This Hot Honey Chicken Salad is an easy meal with some next-level flavor! Cornflake-breaded chicken gets nice and crispy in the air fryer, then coated in a sticky hot honey glaze. Toss it up with fresh veggies and drizzled with a tangy honey-lemon Dijon dressing, and you’ve got a vibrant dish perfect for summer.
Crispy Hot Honey Chicken Salad
Everyone loves crispy chicken salad recipes. The contrast in flavor and texture between the crunchy chicken and fresh veggies is unbeatable. So, when I made my Air Fryer Hot Honey Chicken, I knew I was about to create my all-time favorite salad.
This salad’s got it all: crispy hot honey chicken, fresh veggies, and a tangy honey-lemon Dijon dressing for the perfect mix of sweet, spicy, savory, and refreshing.
But let’s not forget — this summer dinner is loaded with toppings. Crumbly feta, creamy avocado, and crunchy toasted almonds take this dish from tasty to totally unforgettable.
Main Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: The chicken will be cut up into bite-sized pieces and dredged in breading.
- All-purpose flour: Essential for the breading mixture, this will help create a crispy coating on the chicken.
- Eggs: Another component of the breading mixture, beaten eggs help the flour stick to the chicken.
- Cornflakes: Adds an extra crunch to your chicken that’s way better than regular breadcrumbs.
- Honey: You can’t have hot honey chicken without some sweet honey!
- Hot sauce: delivers those spicy flavors that hot honey sauce is known for. Use your favorite hot sauce!
- Butter: This gets melted with the honey and hot sauce to create a delicious hot honey glaze.
- Mixed greens: I like to use a big pile of fresh romaine lettuce for this salad.
- Veggies: You’ll need fresh veggies like cherry tomatoes, cucumber, corn kernels, and red onion.
- Feta or goat cheese: Adds a salty, creamy element to the salad that balances out the spicy hot honey sauce.
- Lemon juice: This gets mixed with olive oil and Dijon to create a delicious, tangy dressing.
- Dijon mustard: Adds a pungent kick to the dressing and helps emulsify it.
Optional Ingredients
- Avocado: Creamy, buttery avocado is the perfect addition to this salad.
- Toasted almonds or pecans: Adds a crunchy texture and nutty flavor to the salad.
How to Make Hot Honey Chicken Salad
Step 1: Bread Chicken
Grab three shallow bowls to get started. In the first one, mix together some flour, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Crack a couple of eggs into the second bowl and give them a good whisk. In the third bowl, pour in the crushed cornflakes.
Now, take a few pieces of chicken at a time and toss them in the flour mixture. Dip them into the beaten eggs, then press them into the crushed cornflakes until they’re fully coated.
Once that’s done, set the breaded chicken aside on a plate.
Step 2: Air Fry
Give the basket a quick spray of oil and lay the chicken out in a single layer (you might need to cook it in two batches).
Air fry for 8 minutes at 400°F, flipping it halfway through, until it’s nice and crispy with golden brown edges.
Step 3: Make Hot Honey Sauce
While the chicken’s cooking, let’s whip up some hot honey sauce! In a small saucepan over low heat, combine honey, hot sauce, butter, and red pepper flakes.
Stir until butter melts and mixture is smooth. Give it a taste and tweak the heat with more hot sauce if you like it spicier.
Once the chicken’s ready, drizzle that hot honey all over and toss it around until every piece is coated.
Step 4: Make the Dressing
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper.
Step 5: Assemble & Serve
Alright, let’s bring it all together.
In a large bowl or several serving bowls, layer your greens, hot honey chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, corn, red onion, and avocado.
Sprinkle some crumbled cheese and nuts on top for that extra crunch. Drizzle with your favorite dressing, and you’re ready to dig in!
What to Serve with Hot Honey Chicken Salad
This hot honey chicken summer salad is already a filling meal in itself, but if you’re serving it up in smaller portions, there’s definitely more room on the table for some tasty accompaniments! Here are a few ideas to complete your menu:
Storage
Got leftover hot honey chicken salad? Keep the chicken, dressing, and salad in separate airtight containers. This way, the chicken stays crispy, and the salad won’t get soggy!
If you think you’ll have leftovers, you can always serve the salad separately and add dressing as needed. This will help keep everything fresh.
You can store the chicken for up to 3 days, and the dressing and salad for up to 2 days.
PrintRecipe
Air Fryer Hot Honey Chicken Summer Salad
- Total Time: 43 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
This Hot Honey Chicken Salad is bursting with flavor. Crispy cornflake-coated chicken is air-fried and glazed with hot honey, then tossed with fresh veggies and a zesty honey-lemon Dijon dressing. Perfect for summer!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into 1’’ bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups cornflakes, crushed (coarse crumbs)
- Cooking oil spray
Hot Honey Sauce:
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tbsp hot sauce (adjust to taste)
- 2 tbsp butter
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
For the Salad:
- 6 cups mixed greens
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup cucumber, sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh corn kernels (raw or lightly charred)
- ¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced (optional)
- 2–3 tablespoons toasted almonds or pecans (optional)
For the Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ tablespoon honey
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Set Up Dredging Stations:
- In one shallow bowl, mix the flour with onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- In a second bowl, beat the eggs.
- In a third bowl, add the crushed cornflakes.
- Bread the Chicken. Working a few pieces at a time, toss the chicken pieces in the flour mixture. Dip in the egg, then press into the crushed cornflakes, coating thoroughly. Transfer the breaded chicken to a plate.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes. Lightly grease the air fryer basket with oil spray and arrange chicken in a single layer. You may need to cook the chicken in two batches.
- Air fry for 8 minutes at 400°F, flipping halfway through, until crispy and browned around the edges.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the hot honey sauce. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine honey, hot sauce, butter, and red pepper flakes. Stir until butter melts and the mixture is smooth. Taste and adjust the hot sauce to your desired level of heat.
- Drizzle the hot honey over the chicken and toss until all of the pieces are coated.
For the salad:
- Make the Dressing. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and pepper.
- In a large bowl or several serving bowls, layer greens, hot honey chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, corn, red onion, and avocado. Sprinkle on the crumbled cheese and nuts.
- Drizzle with dressing and serve.
Notes
Got leftover hot honey chicken salad? Keep the chicken, dressing, and salad in separate airtight containers. This way, the chicken stays crispy, and the salad won’t get soggy! You can store the chicken for up to 3 days, and the dressing and salad for up to 2 days.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Salads
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
JM says
This recipe took some doing to get all the parts ready, but we loved it when it was done! Will definitely make it again.