These juicy, crispy and sticky hot honey chicken wings are the perfect appetizer or snack to make and serve at your next game day get-together.
With just a few minutes of prep time and some pantry staples, you'll be able to make these wicked delicious gluten free chicken wings that everyone will just devour! If you just make a batch of my famous habanero hot honey - get ready to make these because they're perfect the perfect teammate!
I've recently been trying a lot of appetizers and sides that could be great for hosting. My roasted zucchini dip and cream cheese stuffed dates have been huge hits, but this time, I wanted to try something more spice-forward and flavor-packed.
I found a bag of chicken wings just waiting to be used, and realized we were running dangerously low on hot honey- so of course, these were just waiting to happen!
Quick Look
- 🔪Prep time: 5 min.
- ⏲️Cook time: 40 min.
- 👪 Servings: 4.
- 📋Main ingredients: Chicken wings, cornstarch, butter, honey, hot sauce, paprika, cayenne, red pepper flakes, baking powder, oil.
- ♨️Cooking method: Marinate the chicken wings in spices and oil 🡢 bake until crispy 🡢 prepare hot honey butter sauce 🡢 drizzle over chicken wings and enjoy.
- ⭐Difficulty: Medium.
- 🥣Serving ideas: Team up the spicy honey chicken wings with a subtle, creamy sauce like lemon sour cream sauce or Sriracha aioli.
Jump to:
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- These hot honey chicken wings are super easy to make- you'll barely need any prep time.
- You can customize them to your liking. Play around with the seasonings and sauces to tweak them to your preference.
- They're perfect for parties and get-togethers- just like my Air Fryer buffalo chicken tenders.
Recipe Ingredients
Chicken wings: Grab a bag of organic party chicken wings, or buy some from your local butcher if that's your thing!
Honey + hot sauce: The hero ingredients! Use your favorite hot sauce- I'm partial to my garlic habanero hot sauce, but you can use practically any hot sauce of your choice.
Butter: For that rich, hot honey sauce.
Cornstarch + baking powder: For that crispy, crunchy coating.
Seasonings: You'll need some paprika and cayenne for that bright red color, red pepper flakes for the hot honey sauce and some salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Oil: To help the seasonings stick to the chicken wings. You can also use an infused oil like habanero oil for some extra heat.
See recipe card for quantities.
Raw Manuka Honey is never pasteurized; Non-GMO Project verified Manuka Honey, traceable from hive to home.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can switch things around and experiment with different seasonings and additions. Use little or no cayenne if you're sensitive to spice, and use my jalapeno flakes instead of red pepper flakes for the hot honey butter.
- You can also use an infused honey like my jalapeno honey if you want to bring a different depth of flavor to the dish.
- To lend a bit of earthy, smoky flavor to the chicken wings, add a bit of hot mustard to the hot honey sauce. You can also try using some buffalo sauce or BBQ sauce if you want to.
How to Make Hot Honey Chicken Wings
Step 1: In a bowl, add the chicken wings, cornstarch, baking powder and seasonings with the oil.
Step 2: Mix well and ensure they're all coated. Marinate for a few hours if you want to.
Step 3: Arrange the chicken wings on your wire rack with a lined baking sheet underneath.
Step 4: Cook for 40-45 minutes in the oven preheated at 400°F. Brush some more of the leftover marinade over them if you want to.
Step 5: Meanwhile, combine butter, honey, hot sauce and red pepper flakes in a small bowl over low heat.
Step 6: Cook for a minute or two under the hot honey sauce is ready. Drizzle over the chicken or serve on the side.
💭Top Tip
Make sure you keep the heat low when making the hot honey sauce- you don't want the butter to end up burning!
Crafted from durable stainless steel with a layer of heat-conductive aluminum in the base, this small, versatile pan is designed to heat quickly and evenly to boil and simmer with ease when crafting sauces, gravies, and reductions.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Make sure you use baking powder, and not baking soda. This helps the chicken wings crisp up beautifully in the oven.
- Pat dry the chicken wings well before you marinate them. You don't want them to be soggy.
- Add a dash of apple cider vinegar or hot pepper vinegar to the hot honey sauce to balance out the flavors.
- You can also tone down the spice you're using and up your seasoning game by using an infused salt like garlic parsley salt, citrus salt, Sriracha salt, jalapeno salt or mixed herb salt- depending on the kind of flavor that you really like.
- To prep these chicken wings beforehand, simply marinate and refrigerate them for up to a day and prepare the hot honey sauce and store in a separate container. Then, all you need to do is bake, drizzle and enjoy.
How to Serve Hot Honey Chicken Wings
Enjoy these crispy and sticky hot honey wings with the irresistible hot honey sauce. I like to team them up with a creamy, subtle sauce or dip like my cottage cheese ranch dip, jalapeno mayo or a simple nacho cheese sauce to just tone down the heat a bit.
These can be great not just as an appetizer, but also a nice side along with a simple pasta dish. I like using my homemade cheese tortellini to make a simple pasta salad and then serve it with these chicken wings!
Troubleshooting and FAQs
You can refrigerate your leftover chicken wings for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
To reheat the chicken wings, simply pop them back in the oven at 375°F for 10 minutes and get them nice and crispy.
Of course. You can use chicken drumsticks or even boneless cuts like chicken tenders if you want. Just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Yes, you can. Simply swap the regular butter for a plant-based version and you're sorted.
More Delicious Sides to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this hot honey chicken wings recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Hot Honey Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 400 g chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the chicken wings, cornstarch, baking powder and seasonings with the oil.
- Mix well and ensure they're all coated. Marinate for a few hours if you want to.
- Arrange the chicken wings on your wire rack with a lined baking sheet underneath.
- Cook for 40-45 minutes in the oven preheated at 400°F. Brush some more of the leftover marinade over them if you want to.
- Meanwhile, combine butter, honey, hot sauce and red pepper flakes in a small bowl over low heat.
- Cook for a minute or two under the hot honey sauce is ready. Drizzle over the chicken or serve on the side.
Notes
- Pat dry the chicken wings before you marinate them.
- You can marinate the chicken beforehand and refrigerate it until you're ready to bake it.
- You can use different cuts of chicken too- just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
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