Name: Crispy Fried Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 205 min
Ingredients: 3 - 3½ lbs boneless skinless chicken (breasts or thighs); 2 tablespoons Spice That Jalapeno All-Purpose Seasoning (or your favorite all-purpose seasoning); ⅓ cup pickle juice (from a jar); 1 - 1½ cups buttermilk; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 cup rice flour; 1 tablespoon black pepper; 1 tablespoon salt; frying oil (amount will vary based on pan used); ½ - ¾ cup buffalo sauce (like Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce); 12 count pack King's Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls; shredded lettuce, sliced roma tomatoes, blue cheese dressing (for topping)

These buffalo chicken sliders are made with perfectly crispy fried chicken tossed in buffalo sauce with the best homemade blue cheese dressing, all served on sweet Hawaiian rolls. An amazing game day sliders recipe that’ll have your crowd cheering for Buffalo!

Nothing says “party food” quite like buffalo chicken, and when you combine tender, crispy fried chicken with the creamy tang of homemade blue cheese dressing, you get a slider that’ll have you cheering – even if your favorite team is behind in the big game!

This buffalo chicken sliders recipe is perfect for football season, backyard cookouts, or any time you’re craving a crispy fried chicken sandwich and you don’t want to run to a drive-thru.

You’re just a few simple ingredients and a quick fry away from some of the best crispy buffalo chicken pieces that you’ve ever had! So let’s dig in!

And be sure to try some of our other favorite buffalo chicken recipes – like these buffalo chicken pinwheels and these buffalo chicken tacos!

fried buffalo chicken slider with blue cheese dressing

Why These Fried Buffalo Chicken Sliders are a Must-Try

Max Flavor and Crispy Texture: An overnight (or at least multi-hour) buttermilk brine ensures juicy, tangy chicken that fries up ultra-crispy, and gets just the right punch from buffalo sauce.
Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing: These buffalo chicken sliders feature our favorite homemade blue cheese dressing as the perfect accompaniment. The dressing alone makes this recipe worth a try!
Tailgate and Family Approved: Bite-sized sliders on soft King’s Hawaiian rolls make for easy, hands-on eating. Perfect for parties and game day spreads.

Preparing the Chicken

trimming the fat from boneless skinless chicken thighs

cutting a boneless skinless chicken thigh in half

Step 1: Trim the chicken. Start by trimming any weird excess fatty pieces off your chicken. We used a combination of boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs – the thighs typically have a large piece of gristly fat on one end that you’ll want to remove.

Step 2: Cut into slider-sized pieces. Cut your chicken into slider-friendly sized pieces. For the boneless thighs, cut in half crosswise to form two equally sized pieces. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, you should get three pieces from each breast.

How to Make the Best Fried Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Step 1: Season the chicken. Season the cut chicken pieces with your favorite all-purpose seasoning. We used Spice That Jalapeno All-Purpose Seasoning for this recipe, because it’s a fantastic blend for fried chicken. Add the seasoning to a large bowl with the chicken, and toss to evenly coat. *I prefer to season the chicken pieces like this versus seasoning the buttermilk marinade because it’s easier to judge how much seasoning you’re adding.

Step 2: Marinate the chicken. Pour about 1 cup of buttermilk and 1/3 cup of pickle juice (from a jar of pickles) into the bowl with the seasoned chicken. Make sure that there is enough buttermilk to cover the chicken, mix everything together briefly, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Step 3: Dredge the chicken in flour. Make a simple flour dredge in a large bowl by mixing together two parts all-purpose flour to one part rice flour – one of the secrets for ultra-crispy breading that isn’t heavy or greasy. Season the flour with a bit of salt and black pepper.

Then take the chicken straight from the marinade, let excess drip off, and add it to the flour mixture. Use a fork to dredge both sides of the chicken pieces, making sure to coat every nook and cranny. Shake off excess flour, and transfer to a sheet tray.

Then, allow the floured chicken to rest for about 10 minutes, and add back to the flour for a second coating. This is my hybrid double dredge method – not quite a complete double dredge, because you skip the moisture for the second round and just go straight into the flour for a second time. You’ll get a crunchier, lighter coating this way without the breading feeling too heavy.

*Chef’s Tip – After dredging the chicken in flour, you’ll need somewhere to place it while it’s waiting to be fried. Turn a wire cooling rack upside down, and place it on top of a sheet tray. Lay the floured chicken on the rack while the oil is heating up. This simple contraption helps to prevent the dreaded gummy-bottomed chicken.

Step 4: Fry the chicken. Preheat a large heavy-bottomed pan of frying oil to about 350°F. We used peanut oil, but you can also use vegetable or canola oil if you prefer.

When the oil is hot, carefully add the floured chicken pieces a few at a time, being careful to not overcrowd the pan. The breasts pieces will probably cook more quickly than the thighs. Plus, the thighs can be cooked to a higher internal temp (about 170-175°F) and still stay juicy, versus the breasts which only need to be cooked to 165°F.

As each piece of chicken reaches the correct internal temp, transfer to a wire cooling rack to drain off excess oil.

sprinkling fried chicken with Spice That seasoning

tossing fried chicken pieces in buffalo sauce

Step 5: Season the fried chicken. Immediately after the chicken comes out of the fryer, season with Spice That or your favorite all-purpose seasoning. If you add the seasoning right after the fryer, the residual moisture will help the seasoning to stick.

Step 6: Toss with buffalo sauce. Transfer a few pieces of fried chicken at a time to a large mixing bowl. Add a small amount of buffalo sauce, and toss so that the chicken is evenly coated.

Step 7: Assemble the fried buffalo chicken sliders. The final step is to assemble your delicious fried buffalo chicken sliders. Cut King’s Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally.

*Chef’s Tip – Breaking the pack of Hawaiian rolls in half makes them easier to cut horizontally because you only have to focus on a smaller amount of rolls at once.

Place one piece of buffalo chicken onto each bottom roll. Spoon blue cheese dressing over the chicken, and top with shredded lettuce and a slice of roma tomato. Roma tomatoes are perfectly sized for party sliders. Go here for our favorite homemade chunky blue cheese dressing – it’s amazing!

buffalo chicken sliders with fried chicken

Recipe Tips

Skip the rice flour if needed – Using rice flour in the dredge is a common practice for crispier fried chicken. However, you can use only all-purpose flour and the result will still be fantastic. Just be sure to still do the two coats of flour, spaced out by about 5-10 minutes.
Cooling rack trick – Use a wire cooling rack flipped upside down for your dredged chicken, so you don’t get that wet, soggy breading on the bottom.
A lighter double dredge method – Rather than doing a complete double dredge with two coatings of liquid and flour, dredge in the all-purpose flour, rest on the cooling rack, then dip back into the flour. Two coatings of flour will give you an extra crispy crust.
Fry in batches – Don’t overcrowd. Hot oil, plenty of space = crispy outsides, juicy insides.
Dress sliders right before serving – Toss the chicken in buffalo sauce and assemble the sliders immediately before serving. This will help prevent soggy chicken.