Hot Honey Recipe (Ready in 10 Minutes)
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Make this easy hot honey recipe in 10 minutes with 2 ingredients. Sweet, spicy, and perfect for pizza, chicken, and biscuits.
Hot honey is a trendy condiment made by infusing traditional honey with chili heat, famously popularized by brands like Mike’s Hot Honey. It delivers a uniquely balanced flavor profile that hits you with natural sweetness upfront before transitioning into a slow-building, fiery finish. Best of all, you can whip up a batch at home in under 10 minutes using just a few simple pantry staples.
Why You’ll Love This Hot Honey Recipe
- Incredibly Simple: Requires just 2 base ingredients, pure honey and red pepper flakes.
- Quick & Easy: Comes together in under 10 minutes on the stovetop.
- Customizable Heat: Easily adjust the amount of red pepper or add extra chilis to fit your spice preference.
- Budget-Friendly: Costs a fraction of what you’d pay for store-bought bottles like Mike’s Hot Honey.
- Long Shelf Life: Stores safely right in your pantry to keep on hand for weeks.
Ingredients
For the ingredient measurements and the entire recipe, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the blog post where the recipe card is located.
- Honey: We like to use local honey, but any store-bought honey will work for this recipe.
- Red pepper flakes: We use simple crushed red pepper flakes, like the kind you sprinkle over pasta.
Step by Step Directions
For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the bottom of the blog post to the recipe card.
- Warm honey in a small saucepan over low heat until it just starts to bubble around the edges (about 150-160°F; do not boil, or it can scorch and turn bitter).
- Stir in red pepper flakes. Remove from heat and let steep 10-30 minutes depending on how spicy you want it.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a jar if you want it smooth, or leave the flakes in for a chunkier, spicier result.
Tips For Success
- The honey only needs to be warmed, never boiled, to avoid damaging its flavor.
- Swap red pepper flakes for cayenne pepper, diced habanero, chipotle powder, or Calabrian chili paste for different heat profiles. Steep longer for more heat, shorter for mild. Add a pinch of smoked paprika for a Nashville-hot twist.
- Drizzle over pizza (especially pepperoni), fried or roasted chicken, biscuits or cornbread, a cheese board with soft cheese and crackers, roasted vegetables, or stirred into a cocktail.
- Store in an airtight jar or squeeze bottle at room temperature for up to 1 month, or in the fridge for up to 3 months (the honey won’t spoil, but flavor and heat mellow over time). It’s a good make-ahead gift: make a big batch and jar it up.
FAQ
It tastes like sweet honey with a spicy kick at the end. This is a copycat of the popular Mike’s Hot Honey!
Hot honey is shelf-stable and doesn’t need refrigeration.
You can use fresh or dried chilis instead of flakes. Be sure to strain them out after allowing the honey to steep.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Honey Sriracha Sauce
- Honey Garlic Sauce
- Nashville Hot Sauce
- Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- Extra Creamy Honey Mustard
Easy Homemade Hot Honey Recipe (Better Than Store-Bought)
Ingredients
- 1 cup local honey
- 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Add the honey and your red pepper flakes into a small saucepan.
- Warm the mixture over low heat just until it begins to form small bubbles or a gentle simmer (about 1 to 2 minutes), watching closely so it does not burn or boil over.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it steep for 10-30 minutes. The longer it steeps, the spicier it will be.
- Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean glass jar or squeeze bottle to remove the pepper pieces.
Notes
- Store in an airtight jar or squeeze bottle at room temperature for up to 1 month, or in the fridge for up to 3 months (the honey won’t spoil, but flavor and heat mellow over time). It’s a good make-ahead gift: make a big batch and jar it up.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.