This Hot Chicken and Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Waffle recipe is a unique twist on the Nashville classic: a crispy fried boneless chicken breast, served on top of a spicy jalapeño, bacon, and sharp cheddar waffle with a fiery maple syrup sauce.
Hot Chicken and Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Waffle
During my formative (college) years in Tennessee, I developed an everlasting love for Nashville hot chicken. This type of chicken was unlike anything I had ever had before and I immediately fell in love with it!
And the one who set the standard for the absolutely perfectly-fried-to-a-crisp-insanely-spicy-red-colored-pickle-topped-on-a-fluffy-bed-of-white-bread-hot-chicken is…Prince’s in Nashville.
Since I don’t live near Nashville anymore, I had to make my own hot chicken recipe, but with a twist! I fried a lightly breaded, boneless chicken breast, put it on top of a spicy savory waffle, poured a maple hot sauce all over it, and named it Hot Chicken and Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Waffle recipe. I hope Prince’s would be proud.
Hot Chicken is SPICY!!!
If you’ve looked at any of my other recipes, you might be able to figure out that I like spicy foods (because I like it hot!!). When I decided quite a while ago to do a hot chicken and waffle recipe, I knew the waffle would have to be spicy too…and bacony…and cheesy.
The waffle recipe was such a hit over here that I’ve made them on their own several times and topped them with yummylicious things like, smoked pulled pork, sausage and gravy with a poached egg, and BBQ shrimp NOLA style.
Check out this waffle close up. See the bacon and jalapeño? And that crispy melted cheese on the edges? That’s why I’ve been stuffing myself with these things. They are dang good.
A little word on frying chicken: everyone has their own way of doing it, so feel free to fry your chicken the way that works for you. Although, I think I might have found the best way on how to fry chicken that works for me.
Best way to fry chicken
- Brine the chicken for at least 4 hours. I like to use pickle juice.
- Single coat the chicken with seasoned flour. I don’t feel a great need to double coat, so I don’t.
- Shallow fry in a cast iron pot or pan. Must be cast iron. Period.
- Drain the fried chicken on a wire rack. Because all fried foods should be drained on a wire rack.
In my opinion, these four simple rules produce the best fried chicken; however, you really shouldn’t listen to me though, I’ll just let the pic down below do the talking.
So head on down to Prince’s in Nashville for the original or try my version of Hot Chicken and Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Waffle. Also, make an extra batch of the waffles to eat later. Don’t forget to PIN the recipe for later too!
This Hot Chicken and Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Waffle recipe is a unique twist on the Nashville classic with a spicy cheesy waffle topped with a sweet-fiery maple sauce.
- 4 boneless chicken breasts , pounded out to an even thickness
- 1/2 cup pickle juice
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper hot sauce
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- vegetable or peanut oil for frying the chicken
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 3-4 tablespoon cayenne pepper hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg , beaten
- 1 to 1 1/4 cup milk
- 4 tablespoon butter , melted
- 1 cup sharp cheese , shredded
- 1/4 cup bacon (about 4 slices), cooked and crumbled
- 3 tablespoon fresh or pickled jalapeño , minced
Marinate the chicken breasts in the pickle juice in the refrigerator in a covered container for 4 hours.
- After marinating the chicken, remove container from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Set up a breading station with two shallow dishes. In one dish, combine the beaten egg, whole milk, and hot sauce. In the other dish, combine the flour and salt.
Remove the chicken from the pickle juice and dip into the egg-milk mixture first, then dip into the flour mixture.
Pour 2-3 inches of oil into a large cast iron pot or pan and heat the oil to 350F/176C degrees over medium-high heat. Fry each chicken breast for about 8 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature registers 165F/74C degrees. Drain on a wire rack over a sheet pan.
In a small pan over medium heat, combine the maple syrup with the cayenne pepper hot sauce, cayenne powder, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Reduce to low and keep warm.
- Pre-heat the waffle iron to the desired waffle setting (I used a soft waffle setting at 4.5)
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, milk, and melted butter until well combined. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix together just until the batter comes together. Fold the cheese, cooked bacon, and jalapeños into the batter.
- Lightly grease the waffle iron, if needed, and cook per the iron's directions. Mine took about 3-4 minutes.
- To assemble the dish, place one waffle on a plate, one fried chicken breast on top of the waffle, and pour a 1/4 cup of the maple hot sauce over it all.
Grab a big fork and knife and dig in!
- Extra waffles can be refrigerated for 1-2 days and frozen for up to 1-2 months.
I literally just read an article about Prince’s in Nashville that focused on none other than their hot chicken! I’ve been toying with the idea of making it for days now! Yours looks incredible! And your idea to top a savory waffle with a gorgeous piece of crispy chicken is brilliant!
Thank you Annie and can’t wait to see your recipe
This combination is incredible a savory waffle topped off with hot fried chicken! Love this idea Karrie!! looks great
Thanks Gaila! I can’t get enough savory waffles now!
OMG, I have been waiting for MONTHS for this post, Karrie!!! I almost fell out of my chair when I got your newsletter and THESE hot chicken and waffles appeared! Like WHOA! ANNNND, like about time!!! You are forgiven for making me wait, because these look crazy delicious, girlfriend!! That waffle is EVERYTHING! You know I’m with ya 100% in the spicy love department, so a waffle with jalapeno, bacon and cheese is mind blowing! And that chicken though! Smack my a$$ and call me Sallly, because that chicken is crispy perfection! PINNED! Can’t wait to make these! And you should totally turn this blog into a waffle blog, clearly you got mad waffle skillz. And mad chicken skillz for that matter. Cheers, buttercup! XO
Thanks girl and this recipe has been a ridiculously long time coming. I could never get those pics the way I wanted then to look. Actually still can’t but I put it up anyways! I love these waffles so much that I could eat them every day. Of course I would weigh 500 pounds but who cares!!
This looks wicked! I remember the first time I had chicken & waffles was when hubby and I went to Vegas and I’ve been in love with it ever since!! We make it home regularly, but your recipe looks amaaaazing. I mean, can’t go wrong! I smother mine in maple syrup & hot sauce. I could totally eat this for days straight. Love it and can’t wait to try!
Vegas sounds like the perfect place to have chicken & waffles for the first time! Ooooo, I hope you do try it because I gotta know what you think about it.
I’m vegetarian but I am CRAVING some sort of super spicy, deep-fried-y, cheesy carb + protein combination after reading this!! Eggs perhaps? I’ve never really done the savoury waffle thing, and I think by the time they became a thing in Toronto I was long gone. So question: is it overkill to put home fries on top of a waffle? Asking for a friend…
Heck no that’s not overkill! I was thinking you could leave out the bacon in the waffle and do a spicy sweet potato hash-like mixture (with some onions, mushrooms,and red peppers??) in place of the chicken, then put a poached or fried egg on top. I’m so doing that for a weekend veggie brunch…with mimosas (cause they are vegetarian and healthy due to the OJ)
Well, color me happy! That’s one hot and spicy chicken and waffle business! Wow! Dude, I totally wish I could participate in this spiciness, but I’m just too big of a weenie. Total wimp over here. I’ll tell you though, Chris would totally LOVE this hot chicken jalapeno bacon cheddar waffle! I’d make it for him! Because he deserves it for having to deal with me and that’s just the way I roll!
You know, I would never take you for being a wimp Rachelle. If you make them for Chris, leave out the jalapenos in the waffle and then you can eat the waffle with a plain fried chicken breast on top. Then everyone is happy. Oh yeah, be sure to put some of that NC BBQ on top too. BBQ on top of a cheese waffle is the best thing in life ever!
WOW! Seriously, wow! I just about fell out of my chair! First of all – total e.s.p., I was literally just thinking about chicken and waffles today. But you’ve taken it to a whole different level with this Tennessee hot chicken and bacon-cheddar waffles! Omg, why am I not eating this right now?! Phenomenal dish, Karrie!
Thank you Kathleen! I’m glad we are on the same thinking wavelength
Hi Karrie.
This is great.
Would you allow me to post this in my web/blog?
Thank you Dante and I’m honored you would like to post this on your website. Please feel free to use it and thanks again
Oh no you didn’t, girl!!! I nearly just passed out from happiness, excitement, hunger, excessive drool, and desperation to recreate this. This is like the best of America, seriously. Everyone thinks we’re all about KFC here and IHOP. UM NO! We are all about gourmet jalapeno bacon cheddar waffles and hot spicy chicken covered in hot maple sauce, yes ma’am. We’re fancy and this dish just proves it!!! I swear, to be your neighbor…..Lawd, puhlease make our paths cross one day and when they do, puhlease make it so that you’re whipping this up for dinner. UHmazing, Karrie…I die for realz. <3
Don’t pass out Beeta! lol! Fried chicken is the best of the good US of A. When you come visit the New England area, you will absolutely have to come over for a dinner or two or five
Fried chicken is a guilty pleasure of mine….it just tastes so darned good! I will need to try your method. I’ve never quite understood the chicken and waffle combo. I tried it once….. just give me the fried chicken! Must be a southern thing! Or maybe I just need to try it again!
Me too Kathy! Oh man, I could eat 2 whole chickens in one sitting if they were both fried
The single coated chicken looks incredibly crispy. The jalapeño, cheese, bacon waffle…Wow! And that kicked up maple syrup is the perfect topper for this insanely mouthwatering dish! You have really outdone yourself, Karrie!!
You always have the sweetest things to say Thao. Thank you so much
Whoa baby! Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles in LA…. Has NOTHING on you!
Haha! I wish Gigi xoxo
Watch out, we have just found our newest America’s Top Chef!!! Karrie, this recipe sounds off the chain! It is so brilliant and different. I shamefully will admit I am horrible at frying things. The fryer and I just don’t get along… So I wish I could hop over to your house and try this. The ingredient combinations are so creative!! I LOVE IT!! You really should submit this recipe to a recipe contest to Southern Living or Food Network. This one really looks like a winner! I am just in awe!! xoxo
Oh Katie, you are too sweet! Wait, what? You are horrible at frying? Don’t you live in the South? Girl, please don’t tell anyone else this because they will throw you out of NC!! lol! I’ll fry this or any other food for you whenever you want. xoxo
This looks AMAZING – I’m swooning over those savory waffles, and with that chicken?! Can’t get better.
Thank you Rachel and thanks for stopping by too
My kids love chicken, waffles and spicy. I will prepare this dish for them, seem very tasty, thank you for the recipe
That;s great that your kids love spicy! Please let me know what they think of the recipe (because you know kids will tell the honest truth)
I just made this recipe and it was incredible. I normally don’t comment on recipe sites but this is definitely worth making. I doubled the recipe and it fed 8 hungry people with just a little left over. The waffles were good but the flavors of the bacon, and jalapenos were kinda lost among the chicken and maple syrup. I may leave them out next time just to save some time and money.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and rate this recipe Ryan and very happy you all enjoyed it! I’ve made this once for a group of friends for brunch and they loved it too!
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