So we’re a couple weeks into 2015 – how are those New Year’s resolutions going? Meh? Mine too. Well, actually – I didn’t really make a resolution, so I suppose mine are going great!! But really, I’ve been finding myself teetering between wanting to eat super healthy foods and drink lots of water all day, to wanting to cozy up on the couch and stuff copious amounts of these cookies into my face.

This recipe was born out of that tension. The day I came up with this idea, I desperately wanted to have chicken and waffles – oh fried chickeny goodness! But I also didn’t particularly want all the grease that tends to accompany all that deliciousness. So I found this fantastic oven-fried chicken recipe over on The Recipe Rebel and proceeded to half it and adjust it to give it a little more crunch.

I started to run with the idea of a sweet/salty/spicy combination for this recipe and sought out a waffle recipe that would be a good base for that. We had some extra buttermilk leftover in the fridge (from a recipe I’ll share soon!) so I figured I should use it to make buttermilk waffles…as one does. (This was literally the first time I’ve ever bought buttermilk – if you don’t have any, just add 1 Tbs lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let sit for 5-10 minutes before using.) I found this delicious-looking recipe for bacon, cheddar, green onion waffles over on The Candid Appetite. Don’t those waffles sound incredible?? Well, I didn’t have any bacon on-hand. Or green onions. And I was too hungry for chicken and waffles to make a special trip to the store. Don’t worry, we’re going to make up for lack-of-bacon with our sauce!

I really wanted this recipe to have a kick to it – that’s where the Sriracha and jalapeño come in! While your chicken is baking in the oven, you can whip up this spicy sweet Sriracha maple yogurt sauce to drizzle over your chicken and waffles. If you’re not a fan of spicy food, leave out the jalapeño and take it easy on the Sriracha. The yogurt helps cool down the flavor a bit, so don’t be scared! Adjust the flavors to whatever your taste buds prefer!

Chicken n Waffles with a Spicy Sweet Sriracha Maple Sauce

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Servings 2

Ingredients

  

Chicken (Adapted from Recipe Rebel)

• 2 chicken breasts cut into strips
• 3 Tbs butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/4 c panko
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 Tbs seasoning salt I used this recipe to make my own. You can also use something like Lawry's seasoning salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp paprika

Waffles (Adapted from The Candid Appetite)

• 1 c flour
• 2 Tbs light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 2.5 Tbs butter melted and cooled
• 1 c buttermilk at room temperature
• 1/2 c cheddar cheese shredded (or cut into tiny chunks)

Sauce

• 1/2 c plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 Tbs Sriracha
• 1 Tbs + 1 tsp real maple syrup
• 1 jalapeño diced and seeded
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

• Chives

Instructions

 

Chicken

• Heat oven to 400F. Melt butter on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven. Keep watch on it and remove from the oven once it has melted.
• Combine flour, panko, salt, seasoning salt, pepper, and paprika in a large ziplock bag. Add sliced chicken and shake to coat the chicken. Place on buttered baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven, flip chicken, and bake another 10-12 min. (My chicken slices were fairly thin, so I only baked them 5 additional minutes.) Remove from the oven and let rest once finished. Lower the oven temperature to 200 degrees.

Waffles

• Combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Make a well in the center.
• Crack the eggs in a separate bowl, whisk together, and pour into the flour mixture. Add butter and buttermilk and stir together to combine. Fold in the cheddar cheese.
• Depending on the size of your waffle maker, cooking time will vary. Lightly grease your waffle maker before pouring batter in. I used a 1/3 c measurement to scoop the batter in and that made the perfect size waffles. Remove waffles when golden.

Sauce

• Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and keep in fridge until ready to serve

To serve

• Once the oven temperature has lowered to 200F, you can keep the chicken and waffles in the oven to keep them warm for a few minutes till you're ready to serve them.
• Top each waffle with chicken, spicy sweet sauce, and chives. Serve as an open-face sandwich or top with another waffle for a full sandwich.

Notes

Update - After making this recipe a few more times, we've found that we like our waffles to have a bit more crunch to them. We pop them in the toaster right before serving to ensure they're warm and create a slightly crunchy exterior.