Hot Chicken Pancakes with Sriracha Maple Syrup
Topped with crispy, tender, freshly fried chicken, these hot chicken pancakes are absolutely gonna knock your socks off!
It seems like every trendy restaurant has hopped on the Nashville Hot Chicken bandwagon, and for good reason! There’s something magical about the combination of hot crispy chicken paired with sweet pancakes or waffles.
This hot chicken pancakes recipe includes fresh chicken dipped in rich buttermilk and sprinkled with classic spices like smoked paprika and garlic. The pancakes are thick and fluffy, thanks to the whole milk, and the juxtaposition of peppery fried chicken and tender pancakes is absolute perfection on a plate.
And the sauce! The sriracha hot sauce is just what you need to balance that generous pour of syrup you know you’re going to add to your fluffy pancake stack.
About this recipe
Hot chicken pancakes are a twist on the always-popular chicken and waffles dish. Every part of this recipe is made fresh in your kitchen, but requires only 5 minutes of prep time!
If you like hot and sweet flavors, this is a must-make dish for sure! And if you have people who don’t love a super spicy sauce don’t worry: the sauce comes on the side. You can swap in a little honey or stick to the maple syrup.
Hot, sweet, crispy, and tender. The best of all possible worlds!
What you need
As always, keep scrolling for the printable recipe!
- For the Pancakes: These are pretty traditional fluffy pancakes. You’ll need flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, and milk.
- For the Crispy Chicken: The chicken itself is flavorful, but not super spicy. Most of the spice in this recipe comes from the sauce. You’ll want to use boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe, although thighs would also work. You’ll also need flour, baking powder, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, buttermilk, and egg.
- For the Sauce: This is where the heat comes in, but you can easily adapt it to your taste. It’s made of maple syrup, sriracha sauce, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce or eliminate the red pepper flakes if you don’t like a lot of heat, increase them if you like more heat! Same goes for the sriracha. Taste the mixture as you’re making it and adjust it until it’s perfect for you.
How to make it
You’ll make the pancakes like you make any other pancake. Mix the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients. Mix together well and cook over medium heat.
Tip: To keep pancakes warm while you cook the chicken (or the chicken warm, if you want to do that first), place cooked pancakes on a wire baking rack placed on top of a sheet pan in a warm oven (175-200ºF). This will keep them warm and crispy while you finish cooking the rest.
To make chicken, first coat in buttermilk and egg mixture, and then coat in the flour and spices.
Heat a large pan over medium heat with frying oil (it doesn’t have to be deep). Fry chicken on each side until cooked through and golden brown.
To make the sauce, mix red pepper flakes, maple syrup and sriracha sauce. Microwave on medium until warm. Serve on pancakes. Warming the sauce ensures that it doesn’t cool down your chicken and pancakes.
How to make this recipe your own
- If you have people who don’t love a super spicy sauce, you can drizzle your chicken with a little honey or just stick with maple syrup. You can also skip the red pepper flakes to tone down the heat.
- If you prefer a savory profile, you can add a little dollop of goat cheese on top of your chicken and sprinkle with fresh chives.
- If you like tabasco, you can sub it in the sauce for the red pepper flakes.
- This recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breast, but you can use boneless chicken thighs or wings too.
- The sriracha sauce is so good on so many dishes! Use it for dipping, sandwiches, and more! Try it on these savory pancakes!
Storage Suggestions
Let pancakes cool down completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge. Store chicken separately in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If freezing, wrap pancakes and chicken separately, in airtight containers, for up to 3 months.
Reheating Tips
Reheat in microwave in 30 second intervals until warm. Chicken would also reheat well in an air fryer or the oven.
More savory breakfast recipes
- Zucchini Fritters
- Bacon, Jalapeno, Cheddar Sheet Pan Pancakes
- Ham and Pineapple Sheet Pan Pancakes
- Sheet Pan Breakfast Hash
- Corn Fritters
Get the Recipe: Hot Chicken Pancakes
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- Butter for cooking
Crispy Hot Chicken
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 4 (6 oz each) boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips if desired
- Oil for frying
Hot Sauce
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup sriracha sauce
- Sea salt and black pepper optional
Instructions
Pancakes
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Make a well in the middle, crack egg and pour milk in the flour mixture. Mix well. It’s fine if there are some lumps.
- Heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat with a bit butter. Use ¼ cup of batter to make 1 pancake. Cook until bubbles form, then flip and cook on the other side until nicely brown.
- See notes regarding keeping pancakes warm while you prepare the chicken.
Crispy Hot Chicken
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
- In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk and egg together.
- Cut chicken into small tenders and toss them, one piece at a time in the buttermilk mixture then in the flour mixture. Coat chicken well.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat with frying oil. Fry chicken on each side until cooked through and golden brown.
- Serve with pancakes.
Hot Sauce
- In a small bowl, mix red pepper flakes, maple syrup and sriracha sauce. Microwave on medium until warm. Serve on pancakes.
Notes
- If desired, you can replace the red pepper flakes with 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce.
- Chicken thighs will also work for this recipe.
- Let pancakes cool down completely before storing in an airtight container. Store chicken separately. Will keep up to 3 days.
- If freezing, wrap pancakes and chicken separately, and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Chicken will lose its quality slightly when frozen.
- To keep pancakes warm while you cook the chicken (or the chicken warm, if you want to do that first), place cooked pancakes on a wire baking rack placed on top of a sheet pan in a warm oven (175-200ºF). This will keep them warm and crispy while you finish cooking the rest.