This is the most amazing hot honey recipe for guaranteed sweet & spicy addiction. The sweet heat is something you will fall in love with. This 20ingredient recipe infuses honey with Fresno peppers for the ultimate dip or drizzle.
Hot chicken and other spicy foods have been popular for quite a long time and make a lot of the must taste-test lists for people wanting something new and exciting. Add hot honey to your list and make this recipe soon. It is the star in my Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings which are fantastic.
It only takes two ingredients to make this easy spicy honey sauce recipe. With a little bit of slow simmering time, the honey becomes perfectly infused with the Fresno chili peppers.
What results is a quick homemade dipping sauce or sweet and spicy drizzle that you will love with some of your favorite foods. Hot honey is just so much better in so many ways than simply adding cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes onto something - all heat and none of the sweetness.
Jump to:
What is Hot Honey? (the best condiment)
There is no easier way to add so much flavor to ordinary recipes than by adding a condiment. For the ultimate combination of sticky, sweet, floral, hot, and spicy, make hot honey your next condiment addiction. I promise you will not be sorry you made this spicy honey recipe. Popeye's, Chic-fil-a, and other fast-food restaurants have hot honey on their chicken sandwiches, wings, tenders, and more.
Hot honey is fantastic on just about anything you like to dip or put a drizzle of extra flavor on. Some of our favorites to have with this spicy hot honey recipe include more than wings like; pizza, fried chicken, air fryer french fries, biscuits, cornbread, ice cream, and more.
There are so many recipes with hot honey including my recipe for GRILLED CHEESE WITH FIGS AND HOT HONEY. An amazing gourmet grilled cheese sandwich. This is a great copycat recipe for Mike's Hot Honey or Trader Joe's Spicy Honey. It will cost you less when you make it homemade. Plus you control how spicy to make homemade hot honey - mild to extremely hot.
How Spicy is Hot Honey?
The beauty of making your own hot honey at home is you can make it as mild or hot as you want it to be. It is all about the kind of pepper you choose and how many seeds and membranes you use.
For this recipe, I am using and recommending Fresno chili peppers. Fresno peppers offer a heat level between jalapeno and serrano. This choice not only offers a medium heat but Fresno peppers have a fruity and smokey taste. Plus they are gorgeous red in color.
These peppers will result in a medium heat that doesn't linger for very long since the sweet honey does complement it. So you get a bit of a spicy kick followed by a sugary taste. For my husband and me, this is the perfect level of heat. We both feel it is spicy but also flavorful compared to other hot sauces that sometimes are all about the heat and have no real flavor.
Types of Chili Peppers to Use for Hot Honey Recipe
Whether you like things mild, hot, or death my chilis, you can make this recipe exactly to your liking. You can make hot honey mild with jalapenos or go for a very spicy sauce and make habanero honey with this recipe.
Below are what chili peppers are easy to find and would work in this recipe based on the level of heat you wish to have along with the sweet honey. For more varieties, check out this full guide to chili peppers and how hot (Scoville Level) some can get - CHILI PEPPER TYPES.
- Jalapeno - mild green chili
- Fresno - red medium chili
- Serrano - green hot chili
- Habanero - many colors and very hot chili
Homemade Hot Honey Ingredients
All you need is honey and the chili peppers of your choice. For this chili-infused honey recipe, we are using two Fresno chili peppers for hot honey that will have medium heat. That is all, just 2 ingredients for this recipe.
- Unfiltered Honey
- Fresh Fresno Chili Peppers
This recipe for hot honey uses fresh peppers. It is not made with dried red pepper flakes like other recipes. I love using fresh chilis for two reasons. It really adds to the texture of the condiment by having sweet almost "candied" bits of pepper throughout. It is also so much prettier & makes it so much more gourmet and outstanding compared to bottled hot honey.
HOW TO MAKE HOT HONEY SAUCE
Add Ingredients to Saucepan
To a small saucepan add the honey. Thinly slice 2 Fresno chili peppers. Do not discard the seeds or membranes to get the full medium heat you will want from this choice in a pepper.
Pepper slices with powerful seeds and membranes are added to the honey. This will render a medium-spicy level of heat.
Simmer the Honey and Fresno Chili Peppers
Over medium heat bring to a slow boil. Once bubbling, reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. It will thicken and the honey will take on the pepper essence and some red hues.
What to Serve with Hot Honey
Here are some great ideas & recipes to enjoy with hot honey. Our favorite ways to serve and eat hot honey are with pizza, chicken, biscuits, and cornbread. Balance the flavors of homemade sweet potato fries or when you dip them in hot honey.
I also recommend trying one of these recipes that goes well with hot honey.
How to Store Homemade Hot Honey
Serve immediately with your favorite foods or store them for later. I store mine in a glass jar with a tight sealing lid. Hot honey stores well in the refrigerator for months.
You will want to heat the hot honey in a saucepan or microwave to warm up the next time you use it as it will thicken when chilled. ** as an alternate you can even add a splash of apple cider vinegar to the recipe for an additional pop of acid to the overall flavor and help thin it out.
How Long Will Hot Honey Last
This does not last long in our house so I am not sure how long this will last once stored. Honey is shelf-stable for years. Since peppers have been added, the honey will last up to a year.
Check it to make sure it has no mold, discoloration, growths, or odd smell or texture. Some crystallization due to the refrigeration is expected and that is ok. If in doubt, throw it out!
FAQ
Heating the honey when making this recipe helps it to infuse with the peppers. That infusion process of cooking is what brings the two flavors together.
However, if you want to do a cold infusion, you can try that as well (I have not attempted it). Simply combine the two together in an air-tight container & place them in the refrigerator. I recommend storing for a month before trying to see if the heat has come through.
Many store brands, like Mike's Hot Honey, include vinegar. My guess is to make it more shelf stable. It also helps thin it out to make is easier to squeeze or pour from a bottle.
You do not need to add vinegar to this recipe. I love vinegar but just not in this recipe. I prefer the classic combination of sweet and spicy, without any sourness or tanginess that vinegar would add to it.
PIN FOR SAFEKEEPING & SHARING!
Product Recommendations for this Recipe -#ad:
The Short Order Cook is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you. This helps with the costs of running the blog. Thank you!
Hot Honey
Ingredients
- 1 C honey
- 2 Fresno Chili Peppers sliced thin
Instructions
- To a small saucepan add the honey. Thinly slice 2 Fresno chili peppers. Do not discard the seeds or membranes, add them too.
- Over medium heat bring to a slow boil. Once bubbling, reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. It will thicken and the honey will take on the pepper essence and some red hues.
- Serve immediately with your favorite foods or store for later. I store mine in a glass jar with a tight sealing lid. Refrigerate for usage later.
- To Reheat or Thin - You will want to heat the hot honey in a saucepan or microwave to warm up the next time you use it as it will thicken when chilled. ** as an alternate you can even add a splash of apple cider vinegar to the recipe for an additional pop of acid to the overall flavor and help thin it out.
Did you make this The Short Order Cook Recipe?
Tag @theshortordercookblog (Instagram & Facebook) or @shortorder_cook (Twitter).
I would love to see your latest creations and kitchen adventures.
Rochelle says
Made this...so easy and absolutely delicious. It was gone in a day. A great way to incorporate some spice in my 4 year olds food 🙂
Angela says
I am so glad you and the 4-year-old loved the Hot Honey Recipe. It is amazing how something so simple to make can be so amazing and flavorful.
Nisha says
That sounds really delicious and yum! Sweet n spicy is sure to make all the taste buds come alive .Thanks for sharing!
Ai says
Sounds delicious! I love that you used raw honey too! Tastes so much better than regular honey 🙂
Nart at Cooking with Nart says
Love this! Though I would probably add more peppers because I'm a crazy Thai, haha.
Angela says
Go for it, make this hot honey as spicy as you want. That is the beauty of this easy and customizable recipe.
Beth Shields says
I am intrigued and this looks delicious. Love hot things and just thinking about all the applications. Thanks for sharing.
LaRena Fry says
A great sounding sweet and hot sauce. Perfect for all kinds of meats and chicken.
Jacqueline Debono says
I'm a big honey user but have never had or made hot honey. Love the idea and definitely going to give it a try!
Beth says
I am going to make a batch of this for my daughter-in-law, who enjoys things much more spicy than I typically do. I love how easy it is!
Angela says
YOu can make to batches - one spicy and one mild for yourself.
Dee | Grammy's Grid says
Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 16, open until September 26!
Alpa says
Love the combination of sweet and spicy flavors. I bet this must be an awesome condiment.
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
Ohhh - can't wait to try this - Pinned! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party! Hope to see you back tomorrow.
Lathiya says
I never heard of this honey. Sounds interesting.
foodopium says
Very good combination sweet and spicy.....never thought of this combination. Perfect example for a sweet and hot recipe 🙂
Ashley Charpentier says
Super easy to make and delicious! I also did a batch with half jalapenos and half fresnos for a different flavor and both were delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Angela says
Thanks, Ashley for sharing your tasty version of this recipe. It sounds great and I will try that sometime myself.
Angela says
I made this exactly as you suggest and the heat was perfect. We had it with fried chicken and cornbread and it was fantastic. So easy and so much flavor. Thank you.