Chicken and waffle tacos combine two of our favorite guilty pleasures into one great recipe. Crispy chicken is cradled in a crispy, fluffy waffle taco and topped with maple honey mustard sauce.
Chicken and waffles is one of my all-time favorite foods. It's a breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and it's always delicious. I gave it a new twist by turning it into tacos!
Chicken and Waffle Taco
This was inspired by my other creative taco recipe on this site, and pairs well with this amazing nacho fries sidedish recipe.
Chicken and Waffle Taco Ingredients
It only takes some basic ingredients to make both the tacos and the maple honey mustard sauce. You can find them all at your local grocery store.
For the Tacos
- Water
- Pancake mix
- Vegetable oil
- Pepper
- Brown sugar
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
- Flour
- Granulated garlic
- Eggs
- Panko bread crumbs
- Garlic pepper
For the Maple Honey Mustard Sauce
- Maple syrup
- Honey
- Spicy brown mustard
- Brown sugar
How to Make Chicken and Waffle Tacos
There are a few steps to this recipe, but don't let that scare you away. When you break it down, it's all very easy. Even beginners can make this!
Step 1: Prep
Measure out all of your ingredients and dice the chicken breasts. Set up a dredging station of one bowl of flour and garlic, one bowl of eggs, and one bowl of panko and garlic pepper for the chicken. Preheat your waffle iron. Then, fill a pot with 3 inches of vegetable oil. Heat it to 375 degrees.
Step 2: Make the Waffle Batter
In a medium bowl, combine the water, pancake mix, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and pepper and whisk until smooth.
Step 3: Make the Waffles
Add 2 tablespoons of the waffle batter to the waffle iron and cook for 1 - 2 minutes until golden. Place the waffles on a kitchen towel and cover them to allow the steam to keep them soft.
Step 4: Bread the Chicken
Dredge the diced chicken in flour, eggs, and then panko, thoroughly coating each piece in each station.
Step 5: Fry the Chicken
Add the chicken carefully to the hot oil and fry for 3 - 4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
Step 6: Make the Maple Honey Mustard Sauce
While the chicken is frying, combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well.
Step 7: Make the Tacos
Uncover the waffles and place them in taco molds or between the cups of an upside-down muffin tin to create the taco shape. Then, add 3 - 4 pieces of chicken to the tacos and drizzle them with the maple honey mustard sauce. Garnish with fresh chives and enjoy!
Hint: If you don't have a taco mold, I highly recommend it. It's perfect for this recipe and to hold your traditional tacos, as well.
Substitutions
Don't have the correct ingredients on hand or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this waffle taco recip.
- Chicken Nuggets - Save time by using frozen chicken nuggets for this recipe.
- Syrup - If you don't have or don't like maple syrup, syrups like Mrs. Butterworth will also work.
- Brown Mustard - If you don't like heat, use regular brown mustard in place of the spicy variety.
Variations
Want to personalize this chicken and waffle tacos recipe? Here are some of my tried and true tips for changing up this recipe.
- Extra Spicy - Add chili pepper flakes or cayenne to the flour mixture for a spicy kick.
- Add Cheese - Believe it or not, a little melted cheese on top of these tacos is amazing.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy the best fried chicken and waffles recipe.
Storage
You can store the chicken for this recipe in the refrigerator for 3 - 4 days. The waffles will last for 5 - 7 days in the refrigerator. However, I recommend only making as many of these as you'll eat at one time. They're so much better fresh.
What to Serve with Chicken and Waffles
- If you're wondering what to serve with chicken and waffles you have definitely come to the right place. Have a look at our post What to Serve with Chicken and Waffles with all of our favorites listed. I think you'll be glad you did!
Chicken and waffles is a delicious meal, but a side dish would take it to the next level. Check out What to Serve With Chicken Marsala to find the perfect one.
Tips
While this recipe is very easy, I have a few tips that will make this the best recipe it can possibly be.
- Remove your waffles as soon as they become golden. You need them soft to mold them into a taco shape.
- If you do store these tacos, refrigerate the chicken and the waffles separately.
- Let the waffle batter rest for about 5 minutes to achieve the fluffiest interior possible.
FAQ
Do you have questions about this waffle taco recipe? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about chicken and waffle tacos.
These will last for 3 - 4 days in the refrigerator, but I recommend only making as many as you'll serve.
You can freeze the chicken for up to 2 months, but I don't recommend it. The coating will lose all its crispiness.
The best way to reheat them is to place them in the microwave at 30-second intervals until warm.
You either overcooked them or you didn't let them soften enough under the towel. The waffles need to be soft in order to bend.
Overmixing the batter can make waffles tough. Also, try letting your waffle batter sit for about 5 minutes before cooking the waffle to allow the gluten created by mixing the batter to relax.
More Fried Chicken Recipes
Do you like fried chicken? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
Chicken and Waffle Tacos
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Chicken and Waffle Tacos
Equipment
- waffle iron
- taco mold
- large pot or deep fryer
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup water
- 1 ¾ cup pancake mix any “just add water” mix
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts diced
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic pepper
Maple Honey Mustard Syrup
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Get out and measure your ingredients.
- Preheat waffle iron.
- Fill a pot with 3” of vegetable oil and heat to 375 degrees.
- Prepare waffle batter. In a medium mixing bowl, combine water, pancake mix, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and pepper.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Add 2 tablespoon of waffle batter to the waffle iron.
- Cook 1-2 minutes each.
- Look for a golden color before removing, these will need to still be pliable so careful not to overcook.
- Immediately place waffles onto a kitchen towel and cover to allow the steam to further soften them.
- Set up a dredging station for the chicken.
- Combine flour and garlic in one bowl, whisk eggs in another.
- Combine panko and garlic pepper in the third bowl.
- Cut the chicken into 1” bite sized pieces.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour.
- Then the eggs.
- Finally roll in panko crumbs.
- Now you're ready to fry!
- Repeat until all pieces are coated.
- Carefully add chicken to the hot oil and fry 3-4 minutes.
- Or until golden and crispy.
- While waiting for chicken to be done frying, prepare maple honey mustard sauce.
- Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
- Whisk until blended well.
- Uncover waffles and mold into taco shells by bending in half. We use a taco mold for this step, you can also flip a muffin tin upside down and place waffle taco shells in between the molds to hold their shape.
- Add 3-4 pieces of chicken to the waffle tacos.
- Drizzle with maple honey mustard and garnish with fresh chives.
- Serve!
- Enjoy every bite!
Sandra
Who doesn't like chicken and waffles right!? To turn it into a taco dish is brilliant though! I'm so in love with the maple honey mustard sauce. I make a batch and leave in the fridge and use it for other things as well. So thanks for that!
Karin and Ken
You’re most welcome. I have some sauce in my fridge right now. I love it too! These tacos are so delicious. I’m glad you enjoyed them. All the best. Karin