Description

These Nashville Hot Chicken Sliders feature spicy, crispy, juicy fried chicken tenders nestled in soft slider buns with tangy coleslaw, sliced pickles, and a delicious homemade sauce. Perfect for parties or casual dinners, they bring the authentic Nashville hot chicken flavor right to your kitchen.

Ingredients

Scale

Chicken Marinade / Dredge

6-8 chicken tenders
2 egg whites
1 cup buttermilk (240g) (make your own with 1 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Flour Coating / Breading

1 cup all purpose flour (130g)
2 tbsp cornstarch
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Deep Frying

2 inches vegetable oil for frying (in a large skillet or wok)

Nashville Hot Sauce

2-3 tbsp cayenne pepper (adjust for spice preference)
1 tbsp paprika
1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
½ cup hot vegetable oil (from frying skillet)

Coleslaw

1 ½ cups shredded cabbage (mix of purple and green)
⅓ cup mayonnaise
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vinegar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Slider Sauce

¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup ketchup
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Assembly

12 mini slider buns or 6-8 full sized buns
2-4 pickles, thinly sliced

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Instructions

Prepare the Marinade: Remove tendons and excess fat from chicken tenders. If using mini slider buns, cut each tender in half to fit. In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg whites, salt, and pepper until egg whites are broken down. Add chicken tenders, mix well, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Make Coleslaw and Slider Sauce: While chicken marinates, mix shredded cabbage, mayo, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl to make coleslaw. In another bowl, combine mayo, ketchup, salt, and pepper for slider sauce. Thinly slice pickles.
Prepare Flour Coating: In a low bowl or plate, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
Coat the Chicken: Remove a piece of chicken from the marinade, shaking off excess liquid. Dip it into the flour mixture, coating both sides thoroughly. Shake off excess flour, dip back into the marinade, shake off excess, then coat again with flour mixture. Place coated tenders on a wire rack. Repeat until all pieces have double coating. Rest for 20 minutes while heating oil.
First Fry: Heat vegetable oil to 350°F in a large skillet or wok. Fry a third to half of the chicken tenders for 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway, until cooked through but lightly colored. Remove and drain on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining chicken.
Rest Between Fries: Wait 10-15 minutes after the first fry to allow tenders to rest.
Second Fry: Ensure oil is still at 350°F. Fry chicken again for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on wire rack.
Make Nashville Hot Sauce: In a bowl, combine cayenne pepper, paprika, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Carefully remove ½ cup hot oil from frying skillet and pour over spices. Whisk thoroughly to dissolve and create the sauce.
Coat Chicken with Hot Sauce: Immediately after frying, use tongs to dunk each piece into the Nashville hot sauce, coating all sides. Return to wire rack over a baking sheet to catch drips.
Assemble Sliders: Warm slider buns on stovetop or microwave. Spread a generous amount of slider sauce on the bottom bun, add sliced pickles, then place the Nashville hot chicken on top. Add coleslaw generously and cover with the top bun.
Serve: Serve sliders while hot for best flavor and texture.

Notes

These sliders are best eaten fresh for optimal crispiness.
You can halve the recipe if you want fewer sliders.
Chicken coated with flour can be frozen before frying for future use.
To reheat fried chicken, use an air fryer at 300°F until crispy again.
Adjust cayenne pepper in the hot sauce to control spiciness to your liking.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 mini slider
Calories: 280 kcal
Sugar: 3 g
Sodium: 550 mg
Fat: 18 g
Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 18 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 14 g
Cholesterol: 50 mg