Excite your tastebuds with this homemade hot honey! It’s made with three basic ingredients that you likely already have on hand and comes together easily in no time. Once prepared, enjoy drizzled over your favorite foods for an extra delicious sweet and spicy kick!
🔥 DIY Hot Honey🔥
- Quick & Easy: It’s made with less than a handful of simple ingredients in one small pan in less than 20 minutes. It’s fast, easy and absolutely worth making over a store-bought version!
- Long Shelf Life: So long as you make it with dried chilies, hot honey is incredibly shelf stable making it a great pantry staple to keep on hand.
- Versatile Use: Spruce up your favorite foods with a quick drizzle of this sweet and spicy honey. Try it on fried chicken, wings, pizza, quiche, etc. Anywhere you might use hot sauce – try it with hot honey instead!
Hot to Make It
- Simmer: Combine honey and chili flakes in a small pot and simmer for a few minutes over a medium-low heat.
- Tip: Simmer, don’t boil. Boiled honey will start to harden and candy. Still tasty, but not ideal for drizzling.
- Vinegar & Rest: Remove the pot from the heat, then stir in the vinegar and leave the honey to rest for about 10-15 minutes before handling.
- Strain (Optional): For a smooth honey, strain the honey through a fine mesh strainer to remove the chili flakes. Or leave the flakes in – it’s up to you!
Quick Questions
How spicy will this hot honey recipe be?
It depends. Not all chili flakes are created equally – they range from mild to smokey to super spicy. There are also a ton of different flavors and notes that you can infuse into your honey depending on the type of chili you choose.
Chipotle chilies are great if you want something smoky and spicy. Ancho chili flakes are mild and a bit fruity – a great option if you want to dip your toes in a bit of spice.
If you’re unsure what desired heat level you’re after, just stick with the generic ‘crushed chilies’ or ‘red pepper flakes’ easily found in the spice section of your local grocery store.
Why add vinegar to hot honey?
For balance: Vinegar is sharp and tangy, perfect for cutting through the ultra sweet honey-flavor and boosting up the spicy chili.
Can I use fresh chili peppers instead of dried peppers?
Yes, but it won’t keep as long due to the excess moisture in fresh chili peppers. If you want to make this using fresh ingredients, make sure to store your honey in an airtight container in the fridge and keep it no more than one week.
What to Serve with Hot Honey
A few ways to enjoy this sweet-spicy condiment:
- Hot Honey is a must if you want to make Gluten Free Oven Fried Chicken & Waffles
- Finish off homemade Pizza and Flatbreads with a drizzle of hot honey.
- Make spicy cocktails with a *Hot* Honey Simple Syrup
- Heat up cooling drinks like lemonade, ice tea, switchel, etc with spicy infused honey.
- Add to fancy toasts and sandwiches.
- Use in place of regular honey or maple in your favorite salad dressing or vinaigrette like in this Bacon And Brussels Sprout Salad.
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this homemade hot honey recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Hot Honey Recipe
Elevate your favorite foods with a sweet and spicy drizzle of homemade hot honey!
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey (340g)
- 2-3 tbsp dried chili flakes
- 1 tbsp vinegar - apple cider vinegar, sherry, white, rice, red wine vinegar etc
Instructions
- Add honey and chili flakes to a small pot or pan. Warm over a medium heat and bring to a very gentle simmer (not a boil). Let simmer about 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vinegar and set aside about 10-15 minutes to cool and infuse.
- Strain the honey through a fine mesh strainer (or leave the chili flakes for a more intense heat) and store in an a clean class jar with an air tight lid.
- Serve and enjoy right away or store in a cool, dry place at room temperature until you're ready to use it.
Notes
- Fresh Chilies: You can use fresh peppers if you like, but you must strain them out before storing. Keep stored in the fridge up to one week.
- Types of Chili Flakes: The spice level of this honey will depend on the type of chili you choose. Ancho chili flakes are mild and sweet. Chipotle chilies are smokey and fairly spicy. Crushed chili flakes can range quite a bit in spice, but they're usually a good 'all purpose' kind of chili flake.
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