Crunchy Honey Cajun Chicken Bowls

Why you’ll love this crunchy chicken bowl

Incredibly crunchy cornflake baked chicken tenders tossed with Cajun spices and drizzled with hot honey. This easy cornflake chicken recipe comes together with simple ingredients and is ready in about half an hour. Succulent, low-fat tenders, steamed rice, your favorite salad, and a creamy bang bang sauce.

We start by marinating the chicken with Cajun seasoning, then coat them in crunchy cornflakes. After baking to juicy tenderness, they are generously covered with a to-die-for hot honey Cajun glaze. Each bowl bursts with flavor and pure deliciousness.

The best part? This dinner is incredibly versatile. You can use chicken breasts, thighs, or tenderloins and serve them over rice, sweet potato fries, or oven-baked French fries.The tenders are seasoned in three layers, the chicken is marinated first, then the egg coating, and the cornflake crumbs, resulting in an explosion of flavors. But we don’t stop there! The tenders are topped off with a delightfully spicy Cajun honey glaze and served over steamed jasmine rice. As if that wasn’t enough, we add even more flavor and a bit of extra spice with the sweet chili-mayo sauce. These chicken tenders are a true flavor-packed sensation that you won’t believe until you try it! Get ready for a treat!
Let me guide you through the recipe with this easy step-by-step VIDEO.

Ingredients, Tips and Substitutions

• Cornflake Coating: You’ll need cornflakes and some delicious spices like Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and dried parsley. You can also add a pinch of cayenne pepper for more heat.
• Chicken: We’ll be using chicken tenders (tenderloins) combined with Cajun seasoning, salt and black pepper. You can also use skinless/boneless chicken thighs or breasts cut into pieces.
• Egg Mixture: You’ll also need eggs, milk (use whole milk or plant-based milk), and hot sauce. The egg mixture is used to coat the chicken before tossing it in cornflakes to create a sticky surface that helps the cornflakes adhere to the chicken, resulting in a crispy and flavorful crust when baked.

• For the Honey Cajun Glaze: Homemade hot honey is made with just regular honey, hot sauce, a little bit of lemon juice, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, dried parsley, and chili flakes. You can use your favorite hot sauce like Cholula or Tabasco, I also love to add a teaspoon of sambal oelek to the the hot honey, but you can also use sriracha or chili oil. Feel free to add more to taste! You can substitute the honey with maple syrup if that’s what you have on hand.
• Rice: Jasmine rice is the go-to in this recipe, but you can also use Basmati, white or brown rice. Instead of rice, try it with baked sweet potato fries, oven fried french fries, tacos, pasta, mashed potatoes or potato wedges.
• Bang Bang Sauce: A magical combination of just a few ingredients. Made with mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce and Sriracha for heat. If you like your sauce with some extra ‘bang’, feel free to add more Sriracha. You can find my recipe for the bang bang sauce here  ‘Cajun Bang Bang Salmon Bowls’.

Recipe tips

• Egg Substitute: If you prefer not to use eggs for the “egg wash”, you can always substitute with mayonnaise.
• Homemade Cajun Spices: Create your own Cajun spice blend using 2 tbsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp each onion powder + garlic powder, 1 tsp each dried thyme + dried oregano + salt + black pepper + cayenne pepper + chili powder + ground cumin
• Serving Suggestions: Pair with a cucumber salad, steamed or roasted broccoli, avocado, shredded carrots or steamed green beans.
• Make Ahead: You can marinate the chicken and prepare all the ingredients for meal prep up to 1 day prior, storing them individually. Keep the cornflakes combined with the seasoning mixture in a nicely sealed ziplock bag at room temperature.

Storage

• Fridge: Enjoy the Cajun chicken tenders on the day they’re made for their optimal crispiness. Any leftovers can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheating: To maintain their crispiness, reheat the chicken tenders on the stove in a skillet heated over medium with added butter or oil, or use the oven.

Try These Next

• Cajun bang bang salmon bowls

• Greek chicken tzatziki bowl

• Loaded hummus bowl with spicy meatballs