easy hot honey chicken;
Originally posted June 7, 2019. Updated Mar 28, 2025 for content and clarity.
Hot honey chicken is so easy and so delicious that you absolutely need it on your weekday meal rotation. Quick and easy, but with a flavorful spice rub that pops against bright and bold hot honey flavors. The chicken itself is soft and moist, but with a little panko crunch. It goes great with salad, broccoli, or pao de queijo (brazilian cheese puffs).
The origin story for hot honey chicken was actually a meal kit. I don’t do meal kits often, but they come in handy when we get back from vacations and need something quick and reasonably healthy without grocery shopping. And every so often there are some gem ideas that come out of them. Hot honey chicken is one, and these miso-glazed wings are another fan favorite. Both are tweaks on ideas that came from meal kits.
But what I love about this hot honey chicken recipe is that the only special ingredient is the hot honey. I have all of the others in my pantry at most times. It really is an easy recipe! The key to hot honey chicken is the sour cream. That’s what keeps it moist and flavorful. If you want to up the protein in this recipe, swap greek yogurt out for the sour cream. That said, if you go with greek yogurt you want to use full fat yogurt. If you choose low or non-fat yogurt, you lost the moisture and flavor to pair with this chicken.
If you want to up the protein in hot honey chicken, swap greek yogurt out for the sour cream.
secret to success
I’ve seen hot honey much more frequently on shelves, so hopefully it’s not too hard to find. If you aren’t able to find a pre-made hot honey, there’s a couple of options. First: what doesn’t work. We tried just letting chili flakes infuse in honey for a couple of hours, but it definitely did not impart the same intense spice. It gives a slow burn, rather than the intense up-front pop of sweet heat from typical hot honey. You can boil honey to infuse it more intensely with chilis, but boiling seemed like too much effort so I didn’t bother.
My recommendation for a substitute hot honey is a combination of honey and chili crisp. Chili crisp is a Chinese condiment of fried chili-pepper-infused oil. See? Shortcut to that boiling, honey-infused chili oil. Plus a little extra umami and depth of flavor comes with the chili crisp.
For a substitute hot honey, combine your preferred honey and chili crisp.
secret to success
It took a little bit of nose and taste-work to recreate the barbecue spice mix from the Hello Fresh but I think the spice blend holds up. A combination of paprika, cumin, garlic, mustard, ginger, pepper. Plus a little bit of sugar for sweetness. Once you mix up the spice blend, you mix it together with the panko breadcrumbs. Keep in mind that the ingredients as listed makes enough spice mix for 3 recipes, so set some aside and save it for the next time you want to make hot honey chicken.
secrets to success;
Want all the best tips and tricks to make this recipe a success? Check out the blog post above to find out more!
more recipes;
Looking for other easy weeknight meals? Check out these delicious options to make dinner quick and delicious!
- I love this blue cheese creamed spinach, and if you feel like doubling down on that blue cheese, make it alongside a steak topped with blue cheese sauce for a simple and hearty weeknight meal.
- Butter chicken with homemade naan is a staple in our weeknight rotation because it’s basically a one-pot meal, and the naan is so easy to throw together while the curry simmers away!
- For those nights you need a set-and-forget option, check out my 6 weeknight favorite slow cooker meals. Plus, added bonus–you’ll come home to your kitchen smelling on-so-delicious!
hot honey chicken;
Ingredients
Spice Blend
- 1 tsp garlic
- 2½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ⅛ tsp ginger
- ⅛ tsp mustard powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 2 tsp sugar
Hot Honey Chicken
- 4 thin chicken cutlets
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 Tbsp sour cream or greek yogurt
- 4 Tbsp hot honey
Instructions
Spice Blend
- Mix together all ingredients. Recipe here will make approx. 3 recipes worth of spice mixture.
Hot Honey Chicken
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Add panko breadcrumbs, and 1 Tbsp. spice mixture and toss together until evenly coated.
- Smear top of each chicken breast with sour cream or greek yogurt and top with panko mixture, pressing to adhere.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.
- Serve hot, and top with hot honey
1 Comments
Laura
March 29, 2025 at 11:26 pm
This is a solid recipe that ticks all the boxes, and that I always wait too long before making again. Need to make this again now!