Growing up, our school served chicken biscuits every Wednesday morning, and for whatever reason, those things were always so dang good. Something about a crispy piece of chicken placed inside a warm biscuit is just so delicious. It’s probably part of the reason the honey butter chicken biscuit became such a hit at fast-food spots over the years. But honestly, versions like these honey butter chicken biscuit sliders are even better when you make them yourself.
I’ve been wanting to recreate those chicken biscuits at home for a while now, and lately I’ve been messing around with a few different versions in the kitchen. For this round, I take those classic chicken biscuits and turn them into something you can serve as an appetizer. The good news is they’re a lot easier to make than they look. You can have a full tray of these sliders cooked, sliced, and ready to go in well under an hour.
These chicken biscuit sliders are the perfect combination of crispy chicken, flaky biscuits, and a little drizzle of honey butter, making them perfect for brunch, game day, or setting out on the table when people come over. Stick around, and I’ll walk you through everything you need to know — where the idea came from, the ingredients you’ll need, how to make these honey butter chicken biscuit sliders, and a few tips that help them turn out right every time.
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What Is a Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit?
A honey butter chicken biscuit is a sandwich made with crispy fried chicken, served inside a buttery biscuit and topped with easy honey butter sauce, which is super easy to put together. It’s a Southern-style comfort food breakfast sandwich that seamlessly balances sweet and savory profiles.
Who Invented the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit?
Like a lot of people, I first tried the modern honey butter chicken biscuit at Whataburger, which really helped put the sandwich on the map when it launched back in 2005. After that, plenty of other chains started rolling out their own versions. That fast-food take brought the combination of crispy fried chicken, honey, and buttery sauce into the spotlight, and it didn’t take long before home cooks and food bloggers started putting their own spin on it.
Since then, the honey butter chicken biscuit has taken on a life of its own. You’ll see tons of different versions on the internet, all building on that original idea to create richer, more over-the-top versions of the classic chicken biscuit. But personally, I like to top mine with hot honey, pimento cheese, and pickles. In my opinion, it's one of the best combinations for a really delicious chicken biscuit, whether it’s served traditionally or on biscuit sliders.
Ingredients for Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit Sliders
Crispy Fried Chicken
- Boneless chicken thighs (or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, if preferred)
- Buttermilk
- Hot sauce
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Creole seasoning
- Canola oil for frying
Why Buttermilk Makes Better Fried Chicken
Buttermilk is one of the secrets behind truly great crispy fried chicken. The mild acidity in buttermilk helps break down the proteins in the chicken, tenderizing the meat while keeping it juicy during frying. At the same time, the thicker consistency enables the seasoned flour coating stick better to the chicken, creating a crispier crust. It’s basically a great two-for-one that not only marinades the meat but also operates as an ideal binder.
Biscuit Sliders
- Pillsbury Southern Style Biscuits — Biscuits made from scratch are amazing, but also a lot of work. I’ve found that buying the storebought variety works excellently and is a lot less hassle for this recipe.
- Melted butter & Buttermilk — This easy mix, slathered on the tops of the biscuits, helps give a perfectly golden-brown crust.
Honey Butter Sauce
- Melted butter
- Honey
Slider Assembly
- Storebought Pimento cheese (the one I typically use is Palmetto’s)
- Hot honey
- Dill pickles (optional)
How to Make Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit Sliders
Step 1: Marinate the Chicken
In a bowl, combine the chicken thighs with buttermilk and hot sauce. If you’re in a hurry, a quick 10-minute marinade works and will still yield tender, tasty chicken, making it easy to adapt this recipe to a tight schedule.
However, if you have more time, letting the chicken sit for a couple of hours will give deeper flavor and extra tenderness. Just make sure to refrigerate the marinating chicken if you plan to let it sit for longer than 30 minutes for food safety.
Step 2: Prepare the Biscuit Slider Base
Turn on your oven to 400°F. Cut each biscuit in half and roll each portion into a ball to create several pieces of dough (a typical container contains eight pieces, so following this method, you’ll have 16 dough balls). Arrange the dough balls in a buttered square pan in a tight grid pattern so they lightly touch as they bake.
Brush the tops with a mixture of melted butter and buttermilk, then cook the biscuits until golden brown, flaky, and fluffy. Allow the biscuit slab to cool slightly, then slice it horizontally with a serrated knife into the top and bottom layers for the sliders. Just be careful when slicing so you do it evenly without breaking the biscuits (this is the one tricky part of making the biscuit sliders vs. traditional chicken biscuits).
Step 3: Dredge the Chicken
Once you are ready to cook, combine the flour, cornstarch, and Creole seasoning in a bowl. Remove the chicken from the marinade and coat each piece thoroughly with the seasoned flour mixture, making sure it is evenly covered. Adding cornstarch to the dredge creates a light, crunchy coating that gives you that classic, crispy-fried-chicken texture (think what you’d get at Chick-fil-A!).
Note: I like to place my dredged pieces of chicken on a wire rack on a baking sheet to ensure they still get airflow and so the bottom half of the chicken doesn’t get soggy or lose its flour coating.
Step 4: Fry the Crispy Chicken
Add about an inch of canola or peanut oil to a frying pan and heat it until the oil reaches about 350°F. I did this on the grill, but a stovetop works just as well. Once the oil is hot, carefully place the coated chicken thighs in the pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy, and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. When they’re done, remove the chicken from the oil and let it briefly drain on paper towels.
Note: Around 350°F is the sweet spot for getting that crispy, golden crust. As the oil approaches 375°F, the outside can cook faster than the inside, leading to burning. On the other hand, if it drops near 325°F, the chicken tends to absorb more oil and comes out softer and duller in color. Letting the oil return to 350°F between batches helps keep the crust crisp and prevents the chicken from turning greasy.
Want a Healthier Alternative Instead of Frying the Chicken?
If you prefer to bake the chicken instead of deep-frying, you can arrange the coated chicken pieces on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and lightly spray them with oil. Bake in a preheated 425°F oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and crispy (165°F-180°F for thighs).
For the air fryer, cook at 400°F for about 12–15 minutes, flipping halfway and spraying with additional oil as needed, until golden and cooked through. Both methods will give you a crispy crust with less oil, so keep that in mind if you want a healthier alternative.
Step 5: Assemble the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits
Now that the biscuit sliders and fried chicken are ready, simply assemble the sliders. Start by placing the bottom half of the biscuit slab on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to make assembly (and transportation) easier. Next, spread the pimento cheese evenly across the biscuit layer, then place the crispy fried chicken pieces across the sliders. Drizzle the chicken generously with hot honey, then place the top biscuit layer back over the sliders.
Step 6: Brush With Honey Butter Sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter and honey until smooth. Brush the honey butter glaze generously over the tops of the biscuits so the sweetness soaks slightly into the bread and creates a glossy finish. It’s an extra step, but it's well worth it to round out the end product.
Step 7: Warm and Serve
Return the assembled sliders to the grill or oven for a few minutes at ~400°F until they are warmed through and the tops of the biscuits become shiny from the honey butter glaze — this won’t take long. Once the honey butter has tacked on, remove the pan from the heat and slice between the biscuits to create individual honey butter chicken biscuit sliders. Add dill pickles if desired, and you’ll have some irresistible chicken biscuits to serve up!
What To Serve With Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits
While these honey butter chicken biscuit sliders can easily stand on their own, they pair perfectly with classic Southern comfort sides. Here are a couple of my favorites if you want to turn this into more of a full meal:
How to Reheat Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits
Honestly, these honeybutter chicken biscuit sliders are best when fresh and will lose a lot of their texture when refrigerated. If you do decide to store them, however, do so in an airtight container in the refrigerator for no more than three days. When you’re ready to reheat them, I recommend placing the sliders on a baking sheet and warming them in a 375°F oven or air fryer until heated through.
Recipe
Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit Sliders with Pimento Cheese
Equipment
- Measuring cups & prep bowls
- Wire Rack
- Baking Sheet
- Frying pan
- Stovetop or Grill
- tongs
- instant read thermometer
Ingredients
Slider Biscuits
- 1 can biscuit dough
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk for brushing before cooking
Honey Butter Glaze
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon honey
Chicken
- 1 pound chicken thighs boneless & skinless
- 1 C buttermilk
- ¼ C hot sauce
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 T creole seasoning
For Cooking
- Canola oil as needed
Assembly
- 1 cup store-bought pimento cheese plus more as needed
- ¼ C hot honey
- Dill pickles as needed
Instructions
For the Biscuit Sliders
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Meanwhile, cut each biscuit in half to create 16 portions, then roll each piece into a ball.
- Arrange the dough balls in a buttered square pan so they lightly touch in a 4×4 pattern, then brush the tops with the buttermilk and butter mixture. Place the skillet on the grill and cook the biscuits for 12–15 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove the biscuits from and allow them to cool for 3–4 minutes, then slice the entire slab horizontally with a serrated knife to create slider tops and bottoms.
For the Fried Chicken Thighs
- In a bowl combine the chicken thighs, buttermilk, and hot sauce, then allow the chicken to sit for at least 10 minutes, but ideally a few hours if you have the time.
- In a separate bowl mix together the flour, cornstarch, and creole seasoning. When you’re ready to cook, dredge the chicken thighs thoroughly in the seasoned flour mixture until well coated.
- Add a frying pan with about an inch of oil to the grill and preheat to 500 degrees.
- Once the grill is preheated and the oil registers ~350 degrees, cook the chicken for 4–5 minutes per side until crispy and the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F. Remove the chicken from the heat and let dry on a paper towel.
Building the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits
- Place the bottom half of the biscuit slab back onto a wire rack on a baking sheet for easy transport. Add spoonful’s of pimento cheese across the biscuits until covered thoroughly the top with chicken. Drizzle the hot honey over the chicken, then place the top biscuit layer back over the sliders.
- In a small bowl whisk together the melted butter and honey to make the honey butter glaze. Brush the honey butter generously over the tops of the biscuits.
- Return the pan to the grill and cook for 2–3 minutes until the sliders are warmed through and the tops are glossy.
- Remove the sliders from the grill and slice between the biscuits to create individual sliders. Garnish with pickles if desired, then serve warm.
Notes
- Use Chicken Thighs for Best Flavor: Boneless chicken thighs work best for this recipe because they stay juicy during frying and provide richer flavor than chicken breast.
- Marinate for Extra Tender Chicken: The buttermilk and hot sauce marinade helps tenderize the chicken and adds flavor. While 10 minutes works, letting the chicken marinate for 1–2 hours will give the best results.
- Cornstarch Helps Create Extra Crispy Chicken: The combination of flour and cornstarch in the dredge creates a light, crispy coating that stays crunchy even after the sliders are assembled.
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