Breaded, fried, and glazed Honey BBQ Chicken Tenders are truly finger licking good! The glaze is made with key ingredients like honey, BBQ sauce, and apple cider vinegar. It coats the crispy fried chicken tenders perfectly!
BBQ Chicken Tenders
There’s not many chicken ingredients that are more satisfying than homemade fried chicken tenders! They’re easy to make and loved by all who are lucky enough to grab a bite. Now when you coat those same chicken tenders in an easy to make honey BBQ sauce? Swoon!
Easy to make honey BBQ chicken tenders work as an appetizer, party food, or entree for a fun weeknight dinner. No matter when and where you serve up these fried chicken tenders, they’ll be a HUGE hit.
Why You’ll Love this Chicken Tenders Recipe:
- The Sauce: Honey BBQ sauce can make anything taste amazing! When it’s paired with these already delicious chicken tenders, it’s a match made in deep fryer heaven.
- Fried: Instead of baking some lackluster frozen chicken tenders, why not treat yourself to the real deal by frying them up yourself?
- Filling: These breaded, fried, and sauce covered chicken tenders are sure to hit the spot.
Eat them with a fork and knife or with your fingers – either way, you’ll just be happy to be eating them!
How to Make Honey BBQ Chicken Tenders
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Season and marinate the chicken.
- Dredge the chicken.
- Fry the tenders in batches.
- Set the fried chicken on a cooling rack once cooked.
- Toss the tenders with sauce.
- Broil to caramelize the sauce, then enjoy!
Ingredient Notes
- When choosing your honey, try to pick a good quality bottle or jar. The little plastic bear may be cute, but you’ll get more sugar and less real honey flavor from that.
- Vegetable oil works best for frying.
- You can use smoked paprika instead of plain paprika if you’d prefer.
- The addition of hot sauce is optional, but recommended if you like spice!
Use your favorite brand, that way, you know you’ll like the final product! When I have time, I like to make some Homemade BBQ Sauce.
The chicken tenders should take about 7 minutes per side, but no worries if they need a little longer! When the internal temperature of the tenders reach 165°F, they’re fully cooked and safe to eat.
Yes! Find out more about Baked Chicken Tenders HERE!
The honey adds just enough sweetness to the sauce to balance out the savory BBQ and spicy hot sauce flavors. This sauce really checks all of the right flavor boxes!
Make Ahead Chicken Tenders
These chicken tenders are best served nice and fresh!
How to Store Chicken Tenders
While best enjoyed fresh, store any leftover chicken tenders in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. So the tenders stay crispy, reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through.
Serving Ideas/Make it a Meal
Serve these BBQ chicken tenders with some classic BBQ-friendly side dishes! Some of my favorites include coleslaw, potato salad, and of course some good ole sweet tea.
Honey BBQ Chicken Tender Tips
Make sure not to over crowd your pan when frying! If you add too many tenders to the hot oil, the temperature will lessen and you’ll end up with oily, under cooked chicken tenders.
Make sure your tenders have cooled a bit before you toss them in the glaze.
You can use raw/unbreaded frozen chicken tenders, but make sure they’re fully thawed before you fry them.
Honey BBQ sauce fully coats each crispy, fried, homemade chicken tender in this easy recipe. Sink your teeth into these glazed tenders as an appetizer or for the main course!
If you’ve made this recipe, please be sure to let us know by leaving a star rating or a comment below. Enjoy!
Honey BBQ Chicken Tenders Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenders
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper divided
- 3 cups buttermilk divided
- Oil for frying
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce optional
Instructions
- Season the chicken tenders with 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and place into a zip-top bag. Add 2 cups of buttermilk.2 pounds chicken tenders, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 2 teaspoons ground black pepper, 3 cups buttermilk
- Seal the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, heat 1 inch of cooking oil in a frying pan or deep Dutch oven to 350°F and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.Oil
- Set out 3 shallow bowls. Pour the remaining buttermilk into the first bowl. Whisk the flour, corn starch, remaining salt and pepper, and paprika together in the second bowl. Mix the barbecue sauce, honey, vinegar, and hot sauce together in the third bowl.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons corn starch, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 cup barbecue sauce, 3 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce
- Place a cooling rack over paper towels. Set aside.
- Remove the chicken tenders from the refrigerator. Pour the bag of chicken into a large colander, draining the buttermilk from the chicken.
- Dip each chicken tender into the flour mixture, into the buttermilk, and dredge through the flour mixture again. Shake off any excess flour and place onto a large place. Repeat until all chicken tenders are breaded.
- Working in batches of 3-5 tenders, fry the tenders, flipping them halfway so they fry evenly. Remove from the oil when golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Place cooked tenders onto the cooling rack set over paper towels. Repeat until all tenders are fried.
- In a large bowl, toss the fried chicken tenders with the honey barbecue sauce. Arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil for 2-3 minutes to caramelize. Serve warm and enjoy.
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