Nashville hot chicken with pickles and cool ranch slaw
40 min · 51 g protein · 464 cals / serving
Crunchy chicken brushed while it is still sizzling with a brick-red paste of cayenne, paprika and a little brown sugar, so it is smoky, sweet and properly hot all at once. Served the Nashville way, on a slice of soft white bread with a pile of pickle chips, plus a cold dill-ranch slaw to put the fire out.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 large breasts (1 1/2 lb) chicken breast, each halved horizontally into 2 cutlets
- scant 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper hot sauce
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups corn flakes, crushed to coarse crumbs
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- a light coat cooking spray
Hot paste
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes, ground cayenne pepper; use 2 tsp for medium heat
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika, smoked if you have it
- 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
To serve
- 4 slices light white bread
- 24 pickle chips reduced sodium dill pickles
Ranch slaw
- 5 cups cabbage, finely shredded
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- a pinch salt
Steps
- Stir the yogurt, hot sauce and salt together, add the chicken cutlets and turn to coat. Marinate 20 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the fridge.
- Mix the flour, crushed cornflakes, garlic powder and pepper on a plate. Lift each cutlet from the marinade and press it firmly into the crumbs on both sides.
- Heat the air fryer to 400°F. Lay the cutlets in one layer, spray lightly, and cook 10–12 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and they read 165°F in the thickest part.
- While they cook, make the hot paste: warm the oil in a small pan over low heat for a minute, take it off the heat and stir in the cayenne, paprika, brown sugar and garlic powder. It should sizzle softly and turn brick-red. Brush it all over the hot chicken straight away.
- Toss the cabbage with the yogurt, dill, green onion, lemon juice, onion powder and salt. Serve each piece of chicken on a slice of bread with pickle chips on top and the slaw alongside.
Good to know
How hot is it?
With a full tablespoon of cayenne it is a solid 'hot' in Nashville terms. Use 2 teaspoons for medium, or 1 teaspoon plus extra paprika for mild with all the colour.
Why brush the paste on at the end?
Spices burn in an air fryer. Warm oil blooms them gently, and brushing it onto the hot crust keeps the crunch while every bite gets the heat.
Thighs instead of breast?
Yes, they are juicier and more forgiving; the dish ends up richer, at about 54 instead of 64. Cook boneless thighs 12–14 minutes to the same 165°F.
Per
- Calories
- 132
- Protein
- (45%)
- 14 g
- Fat
- (24%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (31%)
- 11 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 292 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1857 kcal goes into the pot and 1657 g of ingredients comes out as about 1410 g of food: 132 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.