Hot Honey Chicken Wings – The Almond Eater

Hot Honey Chicken Wings are the best of both worlds: a bit of spice and a hint of sweetness. They’re baked in the oven until crispy, then coated in a delicious hot honey sauce that you’ll want to eat by the spoonful!

If you’re looking for an easy appetizer or weeknight dinner, look no further than these hot honey chicken wings. 

 

See, I tend to opt for my lemon pepper chicken wings, but my husband requested a spicy wings recipe. However, you should know by now that I’m a huge fan of salty-sweet, or in this case spicy-sweet, so I decided hot honey was the way to go. 

Recipe features

• Features a homemade hot honey sauce that is loaded with flavor.
• Made in the oven, but can also be made in the air fryer if you prefer (see FAQ section below).
• A little bit spicy, a little bit sweet and whole lot of delicious!
• Naturally gluten free, and can easily be made dairy free too. 

Ingredients

Chicken wings – 3 lb. chicken wings, which should yield approximately 36 wings, which is enough to serve a crowd or have leftovers. 

Dry rub – I opted to use smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little bit of cayenne pepper for the chicken seasoning. Oh, and salt and pepper of course. If you’re looking for less heat, omit the cayenne. 

Honey – A must-have for any hot honey sauce! 

Hot sauce – Use your favorite kind. I had Frank’s red hot original in my fridge, so that’s what I used. 

Butter – Preferably unsalted butter. If you’re using salted butter, omit the salt from the sauce. 

Instructions

Step 1: Make the dry rub. Start by mixing the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne together in a small bowl. Then, place the chicken wings in a large bowl, sprinkle the seasoning mixture overtop and toss until the chicken is coated. 

Step 2: Bake the chicken. Place the chicken on a parchment-linked baking sheet, then bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping half way through. 

Step 3: Make the sauce. Meanwhile, add all of the sauce ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk to combine. Bring to a low simmer and simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly, then remove from the heat. Taste, and add additional honey or hot sauce as desired. 

Step 4: Finalize. Once the chicken is done, remove it from the oven and brush the hot honey sauce over each chicken wing. Serve right away as-is, or sprinkle with fresh cilantro and then serve. Enjoy!

Tips and FAQs

• For extra crispy wings, pat them dry with a paper towel before adding the dry rub, and bake them on a wire rack on top of the baking sheet.
• Make these dairy free by using dairy free butter in the sauce.
• Serve wings by themselves, or with a side of ranch, blue cheese or my spicy avocado dressing, along with celery and carrot sticks. 

Can these be made in the air fryer?

Yup! Simply follow the same steps as my air fryer chicken wings recipe, but after you remove them from the air fryer, brush them with the hot honey sauce.

NOTE: For this method, you may need to cook them in two batches so the wings can be in a single layer when they cook.

What kind of hot sauce is best? 

That’s up to you! I used Frank’s and thought it worked well, but you could opt for a more classic buffalo sauce, or something extra spicy like habanero. 

Storage

Refrigerator – Store leftover wings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

Reheating – To reheat, place wings on a baking sheet and heat in the oven at 400° until warmed through. Or, reheat them in the microwave on a microwave-safe plate. 

More easy chicken recipes

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!