Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches
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Updated Apr 28, 2025, Published Jan 10, 2024
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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.
I love sandwiches of all form. Everything from my Spanglish Sandwich, Grinder Sandwich, Buffalo Chicken Wrap 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.
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!)
How to Make a Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich:
- Prep the dredge. Put all the breading components into their own dishes.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake the chicken. Place the breaded chicken on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, flipping half way through.
- 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.
- Baste the chicken. After the chicken has cooked, baste each piece in the hot chicken sauce.
- Assemble the sandwiches. Place the chicken, slaw and pickled on each brioche bottom bun, top with the other half and put a skewer through.
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.
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
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.
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.
More Cozy Sandwiches To Make
Sandwiches
Jerk Chicken Sandwich with Jicama Slaw
Dinner
French Dip Sandwiches
Dinner
Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
Dinner
Tuna Melt
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!
Baked Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches
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
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These Nashville hot chicken sliders look like the perfect combination of spicy and crispy! I love how the heat from the chicken is balanced with a cooling sauce or toppings. The mini slider format is perfect for serving at parties or just for a fun, flavorful meal at home. Thanks for sharing such a bold and tasty recipe—I can’t wait to make these and feel that fiery flavor!
hope you love them! 🙂
This recipe comes out SOOO good!! It’s the only online food blog recipe I come back to every couple of weeks because my family and I love eating it so much. I have to tweak it a little to suit our tastes (same with all recipes, though), and the website format on my laptop cuts out some of the words in the instructions, but I can still follow them. Overall, an AMAZING recipe! Thanks so much for this!
Omg thank you, Mori. I’m so glad these worked out for you. They’re so good!