Flavorful, fun and absolutely tasty these Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders are a delicious lunch or dinner meal that will appeal to the spicier crowd!

If you haven’t heard about Nashville Hot Chicken by now then you are totally missing out. It is chicken coated in a hot sauce that is epically delicious!

They can be served may ways, chicken piece, chicken tenders, shredded chicken, etc. We absolutely love making these Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders.

My family really prefers tenders over chicken pieces, so we make this dish all the time. I have 3 teenage boys who love all things hot so these are one of their favorite meals!

We serve this over bread with pickles and they go crazy, we all go crazy for this. And it is easier than it looks, we love frying food and this is one of our favorite fried meals.

But if I really have to be honest, I love chicken tenders all around. They are one of my personal favorite things, so various versions get made and not just these Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders, but I will say they do get made OFTEN.

Some of our other favorite chicken recipes we have on our site include: Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches, Baked Cheesy Chicken and Chicken Fried Chicken.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

The flour coating has a nice and flavorful yet subtly spicy flavor.
The sauce is a mixture of sweet and heat.
You can use any chicken pieces you like besides tenderloins.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM):

All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Kosher salt
Pepper
Buttermilk
Egg
Chicken tenderloins
Unsalted butter
Light brown sugar
Onion powder
Oil for frying

HOW TO MAKE NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN TENDERS, STEP BY STEP:

In a medium-sized bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cayenne, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, whisk to combine, set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the egg until combined, set aside.
Start heating up your oil to 325°F. I like to use a dutch oven for this. You can also use a deep fryer or a large skillet with deep sides. You need about 3 inches of oil up the side of the pan. Make sure you do not overfill the skillet if you are using it, when adding the tenders the oil will rise.
While the oil heats, bread the tenders. Do this one tender at a time.
Place tender into the flour mixture. Shake off any excess.
Place it into the buttermilk mixture and coat the tender well, let any excess drip off.
Place it back into the flour mixture, coat the tender in the flour and pat down the flour on the tender so it sticks well and forms a crust. Shake off any excess flour.
Next, place the tenders very carefully into the hot oil. Fry for about 3-5 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Place the tenders on a wire rack above a sheet tray while you fry the remaining tenders.
Add the butter into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Let the butter melt then add the brown sugar, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
Whisk to combine and continue to whisk until the sugar dissolves and the sauce comes together for about 2 minutes.
Brush the tenders with the sauce and serve.

CAN I USE FROZEN CHICKEN TENDERS?

If you don’t want to make your own homemade chicken tenders or are in a hurry, yes you can use frozen chicken.

Make according to packages directions, while cooking make your sauce and then proceed to finish the recipe as listed.

CAN I USE BUFFALO WING SAUCE?

There is nothing like real homemade hot sauce for this recipe, you will not get that Nashville Hot flavor that you are looking for. Instead you will get more of a Buffalo Wing flavor.

I don’t recommend it, but IF you are in a hurry and want to cut some corners you can use it but it just wont be the same.

WHAT DO I SERVE WITH NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN?

There are so many great things that you can serve with these! Some of our favorites include:

HOW TO STORE:

To store, place these in an airtight container like a ziptop bag or Tupperware and they should last in the refrigerator for about 1-2 days.

After that they will go soggy which you don’t really want, you can always reheat in the oven to crisp them up a bit as well opposed to the microwave.

You can also freeze this recipe if you have any leftovers, make sure they are fully cooled first then place in a freezer bag and place them in the freezer where they will keep for up to about 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

You can use chicken tenders or you can slice up chicken breasts into strips for this recipe.
This can be frozen, see my tips above on how to do that.
You can easily double this recipe to serve more people.
This needs to fry in batches so your deep fryer or pan doesn’t get overcrowded and the chicken cooks evenly.
If you want to eat this with a dipping sauce, we love ranch!
We like to serve this over bread with pickles, this is completely optional.
In a pinch you can use frozen chicken tenders.

If you want a fun, flavorful and family favorite dish, then you need to make my Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders! It will become a staple.

If you like this recipe you might also like:

Homemade Chicken Tenders
Slow Cooker Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches
Crispy Chicken Sandwich (you could make this into a Nashville Hot Crispy Chicken Sandwich)

If you’ve tried these NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN TENDERS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!

Nashville Hot Chicken Tenders