Hot Honey is the new hot sauce trend, and we couldn’t agree more! It’s the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, with a sticky texture, and perfect for drizzling over pizza, fried chicken, veggies, salmon and more! This easy hot honey recipe has just three ingredients and requires 5 minutes to make! Here’s a step by step, video and everything you need to know about making hot honey sauce at home!
It’s no secret we LOVE some spice on our food here! And my grandpa’s viral Hot Pepper Sauce is a testament to that! It’s a Mediterranean Hot Pepper Sauce that requires no cooking. My family has been making it for generations so one day I thought of sharing it here, and OMG it went viral!
So while today’s hot honey sauce is a type of hot sauce, it’s quite different and unique compared to my family’s recipe. For me, it’s the sweetness that makes this so addicting! 🙂
What is Hot Honey?
Hot honey is a delicious and spicy condiment or sauce that’s a perfect balance between sweet and spice, with a thick syrupy texture. This tasty hot honey sauce is made of just three ingredients and cooks for 3-5 minutes.
The spice factor comes from infusing honey with chilli peppers, and the beauty of this is that you have control on the level of spice. Plus the type of chilli pepper you choose will have a unique flavor which will shine in the hot honey sauce.
For example if you choose a Serrano pepper or chilli flakes, your hot honey sauce will be milder than if you used a dried habanero or scotch bonet flakes. Similarly, if you use guajillo chiles, ancho chiles (which we use to flavor our Birria Tacos), you’ll end up with a unique smokey, sweet and spicy hot honey recipe!
Since the Holidays are coming up, we strongly recommend making jars and jars or this hot honey recipe and giving it as gifts! We’ve done this last year and it was a HIT!
Hot Honey Recipe Ingredients
- Honey. The type of honey you choose will be the predominant flavor of the hot honey sauce. So choose organic, local honey if possible, and of course choose liquid honey not honey comb for this recipe. If you can’t access local honey, then any store bought will work just as well!
- Chili Flakes. For best results use dried chili flakes since fresh chilies have moisture and will affect the sauce. Also be creative here and use different types of dried chili flakes for uniquely flavored hot honey! Also try smokey dried chilies like guajillo chiles or ancho chiles. The spice level of your sauce will depend heavily on this ingredient.
- Vinegar. Originally Mike’s Hot Honey has a slight kick of vinegar taste but mostly we add vinegar to stabilize the sauce. We’re not a fan of strong vinegar taste so we used apple cider vinegar.
And now once you gathered your simple ingredients, here’s a step by step tutorial.
How to Make Hot Honey
- Start by placing a small sauce pan over medium heat and add in the liquid honey.
- Right away, and before even heating the honey enough, add in your chili flakes to the same sauce pan.
- As soon as the honey and chili flakes mixture begins to simmer, lower the heat. You don’t want the mixture to cook vigorously or boil over as this will thicken the sauce. You want a gentle simmer and then take it off the heat right away.
- Once off the heat, add in your vinegar to the honey and chili flakes. Mix that in and your hot honey sauce is ready! How simple is that?
- Let the hot honey cool slightly in the sauce pan before transferring it into a jar to store. You may optionally strain the sauce if you want a smooth clear sauce without any flakes, or you may keep it as is with the flakes in.
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And there you have it!
Hot Honey Sauce Tips and FAQ
- The honey you chose will have a predominant flavor on the final hot honey recipe, so if you have a certain type of honey, start with that.
- Always use liquid honey.
- Dried chili flakes are optional as they have no moisture.
- Similarly the type of chili flakes you use will affect the flavor of spice, level of spice and any smokey taste for the sauce.
- When making hot honey recipe, avoid boiling the nmixture, just bring it a gentle simmer with the chili flakes and take if off the heat right away.
- A vinegar is needed to balance the sweet and spicy with a slight tang, but also to stabilize the sauce. If you don’t want a strong vinegary taste to your sauce, use apple cider vinegar as we did here.
How to Store Hot Honey? Does Hot honey need to be refrigerated?
This is the most common question I get. No hot honey doesn’t need to be refrigerated at all.
It’s best to store the sauce in a jar, seal the jar once the sauce has cooled completely, and keep it at room temperature in your pantry.
How long does hot honey last?
The beauty of this sauce is that it can last for up to 6-8 months at room temperature. There’s nothing that can make it go bad. So make as much as you like!
Can I use Fresh chilies?
It’s best to avoid fresh chilies as they contain moisture and will alter the sauce texture and shelf life. If you have fresh chilies however, then you need to make my grandpa’s famous Hot Pepper Sauce! You’ll LOVE it!
Is hot honey very spicy?
If using regular chili flakes, you’ll find that it’s not as spicy as you expect it to be! It’s rather a balance of sweet with a hint of spice. However, if you use hot pepper flakes like scotch bonnet flakes, then you can expect a higher level of spice for sure!
How to use hot honey sauce?
OMG we can’t even think of a thing that wouldn’t taste amazing with hot honey!
- Drizzle over PIZZA!!
- Top if over your dips like Whipped Feta.
- Make it a sauce for your Salmon Recipes
- And Chicken Recipes
- Drizzle it over Biscuits With Cheddar, Cornbread Recipe and Ultimate Garlic Bread!
- Use it on Stir fry recipes like Easy Stir Fry Recipe with Lamb and Veggies
- Perfect for Air Fryer Chicken Wings or Grilled Chicken Wings
- Perfect with this Strawberry Goat Cheese Appetizer
- Halloumi Cheese Salad and even better with Halloumi Fries.
- Try it with this Carpaccio Recipe : Watermelon Carpaccio or Watermelon Salad Wedges
Hot Honey
Hot Honey is the new hot sauce trend, and we couldn’t agree more! It’s the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, with a sticky texture, and perfect for drizzling over pizza, fried chicken, veggies, salmon and more!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Honey
- 2-3 Tablespoons chili flakes
- 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Instructions
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In a saucepan over medium heat, add the honey
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Right away add in the chili flakes.
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Cook the chili flakes and honey just enough that the mixture simmers but doesn't boil.
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At this point, remove the saucepan from the heat and add in the vinegar.
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Let the hot honey cool slightly before pouring it into a jar.
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Once the hot honey sauce is cooled completely, then you can seal the jar and store it.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Hot Honey Sauce Tips and FAQ
- The honey you chose will have a predominant flavor on the final hot honey recipe, so if you have a certain type of honey, start with that.
- Always use liquid honey.
- Dried chili flakes are optional as they have no moisture.
- Similarly the type of chili flakes you use will affect the flavor of spice, level of spice and any smokey taste for the sauce.
- When making hot honey recipe, avoid boiling the honey, just bring it a gentle simmer with the chili flakes and take if off the heat right away.
- A vinegar is needed to balance the sweet and spicy with a slight tang, but also to stabilize the sauce. If you don’t want a strong vinegary taste to your hot honey, use apple cider vinegar as we did here.
How to Store Hot Honey? Does Hot honey need to be refrigerated?
This is the most common question I get. No hot honey doesn’t need to be refrigerated at all.
It’s best to store the sauce in a jar, seal the jar once the sauce has cooled completely, and keep it at room temperature in your pantry.
How long does hot honey last?
The beauty of this hot honey sauce is that it can last for up to 6-8 months at room temperature. There’s nothing that can make it go bad. So make as much as you like!
Can I use Fresh chilies?
It’s best to avoid fresh chilies as they contain moisture and will alter the sauce texture and shelf life. If you have fresh chilies however, then you need to make my grandpa’s famous Hot Pepper Sauce! You’ll LOVE it!
Is hot honey very spicy?
If using regular chili flakes, you’ll find that hot honey is not as spicy as you expect it to be! It’s rather a balance of sweet with a hint of spice. However, if you use hot pepper flakes like scotch bonnet flakes, then you can expect a higher level of spice for sure!
How to use hot honey sauce?
OMG we can’t even think of a thing that wouldn’t taste amazing with hot honey!
-
- Drizzle over PIZZA!!
- Top if over your dips like Whipped Feta.
- Make it a sauce for your Salmon Recipes
- And Chicken Recipes
- Drizzle it over Biscuits With Cheddar, Cornbread Recipe and Ultimate Garlic Bread!
- Use it on Stir fry recipes like Easy Stir Fry Recipe with Lamb and Veggies
- Perfect for Air Fryer Chicken Wings or Grilled Chicken Wings
- Perfect with this Strawberry Goat Cheese Appetizer
- Halloumi Cheese Salad and even better with Halloumi Fries.
- Try it with this Carpaccio Recipe : Watermelon Carpaccio or Watermelon Salad Wedges
This was such a sweet and savory recipe that does not disappoint! Easy, fun and delicious; definitely, a new favorite recipe!
This is a trend I can get behind!
The recipe was absolutely delicious and a definite winner! Was perfect on my fried chicken tonight!
I made this to pair with my fried chicken and it was amazing! The instructions are also very clear.
This honey is amazing! I’m finding all sorts of ways to use it. Thank you!