This Honey Hot Sauce is the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. It’s a quick and easy condiment recipe that pairs with many different foods!
I love spicy food! Ask anyone, if I habitually add hot sauce to almost everything. When I discovered spicy honey sauce it was a match made in heaven. It has the same heat that I enjoy with a touch of sweetness to balance it out.
It’s perfect if you don’t want your hot sauce to be too spicy. It has just the right amount of kick.
Plus, you can use any kind of hot sauce you like and most brands have several heat levels so you can go milder or spicier! My favorite way of using this sauce is chicken wings. This sticky, thick recipe is the best hot honey sauce for wings.
Are you looking for more delicious hot sauce recipes? I recommend that you try our Vinegar Hot Pepper Sauce, Vegan Buffalo Sauce, Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic Sauce, Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce and our Avocado Hot Sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Honey Hot Sauce Recipe
- Only 4 simple ingredients: With only 4 ingredients in this spicy condiment recipe, it’s very budget-friendly.
- Balanced flavors: The combination of sweetness and heat lends the perfect amount of both worlds.
- Easy to make: This easy hot honey sauce recipe is ready in 30 minutes.
- Spicy-sweet condiment: This spicy honey has a unique flavor and is the perfect combination of sweet and spicy for adding to a variety of dishes.
Ingredients
These are all of the ingredients you’ll need to make honey hot wing sauce so you can add them to your grocery store list. See the recipe card below for measurements and more information.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter to tame the salty flavor. If you love it, go ahead and use salted butter!
- Hot sauce: Any brand of hot sauce can be used here! There are so many choices. I love Frank’s Red Hot, Texas Pete, and Cholula. Hot sauce is spicy and has a tangy vinegar flavor that pairs great with the richness and sweetness.
- Honey: This has to be liquid honey to mix well with the other ingredients. It adds the perfect amount of sweetness without being overpowering.
- Cajun seasoning: I use Slap Ya Mama, but feel free to use any brand. It’s both spicy and flavorful.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
Variations
- Hot honey BBQ sauce: Use your favorite BBQ sauce in this homemade hot honey recipe and you’ll have a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce that goes great on grilled meats.
- Hot honey garlic sauce: Add fresh minced garlic and a splash of soy sauce for a sticky, spicy sauce with an Asian flair.
- Maple hot sauce: Trade the honey in this hot honey wing sauce for the sweetness of maple syrup!
- Even Spicier: Add a bit of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, our jalapeno powder, smoked jalapeno powder, or chipotle powder to the sauce.
How to Make Honey Hot Sauce
Here are the instructions on how to make hot honey sauce.
Step 1: Melt the butter. Add butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and melt it. Then stir in the remaining ingredients until combined.
Step 2: Simmer. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes or until you reach your desired consistency.
Serve. Enjoy tossed with chicken wings, on a sandwich, or however you like!
⭐️ Hint: I highly recommend simmering your sauce for a minimum of 20 minutes. When all of the ingredients are first added, it is quite runny. Allowing it to thicken gives it a better texture and also helps the flavors of the sauce to come together.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy our Hot BBQ Sauce, Creamy Jalapeno Sauce this Honey Hot Chicken Wings (Air Fryer) or Hot Honey Salmon recipes.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some ideas of what to serve with honey hot sauce. This simple condiment is great to use on all your favorite dishes including:
- This is the perfect hot honey chicken sauce. Try it with chicken fingers, Air Fryer Chicken Tenders, Air Fryer Tyson Chicken Patties, Burger King Chicken Fries, or of course, chicken wings and fried chicken!
- I love hot sauce on pizza. Drizzle some of this rich, spicy hot honey sauce on Easy Zucchini Pizza Boats or Simple Skillet Pizza. It’s even a great dip for Air Fryer Pizza Rolls.
- It’s delicious on breakfast sandwiches or for lunch like on this Grilled Egg and Cheese to Fried Pork Chop Sandwiches.
- Add a drizzle of hot honey over waffles, cornbread, roasted vegetables, or vanilla ice cream! I know it sounds odd but it's so good! It's also great served up on a charcuterie board or cheese plate.
- Give it away! Around the holidays, it makes a great gift when poured into jars tied with a ribbon.
Tips
- Cook it long enough. Be sure that you simmer the sauce long enough. This will help the flavors marry and also give it a thick consistency that’s perfect for coating and dipping.
- Adjust the heat level. Either use a milder or spicier hot sauce or use a little bit less to control the heat. Add a little more honey if you like it a little sweeter. The best part about this recipe is you can make slight adjustments to your taste!
- Let it cool. Allow your sauce to cool before handling it. It’s best when warm. Coat wings or chicken tenders with it. It’s great as a dipping sauce at room temperature as well.
- Storing. Store in a sealed glass jar, or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freezing and thawing change the texture so I recommend only storing it in the fridge.
FAQ
Choosing a light, mild-flavored honey will work best with the hot sauce. You can even use a local honey if you prefer. Just try to avoid certain varieties such as lavender honey that have strong floral notes that don’t pair well with spice.
I recommend that you store it in the refrigerator for the best shelf life. The honey will likely crystallize when cold but this is normal. Leave it at room temperature for a few minutes or gently heat it in a saucepan on low to bring it back together.
The spice level will depend on the type of hot sauce that you use as well as the amount. This particular recipe is not very spicy. You add an extra splash of hot sauce to take the heat up a notch or add more honey to make it sweeter. I find this best determined after making the recipe so you can taste as you go and adjust accordingly!
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More Delicious Sauce Recipes
Do you like making homemade sauces? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Hot Honey Sauce
Equipment
- mason jar or similar for storage
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup hot sauce
- ½ cup liquid honey
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning I use Slap Ya Mama or use your favorite
Instructions
- Melt butter and add honey, hot sauce and seasoning. Gently simmer on low, stirring regularly with a whisk, for 20-25 minutes and thick and syrupy.
Video
Notes
- Cook it long enough. Be sure that you simmer the hot honey sauce long enough. This will help the flavors marry and also give it a thick consistency that’s perfect for coating and dipping.
- Adjust the heat level. Either use a milder or spicier hot sauce or use a little bit less to control the heat. Add a little more honey if you like it a little sweeter. The best part about this recipe is you can make slight adjustments to your taste!
- Let it cool. Allow your hot honey sauce to cool before handling it. It’s best when warm. Coat wings or chicken tenders with it. It’s great as a dipping sauce at room temperature as well.
- Storing. Store in a sealed mason jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freezing and thawing change the texture so I recommend only storing it in the fridge.
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