These hot honey chicken bowls are as good as it gets! The crispy, sweet, and spicy chicken contrasts wonderfully with a bowl of rice, coleslaw, sweet pickles, and a drizzle of spicy mayo. You get all the good flavors and textures in every bite.
Ingredients
1 ½ lbchicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
½ cupbuttermilk, see note 1
½ teaspoonsalt
1cuppanko, see notes
¼ cupwhole wheat flour, can sub all-purpose flour
1tablespoonEACH: paprika and Italian seasoning
Cooking spray oil
Hot Honey
½ cuphoney
1teaspoonsriracha
¼ cup mayonnaise
For the bowls
3cupscooked rice
3cupscoleslaw, see notes
Sweet pickles
Instructions
Place the chicken pieces, buttermilk, and salt into a large bowl and mix to combine. Set aside for 20 minutes (or up to 8 hours) to marinate.
1 ½ lb chicken thighs, ½ cup buttermilk, ½ teaspoon salt
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the panko, flour, paprika, and Italian seasoning to a shallow bowl and mix well. Working with a few pieces of chicken at a time, add them to the bowl with the panko and coat them well.
1 cup panko, ¼ cup whole wheat flour, 1 tablespoon EACH: paprika and Italian seasoning
Transfer the breaded chicken to the baking sheet, spray the tops with cooking oil, and then bake the chicken for 25 minutes.
Cooking spray oil
While the chicken is baking, make the hot honey by mixing the honey and Sriracha in a small bowl. Put the mayonnaise into another small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the hot honey.
½ cup honey, 1 teaspoon sriracha, ¼ cup mayonnaise
When the chicken is crispy and cooked through, remove it from the oven and brush the top with the remaining hot honey.
To assemble the bowls, add rice, coleslaw, sweet pickles, and hot honey chicken to a dinner bowl and then drizzle with the hot honey mayo.
Note 1: You can also use chicken breast if that is what your family prefers. Just be aware that breasts tend to dry out quicker and may be a bit overcooked by the time the breading is crispy.Note 2: If you don't have buttermilk, add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to ½ cup of milk.Note 3: Panko is Japanese breadcrumbs and provides an extra crispy texture. You can use regular breadcrumbs if that is what you have in your pantry. Note 4: We make a simple coleslaw with thinly shredded cabbage, a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lime juice, and a little salt and pepper. But feel free to either get creative and make one of our other coleslaw recipes or pick up a bag of slaw from the grocery store.