Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches

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Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches are what happens when you combine the spicy Nashville Hot Chicken, brioche buns, and creamy coleslaw. And as a plus, the chicken’s baked so there’s no frying involved! These easy sandwiches are perfect for any Game Day.

Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches with skewers in the tops of the sandwiches.

I love sandwiches of all form. Everything from my Spanglish Sandwich, Grinder Sandwich or Fancy Tuna Melts. All delicious

I’ve been wanting to make hot chicken, but in slider-form for a while now, so I figured what better time than now to unofficially kick off summer.

While I do think frying in the kitchen is worth it in some cases (read: Churros), I don’t always want to do it. My favorite part about this recipe is that it doesn’t require a fryer or a big pot of oil. This is in the oven, baked, the whole time.

Ingredients for Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches.

What is a Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich?

Nashville Hot chicken sandwiches are a sandwich that utilizes boneless chicken covered in a spicy butter layered in between a bun and coleslaw. Think of a classic chicken sandwich and add a bunch of heat!

Obviously, just like the name they’re from Nashville, Tennessee. I was lucky enough to visit Prince’s Hot Chicken on a visit and was blown away by how delicious it was. (I went to Hattie B’s and it was tasty, too!)

Dredging set-up.

How to Make a Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich:

  1. Prep the dredge. Put all the breading components into their own dishes.
  2. Preheat the oven, and a baking sheet. Turn the oven on and brush a baking pan with oil. Place the pan in the oven to heat up while you prep the chicken.
  3. Dredge the chicken. Dip each piece of seasoned chicken into all the dishes of breading ingredients. First the flour, then the eggs, and finally the breadcrumbs.
  4. Bake the chicken. Place the breaded chicken on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, flipping half way through.
  5. Meanwhile, Make the hot chicken sauce. While the chicken bakes, melt down the butter, scooping the milk solids off the top as it melts so you end up with clarified butter. Add the cayenne with the brown sugar and remaining spices. Let the butter heat up until the salt has dissolved and the spices have infused it.
  6. Baste the chicken. After the chicken has cooked, baste each piece in the hot chicken sauce.
  7. Assemble the sandwiches. Place the chicken, slaw and pickled on each brioche bottom bun, top with the other half and put a skewer through.
Assembling the sandwiches.

Why Baking Fried Chicken is Better than Frying

Less oil and easier cleanup. That being said, I think this really only works for a recipe like this.  Classic fried chicken needs to be fried but I like baking for sandwiches or chicken tenders. You’ll never get the same craggy fried chicken skin baking so if I’m making classic fried chicken with bone-in pieces I stick to the classic deep or pan fried method.

Brushing the sandwiches with sauce.

Recipe Tip

Size matters. Make these as sliders like I’ve used them here or you can use larger pieces of chicken and make full sized sandwiches.

Add Briny Things. The pickles and slaw are key, the brightness cuts through the spice and richness of the chicken.

Make Ahead. Make the slaw the day before if you’d like to save on time the day of.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use the airfryer?

Absolutely. I love using the airfryer for easy, fuss-free cooking. I’m not above it! I would spray the airfryer with cooking spray, place the dredged chicken in it and set it to 400F. Cook for 5-6 minutes per side, flipping half way through.

Can I use big pieces of chicken?

Sure. Use whole thighs or whole chicken breasts if you like. I think you should definitely pound the chicken breasts into an even layer (similar to how I make Pork Katsu) so that it cooks evenly. You could probably get two sandwiches from one chicken breast.

Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches with skewers in the tops of the sandwiches.

More Cozy Sandwiches To Make

If you tried this Baked Nashville Chicken Sandwiches Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

5 from 4 votes

Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Servings: 6
Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches are what happens when you combine the spicy Nashville Hot Chicken, brioche buns, and creamy coleslaw. And as a plus, the chicken's baked so there's no frying involved!

Ingredients 

Chicken: 

  • 2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breasts , cut into 3-inch cubes (this doesn’t have to be cut perfectly) 
  • Kosher salt
  • Pepper 

Chicken Dredge: 

  • 1  cup  all-purpose Flour
  • 1  cup  Italian bread crumbs
  • 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
  • 1/2  teaspoon  ground paprika
  • Pinch  freshly ground pepper
  • 3  large eggs
  • 2  tablespoons grapeseed oil , (or other types of neutral oil)

Hot Chicken Sauce: 

  • 1/2  cup  unsalted butter
  • 1  tablespoon  ground cayenne pepper, or more or less depending on your heat tolerance 
  • 1  teaspoon  brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon  garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon  paprika
  • 1  teaspoon  kosher salt

For Assembly: 

  • 12 brioche dinner rolls
  • Cole slaw, optional
  • 12 sweet bread and butter pickles
  • 12 skewers 

Instructions 

Prep the Chicken: 

  • 1. Sprinkle the chicken with a few pinches of salt and pepper. 

To Make the Chicken Dredge: 

  • Prep the chicken dredge by adding the flour to a wide-rimmed baking dish. To another dish, toss the bread crumbs with the salt and ground paprika. To a medium dish, beat the 3 large eggs together. This will give you a good assembly line. 
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. To a clean baking sheet, brush the surface with the oil and transfer to the oven. (The oil will get really hot while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.) 
  • Using tongs, dip chicken, piece by piece, first in the flour, then the egg and, lastly, the bread crumbs. Feel free to sprinkle the tops and the sides of the chicken with the bread crumbs. I found it easier to do it this way. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken. 
  • Place the chicken on the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake on the first side for 15 minutes. Flip and cook on the opposite side for another 20 minutes. 
  • While the chicken is cooking, let’s make the hot sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Skim the fat solids offthe top and discard. This will leave you with clarified butter. Add the cayenne pepper, sugar, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Warm until the sugar and salt are dissolved. 
  • When the chicken is done cooking, transfer the pieces to the brioche buns. I added about 1 to 2 pieces to each of the bottom of the buns.
  • Brush the tops liberally with the spice/butter mixture. I found that what I really wanted was the paste that sits at the bottom; scoop that stuff out and brush that on. The more the better! Top with a bit of cole slaw, if desired, and add the other half of the brioche bun to the top. Add a bread and butter pickle to the top and poke a skewer through the center so it holds its shape! Serve immediately.   

Notes

Tips and Tricks: 
  • Size matters. Make these as sliders like I’ve used them here or you can use larger pieces of chicken and make full sized sandwiches.
  • Add Briny Things. The pickles and slaw are key, the brightness cuts through the spice and richness of the chicken.
  • Make Ahead. Make the slaw the day before if you’d like to save on time the day of.

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 4mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Calcium: 23mg

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

Additional Info

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
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Cozy Latin-Inspired Comfort Food Recipes

Hi! I'm Adrianna and this is my cozy space on the internet that is super-charged by butter, flour and copious amounts of pasta. Stay awhile, will you!

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12 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Ive always loved ur recipes for years!! N thry tirn out amazing!!! But maybe dont need the word “kosher” for salt. Trust me any type of salt works! I bring my salt from middle east of Asia and it works just fine. No need to be kosher 😉

    1. hi fati, that is the type of salt i’m using to season my food before cooking. it’s important i specify this detail because not all salts are created equal.

  2. 5 stars
    I make these sandwiches all the time. In fact, I am making them tonight for dinner as they are on regular rotation in our house. They are awesome little bites that are super easy to make and are basically fail proof. Finally, they reheat beautifully for leftover lunches. The only difference I make is that dill pickle slices top my sandwiches as I can’t stand bread and butter pickles. I also dip my chicken pieces in the butter mixture vs brushing. It is soaking in that yummy mixture. Thanks for such an awesome recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    Definitely missed the clarified butter portion as the format of the site on a laptop (using Chrome) and iPhone (using Safari) cuts this off. Only when I open the site in Safari and use Auto Reader did I finally see this but only after I was done cooking.

    Either way, the chicken was still delicious for not being fried!

    1. oh no! you know what i’m going through a blog redesign and i’ll make sure my developer knows this. sorry it gave you trouble! and i’m glad it worked out either way. 🙂

  4. I am making today for opening ND game. I always make them but I am so excited to try your recipe. sounds much healthier and I don’t have to deal with oil and frying….just not into it today. Thanks!!

  5. Please correct the recipe to include the butter in the brushing sauce! Some people may otherwise be confused! (smile) This recipe sounds wonderful.

  6. Hi, just wanted to let you know that the recipe only appears in full when in print form. If you try to read it as posted, there’s a lot of words missing.

  7. Yum! I want to make these right now!
    Kari
    http://sweetteasweetie.com/aged-cheddar-sliders-with-pineapple-guacamole/