Easy Hot Honey Recipe (Drizzle it on Everything!)

Ready to meet your new favorite condiment? This hot honey recipe delivers the perfect combination of sweet and heat.

Made with simple ingredients and ready in minutes, this versatile condiment adds a bold kick to everything you’re serving. 

You’ve probably seen popular versions like Mike’s Hot Honey at the grocery store, but making your own homemade hot honey recipe is surprisingly easy, and tastes even better. Plus, you can control the heat level, experiment with different types of honey and avoid unnecessary additives.

Whether you’re drizzling it over fried chicken, pizza, salads or even ice cream, you’ll have so much fun with this recipe!

What is hot honey?

Hot honey is made by infusing liquid honey with heat from ingredients like red pepper flakes, dried chili flakes or fresh chili peppers.

The result is a smooth, pourable sauce with just the right balance of sweetness and heat.

Hot honey stays in liquid form, making it ideal for drizzling, dipping and glazing. It’s really one of the most versatile condiments you can keep in your kitchen.

Ingredients

• Honey. Choose a good quality honey, whether it’s raw honey or just regular honey. I love grabbing local honey from the farmer’s market whenever I can.
• Red pepper flakes
• Apple cider vinegar
• Salt

How to Make Hot Honey

Combine the Ingredients

Stir the honey, red pepper flakes and salt together in a small saucepan. 

Simmer the Honey

Bring the saucepan to a simmer over low heat. Don’t let it boil. Just let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Finish with Vinegar

Turn off the heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar. Now, just let the hot honey rest until it cools to room temperature.

Strain and Store the Hot Honey

Grab a mesh strainer and position it over a glass measuring cup or storage container. (My mesh strainer is too large so I have to strain my honey over a measuring cup and then pour it into a storage jar.)

Pour the honey through the strainer to remove the red pepper flakes. Then, seal the storage container. 

Note: If you prefer to leave the red pepper flakes in the hot honey, that’s okay too!

Variations

Try Fresh Chilis: Swap dried flakes for fresh chiles for a brighter, fresher flavor.

Turn up the Heat: If you really love a spicy kick, add a dash of your favorite hot sauce. This raises the spice level and also adds complexity to the hot honey sauce.

Make it Mild: Conversely, if you just want a little bit of heat, reduce the amount of red pepper flakes in this recipe to suit your palette.

Give it a Smoky Twist: Use smoked dried chili flakes or chipotle peppers for unique result.

Serving Suggestions

Here are some of my favorite ways to use this spicy honey recipe:

• Drizzle over crispy fried chicken, chicken wings or chicken fingers.
• Serve with chicken and waffles instead of maple syrup.
• Toss with roasted brussels sprouts for a spicy-sweet finish.
• Add to a charcuterie board or cheese board.
• Use as a spicy glaze for meats or vegetables.
• Stir into a salad dressing for a little sweet heat.
• Drizzle over pepperoni pizza for that trendy sweet-spicy flavor combo.
• Pair with biscuits or cornbread.
• Add to beverages like iced tea or a cozy hot toddy.
• Spoon over vanilla ice cream for a totally different dessert experience. 

Storage Instructions

Store your hot honey in a sealed glass jar or airtight container at room temperature. Keep it in a cool, dry place (like a cabinet or pantry), away from direct sunlight.

Properly stored, a jar of hot honey can last for several months. If your honey crystallizes, simply place the jar in hot water until it returns to a smooth consistency.

When you make this hot honey recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy! 

For more recipes for honey lovers, try these:

• Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
• Crispy Honey Butter Chicken
• Air Fryer Honey Old Bay Chicken Wings
• One Pan Old Bay Honey Butter Salmon
• Hot Honey Pepperoni Cheese Bites