Chicken and Waffles with Hot Honey Butter
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Crackly buttermilk chicken on a hot waffle, with warm hot honey butter running into every square. The chicken can marinate while you sleep, and the only argument at the table is over the last waffle.
The short version
Marinate boneless thighs in spiced buttermilk, coat in flour and cornstarch, fry at 350°F for about 12 minutes until 175°F inside. Cook the waffles while the chicken rests, then pour warm hot honey butter over everything. Marinating takes 2 hours or overnight.
What makes ours better
the tricks Nonna pretends she never taught me
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Use boneless thighs. They fry in about 12 minutes, stay juicy even if you run a few degrees over, and sit flat on a waffle. Breast meat dries out long before the crust is deep brown.
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Marinate in buttermilk with hot sauce. The acid tenderizes and the salt seasons all the way through, so the chicken tastes good before it ever meets syrup.
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Add cornstarch to the flour. It fries up thinner and crunchier than flour alone, and the crust stays crisp even under a pour of syrup.
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Finish with hot honey butter. Warm honey and butter with a splash of hot sauce reads as syrup but pushes back with a little heat. It ties the chicken to the waffle.
What you need
the cast, in order of appearance
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs2 pounds
- Buttermilk1 cup
- Hot sauce1 tablespoon
- All-purpose flour1 cup
- Paprika1 teaspoon
- Unsalted butter4 tablespoons
- Honey⅓ cup
Chicken
Waffles
Hot honey butter
read it twice. buy it once.
Steps
deep breath. you’ve got this.
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Marinate the chicken
Whisk the buttermilk, 1 tablespoon hot sauce, 2 teaspoons salt and the garlic powder in a bowl. Add the thighs and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Two hours is the minimum. Overnight gives juicier, better-seasoned chicken.
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Mix the coating
In a wide shallow dish, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, 2 teaspoons salt, pepper and paprika. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the marinade into the flour and rub it in with your fingertips until you have shaggy little clumps. These become the craggy bits on the crust.
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Coat and rest
Lift each thigh out of the marinade, let the excess drip off, and press it into the flour on both sides. Set on a rack over a baking sheet and let it sit for 15 minutes. The coating will look damp in places, which means it has stuck. Heat the oven to 200°F for holding the food.
About 15 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Make the hot honey butter
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the honey, the hot sauce and the salt until smooth and warm, then take it off the heat. Taste it and add more hot sauce if you want more kick.
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Fry the chicken
Pour the oil into a 12-inch skillet and heat over medium-high to 350°F. Lay in half the thighs, leaving space between them. Fry 5 to 6 minutes per side, until deep golden brown and a thermometer in the thickest part reads 175°F. Move to a clean rack set over a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Fry the second batch.
The oil temperature drops when the chicken goes in. Adjust the heat to keep it between 325°F and 350°F, or the crust turns greasy.
About 12 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Cook the waffles
Make the waffles according to the waffles recipe while the chicken rests. Keep them on a rack in the same warm oven so they stay crisp. Put the chicken on the rack above them.
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Plate and pour
Set two waffles on each plate, top with two pieces of chicken and spoon the warm hot honey butter over the top. Serve right away.
Good to know
things I learned the hard way, so you can skip that part
- Boneless thighs vary in thickness. If one is much thicker than the rest, press it flat with your palm before coating so it cooks at the same pace as the others.
- You can use boneless chicken breasts cut into cutlets. Fry them 4 to 5 minutes per side and pull them at 160°F; they coast to 165°F as they rest.
- Want bone-in chicken instead? Use the method in buttermilk-brined fried chicken and build the plate the same way.
- Skip the oven-warming step only if you plan to serve each batch the moment it comes out. Otherwise the waffles go limp while you finish frying.
- Storage. Store chicken and waffles separately in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat both on a rack in a 400°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes until crisp. The hot honey butter keeps a week in a jar and rewarms in the microwave.
Questions, answered
the questions my cousins text me
Can I make chicken and waffles ahead?
Marinate the chicken a day ahead, and make waffles ahead and freeze them. Fry the chicken just before serving, then crisp frozen waffles in a toaster or a 400°F oven.
Why is my fried chicken coating falling off?
Usually the chicken went in the oil too soon after coating, or the pan was crowded. Let the coated chicken sit for 15 minutes first, and fry only as many pieces as fit with space between them.
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Yes. Slice them into cutlets about ¾ inch thick so they cook in 4 to 5 minutes per side. Thighs forgive overcooking, and breasts do not, so use a thermometer.
Can I bake the chicken instead of frying it?
You can, but you lose the crisp crust that holds up under syrup. Place the coated thighs on a rack and spray well with oil, then bake at 425°F for 25 to 30 minutes until 175°F inside.
What waffles go best with fried chicken?
A crisp buttermilk waffle with a little cornstarch in the batter, like crisp buttermilk waffles. It stays crunchy at the edges and has enough tang to balance the honey.
From the table
Made it? Tell me how it went, and who went back for seconds when they thought nobody was looking.
Made it?
be honest. I can take it. probably.
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Published October 29, 2026.