If you love sweet and spicy flavors, you are going to love this sauce. Let me teach you How To Make Hot Honey, I promise you will never look back. The best part? This can be made in under 5 minutes and with 2 ingredients!
What Exactly Is Hot Honey?
The is the hottest new sauce, and a trend I can get behind. Basically, it is spice-infused honey.
Here are the basics- you heat the honey with some type of peppers. The level of heat depends on the peppers you use. Let it cool and let the peppers infuse their heat into the honey. That is it!
This condiment is one that you can use to top so many foods. It is spicy and sticky and it is so good!
Now, there are a couple of methods for doing this and several heat options, so keep reading to find out more about this super simple technique.
Ingredients
- Honey- choose your favorite type. I will discuss in detail below.
- Pepper- these can be dried or fresh. I will explain more below.
How To Make The Hot Honey Recipe
There are actually two methods for cooking this hot honey. let me explain each one so you can decide which works best for you!
The cooktop method- this is the method I prefer and used. This method is easy, start by adding your honey and peppers to a pan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook it to just under a boil, strain, and serve.
The microwave method- add honey and peppers to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 minute. remove and all it to cool, strain.
Ingredient Options
Honey- You can use raw or pasteurized. Read more about each below.
Raw honey is honey that has never been processed or pasteurized. You can use raw honey if you want, but just know that raw honey crystallizes over time. This changes the texture and the way the honey flows, which might not be what you want for this recipe.
Pasteurized honey, on the other hand, tends to stay in its normal form. It has a slightly different flavor than raw honey but is probably the honey you should use in this recipe.
Peppers- Of course, there are a ton of pepper options you can use in this recipe. Look on the Scoville heat index to see how different peppers stack up.
I used habanero, but if you are looking for a less spicy option jalapeno or serrano peppers are a great choice. You can also use dried peppers, such as crushed red peppers.
Another thing to note is that if you want to use a hot pepper sauce like sriracha or Valentina, you can definitely substitute that.
Notes For Making The Habanero Hot Honey
I like to leave the peppers in until the honey has cooled. This lets it continue to infuse for longer, adding more spice
Make sure it is cooled completely before packaging. This ensures the best flavor of the honey.
Check that the jar that you are storing it in or containers are clean. Food safety is important when it comes to honey.
I can't stress this last note enough! Be mindful when working with hot peppers. Wear gloves and make sure you don't touch your face.
Wash your hands well after you are done making this.
Ways To Use Hot Honey
- Pizza- this is really popular right now and such a fun trend.
- Biscuits- I mean, does it get any better?
- Cornbread- Again, this is just as good as the biscuits!
- On a charcuterie board
- With fried chicken
- Over ice cream
- In your favorite tea
- Pulled Pork or Beef Sandwich
- On Fresh Bread
You can see, this list could go on and on. There are tons of ways to use this yummy sauce!
Gift Ideas
This hot honey also makes a great gift idea. You can package it in a small container and attach a cute note with instructions on how to use it.
This would be a great gift for teachers, neighbors, or friends! Who doesn't love some delicious hot honey?
FAQ Hot Honey Recipe
I like to refrigerate it, especially with fresh peppers. It will hold for about 2 months in the fridge.
I used habaneros, but also love serranos or jalapenos. Those are my 3 favorite peppers to use with the sweet/spicy combo. If you really want to kick it up, you can also go with ghost peppers or Thai peppers. Dried peppers also work. Crushed red peppers are really good in this.
In an airtight container in the fridge. If you used dried peppers, you can always store them at room temp in an airtight container after it has cooled completely.
Bread Recipes
This is really good on your favorite carbs, let me share a few of my favorites:
- Honey Oatmeal Bread
- Whole Wheat Biscuits
- Jalapeno Cornbread
- Parker House Rolls
- Honey Ricotta Toast with Blackberries
- Whole Wheat Popovers
How To Make Hot Honey
Equipment
- small pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey of choice
- 1-3 habaneros I used 3, but we like it pretty spicy. If you like it less spicy, I would go with 1 or 2.
Instructions
- Slice habaneros. Don't stress about perfection, just a rouch chop is fine.
- Add your habaneros and honey to a pan. I left all the seeds in, but you can take them out if you prefer. That will make it milder. It will be strained at the end.
- Heat over medium heat until it is just under a boil.
- Allow the honey to cool.
- Strain the honey to remove the peppers. You can leave the peppers in if you prefer, but I like to strain.
- That is it!
- Because we used fresh peppers, I store it in the fridge in an airtight container. It will hold well for at least 3 weeks.
- That is it! Now, sit back and enjoy!
Alan MacPherson says
Yeah ok please please stop telling please if you remove the seeds it's less heat, that's not true the heat is in the pepper itself
Capsaicin, which is the chemical compound that contains fiery heat, is actually concentrated in the inner white pith or rib of the chile pepper. While the seeds may be coated with some of the capsaicin since they're in contact with the rib, they themselves don't actually contain any heat.
admin says
You are right. I will update. I always remove the white ribs as well. The ribs and seeds are where the heat is concentrated!
Linda says
Tried this with 3 cups of honey, 2 habaneros, 1 Carolina Reaper and 1/3 Ghost pepper. Heated this up and let it cool...AMAZING!!! Drizzled on a homemade pizza that had spicy salami on it...
I also had 2 cups honey, added 1.5 t cinnamon and 2 habaneros.....i let this just sit overnight..strained next day..drizzled in my coconut Greek yogurt with reddi whip... DELICIOUS
My question...MUST I refrigerate these..I prefer not to
Amy Sandidge says
Linda! You must love the heat! Wow! I love spicy honey on my pizza. And to answer your question, you do not need to refrigerate. I need to change that on the post. It used to be recommended, but not anymore! Keep it at room temp and enjoy!