Skip to Content

Hot Honey Chicken

August 2, 2024

This homemade hot honey chicken recipe is all about our easy hot honey sauce, which you’ll drizzle all over juicy grilled chicken pieces for a spicy-sweet dinner everyone will adore.

Categories

a plate of hot honey grilled chicken served with a dish of extra hot honey sauce on the side
Photography by Gayle McLeod

This homemade hot honey chicken is all about the combination of flavors — that sweet, spicy, tangy, savory hot honey sauce that clings perfectly to tender grilled chicken that’s been sprinkled with cayenne, garlic and onion powder. Our hot honey chicken recipe is a total summer dinner flavor bomb. If you’ve got kids at your table, just grill chicken for them that’s seasoned more simply and keep the hot honey chicken for the grown-ups. Still not sure if honey and chicken belong in a recipe together? Check out our other honey chicken recipes, like One Pan Honey Mustard Chicken and Vegetables, Honey Harissa Chicken Sheet Pan and our Honey Mustard Curry Chicken, and consider yourself convinced.

spices, chicken thighs, olive oil, butter, honey, sriracha and apple cider vinegar in prep bowls to make hot honey chicken

Hot Honey Sauce Ingredients

  • Salted butter. We love salted butter for savory dishes — it saves us a step and it makes everything taste extra delicious.

  • Honey. Any honey is fine here, and you may even want to opt for a generic honey that is more neutral in flavor than some fancy varieties so that it can play nicely with the spicy, salty, tangy flavors we’ll pair it with in the hot honey sauce.

  • Sriracha. Chili garlic sauce, also known as “rooster sauce” because of the rooster on the label. We love it so much. If you’re not sure what else to do with it, we’ve got lots of ideas for you! Try it in our Sesame-Garlic Noodles, Chicken Teriyaki Bowl, or juicy Pork Banh Mi Burger.

  • Apple cider vinegar. We love the slight sweetness that cider vinegar adds (no seriously, there’s a hint of apple-sweetness under all that acid) to our hot honey sauce. We don’t recommend substituting other kinds of vinegar here.

chili powder, granulated garlic, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper mixed together in a glass bowl
sriracha being added to a small pot with melted butter
honey and apple cider vinegar being whisked into melted butter and sriracha in a small pot
raw chicken thighs, patted dry, drizzled with olive oil and being sprinkled with spices

What To Serve With Hot Honey Chicken

Our deliciously spicy honey grilled chicken recipe obviously packs a little punch, so we like to pair it with cool, refreshing summer side dishes and drinks. Classic creamy sides can help cool the heat (yogurt or mayo-based salads, for example) and icy drinks help us actually cool down when the temps rise. A few of our favorite things to serve with this hot honey chicken recipe are:

raw chicken thighs seasoned being brushed with hot honey sauce
hot honey chicken being grilled and brushed with hot honey sauce

Tips For The Best Hot Honey Chicken

  • You can make this recipe with chicken breasts or chicken thighs, but we’re partial to chicken thighs! They’re just a little more juicy and yes, they do have a little more fat than breasts but they also tend to be a bit more budget-friendly. As part of an overall healthy diet, chicken thighs (especially skinless ones) are not really a splurge.

  • Brush the chicken generously with the hot honey sauce as you grill it, but make sure the heat is controlled. It should get nicely sticky as it coats the seasoned chicken, but hopefully not burnt.

a plate of hot honey grilled chicken served with a dish of extra hot honey sauce on the side

Tonight, Hot Honey Chicken. Tomorrow, The World!

For more recipe inspiration, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest or order our cookbook. We love when you share your meals. Tag us on Instagram using #themodernproper. Happy cooking!

💌 Let's Stay Together

There are so many great ways to receive all of our latest recipes, meal tips, and inspiration.

Hot Honey Chicken

  • Serves:  4
  • Prep Time:  15 min
  • Cook Time:  18 min
  • Calories:  529

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons salted butter
  • ½ cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons Sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar

Method

  1. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, granulated garlic, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

  2. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs and pat dry. Drizzle the oil all over the chicken, then rub all over with the spice mixture.

  3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the honey, Sriracha, and vinegar. Reserve half the sauce in a small bowl for serving.

  4. Preheat the grill on high. Brush both sides of the chicken with some of the remaining sauce in the saucepan. Place the chicken on the grill, then reduce the heat to medium-high. Cover the grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until char marks form. Flip and brush the chicken with more of the remaining sauce. Cook, turning occasionally and brushing with more remaining sauce, until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, 7 to 8 minutes more.

  5. Before serving, drizzle the cooked chicken with the reserved sauce or serve the reserved sauce on the side.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories 529
  • Protein 45 g
  • Carbohydrates 38 g
  • Total Fat 24 g
  • Dietary Fiber 1 g
  • Cholesterol 241 mg
  • sodium 893 mg
  • Total Sugars 33 g

Hot Honey Chicken

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

or
  • Kate

    I don't have a grill - could this be done in a grill pan or under a broiler? If so, what would the timing be? Thanks!

    Yes! Not sure what type of chicken you are using, but the chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.

  • Jessica

    Couldn't get enough. Perfectly sticky and sweet with a little kick. Felt like a fun night out but at home!

    Thanks Jessica, glad you loved it!

  • Erin

    Awesome! Love a new take on grilled chicken thighs. Easy summer dinner. Perfect balance of heat and sweet for the whole family!

    Thanks Erin, so glad you loved it!