Chipotle Honey Chicken Poppers

One day during my pinning frenzy I came across these yummy looking little chicken nuggets - err, poppers. I happily pinned them to 'Food!' and after making then, they definitely deserve the exclamation point! Who would have thought that these bite size chicken poppers could pack such flavor and make an awesome meal for two grown adults?

The breading on these is just the best - we have started to use it as our go-to berading recipe. It leaves a crisp shell and really sticks well to your food. The sauce on these is great. It had a little kick at the end but nothing too powerful. I can definitely see myself serving these as an app or party food, plus it's going into our dinner rotation. Since there's a breading I just left out a carb side and we had the chicken and veggies - filling enough!

*Note - I subbed 2 ingredients, which I have shown below. It still came out really yummy and I didn't have to go buy more ingredients from the store which is always a plus!

Chipotle Honey Chicken Poppers (from Table for Two)
5 chicken tenderloins, cubed

For the Sauce:

2/3 cup honey (I used agave)

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tbsp. white vinegar

2 tsp. chipotle powder (I used Mexican Chili Powder. Regular Chili Powder would work also)

1/2 tsp. salt

For the Egg Mix:

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup milk

For the Breading:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. dried basil

Prepare a plate lined with paper towels for the chicken after it’s done cooking in the oil. Set aside.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to mix. Turn off the heat and set aside.

In a small, shallow dish, combine the egg and milk. Set aside.

In another shallow dish, combine the ingredients for the breading. Set aside.

Bread the chicken cubes by first coating it in the bread mixture then the egg wash then back in the breading. Put the coated chicken cubes on a plate. Continue until all the chicken have been breaded.

Pop the plate of chicken in the fridge for about 20 minutes. It’ll help the breading stick to the chicken.

In a large skillet, add a thin layer of vegetable oil and place over medium high heat.

Once the oil is glistening, add in the chicken (I did it in 2 batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan) and cook the chicken until it’s cooked through & the breading is nice and crispy brown.

Once the first batch is done, put the cooked chicken on the prepared plate with the paper towel. Continue with the second batch and once that’s cooked, add that to the prepared plate.

In a large bowl, put in your cooked chicken and pour the sauce all over. Toss well to coat every bite.