to Get Flaky, Crispy Chicken Every Time
Here’s the secret to the crackly coating: I use a double dredge method, dipping the marinated chicken from wet to dry to wet to dry again. The key is not to pack the flour onto the chicken. Instead, gently toss or sprinkle the flour over each piece so it forms a light, textured coating. You should still see bits of the wet batter peeking through—that’s what creates the flaky layers when fried.
Right after dredging, drop the chicken immediately into hot oil. If you wait too long, the coating can absorb moisture and get soggy. And once it’s in the oil, don’t touch it for a couple of minutes. This allows the outer crust to set, locking in the batter. Moving the chicken too soon risks the coating falling off.
This technique prevents a dense, doughy crust and instead creates those airy, rippled edges that stay crispy long after frying. For extra crunch, we double fry the chicken, just like your favorite fried chicken spots.
→ Reference this section again when you get to the frying steps below!
