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Oven baked Hot Honey Chicken Thighs are irresistibly juicy. They are golden on the outside, and smothered in the most delicious sticky, sweet, hot honey sauce. This recipe is made with boneless chicken thighs, making them easier to eat. This easy dinner delivers big, bold flavor. They are inspired by Nashville hot chicken, the chicken is quickly pan-seared, then finished in the oven until perfectly tender and coated in that mouthwatering sauce. I serve extra on the side because I prefer them extra saucy. Serve it over fluffy rice with your favorite steamed veggies for a simple, flavor-packed meal the whole family will look forward to!
Hot Honey Is The Perfect Sweet & Spicy Balance
The sticky hot honey sauce brings together sweetness, a little heat, and savory flavor for a combination that’s seriously hard to resist. You can easily customize the heat level to your own liking or for picky eaters. I think that’s what makes this recipe so great, the ability to whip up your own Nashville style hot honey and create the flavor you crave most.
I offer a lot of extra hot honey to use on the side for this dish. You can easily keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks if you have leftovers but I personally like a heavy handed drizzle.
Simple Ingredients That Shine
All other ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card towards the bottom of this post.
- I prefer Franks hot sauce for this recipe, it gives off a more bbq style hot honey flavor. You can use any hot sauce you like, I also tried it with sriracha and it was wonderful but had a more asian flavor to it. Both work well.
- Chicken thighs are most forgiving and juicy for this recipe. I loved doing it with boneless thighs, it made it easier to eat because I personally don’t love bones in chicken. Breasts will also work but make sure you adjust the cooking time a tad bit.
Let Make Hot Honey Chicken Thighs
Ready to bake up dinner? Let me walk you through the recipe. For your convenience, there is a full ingredient list and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card below.
- Preheat the oven to 400º. Season the chicken thighs, and then quickly sear them.
- Make the hot honey sauce in a pan, just add the ingredients together and simmer them briefly. Drizzle a little over the seared chicken.
- Pop the chicken in the oven and bake! Once it’s cooked through serve with a heavy drizzle of hot honey sauce over rice and some veggies.
What I Like To Serve With Hot Honey Thighs
These sweet and spice thighs are such a great meal and I love them with lots of different sides.
- Grilled or steamed veggies
- Rice or grains.
- Asian Coleslaw or any coleslaw of choice
- Fresh salads.
Other Yummy Chicken MEals
Hot Honey Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- large oven safe skillet
- sauce pan
Ingredients
Chicken Thighs
- 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 5–6 thighs
- 1 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Hot Honey
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1½ Tablespoon Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 3 coves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, optional
- ½-2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional, use as much or as little as you like
Optional Sides
- cooked rice
- sliced avocado
- green onions or parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º. Season the chicken. Pat the chicken thighs very dry with clean paper towels. Combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Toss the chicken in the seasoning mixture until evenly coated.
- Make the hot honey sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the butter and minced garlic to the same skillet. Sauté for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the honey, hot sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, and red pepper flakes.
- Let it get sticky. Simmer the sauce gently for 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and glossy. Be careful not to let the honey burn.
- Sear the chicken thighs, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes on each side. Add 1-2 tablespoons of the hot honey mix over the chicken in the hot skillet. Transfer the chicken to the preheated oven and let it bake for another12-14 minutes or until 165º internally.
- Coat the chicken. Once you are about to serve and chicken if cooked through, add more hot honey to the skillet and serve with extra sauce.
- I like to serve mine with white rice, green onions and fresh or steames veggies but serve it with whatever you like.
Notes
- Taste the honey before serving, you may want more hot sauce or more honey to sweeten it up.
- Cornstarch is optional, it helps to crisp up the chicken. Arrowroot will also work great.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can freeze these for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
