Hot honey chicken wings are the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, making them a crowd favorite for game day gatherings or any casual get-together. The crisp texture of these wings, achieved effortlessly in an air fryer, pairs beautifully with the bold flavors of spicy hot honey sauce. By combining simple ingredients like hot sauce, honey, and a blend of spices, this homemade chicken wings recipe delivers restaurant-quality results with minimal effort. Whether served as a perfect appetizer or a main course with sides like sweet potato fries or a simple salad, these wings are a guaranteed hit. The beauty of this recipe lies in its adaptability—customize the spice level, switch up the sauces, or experiment with new flavor combinations to suit your taste buds.
If you loved this recipe, you'll definitely want to check out a few other favorites from my kitchen! My Roasted Garlic and Tomato Soup pairs perfectly with this dish for a cozy, comforting meal. If you want a fun side dish, try the Boursin Spaghetti Squash with this, which brings a rich, creamy texture that's hard to resist. If you're looking to expand your scratch cooking repertoire and want to get a little more life out of the bones, the Crock Pot Bone Broth is a versatile staple you can use in countless recipes!
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Ingredients
- Chicken Wings
- Honey
- Hot Sauce of Choice
- Salt
- Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Dry each chicken wing thoroughly. If you want smaller, traditional wings, cut the tip off and cut in the center to seperate into two.
- Add the spices, honey and hot sauce directly onto the chicken and mix until thoroughly mixed together.
- Put wings onto the air fryer tray, making sure none of them are overlapping.
- Air fry at 370F for 25 minutes. My air fryer has two trays stacked, so I switched them about halfway through.
Hint: Having the skin be as dry as possible and getting no overlap on the wings will allow you to have the crispiest, most delicious skin. It also makes sure that the wing is cooked through all around.
Substitutions
If you don't have a hot sauce on hand, you can substitute with pepper spices. Add 1-2 tablespoons of paprika, or mix in some cheyanne if you're craving a big kick!
If you don't have an airfryer, you can also bake the chicken wings. Try it at 375F for 30-45 minutes, once they are crispy and the internal temperature is reached. You can also put them on the grill.
Variations
- Kid friendly - Put in less hot sauce and a little more honey to compensate. They'll love the sweet flavor of the honey wings.
- International - Want to make this a little more international? Try a different culture's hot sauce. Some suggestions are Gochujung (Korean), Adjika (Georgian) or Harissa (Middle Eastern).
- Baked - If you don't have an air fryer, you can also bake these in the oven. With the same recipe, bake in an oven. Set at 400 degrees, it should take about 40 minutes (check for internal temp at 165F at the thickest part using an instant read thermometer) but could take up to an hour.
Equipment
You need an air fryer for this specific recipe. You can also modify to bake it- see above in the variations. I have an Instant Pot air fryer that looks like modified toaster oven, but you can use any air fryer, including ones that have a single basket.
I also highly recommend using a good instant read thermometer anytime you are cooking chicken. I used to have the little thermometers from the store, but I felt like it took forever to tell me the temperature and I want never sure what it really was. It turned out for a couple dollars more, I could have a good thermometer that gave me the temperature quickly. It's optional to use this, but it's the quickest and easiest way to check if your chicken, fish and other meat is fully cooked through.
Storage
This is best eaten the same day. Store the leftovers or freeze within 2 days of making it. Reheat in the airfryer, oven or microwave for a few minutes.
Top tip
Don't be afraid to experiment with the sauce! As long as you are cooking the wings through, there are so many options.
FAQ
This simple recipe uses only honey, hot sauce, salt and pepper to make the wing sauce.
The Honey Hot Chicken Wings are a bit sweet and have a little bit of a hot kick to them. To make it spicy, use more hot sauce before or after baking.
Make sure your wings are totally dried before putting the sauce on. When you are cooking, make sure that the wings aren't touching anywhere so the hot air can get to every part of the wing and crisp it.
To make this sauce more mild, use less hot sauce or try a milder hot sauce.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try checking out a cookbook with other great recipes:
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Dill Pickle Tuna Salad with Greek Yogurt
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Boursin Cheese Dip Appetizer (5 Easy Ingredients!)
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Valentine’s Puppy Chow
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Crostini Crackers
Recipe
📖 Recipe
Honey Hot Chicken Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 Chicken Wings
- 1 cup Honey
- 2 tbsps Cholula or your hot sauce of choice
- ½ tablespoon Salt
- ½ tablespoon Pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat airyfryer to 370F.
- Dry wings with paper towels to be as dry as possible. This will ensure they are very crispy.
- You can keep them whole, or if you want smaller pieces, you can cut them now. Cut off the tip and through the center, seperating the drumette and the flat.
- Add to a bowl. Cover wings with honey, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.1 cup Honey, 2 tbsps Cholula, ½ tablespoon Salt, ½ tablespoon Pepper
- Add wings onto the tray, making sure that no pieces are touching and overlapping.
- Air fry for 25 minutes. If you are using an air fryer with two trays, make sure to switch them halfway through. Otherwise, make sure the tray goes in the center. If you have an air fryer with a basket, you don't have to do anything but make sure none of the pieces are touching.
- Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the thickest part of the wing has reached at least 165F.
- Let it cool for a couple minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Karina Goodley says
I know you'll love these!