This easy Hot Honey Recipe is the sweet and spicy condiment you didn’t know you needed in your life! Skip buying pricy bottles at the store and make hot honey yourself, then drizzle it onto pizza, chicken, and more!
Email Me the Recipe!
Enter your email below to save this recipe to your free Well Plated recipe box.
From time to time, we'll send you the best of Well Plated. Already registered? Log in here.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Hot Honey Recipe
- Sweet and Spicy. One of the best flavor combinations. The sweetness of this hot honey recipe tames the heat, while the spiciness tempers the cloyingness of straight up honey. It’s tantalizing and hard to stop eating!
- Easy (and Affordable) to Make. A bottle of hot honey at the grocery store can cost $10 or more, but you can use pantry ingredients to make your own at home for a fraction of the cost. And the process is simple!
- Use It on All the Things. Infusing honey with hot pepper transforms it into a goes-with-anything condiment—like magic! From Hot Honey Chicken, Air Fryer Fried Chicken Breast to Hot Honey Pizza and Honey Garlic Salmon, there are endless ways to put this hot honey recipe to use.
How to Make Hot Honey
The Ingredients
- Honey. From those little plastic bears at the grocery store or glass jars from your local farmers’ market—we don’t need the fanciest honey here, but we do need one that’s drizzle-able at room temperature (so a thick, creamy honey won’t work).
- Red Pepper Flakes. The pepper flakes infuse heat into the honey. You can also use a fresh jalapeno if you have one on hand.
- Cayenne Pepper. You can adjust the amount to your liking so you can have hot honey or HOT HOT honey.
- Apple Cider Vinegar. Makes the honey easier to strain and adds a bit of balance.
The Directions
- Combine. Add the honey, pepper flakes, and cayenne to a microwave-safe bowl or liquid measuring cup.
- Heat. Microwave on high until the honey bubbles. Stir and infuse for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Strain. Stir in the ACV, then strain the hot honey through a sieve into a storage container. ENJOY!
Ways to Use Hot Honey
- Meat. Jazz up this Chicken Tenders Recipe with a drizzle of hot honey, or substitute it for the regular honey in Honey Garlic Pork Chops.
- Pizza. Take your takeout pizza (or Naan Pizza) to the next level!
- Cocktails. Infuse some heat into a Gold Rush Cocktail.
- Grilled Cheese. Hot honey is FANTASTIC with cheese—try it with this Air Fryer Grilled Cheese to see what I mean.
- Bread. Drizzle hot honey onto Breakfast Biscuits or fold it into softened butter to make a compound butter to spread onto slices of crusty bread.
- Appetizers. Give your Brie En Croute a little kick.
- Veggies. Sauteed Carrots, Roasted Cabbage—so many vegetables taste even better with a drizzle of this hot honey recipe.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Use a Larger Bowl Than You Think. When you heat the honey in the microwave, it will bubble up. You don’t want it bubbling up over the edges because cleaning honey from the inside of your microwave is not a fun time. I like using a large liquid measuring cup because the spout makes it easier to pour.
- Adjust the Heat Level. There are two ways to do this! For a milder hot honey recipe, infuse it for 15 minutes. Want it spicier? Go for a full 30 minutes. Taste the honey and if you still want more heat, stir in additional red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne and infuse for 15 more minutes.
- Consider Using a Squeeze Bottle. Although it’s not as aesthetically pleasing as a jar, if you store your hot honey in a squeeze bottle, it’s easier to drizzle on all the things. An empty honey bottle is perfect!
Hot Honey Recipe
Prep: 1 minute
Cook: 1 minute
Total: 20 minutes
Servings: 0.5 cup
Stop buying expensive bottles at the store! This hot honey recipe is super easy, quick, and uses pantry ingredients. Drizzle on pizza and more!
email me the recipe!
Enter your email below to save this recipe to your free Well Plated recipe box.
From time to time, we’ll send you the best of Well Plated. Already registered? Log in here.
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes plus additional to taste
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper adjust depending upon your preferred heat level
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- In a microwave-safe bowl or liquid measuring cup with a spout, combine the honey, red pepper flakes, and cayenne (you can also warm them together in a small saucepan on the stove). The honey will bubble, so make sure you have some room for the liquid to expand.
- Microwave on high until the honey starts to bubble, about 45 seconds to 1 minute, depending on your microwave. Stir, then set aside to cool and infuse for 15 minutes, or 30 minutes for a spicier honey. Taste and assess the heat level; if you’d like it even spicier, add more red pepper flakes and let sit for 15 additional minutes, then taste and assess again.
- Once the honey is at your desired heat level, stir in the apple cider vinegar. Warm it again to thin the honey out (this will make it easier to pass through a sieve). Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a storage container (I use a small mason jar). Let cool completely, then cover tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Notes
You can also make this recipe with 1/2 thinly sliced jalapeno pepper (omit the cayenne and red pepper flakes). Store in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tablespoonsCalories: 65kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.01gSaturated Fat: 0.001gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.003gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.001gPotassium: 12mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 13IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.1mg
Join today and start saving your favorite recipes
Create an account to easily save your favorite recipes and access FREE meal plans.
Sign Me UpRelated Recipes
You can use hot honey in any recipe that calls for honey! Here are some to get you started.
I am going to make this asap! I have seen so many recipes lately that call for hot honey but I can never find it in the stores. It never occurred to me to just make it myself. Thanks for posting!
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy it, Meryll!
Such a simple recipe, this is my first time hearing about this hot honey and I’m already making a list in my head of the dishes I can make with this. Thank you!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Naomi! Thank you!
I made this for a BBQ coming up tomorrow. I can’t stop eating this delicious honey. It tastes wonderful on literally anything! My son is a Beekeeper and we have all the honey we can handle, so I am making a bunch of this great stuff.
Love it! Thank you Shanon!
Hi Erin
Just ordered your book, cant wait! Wish you were coming to the Monterey-Carmel area of California,there is a Williams-Sonoma and a Sur la table and local bookstores, please consider, you have a lot of fans out here!! Question: Can you mix in some hot sauce to the honey if you dont have red pepper flakes right now but have salmon ready to bake? How much would you recommend? Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for your support, Lisa! Hopefully we’ll be able to get some more dates added to the book tour! As far as using hot sauce, it’s not something I’ve tested so it would be hard for me to say. If you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!