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Honey hot wings are crispy chicken wings coated with sweet and spicy honey buffalo sauce – a game-day essential! Use an oven OR air fryer for this easy hot wing recipe.
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Why you'll love hot honey wings
There's no debate that hot wings are essential Super Bowl food. But, sometimes, you need a not-so-hot version that satisfies your mild and hot-wing crowd. These honey hot wings are your delicious solution!
This recipe is accommodating because the honey buffalo sauce isn't crazy hot. The butter and honey tone down the hot sauce, resulting in the perfect flavor balance of savory, mildly hot, buttery, and sweet. Don't be surprised if you see plates getting licked!
You'll also love the simplicity of ingredients and cooking methods. The chicken wings get tossed with a few ingredients and then cooked. Air fryer hot wings cook as fast as 20 minutes! A regular oven takes about 45 minutes, but with equally delicious results – and it accommodates a lot more wings!
Ingredient notes
- Chicken wings - These are also called party wings, and you'll usually find them frozen and sometimes fresh at most retailers. They're referred to as wingettes and drumettes.
- Olive oil - Even the lightest coating helps the seasoning stick to the skin AND helps make the wings crispy.
- Paprika - You can use hot, smoked, or sweet paprika for these wings.
- Salt and pepper - Feel free to add more or less than this recipe states.
- Hot sauce - I use Frank's RedHot Sauce Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce for this recipe.
- Honey - This is a key ingredient for sweetening the honey hot wing sauce, but maple syrup would work too!
- Butter - I use unsalted butter since the hot sauce has adequate sodium. Feel free to select otherwise.
How to make honey hot wings
This easy honey hot wings recipe is the sweet and spicy version of classic hot wings. Crispy chicken wings are coated in honey buffalo hot wing sauce, making them ridiculously finger-licking good! Here's how to make hot honey wings:
First, pat the chicken wings dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Whisk together the olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. Toss the wings in this mixture to coat.
Arrange wings in a single layer in an air fryer basket (for the air fryer method) or on a baking sheet with an optional cooling grid (for the oven method).
In the air fryer, cook the chicken wings at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. If using the oven, bake the wings at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 60 minutes until the wings are crispy to your liking.
While the wings cook, make the honey buffalo wing sauce by combining hot sauce, honey, and butter. Heat this mixture via microwave or stove, whisking as needed until the mixture is smooth and well-combined.
Now it's time to toss the crispy chicken wings in this buttery hot wing sauce. You can serve these mouthwatering wings exactly as they are. But, if you like a sticky glaze surface, cook the sauce-coated wings for another 5 or 10 minutes. Trust me, this makes them extra finger-licking good!
Serve honey hot wings with a side of honey buffalo wing sauce and healthy ranch dressing. When sweet and spicy wings meet with this savory, creamy dressing, taste buds go wild!
Recipe tips for honey hot wings
- Selecting wings: Chicken wings are usually sold frozen and are labeled as party wings, wingettes, and drumettes.
- Prep tip: Ensure the chicken wings are completely dry before starting the recipe. This helps them achieve a perfect crispy surface.
- Preheat the oven: Ensure your oven is fully preheated to create an optimal cooking environment. This helps you achieve crispy results.
- Adjust the spice level: Make wings hotter by adding cayenne pepper in very small amounts, tasting as you go. Make wings sweeter by adding more honey.
- Hot honey glaze finish: Air fry or bake the sauce-coated wings for 5 or 10 minutes, creating a sticky glaze that makes these hot honey wings extra finger-licking good!
More game-day recipes
- Oven Baked Chicken Wings
- Pulled Pork Nachos Recipe
- Best Guacamole Recipe
- Jalapeno Cheese Ball
- Hot Crab Dip
- Totchos Tater Tot Nachos
- Instant Pot Spinach Artichoke Dip
- BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders
📖 Recipe
Honey Hot Wings
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When scaling the recipe 2x or 3x, the gray ingredient note stays the same. Adjust quantities accordingly.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken Wings (Party Wings), about 12 wings
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Hot Sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
Instructions
Air Fryer Instructions (see Oven Method in footnotes)
- Pat CHICKEN WINGS dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Toss wings with OLIVE OIL, SALT, PEPPER, and PAPRIKA.
- Arrange wings in a single layer in air fryer tray with no overlap.
- Set air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit and air fry the wings about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Allow wings to fry longer for extra crispy skin.
- To make the wing sauce, combine HOT SAUCE, HONEY, and BUTTER in a heat-safe mixing bowl (for microwave) or sauce pan (for stove). Heat this mixture using either method until butter is melted, stirring as needed.Note: For classic hot wings, omit the honey.
- Use clean tongs to transfer cooked wings out of the air fryer. Toss wings in the honey hot sauce until coated.
- Serve warm with your favorite dressing or dip.
Recipe Notes
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or parchment paper and optional oven-safe cooling rack.
- Prep the wings using steps 1-2 above.
- Arrange wings in a single layer on baking sheet (or rack) with no overlap.
- Bake 45 minutes, or until fully cooked and crispy.
- Continue with step 5 above.
- Selecting wings: Chicken wings are usually sold frozen and are labeled as party wings, wingettes, and drumettes.
- Prep tip: Ensure the chicken wings are completely dry before starting the recipe. This helps them achieve a perfect crispy surface.
- Preheat the oven: Whether using the air fryer or oven, ensure your appliance is fully preheated to create an optimal cooking environment. This helps you achieve crispy results.
- Adjust the spice level: Make wings hotter by adding cayenne pepper in very small amounts, tasting as you go. Make wings sweeter by adding more honey.
- Hot honey glaze finish: Air fry or bake the sauce-coated wings for 5 or 10 minutes, creating a sticky glaze that makes these hot honey wings extra finger-licking good!
Equipment
- 5.8 quart basket air fryer (Cosori XL) or air fryer oven
- baking sheet with oven-safe cooling rack if using oven method
Dale says
Loved the recipe. I did cut the butter in half, the second time I cooked it. Super good. Thanks for sharing.
Traci says
Yay! You're so welcome! Great idea to cut the butter and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to leave this feedback - and for bringing my recipe into your kitchen!
Jsprague says
I made this recipe in my air fryer for a meal before work. I told everyone at work how delicious they were and then made them again after my shift on the SAME DAY! 10/10
Traci says
Hiya! I'm so glad you enjoyed - twice! We love these too. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Pamela says
These are amazing and so easy. I’ve shared the recipe and everyone likes them.
Traci says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed and thanks for sharing! They're honestly my favorite sauce for hot wings 🙂
Jeff says
These are restaurant quality wings! Your honey hot wing sauce is so simple and just so good! And I like how you have dialed in the temperature so they're always juicy and never dry. These are going on the Super Bowl food menu, forever LOL. Thanks for a great recipe!
Traci says
Yes!! These are my fav game day food too! So glad you're enjoying the recipe. Thanks for the feedback!!
R Tomas says
You are right, this honey hot sauce is drinkable and these wings are perfectly cooked. I may never eat plain hot wings again LOL. Thanks for this great recipe!
Traci says
Haha yes and you are so welcome!! So glad you love them as much as we do. Thanks for the feedback!