Hot Honey Chicken - 20 Minute Dinner

If you like the combination of sweet and spicy, you're going to LOVE this Hot Honey Chicken! It takes under 20 minutes to make and it is so undeniably delicious!

Serve this hot and sweet chicken over rice and with some steamed broccoli tossed with the tasty hot honey sauce. So good!

Hot honey chicken

Ya'll. I discovered Mike's Hot Honey last year and we are OBSESSED. We put that on everything... literally - cottage cheese, pizza, fried shrimp, and now chicken!

Related recipe: Hot Honey Shrimp

What is hot honey?

Hot honey is honey that's been infused with spicy peppers, usually cayenne. It's an AMAZING combination of sweet and spicy. I love Mike's Hot Honey (and no, they're not paying me to say this!), but there are tons of other brands out there.

You can also make your own hot honey by simply adding a pinch or two of powdered cayenne pepper to honey, but that's definitely messier and not as convenient as having a squeeze bottle of spicy honey always available.

Loving saucy chicken dinner ideas? Try this Easy Bourbon Chicken!

Related recipe: Air Fryer Orange Chicken (Panda Express Copycat Recipe!)

Hot honey chicken - an easy weeknight dinner

Since the honey already has heat added in, it takes very few ingredients to make this hot honey chicken and yet it has so much flavor. The combination of sweet and spicy just keeps you reaching for more. The spicy honey sauce for the chicken has a really nice garlicky flavor with a hint of lime.

It's REALLY good, give it a try!

Need more easy chicken dinners? Try this Instant Pot BBQ Chicken!

Ingredients

For the spicy honey chicken:

• 1-1.5 lb chicken breast, diced into 1-2 inch pieces
• ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper (or more, to taste)
• 2 tablespoons corn starch (or up to 2 tablespoons more, as needed)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or use garlic herb butter or sesame oil for more flavor!)
• 3 tablespoons hot honey*
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (for gluten-free hot chicken, use coconut aminos or gluten-free soy sauce)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated (or use ¼ teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (from ½ lime, or use lemon)

*If you don't want to buy hot honey, then simply use regular honey and add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to the sauce. Here's a great honey to use for cooking because it is not too expensive. However, I find it sooo worth having a bottle of hot honey so that I can easily squeeze some on everything and anything!

More sweet and spicy chicken stir fry recipes: Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Thai Red Chili Paste

For serving:

• Chopped scallions for garnish
• Cooked rice (try cauliflower rice for lower carbs)
• Steamed veggies - see tips below for adding the hot honey sauce to the veggies (I love steamed broccoli, steamed in the microwave for 3-4 minutes so it's not mushy)

Want more spicy chicken recipes? Try this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken!

Instructions:

This spicy honey chicken is easy to make. Read the first part of the instructions if you want to simply make the chicken with the spicy sauce, or keep reading the second part if you want to stir fry some steamed broccoli (or other veggies) in the sauce to give the veggies more flavor!

To make hot honey chicken:

Step 1: Season the cubed chicken lightly with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine the seasoned chicken with cornstarch and mix well. If all the cornstarch is absorbed by the chicken, add 1-2 tablespoons more cornstarch until it has a light dusting of cornstarch on it. More cornstarch won't hurt anything - it will just thicken the sauce a little more, making it even more sticky-sweet and delicious.

Love the combination of sweet and savory? Try this Sweet and Sour Cabbage Pork Stir Fry!

Step 2: In a small bowl, combine the hot honey, soy sauce, minced garlic, and lime juice. Mix well, make sure the honey is not all stuck to the bottom of the bowl. (Also be careful when mixing it, I always have some splash out when I am mixing thin and thick textures together. I'm such a messy cook. Sorry clean-up-duty-husband!)

Related recipe: Easy Chicken Mole

Step 3: Preheat a large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil (or butter or sesame oil) to the skillet. Add the chicken and cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, undisturbed, to allow the chicken to get golden brown. Carefully flip the chicken, and stir fry until it is fully cooked. It probably won't look pretty at this point, and that's OK!

Step 4: Add the soy honey sauce and stir fry for a minute just to combine. Enjoy as is, or lower the heat continue to cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes, allowing the sauce to simmer and thicken.

Serve hot over rice, garnishing with chopped scallions and an extra drizzle of hot honey.

Related recipe: Garlic Chili Chicken and Peppers Skillet

To stir fry veggies in hot honey sauce:

Step 1: Remove the chicken from the skillet, leaving any excess sauce in the skillet, and turn off the heat to make sure the sauce does not burn.

Step 2: Steam mixed veggies or broccoli florets in the microwave until desired done-ness. I like to steam broccoli florets for 3-4 minutes, so they remain firm and crispy.

Step 3: Add the steamed veggies into the skillet with the sauce. Turn the heat on to medium and stir fry for 1-2 minutes to coat the veggies in the sauce. Serve with hot honey chicken over rice, garnishing with chopped scallions and drizzling with extra hot honey.

Related recipe: Baked Honey Rum Chicken

Need more super quick dinner ideas?

• Chicken stuffed ciabatta
• Veggie-loaded creamy chicken fajita pasta
• Sheet pan shrimp fajitas

If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!

Print Recipe

5 from 11 votes

Hot Honey Chicken

This Hot Honey Chicken has the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. Super easy to make in just 20 minutes, and amazing when served over rice with some steamed broccoli on the side.

Read the recipe completely before starting, since there is an optional step for stir frying veggies in the hot honey sauce.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Author: Kate

  Cook Mode: Prevent your screen from going dark

Cost: $1.50 per serving

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast - diced into 1-2 inch pieces
• ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper - or more, to taste
• 2 tablespoons corn starch - or more, as needed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil - or garlic herb butter or sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons hot honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce - (use coconut aminos for gluten-free option)
• 2 cloves garlic - minced (or use ¼ teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice - (from ½ lime, or use lemon)
• Chopped scallions for garnish, cooked rice & steamed veggies for serving

Special equipment

• Large skillet

Instructions

To make hot honey chicken:

• Season the cubed chicken lightly with salt and pepper. In a medium bowl, combine the seasoned chicken with cornstarch and mix well. If all the cornstarch is absorbed by the chicken, add 1-2 tablespoons more cornstarch until it has a light dusting of cornstarch on it.
• In a small bowl, combine the hot honey, soy sauce, minced garlic, and lime juice. Mix well, make sure the honey is not all stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
• Preheat a large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil (or butter or sesame oil) to the skillet. Add the chicken and cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, undisturbed, to allow the chicken to get golden brown. Carefully flip the chicken, and stir fry until it is fully cooked.
• Add the soy honey sauce and stir fry for a minute to combine. Enjoy as is, or lower the heat continue to cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes, allowing the sauce to simmer and thicken. Serve hot over rice, garnishing with chopped scallions and an extra drizzle of hot honey.

  Or if you want to stir fry some veggies in the sauce, follow the steps below.

If you want to make some hot honey veggies or broccoli on the side

• Remove the chicken from the skillet, leaving any excess sauce in the skillet, and turn off the heat to make sure the sauce does not burn.
• Steam mixed veggies or broccoli florets in the microwave until desired done-ness. I like to steam broccoli florets for 3-4 minutes, so they remain firm and crunchy.
• Add the steamed veggies into the skillet with the sauce. Turn the heat on to medium and stir fry for 1-2 minutes to coat the veggies in the sauce. Serve with hot honey chicken over rice.

Notes

• If you don't want to buy hot honey, then simply use regular honey and add a pinch or two of powdered cayenne pepper to the sauce. Here's a great honey to use for cooking because it is not expensive. However, I find it sooo worth having a bottle of hot honey so that I can easily squeeze some on everything and anything!
• You can use up to 1.5 lb of chicken for this recipe without increasing the sauce amount.. but of course you can always increase the sauce too!
• If you're corn-free, use tapioca starch instead of corn starch
• For a gluten-free recipe, use gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
• The nutrition facts are estimated just for the chicken and sauce, without rice or veggies on the side
• Try this over cauliflower rice for a lower carb dinner!

Nutrition

Calories: 231kcal (12%) | Carbohydrates: 18g (6%) | Protein: 25g (50%) | Fat: 6g (9%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (5%) | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg (24%) | Sodium: 781mg (33%) | Potassium: 454mg (13%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 13g (14%) | Vitamin A: 36IU (1%) | Vitamin C: 3mg (4%) | Calcium: 11mg (1%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.