How To Use Hot Honey: 25 Ways to Put It on Everything
As a chef, I am really impressed with the simplicity and vibrancy of the hot-honey craze.
One minute hot honey was a niche pizzeria secret, and the next it was showing up on cheese boards, breakfast tables, cocktail menus—and absolutely everywhere in-between.
If you’ve somehow missed the hype, hot honey is exactly what it sounds like—real honey infused with chile peppers (usually hot peppers like Calabrian or Fresno) or good old crushed red pepper flakes.
It’s sweet heat in a bottle, and once you understand how versatile this spicy condiment is, you’ll wonder how your pantry ever functioned without it.
Personally, I’ve found so many ways to use hot honey, I just have to share.
Recommended Hot Honey Brands
There are many easy hot honey recipes out there, but if you want to skip the DIY route, these are the bottles worth keeping stocked:
Mike's Hot Honey – This is the brand that basically put hot honey on the map, thanks to its now-iconic pizzeria partnerships. It provides reliable heat, classic flavor, and is sold in grocery stores everywhere.
Bushwick Kitchen Bees Knees Spicy Honey – This Brooklyn-made option boasts a noticeably fruitier chile flavor. It’s great if you want something a little more complex than straight heat.
Savannah Bee Company Spicy Hot Honey – Here’s a Southern take with a rounder, more floral honey base. You’ll love it on biscuits and cheese.
Biosota Hot Honey – Made with real Manuka honey from New Zealand as its base, this hot honey skews richer and more earthy than your average clover honey blend. If you’re already a Manuka honey fan, this is an easy way to enjoy that same depth in a spicier incarnation.
25 Ways to Use Hot Honey
When to use hot honey? Whenever you want a dish to have a little more complexity or depth.
Hot honey is at its best when something already has salt, fat, or acid to play against—think salty cheese, fatty pork, crispy fried food, or tangy citrus.
The sweetness rounds things out, and the heat keeps foods from tasting one-note. Here are my favorite ways to incorporate hot honey into your life.
1. On a Charcuterie Board
Hot honey on a charcuterie board is always a good idea.
This is hot honey’s natural habitat. Put it in a small bowl, or drizzle it over cured meats like salami and prosciutto. You can even let it pool into the cheese so every bite gets a little sweetness and a little heat.
For more board suggestions, see:
Italian Charcuterie Board
Christmas Charcuterie Board
2. Spice Up Your Chocolate
My current obsession, chocolate bark with hot honey
I am obsessed with this Spicy Chocolate Peanut Bark made with hot honey. The more I eat it, the more I crave it. Bonus: It takes only 5 minutes to make (although 2 hours to cool).
3. With Melted Cheese
Pan-seared Halloumi with hot honey
Spread a little hot honey inside a grilled cheese sandwich before cooking, or over the top once it’s plated.
Melted cheese and hot honey are genuinely a fan favorite. Grilled Halloumi with hot honey is amazing, and hot honey is, of course, a great addition to mac ’n cheese!
4. More Cheese Please
Fresh mozzarella with hot honey, almonds, and dates
Hot honey is a delightful contrast to soft, creamy cheeses. Think burrata, brie, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, ricotta—even plain old cream cheese. The honey cuts through the richness, and the heat offers the perfect balance.
However, you can also pair hot honey with sharp cheeses like blue cheese and cheddar, and Italian cheeses like pecorino Romano and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
5. Drizzled on Fruit
Sweet nectarines and hot honey
Cantaloupe, watermelon, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and figs all turn into something unexpectedly special with a drizzle of hot honey and a pinch of flaky salt. If you’re feeling fancy, add a dash of balsamic vinegar.
Add a drop of hot honey to the whipped feta in these Watermelon-Feta Bites or try some on this Prosciutto e Melone.
6. Baked or Drizzled on Seafood
Hot honey glazed salmon
Salmon, shrimp, and scallops all take beautifully to a hot honey glaze in the oven, or a finishing drizzle right before they’re served.
7. On Anything Pork
Pork chop with hot honey
Pork chops, pork tenderloin, BBQ pork ribs—yes, yes, yes! Hot honey was basically made for anything porky that comes off a grill or out of a frying pan or oven.
8. In Stir-Frys
Stir-fried chicken with hot honey
Swap in a spoonful of hot honey for the sugar in a stir-fry or fried rice preparation, and you’ll get a sticky, salty, slightly spicy coating that’s wonderfully addictive.
Try the swap in these Chicken Breast Lettuce Cups.
9. In Hot Drinks
Hot honey in Café de Olla is the perfect pairing with a concha.
Stir a little into hot chai, hot chocolate, coffee, or tea instead of regular honey or sweetener. I especially love the warm spices in chai with the pepper heat in the honey. Try it in a hot toddy for a fun adult beverage!
10. As a Dip for Egg Rolls or Dumplings
Hot honey dip for spring rolls
Mix hot honey with a splash of soy sauce or rice vinegar for a dipping sauce that’s sweet, spicy, and dangerously easy to keep eating with a spoon.
11. Brush It on Bacon
Hot honey bacon and pancakes
Brush hot honey onto bacon during the last few minutes of cooking, and you’ve basically made candied bacon’s spicier, more interesting cousin.
It’s also a fun finish on these Bacon-Wrapped Dates.
12. Make It a Sandwich Spread
Hot honey spread on a breakfast sandwich
Whisk together equal parts of hot honey, ketchup, and mayo, and suddenly your basic turkey or chicken sandwich has a higher reason to exist.
13. Make Spicy Honey Mustard
Hot honey mustard for a salmon salad
Stir hot honey into Dijon or yellow mustard for a homemade spicy honey mustard that’s leagues better than anything from a squeeze bottle.
14. Stir It into Cocktails
Cocktails with hot honey
Old fashioneds and margaritas both love a hot honey simple syrup. Just warm equal parts hot honey and water until it thins out, then use it in place of regular simple syrup.
If you’re thinking about drinking now, read the first below for interesting tales about cocktails; read the second to learn how to make my absolute favorite cocktail—you’ll love it!
13 World-Famous Cocktails
Gotta Try the Herbalist
15. Drizzled on Pizza
Hot honey drizzled on a cherry tomato pizza
The original hot honey moment was on pepperoni pizza. But really, any pizza with or without meat takes on a whole new personality with a hot honey finish. Try it on this Squash Blossom Pizza or BBQ Chicken Pizza.
16. Over Biscuits or Cornbread
Biscuits begging for hot honey
Giving warm, buttery biscuits or cornbread a drizzle of hot honey is a small change that makes breakfast feel like a bigger deal. Or if you’re a butter-lover like me, mix the hot honey into the butter. You’ll soon find all kinds of uses for hot honey butter.
17. As a Glaze for Roasted Vegetables
Veggie skewers with hot honey marinade
Brussels sprouts, carrots, and sweet potatoes all caramelize nicely with a hot honey glaze added in the last few minutes of roasting. Add a tablespoon to the marinade for this Veggie Skewer Recipe.
18. Drizzled on Crispy Fried Chicken
Crispy fried chicken with hot honey drizzle
This is basically Nashville hot chicken’s mellower relative. Crispy coatings love a hot honey drizzle—fried chicken, chicken wings, chicken nuggets, even a roasted chicken with crispy skin.
19. On Pancakes, Waffles, and French Toast
Sweet & spicy French toast with caramelized bananas
If you’re a fan of sweet-and-spicy combos, swap your regular maple syrup for hot honey some weekend. Kick it up a notch and add hot honey to this Caramelized Banana Topping for your pancakes, waffles, and French toast (including French Toast Casseroles).
20. Whisked into Salad Dressing
Salad with hot honey dressing
Whisk hot honey with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and a little mustard for a vinaigrette that works especially well over bitter greens like arugula or radicchio.
21. In a Marinade
Steamed shrimp marinated in hot honey
Combine hot honey with soy sauce, garlic, and a splash of lime juice for a marinade that gives chicken, pork, or shrimp a bold flavor your guests will love.
22. Swirled into Yogurt or Oatmeal
Ricotta Oatmeal with pecans and a little hot honey
A spoonful of hot honey in plain Greek yogurt or warm oatmeal, especially alongside nuts or berries, gives just the right amount of spice to kickstart your day. Try it on my Ricotta Oatmeal!
23. Add It to Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin soup is delicious with a little hot honey
Pumpkin and hot honey are natural playmates. The earthy sweetness of autumn’s favorite squash practically asks for a little heat, especially when pumpkin spice is involved.
A drizzle of hot honey on top, or a spoonful stirred in, gives each one of these pumpkin recipes a little unexpected warmth: Pumpkin Cheesecake Overnight Oats, Easy Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Pumpkin Dip, or even a Pumpkin Spice Milkshake.
24. On Avocado Toast
Avocado toast with hot honey greens
A drizzle of hot honey over avocado toast, especially with a little flaky salt and red pepper flakes, turns a basic breakfast into something worth photographing.
25. As a Glaze for Ham
Hot honey glazed ham sandwich
Brush hot honey over a baked ham during the last stretch of cooking for a glaze with real depth, instead of the often overly sweet usual version.
Ready to Start Drizzling?
There you have it: 25 ways to use hot honey, and I’ll bet money you’ll think of a few more once you actually have a bottle in your pantry.
The truth is that hot honey is one of the lowest-effort, highest-reward ingredients you can own. It doesn’t require a recipe, a special trip to a specialty store, or any real skill. You just need something salty, fatty, or a little bland, and a few seconds to drizzle.
My advice? Pick up a bottle, start with a charcuterie board or grilled cheese, and go from there. Before long, you’ll be reaching for hot honey more often than for hot sauce.
Now go drizzle something delicious. 🍯🌶️
