Easy Hot Honey Recipe (Vegan-Friendly & Giftable)

This hot honey recipe is incredibly easy and delicious! If you love the blend between a sweet and spicy flavor or anything with a kick, this is the recipe for you!

Sweet, spicy, and easy to make this hot honey recipe is perfect for drizzling or gifting. Great for holidays or everyday homemade foodie presents.

Similar to my Jalapeno Jelly Recipe, it makes the perfectly sticky sweet and spicy drizzle or dip for your favorite foods and can be used in so many ways.

My favorite part about making this homemade honey with peppers is that it uses only 3 ingredients and whips up in literally minutes. It’s quick, easy taste amazing and also makes the perfect gift.

I hope you enjoy making this super easy hot honey sauce recipe as much as I do!

What Is Hot Honey?

Hot honey is honey mixed with a spice of some sort for some kick and some heat! It is all the rage these days, and if you like hot sauce, you are going to love this!

Use it as a hot honey drizzle over your favorite foods, gift it, or even drizzle it over sweets if you want a really unique kick of flavor.

Many hot honey recipes use real chilies. You can totally do this, but you may want to strain the honey which makes the process take a little bit longer.

For my recipe, we use hot sauce and chili flakes for a quick and easy process. You know me I will always go for the easy option.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• No cooking skills required. There are no cooking skills required to make this! Literally put it on the stove for a little bit and it is done! If you can boil water, you can easily make this hot honey recipe!
• Perfect for sweet and spicy lovers. If you love the blend between sweet and spicy, you will be obsessed with this recipe. It can be used to dress up any recipe.
• Makes a great gift. Hot honey makes a great gift for the honey-lover in your life! You can put it in a cute jar and tie it with a bow and gift it for the holidays or any special event.

Hot Honey Ingredients

One of the best things about this hot honey recipe is that it only uses three basic ingredients. You probably already have these things on hand so it is easy and quick to whip up this treat!

• Honey. This is of course the main ingredient, and you can choose whatever type of honey you want.
• Red Pepper Flakes. These help to add texture and flavor to the honey. If you have dried your own peppers, you can crush those up. You may want to remove some seeds since that is what adds the heat. You can also simply use store-bought red pepper flakes from the spice aisle. The amount you need is up to your preference. Outside of the USA these will be called chilli flakes.
• Hot Sauce. Grab your favorite hot sauce. Any flavor or brand you have will work.

How To Make Hot Honey

Making homemade spicy hot honey is super easy and you can enjoy the delicious flavor for quite a while after the recipe is complete!

All you are going to want to do is pick out your favorite honey from the store. Of course, high-quality honey with a light flavor works great.

We always suggest supporting a local beekeeper for the freshest honey. However, grocery-store honey works just fine.

I do not recommend microwaving your honey to warm it up, I suggest doing it over the stove for best results.

Simply heat your honey on medium heat in a small saucepan and once it has loosened up a little bit, add the hot sauce of your choice and red pepper flakes.

I suggest amounts in the recipe below, but it really depends on you. Some people prefer a lot of red pepper flakes because it makes the honey really spicy. Some people like a lot of hot sauce added. It is entirely up to you.

If you want a milder honey, I suggest straining out the red pepper flakes so you don’t have to eat them when you use the honey as a drizzle.

Once all of the ingredients are combined on the stove, pour the hot honey recipe into a jar for gifting or storage and you are done! Your vegan hot honey is complete.

How To Use Hot Honey

You can really find infinite uses for this chili honey recipe as long as you like a kick of spicy, you will love it!

What to do with hot honey:

• Use it in place of maple syrup in our Maple Glazed Carrots
• Drizzle a bit on grilled cheese like our Confetti Grilled Cheese
• Serve it with biscuits or bread
• Drizzle it over pizza
• Add a kick of heat to Roasted Potatoes or Mashed Potatoes
• Drizzle it over our Whipped Goat Cheese Dip instead of the olive oil
• Add it to a hot toddy for a spicy twist
• Drizzle it over Roasted Brussels Sprouts

As you can see, there are a ton of ways you can use honey pepper sauce. It makes any dish sound fancy and the depth of flavor adds something unique to home cooking.

You can really elevate recipes with hot honey!

How To Store Hot Honey

The best way to store your honey is to keep it in a cool location away from direct sunlight. A cabinet or something similar in your pantry works fine.

You want your chili-infused honey to be stored in an air-tight container such as a mason jar. I do not recommend storing the honey in any metal container as the metal will oxidize and that isn’t good for food!

The hot sweet honey will last quite a long time on the shelf and you can use it in the same way that you use regular honey!

Gifting Homemade Hot Honey

This hot honey recipe isn’t just great for drizzling it makes a beautiful homemade gift too. Pour it into small glass jars or bottles, tie on a simple label, and you’ve got something thoughtful that looks far fancier than it is.

It’s perfect for the holidays, but also works year-round as a little thank-you. I like to include a small note with ideas for using it.

If you’re gifting it during the holidays, wrap the jar with a bit of twine and a sprig of rosemary or dried chili. It’s a simple but striking homemade present that people actually use, and don’t be surprised if they ask for more.

Vegan Hot Honey FAQ

How long does homemade hot honey last?
Stored in a sealed jar at room temperature, it keeps for three months, sometimes longer depending on the amount of hor sauce used. If you use maple syrup or agave instead of honey, refrigerate and use within a few weeks.

Can I make it less spicy?
Absolutely. Start with fewer pepper flakes or halve a fresh chili before adding. You can always infuse longer later if you want more heat.

What kind of honey works best?
Any mild variety, clover, wildflower, or orange blossom so the chili flavour shines through. For a vegan version, maple syrup or agave are both excellent substitutes.

Can I use hot sauce instead of chili flakes?
I use both for the best flavout but if you have no pepper flakes then yes. A teaspoon or two of your favourite hot sauce stirred into warm honey gives the same effect and makes the process even faster.

How do I keep it from crystallising?
Store it somewhere cool but not cold. If it thickens, just warm the jar in a bowl of hot water and stir until smooth again.