Crispy coated fried chicken tenders coated in a sweet and spicy honey chipotle sauce. Bar food doesn’t get any better than that. And with this Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers (Chili’s copycat) recipe, you can enjoy your favorite bar food without ever leaving the house.

Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers in a serving tray.

This is a slight adaptation from Todd Wilbur’s Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3: The Secret Formulas for Duplicating Your Favorite Restaurant Dishes at Home (Top Secret Recipes). The recipe is a little involved and the ingredient list could probably be simplified some without sacrificing too much flavor, but I think the end result is well worth the effort involved.

Chicken crispers on a serving plate and honey on a separate plate.

The chicken is first dipped in a batter and then rolled in a seasoned flour mixture for an extra flavorful and crispy coating. The chicken tenders are then tossed (or drizzled if you want to control the amount) in a sweet and a lot spicy Honey Chipotle Sauce.

Hand picking up chicken crisper.

Honey and Chipotle Combination

I don’t think there’s a more fantastic flavor combination for chicken than honey and chipotle. The sticky sweetness of the honey and smoky spiciness of the chipotle really play well off each other. They make these Chicken Tenders taste so incredibly good!

Chicken Crispers on a serving plate.

Recipe Tip

This Honey Chipotle Sauce would also be great drizzled on grilled chicken if you aren’t a fan of fried foods.

More Chicken Tenders Recipes

 Never miss a recipe. Follow Spicy Southern Kitchen on Pinterest and Instagram.

Watch the short video below to see how to make this recipe.

Chipotle Honey Chicken Crispers

4.89 from 17 votes

By Christin Mahrlig

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
These Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers are a Chili’s copycat. Crispy fried chicken tenders coated in a sweet and spicy sauce.
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Ingredients

  • 12 chicken tenderloins
  • 6-8 cups Canola oil or shortening

Batter

  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3/4 cup flour

Breading

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Honey Chipotle Sauce

  • 2/3 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1-2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Instructions 

  • In a small saucepan combine honey, water, ketchup, vinegar, chili powder, salt, and hot sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
  • To make batter, in a medium bowl whisk together egg, milk, chicken broth,salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Whisk in flour.
  • Combine all ingredients for breading in a pie plate and mix well.
  • Heat oil in a Dutch oven to 350 degrees. Dip chicken in batter and then roll to coat in breading.
  • Fry 4 at a time, frying until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes.
  • Place cooked chicken tenderloins in a large bowl and toss with honey chipotle sauce.

Notes

Slightly adapted from : Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.

Nutrition

Calories: 785kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag us @spicysouthernkitchen on social media!


Sharing with The Weekend Potluck

This post may contain affiliate links. Spicy Southern Kitchen is an amazon.com affiliate.

Originally posted March 19, 2015.

Related Recipes

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




49 Comments

  1. Brittaney @ Sips and Snacks says:

    These look amazing! I love honey on chicken, but the extra kick from the chipotle makes it sound even better!

  2. Renee@Two in the Kitchen says:

    Oh my gosh Christin!! These look amazing!! I am adding them to my dinner meal plan for next week! Pinned!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Justine | Cooking and Beer says:

    omg … you are the chicken finger queen, Christin! How did you manage to make chicken fingers look so deliciously elegant?! Totally making these soon. My family would go CRAZY for them!

  4. Kelly says:

    These look absolutely perfect, Christin! My husband loves crispy fried chicken and anything with chipotle so I can’t wait to make this for him!

  5. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says:

    These chicken crispers look amazing, Christin! I love the honey sauce drizzled on top. Looks so crispy and perfect! Pinned!

  6. Ally's Sweet & Savory Eats says:

    I remember my niece ordering these once at Chili’s….they were good! And I’m sure yours are even better!

  7. DessertForTwo says:

    I’m a fried chicken freak! This recipe is next on my list!

  8. Christie says:

    These look so crispy and amazing. Love the sauce!

  9. Juliana says:

    Love the crispy layer in this chicken and the idea of sweet and spicy just sound delicious!
    Hope you are enjoying your week ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. Matt says:

    Mmm ๐Ÿ™‚