Enjoy this homemade Hot Honey – the perfect balance of sweet and spicy to drizzle on or dip your favorite freshly fried breaded chicken tenders, pizza, biscuits and more!

This is the perfect Hot Honey you didn’t know you needed. It’s hot, spicy and sweet, the best combination! Plus it is one of the easiest recipes that you will ever be able to make.

Anytime I whip up a batch of this honey, the family gets excited because they know I’ll also be making some of my favorite breaded chicken tenders.

The chicken is nicely seasoned and the breading is super crispy. I love dipping the chicken in the Hot Honey since the sauce and chicken pair so nicely together.

Even if you give the chicken tender a good dunk into the honey, the chicken remains crispy due to the panko breadcrumb breading. They don’t end up soggy or lose the breading.

Hot Honey is amazing on these tenders, but it’s also good on other dishes. My family likes to drizzle it on some pizza, or across a chunk of cornbread casserole, and even using it on homemade biscuits!

Some of our other favorite sauce recipes we have on our site include: Tzatziki Sauce, Blackberry Jam, and Raspberry Sauce.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

You got a delicious dipping sauce that is super easy and goes with so many things.
Great for a tasty dinner or appetizer.
This comes together quickly with minimal ingredients!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM)

Fresno chiles
Thai chile
Pure honey
Peanut oil
Chicken tenderloins
All-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Black pepper
Eggs
Water
Panko breadcrumbs

HOW TO MAKE HOT HONEY (WITH CHICKEN TENDERS), STEP BY STEP:

Place the fresno chiles, thai chile, and honey into a small saucepan.
Over medium heat bring the saucepan to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once the saucepan is simmering, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 1 hour until it’s fragrant and spicy.
Just take the pot off the heat for a few seconds if it starts to bubble too much.
Use a fine mesh strainer over a medium-sized bowl and pour the hot honey into the strainer. Discard the chiles that remain in the strainer. Let the honey sit for 30 minutes to an hour to thicken.
While the Hot Honey is resting, make the homemade chicken tenders. Preheat the deep fryer to 350°F. Or, preheat the oil using a dutch oven with 3 inches of oil up the side of the pan.
Place the chicken tenders, flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper into a zipper-sealed plastic bag. Toss until the chicken is well coated in the spice mixture.
In a large shallow bow, add the eggs and a splash of water. Beat together until combined.
In another shallow bowl, add the breadcrumbs.
Working in batches with one tender at a time, shake off any excess flour and put it into the egg mixture to coat it.
Then transfer from the egg wash to the breadcrumbs and gently press the breadcrumbs in so they stick.
Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and put the breaded tender on it. Repeat with the remaining tenders.
Fry the tenders a couple at a time, do not crowd the pan. Fry breaded chicken for 4-5 minutes or until an internal temperature reaches 165°F on a meat thermometer.
Place fried tenders on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess grease. Place the fried tenders on a wire rack that sits on top of a sheet tray to catch any grease drips to keep the tenders crispy. Repeat until all tenders have been fried.
Serve immediately with the Hot Honey and enjoy.

CAN I INCREASE THE HEAT?

The Honey has a little spice but it is not overwhelming, especially when you serve it with the homemade chicken tenders.

If you want more spice, I would double the number of chiles that you use. Try adding more of one of the chiles, testing it and then adding more of the other one.

WHY IS MY HONEY TOO THICK?

When the Hot Honey cools completely it is very thick, much thicker than regular honey. I believe this is from cooking and reducing it.

I wanted to thin it out a bit and I found microwaving it for 15 seconds brought it back to honey consistency.

WHY DOES MY HOT HONEY HAVE BUBBLES?

As the Hot Honey cools it’ll form a layer of bubbles on top of it as it sits to cool down.

For the photos, I scraped this off but if yours has the bubbles, don’t worry, it doesn’t affect the taste of your delicious honey.

HOW TO STORE:

Your leftover honey can be stored in a glass jar at room temperature on the countertop out of sunlight with a lid where it will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Any leftover chicken tenders should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To reheat your chicken, if it’s not lathered in honey, you can put them back in the pre-heated fryer for a couple of minutes until they’re heated through again. You can also microwave them or pop them in the oven to bake them a few minutes to warm them up again.

The chicken tenders can also be frozen, place in a freezer container where they will keep for up to 3 months. To defrost, remove from the freezer into the refrigerator overnight and follow reheating instructions above.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

Make sure you watch the pot very closely over the hour as it may overflow. If it gets close, just pick up and remove the pan from the heat and let it relax for a few seconds before returning it to the stove.
Some other Hot Honey recipes use dried chili peppers or pepper flakes, but this recipe uses fresh peppers which I think bring the most flavor. You can use other options if needed.
Make sure you stir up the honey if its been stirred between each use.
I like using panko breadcrumbs since they hold up better on the the chicken. They also provide the most crunch factor for the breading. But you can use regular bread crumbs if you have to.
The chicken tenders can be frozen, see my suggestions on how to do that above.
Honey should be stored in a glass jar or a a food grade plastic container.
This Hot Honey is good on soooo many different things, see some of my family’s favorite things to drizzle it on or dip it in above.
This recipe can easily be doubled to make more to have on hand or give out as gifts to friends and family.

Searching for the perfect sweet and spicy sauce to dip these delectable homemade fried chicken tenders in? Look no further than this Hot Honey. It’s the perfect balance, not too sweet or too spicy.

If you like this recipe you might also like:

If you’ve tried this HOT HONEY or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!

Hot Honey (with Chicken Tenders)