It’s crispy. It’s crunchy. It’s sweet & spicy. It’s my famous hot honey BANGIN’ crunchy cornflake chicken. I started making this hot honey baked chicken last year and Tony and I fell in love. The cornflake coating is perfectly seasoned and gets deliciously crunchy and golden brown on the outside, while the chicken stays nice and juicy on the inside.
After so many of you fell in love with my crispy baked chicken nuggets a few years back I knew I wanted to make a new, better-than-takeout cornflake chicken recipe, and this is IT. The super easy homemade hot honey takes this chicken to the next level, so get ready to drizzle and dip to your heart’s desire.
I’ve included plenty of tips, tricks, and delicious side dishes to pair with it for the perfect dinner any night of the week. Time to grab a box of cornflakes and get this chicken on your table ASAP!
Everything you’ll need to make this cornflake baked chicken
This delicious hot honey baked chicken recipe has 3 basic components, which make it super easy to make but oh-so-delicious. Here’s what you’ll need:
- For the cornflake coating: you’ll need cornflakes and some yummy spices like paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- For the chicken: you’ll also need eggs, milk, and boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- For the hot honey: my homemade hot honey is made with just regular honey and your fav hot sauce!
Can I use a different type of chicken?
Yes, you can also use chicken breasts or chicken tenders, but please note that the cooking time will be different. Be sure the internal temp reaches 165 degrees F with a meat thermometer.
Customize your chicken
There are a few simple ways to customize the ingredients in this cornflake baked chicken recipe:
- To make it gluten free: simply use a certified gluten free cornflake cereal. Please note that regular cornflakes do have wheat in them, so check your labels!
- Choose your milk: you’ll only need 2 tablespoons of milk, so feel free to use any dairy or non-dairy milk you’d like.
- Add a kick of heat: I like to add just a couple of teaspoons of Cholula to the honey to make it spicier, but feel free to use a spicier hot sauce or add more to taste! You can also add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the spices with the cornflakes for more heat.
Two keys to perfectly crunchy cornflake chicken
Because we’re not frying this chicken, there are two key ways to ensure that your cornflake chicken comes out perfectly crispy and crunchy:
- Use a wire rack. Be sure to place a wire rack on top of your baking sheet. This will not only prevent the chicken from sticking, but it also allows the chicken to bake up nice and crispy on all sides due to the airflow. If you don’t have a wire rack, that’s okay, you can just flip the chicken halfway through baking.
- Spray before baking. Be sure to spray the chicken with cooking spray before you bake it so that it gets nice and golden brown!
How to make cornflake baked chicken
- Make the cornflake coating. Start by pulsing the cornflakes in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs. Transfer them to a bowl and mix in all of the spices.
- Make the egg mixture. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together until well combined.
- Prep your pan. Add a wire rack to a large baking sheet and spray it well with cooking spray.
- Prep your chicken. Use tongs to dip each chicken thigh in the egg mixture, then into the cornflake mixture until well coated. Place the chicken thighs on top of the wire rack on your baking sheet.
- Bake the chicken. Spray the chicken thighs with cooking spray and bake until nice and crispy.
- Make the honey & serve. When you’re ready to serve, microwave the honey and hot sauce together, then drizzle the hot honey over the chicken or use it as a dip and serve!
What to serve with cornflake chicken
This easy hot honey baked chicken recipe is delicious as a sandwich with pickles or coleslaw, maybe some cheese and homemade ranch, or you can serve it with the perfect side dish:
- The Best Fluffy Moist Cornbread Recipe Ever
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Caramelized Garlic Carrots with Spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
- The Best Creamy Garlic Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Homemade Slow Cooker Baked Beans
- Brussels Sprouts Kale Honeycrisp Apple Salad with Maple Cider Dressing
Get all of our delicious side dish recipes here!
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: any leftover hot honey baked chicken can be stored in an airtight bag or container in the fridge for 3-5 days. To reheat, place the chicken on a baking sheet and broil it on high for a couple of minutes until heated through and crispy on the outside.
- To freeze: let the chicken cool completely, then place it in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 2-3 months. To reheat, I’d recommend heating the chicken in the oven so that it’s nice and crispy.
More delicious chicken recipes
- The Best Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets
- Crispy Bacon Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken Breast
- Sheet Pan Kickin’ Curry Honey Mustard Chicken & Veggies
- How to Spatchcock a Chicken
- Incredible Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
- Baked or Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken (with the best honey mustard marinade!)
Get all of our chicken recipes here!
I hope you love this amazing crunchy cornflake baked chicken recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Hot Honey Bangin' Crunchy Cornflake Baked Chicken
Ingredients
- For the crunchy cornflake coating:
- 6 cups cornflakes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- For the chicken:
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 ½-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- For the hot honey:
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2-3 teaspoons hot sauce (I like cholula)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Add the cornflakes to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until they reach a fine crumb similar to breadcrumbs. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and whisk in the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and salt until well combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and almond milk. Set aside.
- Line a large baking sheet with an oven safe wire metal rack. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Dip each chicken thigh into the egg mixture, then use a tong to grab each chicken thigh and toss generously into the breadcrumb mixture to completely coat with breadcrumbs. Use tongs to transfer to the wire rack. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
- Generously spray the tops of the chicken thighs with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked through and temp reaches 165 degrees F with a meat thermometer.
- Right before serving, make the quick hot honey: add honey and hot sauce to a small bowl, microwave for 10-15 seconds. Taste and add more hot sauce to adjust to your liking. Drizzle honey over the chicken before serving or use it as a dip for the chicken.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on January 17th, 2022, and republished on March 27th, 2023.
31 comments
No modifications are needed for this recipe. I have yet to find an Ambitious Kitchen recipe that doesn’t turn out perfect! Monique and her team take so much time perfecting recipes that I know I can trust their direction. I have to follow a GF/DF diet, and Monique’s suggested modifications worked perfectly. My boyfriend, who is not GF/DF, loved it too and even requested it to be part of our weekly rotation. Great work Ambitious Kitchen team! 11/10!
Aw thank you so much, Morgan!! I’m glad that you loved this recipe and that the instructions/sub ideas are always helpful 🙂
I made this for our fsmily of 4 adults and everyone loved the crunchy tasty chicken and hot honey. I added some hot sauce to the honey then served as a dip so more hot sauce could be added if desired. Boneless chicken breasts took about 10 minutes longer. I will definitely make again but would if using breasts would make thinner or smaller pieces.
Happy you enjoyed it! Good to know about the cook time for the breasts. You could cut them in half or pound them out next time!
This was an epic dish!!!! I used the recipe to take my air fryer for its maiden voyage and it was a huge success. 400F for 12 mins (flipping at the 6 minute mark) was all it took!!! I cannot wait for my lunch tomorrow and to make this recipe again! Thanks Monique for another great recipe!!!!!
Yaaay so glad that worked well!! Maybe I need to buy an air fryer… LOL
Would like to try this in air fryer. Still have to spray chicken with oil? Think if yes I would use avocado oil. Good?
I haven’t tried that but yes I’d recommend still spraying with oil (avocado is fine!) to keep them crispy 🙂
10/10! Everyone loved it including my 2 toddlers. I did it in the air fryer and it was delicious!
Woohooo! I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks!
This was SO GOOD. Super crispy like it was fried but I felt so much better about it. I used boxed cornflake crumbs instead of crushing my own (2 cups) and it worked out perfect. Definitely adding this to our dinner rotation!
This recipe is magic! We were craving spicy chicken sandwiches, and this hit the spot! I actually already had the hot honey sauce from Trader Joe’s in the pantry, so we used that on top and it was delicious. Thanks so a great recipe!
Oh PERFECT, I’m so glad you loved them!!
Bangin chicken was incredible. I substituted Honey chex cereal to make it gluten free and it worked great. Even my kids ate it which is highly unusual. The recipe was super easy to follow, quick to make. Even my 9 year old made the whole recipe by herself! Delicious!
Is there any way to replace the egg in this recipe? Looks incredible!!
I haven’t tried it but an egg replacer like Just Egg might work!
These turned out great!! I used chicken breast tenders and cooked for 23-25 min. thanks!!
Nice! Glad you loved this one 🙂
These chicken thighs were so good! I cooked them in my air fryer after reading some of the comments and they were crisp and juicy. Definitely a keeper!
Hi! Would this work with maple syrup instead of honey? Allergy with honey.
Unfortunately, the honey is key to helping the coating stick.
If you’re questioning whether to try this recipe, stop now and do it immediately! An absolute hit and one I come back to time and time again. Monique pulls together some of the best recipes, and somehow always seems to top even herself. This is a dish to write home about!
My family loved it! When I told them menu was cornflake chicken they said “Ugh”. When it was served they devoured it. The chicken was crispy, sweet and spicy.
I thought I was ready to make this last night (using breasts), but when it was time to put them in the oven; it was cold! Apparently my lower heating element has died. So, I changed my oven setting to 375 degrees convection broil. I was worried that they may get too browned, so I flipped them after 10 minutes. I always bake chicken with a probe thermometer in it. After 7 addition minutes following the flip, they were perfect! Also, at my store, cornflake crumbs were much cheaper than corn flakes cereal. The box of cereal was $6 and change. The crumbs were less than $4 and weighed about 2 ounces more.
Made this for dinner and it came out amazing!! Easy recipe & directions. Chicken was cooked perfectly and cornflake breading added a great crunch. Oh and the hot honey just brought it all together perfectly and deliciously! Thank you!
this was so easy and so delicious! I loved the crunch from the cornflakes, and the hot honey was *chefs kiss*. even my 7 yr old son loved the hot honey on his chicken and baked sweet potato. I am definitely adding this recipe to my regular recipe rotation. amazing job, Monique!
Ah this is the best, Kayla. I am so glad this recipe is a hit for you and your family ❤️
Absolutely love this recipe! As did my kids and trust me it’s hard to get them to love anything lol. I love that it’s not fried and healthier for my kinds and I. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s definitely a keeper. 💕
YAY! I am so glad you and the family are loving this recipe ❤️
This recipe was just pretty average for us. The cornflakes definitely added a nice crunch to the chicken, but we couldn’t taste the spices (and I used all of the listed measurements). I used hot honey that I bought from a friend who is an apiarist, which added more flavor for sure. I did use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs, as we aren’t thigh fans. It for sure took at least 40 minutes because of the cornflake topping. It was nice to try something new, at least!
So sorry these did not turn out as you had expected.