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These Hot Honey Chipotle Chicken sliders are the ultimate crowd-pleasing party appetizer. Juicy chipotle marinated chicken, a creamy honey-chipotle mayo and lots of cheese get baked inside soft Hawaiian rolls. They are then brushed with hot honey butter for that glossy, irresistible finish. These sliders are sweet, spicy, cheesy and ready with just 30 minutes of active work. They are perfect for Thanksgiving, holiday hosting or whenever you need an easy, high-impact appetizer!
I’ve developed a lot of slider recipes with King’s Hawaiian rolls, and these are my absolute favorite. I recently made them for my son’s first birthday, and they were disappearing faster than I could put them out. Everyone was asking me for the recipe! I truly cannot recommend these enough, and am confident you will love them.
5 easy components of these sliders
These sliders are made of 5 simple components:
- King’s Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. This is the bread I like to use for my sliders because it is perfectly soft and slightly sweet. However, you can use any kind of slider or brioche buns for this recipe
- Honey chipotle chicken. Chicken tenders are marinated in a simple mixture of adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers, honey, oil and seasonings. It is then seared to perfection on the stove and cut into the most flavorful, juicy slices (seriously, my husband ate half of it off the cutting board!)
- Hot honey chipotle mayo. You then take the chipotle peppers from the same can, and blend them with mayo, honey and a few seasonings to make a delicious sauce that is generously spread inside the sliders
- Shredded cheese. No sliders are complete without cheese! I like to use a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar, and highly recommend shredding cheese blocks (but pre-shredded is ok, too)
- Hot honey butter. Finally, the sliders are brushed with a simple mixture of butter, honey and paprika to give them a beautiful shine on top before being baked
After assembly, the sliders are baked for just 7-10 minutes until the cheese has melted, and served warm. If you have leftover ingredients, I highly recommend my Chipotle Chicken Pizza with a crispy crust, juicy chipotle chicken, chipotle mayo and fresh veggies.
If you want to make ahead
These sliders are the perfect dish to prepare ahead of time if you are hosting and want to not leave things for the last minute. There are 2 ways you can do this:
- Prepare all components ahead of time. Cook and slice the chicken, make the chipotle sauce and the honey butter. Store all components individually in the fridge for up to 3 days. Assemble and bake the sliders when you want to serve them
- Assemble the sliders ahead of time. If you want to save even more time, you can fully assemble the sliders ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to 2 days, then bake them fresh when you want to serve. However, one caution with this approach is that sliced slider buns can dry out. Wrap them tightly in cling wrap to prevent this, and you should be ok! Personally, I assemble the sliders on the paper tray that King’s Hawaiian rolls come in, then put them back into the packaging, seal tightly and place in the fridge.
These sliders also re-heat pretty well in the microwave or oven.
A few tips to perfect these sliders
A few tips you should know before you make these sliders:
- Use chicken tenders, not breasts. Breasts dry out too easily – tenders are just as easy to work with and give a juicier result. If you’re comfortable with cooking chicken, you can also use thighs and increase the cooking time as needed
- Let the chicken marinate! I recommend at least 1 hour, but you can also keep it in the fridge overnight so it can really soak up the flavor.
- Don’t overcook the chicken. Cook on high heat for just a few minutes per side until the chicken is cooked through and charred on top (the charred bits are the yummiest!)
- Don’t skimp out on the sauce. Slider bread will absorb some sauce, so add a generous layer on both sides while assembling, and serve any leftover sauce on the side
- Be careful not to overbake. You need to bake just long enough for the cheese to melt, and keep an eye on the bread so it doesn’t become too brown on the top or bottom
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Ingredients
Hot Honey Chipotle Chicken:
- 3/4 pound boneless chicken tenders (about 350g)
- 1 tbsp olive oil + more for cooking
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp adobo sauce (from a 7oz can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp coriander
- 1/4 tsp cumin
Honey Chipotle Mayo:
- 2 chipotle peppers (from can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
- 3/4 cups mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp honey
Hot Honey Butter:
- 2 tbsp salted butter, melted
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Assembly:
- 16 King’s Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls* (this is the size sold at Costco; you can also get 2 12 packs and keep the leftover rolls for other uses)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese based on your preference; I use a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar
- Chopped fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
Hot Honey Chipotle Chicken:
- Mix all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the boneless chicken tenders and toss them in the marinade thoroughly so they are well coated. Cover and marinate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight in the fridge
- Heat olive oil in a skillet pan. Add the chicken tenders, keeping distance between each, and cook on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side (time will vary depending on the thickness of the tenders). Cook until the chicken is cooked inside and charred on the outside; avoid overcooking
- Place the cooked chicken on a cutting board and cut into thin slices against the grain. Toss in the juices on the cutting board so the chicken absorbs all the flavor
Honey Chipotle Mayo:
- Add all ingredients for the mayo to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust as needed
Hot Honey Butter:
- Melt the butter and mix it with the honey and paprika in a small bowl. Set aside
Assembly and baking:
- Pre-heat your oven to 350F (conventional, no fan, bottom heating) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the sheet of Hawaiian rolls into 2 halves (tops and bottoms), and place the bottom half on the baking sheet with the cut side facing up
- Divide the chipotle mayo between the 2 halves and spread it evenly
- On the bottom halves of the sliders, spread a generous layer of the chicken to your liking.
- Add a layer of the shredded cheese on top of the chicken
- Cover with the top half of the sliders (cut side facing down)
- Use a pastry brush to brush the hot honey butter on top of the slider buns (some will be leftover)
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 7-10 minutes until the cheese has melted and sliders have a golden color. If the slider buns are getting too much color on them, cover with aluminum foil
- Take out of the oven, brush with the remaining honey butter, garnish with parsley, serve and enjoy!
Video Tutorial
Notes
- Bread to filling ratio: The exact quantity of the Hawaiian rolls will depend on how much filling you put in them. You can easily stretch the filling and mayo in this recipe to 20 rolls, too. Fill them to your liking!
- Storage: Store the sliders in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days, and reheat in the microwave or oven before serving.
Comments
Sania Imam
Hi. Is there any alternative for adobo/ adobo peppers? Or will replacing these ruin the flavor?
Zoha Malik
Hi! So sorry but that’s the main flavor in this recipe, that’s where the chipotle flavor comes from 🙁
juju
this is a household obsession!! we make this every time we have guests or dinner parties and every single time we have ppl asking for the recipe without fail!! soo good absolutely love
Zoha Malik
I can’t even describe just how happy that makes me!!!
Hira lakhani
hi zoha hope you’re doing well.
whats the substitute for Chipotle chillies in adobo sauce as they are not available in pakistan ?
Zoha Malik
Hi Hira! I am so sorry but I am not sure of a good substitute here, as that is the main flavor in this recipe.
NF
This recipe was such a hit! Completely devoured with no leftovers!
Zoha Malik
YAY!
Gigi
IVE MADE HALF OF YOUR RECIPES AND GIRL LET ME TELL YOU THIS IS LIKE My 10th time making this it’s so good !
Zoha Malik
ILYSM!!! I always smile seeing your reviews, thank you :’)
Mahreen
Can I substitute chicken breast or thighs for this recipe? Thanks!
Zoha Malik
Yes, that should be fine!
Aysha
Hiii love ur recipes! Just have a question how much chicken are u using in the recipe video u have it looks more than 350 grams did u double all the seasonings then too ?
Zoha Malik
Hi Aysha! The video had 2x everything as I was making a double batch
Marvi
This has become a family favorite, thank you for the delicious recipe!
Zoha Malik
I am so honored!
Maheen
Turned out so so so good!!
Anne
I made it for a party and it was a hit!!! Everyone loved it!! Thank you Zoha!
Zoha
Thank YOU, Anne!
Mehrunnisa
so yummy and easy to make . my daughter who never eats burgers in any form loves them amd actually asked me to make them again !
Zoha
I’m happy to have helped expand her palette, hehe 🙂
Samiha
Such a hit at my iftaar gathering. Just like Zoha predicted, they disappeared first amongst all the food items. I ended up making more the next day because they’re just that good! So glad I found this gem of a recipe!
Zoha
Making them AGAIN the next day — that is honestly the best compliment!! 😍 So happy they were a hit at your iftaar Samiha 🙏
Saduf
These were a big hit! The flavors were fantastic, though they ended up a bit spicier than some people expected. I actually went light on the chili flakes and chili powder, but the chipotle peppers definitely bring plenty of heat.
One feature that would be really helpful on the page is automatic ingredient calculations based on serving size, it would make scaling the recipe a lot easier.
I’m planning to make these again for an Eid event, so I’m excited to see how they go over with that crowd. I’d also love to see some red meat slider recipes on the blog in the future!
Zoha
Thank you for the feedback Saduf! I don’t do automatic scaling as it doesn’t scale the grams, leading to confusion.
Zay
Cannot recommend this recipe enough, it is the perfect sweet-spicy savory combination! Every time I make this, it’s gone in less than an hour, always a hit!
Zoha
AWW thank you so much!
Aisha Siddiqui
The best chicken slider recipe!!
Sana A
They were super delicious, it’s a bomb recipe… everyone loved it 😊
Definitely gonna add this to my Ramadan Giveaway boxes 🥪😋
Thanks Zoya 💖
Zoha
AW I am so honored to hear that, thank you so much
Safa
Absolutely banger!!! Just tried them today and my family loved it so much they devoured them within minutes. Thankyou Zoha for 10/10 recipes always.
Zoha
Made my day, thank you!
S Godil
So good! Made a big batch for my son’s school lunches. Thank you!
Zoha
Your son is lucky! Thank you!
Sana A
Omg its was a bomb 💣 everyone loved it
I am definitely gonna include this my Ramadan give away boxes 😋😋☺️
thank you Zoha 😚
Zoha
AWW THANK YOU
Nina
My husband and I made it tonight for dinner, and it was absolutely delicious! The flavors are incredible. We will definitely be making this more as it is so easy and quick to make.