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How to Make Hot Honey – It’s easy to prepare a batch of perfectly sweet and spicy hot honey right at home! This 10-minute copycat recipe makes a delicious sauce that tastes like Mike’s Hot Honey, but let’s you control the ingredients and level of spicy flavor.
Why We Love Hot Honey
Mike’s Hot Honey sauce is all the rage right now. It’s featured in restaurant entrées, on fast food sandwiches, and even in popular salad dressings.
Although I like store-bought hot honey, and Mike’s hot honey is great, scratch-made hot honey is even better in my humble opinion. It’s bolder, spicier, and offers a more balanced flavor.
Homemade honey sauce is so easy to make in just 10 minutes… Plus, you can choose the kind of honey you want to use, you can make a large batch, and you can adjust it to your preferred heat level.
So basically what I’m saying is don’t buy hot honey at the grocery store, make it instead!
4 Ingredients For Hot Honey
- Honey
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Apple cider vinegar
- Salt
Although crushed red pepper is easy to use and readily available, you can also use any type of crushed chile to tweak the flavor. Or you can also use 4-5 raw chili peppers as well. Simply slice them, make the recipe as directed, and strain them out in the end. Try this hot honey recipe with jalapeños, habanero peppers, and even Thai bird chilies!
How to Make Hot Honey Sauce
Place a small sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add the honey and crushed red pepper flakes.
Stir the honey continuously as it comes to a simmer. Once the honey starts to simmer, lower the heat if needed to ensure it does not boil. I repeat, DO NOT boil the honey.
Allow it to simmer for 2 minutes forming very small bubbles, stirring continuously. Then remove it from the heat.
Stir in the apple cider vinegar and salt. Stir well to dissolve the salt crystals.
Then place a fine mesh sieve over a glass measuring pitcher. Pour the honey into the strainer to remove the red pepper flakes.*
Allow the honey to cool, then pour it into storage jars. Keep the honey in a cool dark place for up to several months.
Get the Complete (Printable) Hot Honey Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!
*Note: If preferred, you can also leave all or some of the red chili flakes in the honey instead of straining it all out. Just note, if the red pepper flakes are left in the honey it will continue to get hotter over time.
If you want really hot honey, do not strain the honey, but leave the chile flakes in the honey for as long as you like before straining. You can leave them in for up to a month, then strain the honey and serve.
What to Do With Hot Honey
There are so many fabulous ways to enjoy spicy hot honey sauce! Here are a few of our favorite uses:
Drizzle On Foods
- Chicken tenders
- Sandwiches
- Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich (Chick-Fil-A copycat)
- Tavern style or broasted fried chicken
- Air fryer or Chick-Fil-A style nuggets
- Pizza like our fig prosciutto or cantaloupe and sweet ricotta ‘zas
- Cathead or easy air fryer biscuits
- Brazilian cheese bread
- Sauteed eggplant
Make Dressings and Condiments
- Honey-based vinaigrettes
- Honey butter
- Honey mustard dressing
Use in Marinades and Glazes
- Grilled vegetables marinade
- Grilled salmon marinade
- Miso honey chicken
- Honey garlic pork chops
- Honey sriracha chicken skewers
Pro Tip: Increase your ingredients to make several batches to give as gifts! Jars of spicy honey with a sweet little bow are a sure-to-please present.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does boiling honey ruin it?
Yes. Bring the honey to a light simmer, but do not boil. Boiling honey will kill off any beneficial microbes and can potentially cause illness.
Do you store hot honey in the fridge?
No, homemade hot honey does not need to be refrigerated.
What is the best way to store Mike’s Hot Honey?
Keep infused honey in a sealed jar in the pantry, away from light and moisture. It will keep well for at least 2-3 months.
Looking for More Easy Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Homemade Buffalo Wing Sauce
- Garlic Butter Sauce
- Herb Infused Honey
- Texas Pete Vinaigrette
- Cheese Sauce for Broccoli
Print RecipeLeave a Review »
Hot Honey Recipe + VIDEO
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes minutes
This easy 10 minute copycat recipe makes a delicious sauce that tastes like Mike's Hot Honey, but let's you control the ingredients and level of spicy flavor.
Servings: 24 servings (1.5 cups total)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups honey
- 4 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes or any crushed dried chile
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Place a small sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add the honey and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir the honey continuously as it comes to a simmer.
Once the honey starts to simmer, lower the heat if needed to ensure it does not boil. I repeat, DO NOT boil the honey. Allow it to simmer for 2 minutes forming very small bubbles, stirring continuously. Then remove it from the heat.
Stir in the apple cider vinegar and salt. Stir well to dissolve the salt crystals.
Then place a fine mesh sieve over a glass measuring pitcher. Pour the honey into the strainer to remove the red pepper flakes.
Allow the honey to cool, then pour it into storage jars. Keep the honey in a cool dark place for up to several months.
If preferred, you can also leave all or some of the red chili flakes in the honey instead of straining it all out. Just note, if the red pepper flakes are left in the honey it will continue to get hotter over time.
Video
Notes
Also try with 4-5 raw chiles! Habanero, jalapeno, and serrano chiles are great options.
Course: Condiment, Dressing, Sauce
Cuisine: American, Southern
Author: Sommer Collier
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