We’re making hot honey ~ an easy homemade condiment that infuses chile pepper into honey for drizzling over cheese and crackers, biscuits, cornbread, or fried chicken!
It’s sweet. It’s fiery. It’s one of those ‘where has this been all my life‘ experiences. The sweet heat of hot honey hits the front of your tongue, the spice kicks in a moment later at the back of your mouth and it’s delightful. Is it overwhelmingly hot? No, not at all, but let’s just say I was sick of buying tiny $10 bottles of supposedly ‘hot’ honey that had no warmth at all. This homemade version is easy and customizable to the exact level of spice you love.
Never had hot honey?
It’s basically honey that’s been gently infused with peppers, then strained. The resulting honey is sweet, with a background note of chili peppers. The practice of combining the sweetness of honey with the fire of peppers has long been a tradition in the Southern states, probably originating in cooking traditions brought over by enslaved Africans.
Modern hot honey has been popularized by brands like Mike’s Hot Honey. Mike’s falls into the mild to medium range because it is made to appeal to a broad audience.
what you’ll need to make hot honey
- honey
- this can be any honey you like, but I suggest a standard clover or wildflower honey. Don’t waste your money on a fancy artisanal honey for this recipe because the hot pepper flavor will dominate any subtle notes.
- hot pepper flakes
easy method for infusing honey with chilies
- Put honey and hot pepper flakes in a glass microwave safe jar.
- Microwave for 1 minute and stir to combine (the honey will become thinner and more fluid after it is heated.) We don’t want the honey boil, as this will destroy some of its beneficial properties.
- Let the honey steep for 15 minutes.
- Strain into a clean jar. Note: if your honey has cooled and thickened too much to be strained, gently heat it again to loosen it for straining.
Note that you don’t have to strain the honey. You can leave the peppers in for a different experience, but the flavor will be much spicier in that case. When leaving the peppers in the honey, use less because the heat will increase.
want to make your hot honey with fresh peppers?
The process will be the same, but instead of dried chili flakes you’ll use chopped fresh peppers like jalapeños, habaneros, Fresno or Thai chiles, and cayenne peppers. When you use fresh peppers, be sure to store your honey in the fridge because fresh peppers introduce moisture and potential bacteria that can spoil the honey.
storing your hot honey
Honey is low moisture and has natural antibacterial properties, so it has an almost indefinite shelf life. Once you infuse honey with dried chili flakes I recommend using it within a 3-6 months.
When infusing your own honey you want to make sure to decant the honey into a clean dry (preferably sterilized) jar to eliminate any risks of contamination. Store in a cool dry place like a pantry or cupboard.
If you use fresh hot chiles you’ll want to store the strained honey in the refrigerator to reduce the risk of spoilage. When refrigerated, the hot honey should last for about 3-6 months.
what if my hot honey crystalizes?
Any honey can sometimes form crystals, it’s a natural process. According to the National Honey Board if you want to de-crystalize honey you can “place the honey jar in warm water and stir until the crystals dissolve; or place the honey container, with the cap open, into near-boiling water that has been removed from the heat; or place the honey in a microwave-safe container with the lid off and microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until the crystals dissolve.”
how to use your spicy honey
Cheese plates and charcuterie boards are regulars at our house, and these kinds of special extras keep them fun and interesting. Hot honey goes especially well with:
- soft cheeses like goat, blue, and gorgonzola
- hard cheeses like cheddar, Manchego, Gouda, asiago
- meats like prosciutto and hard salami.
Drizzled over biscuits, cornbread, and corn sticks.
Drizzled over honeydew melon or fresh ripe figs.
In salad dressings for a subtle sweet spicy kick.
Make a spicy Honey Ice Cream!
Use to sweeten your mint tea or lemon tea, especially if you’ve got a cold.
Take a spoonful of hot honey with a squeeze of lemon juice to sooth a cough.
Hot Honey
Equipment
- mesh strainer
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey
- 3 tsp red chile pepper flakes, or about 5 small dried peppers, crushed
Instructions
- Put honey and hot pepper flakes in a glass microwave safe jar.
- Microwave for 1 minute and stir to combine (the honey will become thinner and more fluid after it is heated.) We don’t want the honey boil, as this will destroy some of its beneficial properties.
- Stir and let the honey steep for 15 minutes.
- Strain into a clean jar. Note: if your honey has cooled and thickened too much to be strained, gently heat it again to loosen it for straining.
- Honey will keep in an airtight jar in a cool dry place.
- Once you infuse honey with dried chile flakes I recommend using it within a 3-6 months. If you use fresh hot chiles you'll want to store the strained honey in the refrigerator to reduce the risk of spoilage. When refrigerated, the hot honey should last for about 3-6 months.
I loved your recipe for hot honey & it gave me a great idea for other flavorful Honey’s. Thank you so much!
I love that this inspired you, I think there are lots of herbs and spices, etc. that can be used with honey!
I love the idea of doing this yourself so you have full control over how sweet and spicy it is.
This was great! I had no idea it was so easy to make.
I know, right? And you can really vary the flavor depending on the peppers you use.
Love the level of heat here! And it’s balanced so well with the sweetness.
I was looking for ways to use my bumper crop of hot peppers and am thrilled! We have made candied bacon with it, used it on ham sandwiches, drizzled it on roasted corn with butter and like juice, basted it on grilled pork, and created some amazing cocktails! I forgot that it is the bomb on cornbread too!!!!! Easy and so versatile. Truly kicks up the game in our cuisine!!!!!
I love to hear this Denyse, you’ve gotten so creative with it! I need to try it on corn, that sounds amazing…
It looks amazing! Do you have to strain out the chillies ? Can you just leave them in it?
You can leave them in, for sure.
i have a question if your still on here i made pepper honey and the recipe says to refridgerate . i didnt think youhad to refridgerate honey??
You only need to refrigerate the honey if you’ve infused it with fresh peppers, which can potentially introduce bacteria. With dried chile flakes you can just store at room temp.
If you wanted to make a larger batch for gifts, would you need to process the jars of honey in a canner???
This recipe isn’t tested for canning, but when you make it with dried chile flakes it should last 3-6 months.
For hot-taste lovers like me this seems to be the perfect honey. I will definitely prepare your recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I love this idea! My cousin makes a fantastic jalapeno jelly and I keep meaning to ask for her recipe. I love the heat alongside the sweet condiments.