7 Unexpected Ways To Use Hot Honey In The Kitchen

Hot honey has been a buzzword in the food scene for the past couple years. It seemingly popped up out of nowhere, and now it appears as though every restaurant where you sit down for a meal is adding some new hot honey creation or condiment to its menu. It can be a lot to keep up with. Anyone who has tried hot honey, however, probably gets the hype.

Hot honey is made by infusing honey with chili peppers until the hot kick of the pepper melds with the syrupy honey. It creates a balance of sweet and spicy that complements a wide range of foods. It can be mixed into sauces, used as a finisher on dishes, or drizzled atop desserts. There are, however, several unexpected ways to use hot honey that may not cross your mind. A bottle of hot honey can inspire creative applications beyond the usual ones. This roundup highlights seven interesting hot honey uses in dishes that may seem unusual but work well.

A nice scoop or two of ice cream is a great nightcap for a busy day. You really can't beat its sweet flavor and customizability. Ice cream even pairs well with unique flavors such as olive oil, a topping you might not expect to work, but it just does. 

Hot honey offers another creative way to enhance your next bowl of ice cream. Its sweet and spicy flavor profile works well with ice cream because it blends well with the sweetness of the dessert. With that extra sweetness and the richness, the heat of the honey doesn't overpower the dish but rather highlights it. It is a similar concept to adding espresso or salt to ice cream. The spiciness introduces a contrast that adds layers to the flavor rather than making it simply sweet. It gives it personality.

This is a pretty simple addition as well. After scooping your ice cream, just add a drizzle of hot honey over it. From there, you can toss in any other toppings you would like, and you'll be left with a sweet and flavorful dessert that you will want to make time and again.

Hot honey really grew in popularity with its widespread use on pizza. Topping pepperoni pizza with a drizzle of hot honey became a go-to move for some pizza fanatics. People even started to top their frozen pizzas with hot honey. The reason it works is that the sweetness and chili flavor of the honey complements the cheese and tomato sauce of the pizza. The qualities that make hot honey work on pizza are the same reason why it pairs well in a pasta sauce. Tomatoes are naturally sweet, and adding a spicy counterpart adds depth. This is why a spicy rigatoni is so popular. The interplay of sweetness, spice, and acidity creates a more layered flavor profile.

When making a pasta sauce from scratch, hot honey can be added after the garlic, onions, and crushed tomatoes have cooked down into a base, and the sauce has thickened. If you use hot honey jars from stores, you can just add the honey directly in while the sauce is cooking down. Either way, you are left with an elevated pasta sauce.

A way to ensure a promising start to the morning is with a good cup of coffee. Getting your morning caffeine jolt is a ritual most people follow, but buying it from shops can add up pretty quickly. Making coffee at home can save you a lot of money, and a few simple tricks can make it feel as though you are an artisanal barista behind a café counter.

Adding hot honey to your coffee adds a nice sweet-heat twist. The reason that it works is because of the sweet and spicy flavors from the pepper's capsaicin in hot honey. Capsaicin helps bring out the aromatics in the coffee, allowing you to get the deep, true taste of the coffee beans. Along with this, the heat and sweetness of the hot honey cut through the bitterness of the coffee. Once you add the fat from milk or creamer, you get a really nice blend of flavors that adds a good amount of depth to your next cup of Joe.

To execute this, brew your coffee as usual and add the hot honey to your preferred sweetness. A teaspoon to a tablespoon is a good ballpark to start. From there, customize your coffee with additions such as cinnamon or vanilla cream.

A burger is an all-time classic entree. The combination of a juicy patty, fresh vegetables, and flavorful condiments gives burgers a real sense of balance. After a while, though, a simple burger can grow predictable. Adding hot honey to your next burger is a creative way to spice things up. 

The hot honey works similarly to bacon jam. The sweetness and kick of hot honey cut through the meaty flavor, creating a sweet but savory taste that melts in your mouth. Honey is also a humectant. This simply means that it helps retain water, so it will ensure your burger patty stays nice and juicy. The way to implement hot honey in your next burger recipe is by adding a drizzle on top of your finished patty before assembling the sandwich. Another way is by using it as a base for a hot honey bacon jam, adding bacon, onions, garlic, and cider vinegar.

Honey mustard covers all the bases. Drizzle it over salads, slather it on sandwiches, dip your chicken wings in it—there's hardly anything it can't do. The best part? When you make your own, you're in control. Prefer it a bit sweeter? No problem. Want more tang? Tweak it how you like. Swapping regular honey for hot honey is just a smart move. Mustard gives it some bite, honey adds sweetness, and hot honey throws in that little kick without sacrificing any sweetness. If you want your honey mustard to have some real character, just make it yourself with hot honey. 

To make it at home, grab a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon of hot honey. Slowly whisk in a third of a cup of olive oil until it's smooth and blended. Finish with a pinch of salt and pepper. The result is a sweet, spicy sauce that deserves a spot in your fridge.

Honey and meat may sound unexpected at first glance. However, it shows up more in protein bowls and stir-fry than you would think. This is quite a common partnership that works well when done right. Food trends are the usual avenue for people to try combinations they wouldn't normally. Once everybody is talking about something, it makes you want to see what the hype is about. A viral cottage cheese bowl showed how pouring honey directly on meat could elevate a dish. The combination of sweet potatoes, cottage cheese, beef, and honey was a standout. The honey brings the dish together because the sweetness balances the saltiness of the beef and the tang of the cottage cheese, while also highlighting the natural caramelized notes in the roasted sweet potatoes.

Another major food trend in 2025 was when Chipotle dropped its hot honey chicken bowl. This protein option took off because the hot honey added a sweet heat to the smoky chicken that pulled together the tangy toppings and warm rice into one balanced, satisfying bite.

The math adds up, honey and meat work, and including extra spice only enhances the pairing. The next protein bowl you make. Try adding a drizzle of hot honey to finish it off for a nice blend of sweetness and heat.

Grilled cheese is far from complicated. With just bread and cheese, making the most out of this otherwise simple sandwich is about the small decisions. People argue about details like whether to use butter or mayo to brown the bread and what heat works best in each pan. These little tweaks are what make a grilled cheese stand out. Hot honey is a unique addition to elevate this sandwich further, offering a sweet and spicy sidekick to the cheese. This is perfect as well if you pair it with a tomato soup.

There are a few ways to incorporate hot honey into a grilled cheese. It can be added inside the sandwich so it melts with the cheese, drizzled on top after cooking, or served on the side as a dip. Even a small drizzle of hot honey can transform the sandwich from classic to unexpected.