Pimento Cheese Chicken & Waffles

All together now! Pimento cheese, hot honey, pimento cheese buttermilk waffles, buttermilk fried chicken... what else could you ask for?

Recipe Video Here!

Classic buttermilk waffles with my homemade pimento cheese incorporated in got married to buttermilk fried chicken and drizzled with my hot honey. Just. Yes. I don't know why I thought of making this but I think that Chick-fil-A sandwich left me craving something... more.

I'm not TRYING to come for Chik-fil-A but to be honest... I'm coming for Chik-fil-A.

This breakfast, brunch, lunch, or breakfast for dinner feeds 4 people for less than what that meal at Chik-fil-A would cost, is a lot more food, and tastes WAYYYY better.

If you don't have buttermilk that's totally fine, just use whole milk and add a tablespoon of lemon juice to it. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and voila, buttermilk!

Pimento Cheese Chicken & Waffles Recipe

Ingredients:

For Pimento Cheese Waffles:

• 2 cups AP flour

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups buttermilk

• 1/3 cup butter, melted

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup pimento cheese spread for batter

• 1 cup pimento cheese spread to use at the end

• Non-stick spray

For Fried Chicken Tenders:

• Marinade:

• 2 pounds chicken tenders

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• Breading:

• 1 1/2 cups AP flour

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 4 tablespoons buttermilk

• Frying Oil

Directions:

1. Marinade your chicken the night before, if you can. In a large bowl combine all marinade ingredients and chicken. Toss to coat and set in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours or overnight. The longer, the juicier!

2. Start your waffles first; they can hold and stay warm in the oven while you're frying the chicken without really being effected. If you have a helper in the kitchen who can make the waffles while you make the chicken that works too!

3. Prepare the waffles by mixing all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

4. In a measuring cup or smaller bowl, whisk buttermilk and butter. Add egg and pimento cheese and whisk well to break down egg and pimento cheese, you want it to look like a pimento cheese sauce.

5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently fold with a spatula. Don't over mix, stop when it looks like a wet sandy mix.

6. Let your batter sit for about 15 minutes.

7. Preheat your waffle maker and spray with non-stick spray before adding about 1/2-3/4 cup batter (depends on the size of your waffle maker). This is the closest to mine that I found, it makes 2 waffles at once so it's super handy!

8. Set waffles aside in the oven on warm while you fry up the chicken tenders.

9. When you're ready, combine dry breading ingredients and mix with a fork or whisk.

10. Add buttermilk and stir to create clumps of breading. This will stick to your chicken and create the crispy bits that you want!

11. Cover a cookie sheet with paper towels for the fried tenders to rest.

12. Prepare the cooking oil, you need about 2 inches worth of oil, depending on how large your pan is that amount will vary. This recipe works best with a deeper fry than a shallow fry. You want your oil to be 350F. I suggest using a thermometer to check the heat so your oil isn't too low or high.

13. Coat your chicken in the dry mixture and drop 3-4 pieces in the frying oil at a time, don't overcrowd and risk an over boil.

14. Cook until golden brown and set aside on the paper towel lined cookie sheet.

15. Take your waffles and spread a bit of pimento cheese on top, add 2 chicken tenders, drizzle with hot honey, enjoy!

My husband and I were making all kinds of "good food" noises when we ate this. It's definitely a breakfast or brunch show stopper!

The crunchy lovely chicken tenders with the cheesy, fluffy waffles and the sweet hot honey are just a PERFECT combination. This was absolutely better than going out for breakfast. The ingredients were mostly pantry staples so this barely cost us $8 for both of us to have a very indulgent meal.

I hope you give this recipe a try! If you try it please let me know how it works out for you! You can tag me in stories or DM me on Instagram or TikTok @LizaHomesteads!