Love Hot Honey? These Are The Best Ways To Cook With It, According To A Pro

Hot honey is a unique condiment that's used to create a sweet and spicy flavor profile in a dish. Although there are a few ways to make it, the most traditional option for making hot honey includes infusing standard sweet honey with heat-packing peppers. If you make this at home, you can use dried crushed red pepper flakes, fresh jalapeños, fresh habaneros, or a bit of cayenne pepper. Of course, there are plenty of premade hot honey combinations you can try if you prefer. But, once you make that batch of hot honey or grab a bottle from your favorite brand, chances are high that it just sits there waiting to be used. Despite many people not realizing just how versatile this condiment is, there are ample ways to put hot honey to good use in your home kitchen.

During my career in the food industry, I used hot honey in a wide range of dishes. Whether creating menus for restaurants or bakeries, I liked to experiment with the capabilities of this unique condiment — especially since sweet and spicy is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Today, I get to share a few of my favorite cooking methods with you, so you can take them for a test drive in your own kitchen. From sweet and spicy wings to the ultimate grilled cheese, here are the best ways to cook with hot honey.

You may not realize that the spicy aspect of hot honey actually works quite well with traditionally sweet desserts, but there are a handful that I highly recommend you try — and these hot honey cakes top the list. Although many cultures have honey cakes, the recipe I most often use is a Greek variety, which is very sweet, bright, and starchy.

My favorite recipe calls for a somewhat soft, spongy honey cake composed of various spices, finely chopped walnuts, lemon zest, orange zest, and honey. Once baked, the honey cake is then soaked in a sweet syrup composed of water, honey, and orange juice. Although other variants of the recipe add sugar to their syrup, I tend to skip this as I prefer a slightly milder sweetness profile.

But whatever honey cake recipe you use, it can easily be altered to become a hot honey cake instead. In my recipe, I swap out all of the honey in the sponge cake for hot honey, and then I replace half of the honey in the syrup with it. This creates a warm, spicy dessert whose heat is balanced out with the citrus and starch.

Buffalo wings are a fan favorite that's devoured by the dozen on game days. One of my personal favorite things about buffalo wings is how small changes to your sauce recipe can make big differences in the final taste, creating a rainbow of potential flavor options inside the same dish umbrella.

The key difference between buffalo sauce and standard hot sauce is that the former has combined the latter with butter to create a smoother, richer product. Adding honey to this concoction can actually elevate the vinegar-based heat while also providing subtle balance and a thicker, slightly stickier texture that adheres to wings better. If you're a big fan of heat, you'd be amiss to not try combining your buffalo sauce with hot honey.

My personal recipe for this sauce calls for three parts of your favorite vinegar-based hot sauce, one part melted butter, and one part room-temperature hot honey. Whisk these together in a large mixing bowl until they've fully combined. Once your chicken wings are fully cooked, throw them into the sauce and toss until fully coated. If it's your preference, you can choose to coat your wings before cooking, but be aware that this usually creates a slightly softer skin and more caramelized flavor profile due to how the sugars in honey break down during cooking.

Fried rice is a simple, classic dish that can be made in a multitude of ways. Most people who make the dish have their own base recipe from which they create other dishes. For me, that recipe involves rice, soy sauce, carrots, peas, and corn. The great thing about this specific recipe is that the three vegetables I use are all naturally a little sweet. This creates the perfect canvas for the addition of the sweet and spicy flavor combination of hot honey.

Once your fried rice is done, shut off the heat and drizzle a little hot honey on top while still in the pan. How much you add is up to you, but keep in mind that the more you add, the hotter it will be. Quickly mix the fried rice and immediately serve. Hot honey fried rice pairs exceptionally well with glazed ham, cornbread, and buttered green beans.

You can combine hot honey with more complex fried rice stir-fries, too, if desired. For example, I find that the sweet part of the flavor profile pairs really well with diced pork, pineapple tidbits, chicken breast chunks, mandarin oranges, broccoli, bell peppers, and green beans. The spicy aspect of hot honey can be complemented with garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, or any sliced spicy pepper. Feel free to experiment with varying combinations of sweet and spicy additions to create your favorite recipe.

There are numerous types of fruit pastries you could create, and most of them will do well with the addition of hot honey. Why? Because hot honey balances and contrasts the sweetness of traditional fruit pastries, elevating the profile and adding incredible depth to your dish.

Hot honey works well in this context for various fruits, with my personal favorites being pastries involving peaches, pears, and apricots. There's something about the way spice pairs with the soft texture, mild tang, and sweet juiciness of these specific fruits that just makes my mouth water. For example, hot honey is an excellent addition to this almond-glazed blueberry peach hand pie recipe, as well as to this red wine poached pear tart. But, of course, there are many other fruits you could pair with hot honey in a pastry. Other excellent options include strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, and even plums.

To add hot honey to an existing fruit pastry recipe, you can choose to go one of two routes. The first option is to add a few teaspoons of hot honey to the fruit filling, which will create a very full-bodied spice while simultaneously elevating the dish's sweetness. The second option (and my personal preference) is to drizzle a little hot honey over the top of the pastry when done to create a subtle bite of spice that complements the natural sweetness of your dessert.

Hot honey can quickly upgrade your oven-baked chicken, offering a stark counterpoint to the dish's innate savoriness. By adding a small drizzle over your chicken after cooking, you'll have a very light, subtle inclusion of the hot honey's flavor profile with a low enough heat level that it's likely okay for most children and adults who aren't spice enthusiasts.

If you are a spice enthusiast, you can choose to create a hot honey marinade instead, which can then be poured over the top of your chicken. This will create a more pronounced spice level, with more prominent sweet notes. For this, I like to combine soy sauce, hot honey, garlic, and cooking sherry before allowing the chicken to marinade overnight.

If you prefer fried chicken instead, incorporate hot honey into your batter before frying. Don't overdo it, or your batter may become too runny. Usually, a teaspoon or two is enough to impart flavor without altering the consistency of your batter. Feel free to drizzle a little hot honey over fried chicken before serving, too.

There's nothing inherently wrong with store-bought salad dressings. In fact, I often use these because they're simple and affordable. But, there's nothing quite like the robust flavor and potential customization of homemade salad dressing. Best of all, this is another part of your night's menu where hot honey can have a chance to shine.

As with most of the hot honey cooking tips on this list, there are numerous base recipes you can begin with. For myself, I like to begin with a very simple, Italian-based dressing recipe involving olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Italian spices. To this, I add a moderate amount of hot honey before fully combining the ingredients using an immersion blender. If I want a slightly thicker, tangier dressing, I'll also add a few squirts of yellow mustard.

You can use hot honey salad dressing on nearly any salad you choose. However, I think it's especially good on a fresh greens salad with red onion, tomato, and cucumber, which really allows the dressing's flavor to shine through. I also recommend trying it on a grilled chicken salad.

Hot honey compound butter is the single most versatile option for cooking with hot honey. Once you've crafted your butter, you can use it on a wide range of dishes to add a complex taste of rich, creamy, spicy, and sweet — all with a single ingredient. Plus, you can add additional seasonings to develop unique flavor elements. Examples include garlic, smoked paprika, parsley, or Italian herbs.

Creating compound butter is incredibly easy, and all it requires is butter and hot honey. You want the butter to be room temperature so you can work with it, but not melted. You can customize the amount of hot honey used to suit your heat preferences. I like to take a middle-of-the-road approach where there's a small kick of spice, but nothing that will make your eyes water. For this, I use two sticks of softened butter and 2 tablespoons of hot honey. You can adjust this by adding or subtracting a tablespoon of hot honey. If you're including other seasonings, you'll add those in now. Once everything is incorporated, create a log using parchment paper and pop it in the refrigerator to harden.

Grilled cheese may be a classic, simple mainstay, but you'd be surprised at the many unexpected ways you can upgrade this sandwich. One of those unexpected ways is through incorporating hot honey with carefully selected cheese varieties to create a delicious, sweet, and spicy twist on your favorite lunch.

Start by buttering the outside of your bread slices. For this, I personally prefer sourdough bread, but you can use white, wheat, or whatever you have on hand. Drizzle the interior side of your bread with hot honey on both pieces before adding your cheese. Again, you can use whatever you like here, but my personal recommendations are Brie, Havarti, provolone, Gruyère, or gouda. I recommend serving with sweet potato fries and bread and butter pickles.

You can take this one step further by smearing the exterior part of your bread with a hot honey butter. Grill this until the outside is golden brown and caramelized. You'll not only create extra depth to your dish's taste, but also ensure a satisfyingly crispy exterior.

Hot honey offers an easy way to upgrade your skillet cornbread. Simply make your favorite cornbread recipe per the instructions. As soon as you pull your pan from the oven, spread a thin but even coating of butter over the top and drizzle with hot honey. Allow the toppings to penetrate the cornbread before serving. This will add some spice and sweetness to nicely counter the buttery starchiness. If you're looking for a well-balanced snack, I recommend eating your hot honey cornbread with a few jalapeños and a glass of buttermilk. The peppers will further elevate the spice notes, while the buttermilk provides balance.

Another option is to use hot honey to create spicy cornbread. You can start with your favorite recipe to create your base mixture. Then, add a few thinly sliced jalapeño peppers and 2 or 3 tablespoons of hot honey. Mix to incorporate and then bake like normal. You can choose to serve it as-is, or you can take it a step further by adding butter and hot honey to the top of the dish as described above.

Brown sugar carrots are a sweet and earthy side dish that's a favorite in my household — it's actually one of the few ways I can get my children excited to eat carrots. One way I like to elevate this favorite dish's flavor profile is by incorporating hot honey near the middle of the cooking process. I find that the natural sweetness of carrots pairs well with the mild heat offered by the hot honey.

Start by combining your carrots, brown sugar, and butter in a frying pan like you would normally. If you prefer softer carrots, I recommend blanching them ahead of time. Alternatively, you can opt for canned or frozen carrots instead of fresh, which will become softer faster. About halfway through cooking, add a teaspoon or two of hot honey. The condiment's flavor will readily be absorbed into the carrots as they soften, creating a very full-bodied side dish. Just be sure you're cooking over medium-low heat after adding the hot honey so you don't accidentally burn it.