Category: Copycat Recipes

This is easily one of my favorite chicken recipes, from roasted to fried. Doesn’t matter how they were prepared, this one wins. Hands down. The coating on this copycat recipe of Chili’s honey chipotle chicken fingers is perfect. It adheres to the chicken. Bite after bite, it sticks. It’s got a tremendous, delicious crunchiness to it. And I mean crazy crunchy too! And then there’s the sauce. It’s slightly sweet with just the right amount of smokiness and heat. I think it’s fantastic. So fantastic that I doubled the recipe. Why? Because more is better! That and I’m a sauce-a-holic. More sauce is always more better, I always say!

The Perfect Sauce

The sauce for these copycat recipe Chili’s honey chipotle chicken fingers has just the right amount of sweetness. From honey. Yummy honey. There’s just a little bit of heat and smokiness. Chipotle chili pepper is great in a sauce. It adds that bit of a kick from jalapenos. And it adds the flavor and aroma of the smoke used to smoke the jalapenos. It’s great stuff and it’s what really makes this sauce fantastic.

Great On Salads, Too

These chicken fingers are also great on top of a bed of greens for a tremendous fried chicken salad. Just add your favorite dressing. The sauce might be a little much for a salad, so grab your favorite and use that instead. Save the sauce for more chicken!

Kick It Up A Bit

If you like your sauce to have a little more heat to it, just add a little hot sauce to it while it is simmering. I wouldn’t go nuts with it. These aren’t Buffalo tenders or wings.

You can also spice up the chicken batter by adding a few good pinches of cayenne pepper. Or some of that chipotle chili pepper that’s also in the sauce. Again, don’t go crazy with it. These aren’t meant to be super-hot.

The Presto Fry Daddy is perfect for making smaller batches of food. It only uses a few cups of oil and comes to temperature quickly. Clean-up is easy too!

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Also try my copycat Chili’s crispy shrimp.

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5 from 3 votes

Chili’s Honey Chipotle Chicken Fingers (Copycat Recipe)

Golden delicious, crunchy chicken fingers with a sweet heat sauce that is to-die for!

Course Appetizer or Main

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken, deep-fried

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 605kcal

Equipment

• Saucepan
• Pie Pans
• Deep Fryer

Ingredients

For the batter

• 1 egg beaten
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour

For the breading

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ¾ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

For the chicken fingers

• 8 chicken tenderloins trimmed of any fat, cut into smaller pieces of desired
• vegetable oil for frying

For the sauce (double if you like a lot of sauce)

• ⅔ cup honey
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chipotle chili pepper
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

For the sauce

• Place all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer 2-4 minutes or until thickened slightly.
• Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.

For the batter

• In a shallow bowl or pie plate, combine all of the batter ingredients EXCEPT for the flour. Continue stirring for 30 seconds.
• Whisk or stir in the flour until smooth.

For the breading

• In a shallow bowl or pie plate, combine all of the breading ingredients.

For the chicken fingers

• Heat 3″ of oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 350 F.
• Working in batches as needed, dip chicken tenderloin pieces into the batter. Shake off any excess.
• Toss the chicken pieces in the breading and coat well. Do not shake off any excess.
• Fry wings for about 8 minutes or until golden brown and cooked completely.
• Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Serve tenders drizzled with the sauce or serve the sauce on the side for dipping. I do not recommend tossing the chicken in the sauce as it'll knock off the delicious crunchy coating.

Notes

Serve with more sauce and Ranch dressing for dipping!

Nutrition

Calories: 605kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 2430mg | Potassium: 597mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 247IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional values are approximate.

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