How to Make Hot Honey With 2 Ingredients
Homemade hot honey is a versatile hot and sweet condiment you won’t want to live without. This sweet-spicy honey takes minutes to make with only two ingredients, and it goes on anything and everything from creamy whipped feta dip to iced tea to roasted salmon and grilled shrimp or chicken.
Once you learn how to make hot honey, you’ll want to keep a jar in your refrigerator at all times!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fast and easy. It takes less than 10 minutes to make and lasts for months in the refrigerator.
- Inexpensive. Yes, hot honey is readily available at the grocery store. But it’s far less expensive to make a jar of hot honey than to buy it.
- You control the flavor. Commercial brands of hot honey can be too hot or not hot enough. When you make your own, you control the peppers, which determine the flavor and heat.
- It’s the most versatile condiment ever. A drizzle of hot honey takes everything to a new level. I use it in yogurt, desserts, tea, cocktails, salad dressings, chicken, and seafood.
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the two ingredients you’ll need to make hot honey. I’ve listed information about my favorite peppers and some variations in the section below.
Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients with measurements.
Good-quality honey. You don’t need raw (unpasteurized) honey because you’ll simmer it with the pepper. That means, technically, it won’t be true “raw honey” any longer, and you may not retain all of the health benefits that come with raw honey. However, it’s best to choose a good, mid-priced honey because some inexpensive honey brands may be diluted with water or corn syrup.
Chili peppers. Two to three hot peppers should do it, but if you like very spicy honey, add more or stick to spicier peppers. Read below for my three favorite peppers to use in this recipe.
The Best Chiles to Use for Making Hot Honey
I usually make hot honey with jalapeño, serrano, or habanero peppers, or a mix of these if I have them. They have different flavors and amounts of heat:
- Jalapeños are mildly hot with a slightly bitter, grassy, green pepper taste. If using jalapeños, use two, three, or even four if you like it spicy.
- Serranos are hotter than jalapeños and have a more neutral grassy flavor. I recommend two or three if you use them.
- Habaneros are very hot (be careful handling them) with a slightly citrus flavor. If using these, stick to one or two.
I don’t recommend larger peppers like Hatch, Poblano, or Anaheim. These are too mild and better for eating. Use these to make pickled Hatch or other green chiles instead.
You can also use:
- Thai chiles, but sometimes their heat level is inconsistent.
- A tablespoon (or more to taste) of red pepper flakes. If you don’t want to bite into the red pepper flakes, make sure you strain the honey well through a fine mesh strainer before using it.
- A teaspoon (or more to taste) of ground cayenne or other hot pepper. Note that this will turn your hot honey a reddish color.
How to Make Hot Honey
1. Slice your peppers in half. Remove any loose seeds, but leave the membranes.
2. Heat the honey over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer, but not a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the peppers, and simmer for about five minutes. Taste the hot honey. If it’s not hot enough, add another pepper and simmer for another three minutes. If it’s too hot, add more honey to the pan. Let it cool for about five minutes.
3. Strain the peppers off. Pour the honey into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the refrigerator.
What to Do With Hot Honey
So. Many. Things!
- Add a tiny drizzle to hot or fruit iced tea for a sweet-spicy kick.
- Stir it into a cocktail, like my spiced ginger pear martini.
- Add a generous spoonful to hot tea or hot lemon water when you have a cold. It will clear your sinuses right out.
- Drizzle it on sweet potato cornbread, grilled fruit, or pear prosciutto and arugula pizza.
- Drizzle it over Brie or a baked ricotta appetizer.
- Use it to make homemade baked honey nut clusters.
- Dip your air-fryer fried chicken strips in it.
- Stir it into your favorite marinade.
- Use it to make honey-roasted carrots.
- Use it to flavor homemade salad dressing.
Really, you should be asking, What Can’t I Do With Hot Honey?
Bottom line – use it the same way you would use regular honey. It adds the perfect sweet and spicy kick and makes everything a little bit better.
Recipe FAQs
Plain, unopened honey has a very long shelf life (years), but adding fresh ingredients to honey shortens its shelf life. I recommend storing it in the refrigerator for up to three months.
Honey is a sweetener that adds calories and carbohydrates, but it’s sweeter than sugar, so you can use less. Honey has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Some research suggests it has potential health benefits because of its polyphenol compounds
Recipes to Use with Hot Honey
A little bit of homemade hot honey makes these recipes even better!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating on the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Homemade Hot Honey with 2 Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1-4 medium hot chili peppers See the note below for pepper recommendations and amounts.
- 1 1/2 cups honey
Instructions
- Remove the stems and slice your peppers lengthwise. Remove any loose seeds, but leave the rest of the seeds and white membrane intact.
- Pour the honey into a saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer, but not a hard boil. Add the peppers. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Let the honey cool, and strain the pepper pieces and any loose seeds.
- Store your hot honey in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. It should last at least three months. When using it, if it's too thick, let it come to room temperature or run the jar under hot water for 30 seconds.
Notes
- Jalapeños are mildly hot with a slightly bitter, grassy, green pepper taste. If using jalapeños, use two, three, or even four if you like it spicy.
- Serranos are hotter than jalapeños and have a more neutral grassy flavor. I recommend two or three if you use them.
- Habaneros are very hot (be careful handling them) with a slightly citrus flavor. If using these, stick to one or two.
