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.
Video tutorial
Here's a quick video tutorial to see this recipe in action that I highly recommend watching:
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
Hot Honey Chipotle Chicken Sliders Recipe
- Total Time: 90 minutes (including marination)
- Yield: 16 sliders
Description
Irresistible sliders made with juicy and spicy chipotle chicken, honey chipotle mayo and lots of cheese in Hawaiian rolls!
Ingredients
Hot Honey Chipotle Chicken:
- ¾ pound boneless chicken tenders (about 350g)
- 1 tbsp olive oil + more for cooking
- ½ tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp adobo sauce (from a 7oz can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp coriander
- ¼ tsp cumin
Honey Chipotle Mayo:
- 2 chipotle peppers (from can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
- ¾ cups mayonnaise
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp honey
Hot Honey Butter:
- 2 tbsp salted butter, melted
- 2 tsp honey
- ½ 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 ½ 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!
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.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
SH says
Amazing recipe. Made these for dinner and they were devoured. Will be making these next time i host my friends.
Zoha says
YAY thank you so much!
Zara says
Would I have to double the recipe if I use 2 pack of Costco sliders?
Thanks!