This Spicy Honey Chicken is one of my family’s favorite meals. Both kids and adults gobble it up every time I make it. I love the combo of a savory spice rub combined with a sweet, tangy honey glaze and it doesn’t hurt that it’s pretty quick and easy either! You don’t have to think ahead about marinating because you’re just throwing together a spice rub and, after the spices have grilled into the chicken, you just slather on a honey glaze. Even though it has the word spicy in the title, it’s actually pretty mild and you can always cut the chipotle in half if you’re worried about it.
How to Make Spicy Honey Chicken
- Make a spice rub. This recipe starts with a simple spice mix. Mix them all together in a bowl, then toss chicken with oil and spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there, then pop it on the grill!
- Mix up the glaze. While chicken is cooking, warm the honey in the microwave so it’s not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the honey glaze for serving. (In fact, the sweet, tangy honey glaze is so good that I usually double it to ensure plenty for drizzling on before serving!)
- Take the rest and brush on the chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling. I recommend a silicone basting brush like one of these that can withstand the high heat of the grill. I’m gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It’s sugar, and it’s gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It’s totally worth it once you taste this stuff.
Make a Spice Rub
This recipe starts with a simple spice mix. Mix them all together in a bowl, then toss chicken with oil and spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! The chicken gets done quickly, grilling for just 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
If you don’t have a BBQ, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler. Just be sure to open a window in case you burn your glaze!
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a side of rice and your favorite veggie. Try it on a sandwich or in my personal favorite, my Spicy Honey Chicken Salad.
FAQs
- My family is very sensitive to spicy food. Can I just leave the chipotle out completely? There are lots of spices here that will still be delicious if you decide to leave the chipotle out completely. It does bring a nice depth of flavor, though, so I’d recommend at least trying half of what’s called for!
- Can I make this ahead of time? This recipe is quick and easy. It is best made and eaten fresh.
Did You Make This?
I’d love to hear from you! Snap a picture and tag me on Instagram, and then come back and give this recipe a rating!
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Spicy Honey Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Description
The best chicken thighs! This recipe combines a savory spice rub with a sweet honey glaze for a crowd-pleasing favorite.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Rub
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Instructions
Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.
Use kitchen shears (or a pair of clean scissors) to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it’s not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2 tablespoons honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.
Drizzle chicken with reserved glaze before serving.
Notes
If you don’t have a barbecue grill, try it on an indoor grill pan or use your broiler.
was looking for a good chicken wing recipe, but found this! i’m gonna try it on the wings, baked in the oven. wish me luck!
These are delicious ! I made this using chicken breasts and 2 Tablespoons of BBQ sauce. My boyfriend loved it too… big plus. This recipe will definitely be used often!
I just had to tell you that when I served this up tonight for dinner, my 5 year old declared, “This is delicious!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This came out of the mouth of my child that somehow survives on peanut butter and angels tears. I am going to make these for our labor day BBQ. thanks for another great recipe.
Made these today and this is my 3rd time, delicious, my boyfriend likes them too which is a huge relief because he’s a picky eater but I love to see him really enjoy a meal 🙂 Had it with white rice and it really can stand on it’s own!! YUMMMMMMMMMMM
Hey Sara!
Do you happen to have nutritional information for this recipe? Calories specifically. Thanks!!! Love the chicken!!
i love this recipe, but don’t have a grill as well. i’ve read through the comments and don’t think anyone’s asked this yet…f i use my broiler in my oven. how long should the thighs cook? do I flip them? I’m always scared i’m not going to cook chicken right. with no grill, should i skip this recipe and try one of your other brilliant ones or would you give it a go still in the oven broiler settinG?
I’d place them a rack down from the top and don’t glaze them until the very, very end or the sugar will burn. Cook them until both sides are golden brown and then time them by internal temperature. Hope that helps!
I’ve been enjoying this recipe as a staple in my home for quite a while now. While savoring a delish bite again today I suddenly had an epiphany….I bet this flavoring/seasoning combo would be fantastic on ribs! Has anyone tried it on some pork ribs before? If not, I guess I will be the first. I think I will have to give it a whirl next week. I will return & report 😉
This recipe is amazing. I mean heart-stoppingly so. I do the cooking in our family, and my wife and kids loved it! Best recipe I’ve tried so far, and that’s saying something because I make something from your site almost every day. I have loved everything!
I just made this for me and my boyfriend and we LOVE it! Goes perfectly on a bed of jasmine rice. The only difference was I made mine with chicken tenderloins and I cooked them in an electric skillet with some extra olive oil. Had to make do! It was still a wonderful recipe and I can’t wait to grill the chicken next time and to make it with the mango dressing. My house smells amazing after cooking this!
Thanks for posting!!
wow that was so good. I’m an expat and where I live it’s impossible to find things that approximate real American barbecue-style sauce, dry rubs, and the like. I broiled it and it was fantastic! Thanks for such a delicious recipe. I’ll be making this again & again.
I must say, i CRAVE This chicken. I had it for the first time oh, 3 weeks ago, and we’ve had it EVERY WEEK since. It’s seriously *THE* best chicken i’ve EVER had.
I used tenders though (don’t shoot me!) and I LOVE IT! 😀 😀
Thank you so much for saying you used tenders! I’m making this with tenders tonight. My family will not eat dark meat chicken.
what temp and for how long would you cook it in the oven?
So good I nearly cried! I used breasts and did it in the broiler since my grill was broken. HEAVEN!!!
Tried this recipe tonight since I had all the ingredients :)! Family loved it and said they want it again soon! Thanks!
I saw this recipe online and didnt have any of the ingredient but salt so I ran to the store and got them all! It just came out of the oven (my first time ever broiling! since i have no grill) and It looks AMAZING! I am serving with southwest rice and I can not wait to try it! I will be making this again if it tastes anything like it smells and looks! Thanks!!
Made this tonight, but had to make some changes. My gas grill (I know, I know) is out of propane, so I did these on the stove. I was worried about the smoke factor, so I cut my chicken into bite size pieces and sauteed in a pan with just a touch of the honey/vinegar combo. When the chicken was almost done, I poured in the rest. An unfortunate effect of cooking it this way is you don’t get the gorgeous caramelization like you would on a grill. Grill next time fo sho. I served it over white rice and it is SO good. Thanks for the recipe! Think I will head into town tomorrow and exchange my propane tank!
Thanks so much for your tasty recipes! I made this tonight and my family loved it! I have made so many things and my family (not usually easily impressed) has fun picking out what we will try each week. We are planning a night at church to demo and sample a lot of your recipes. I have purchased about a dozen of your cookbooks to give as gifts. Thanks for inspiring me to cook again!
We have to try this recipe asap! It looks so yummy.
I made the chicken night before last. I didn’t have any chipotle powder, so I added 1 tsp of chile in adobo sauce to the oil to rub on the chicken. It came out delicious. Since there are just two of us, I decided to use the leftover chicken for the Spicy Honey Chicken Salad. I made the dressing yesterday before work, so the flavors would blend. Enjoyed the salad last night as a main course. It was lovely! The combination of the spicy dressing and the sweet mango was wonderful. This is going into my permanent file. It’s a perfect recipe to have for weekend guests, because you can barbecue once, and have two nice meals.
I disobeyed. I first tried this recipe last year with chicken breasts…on kabobs. It was great! BUT then I tried this recipe verbatim last night. I confess my sins of recipe disobedience because it was the bomb diggity with the thighs. I am not a lover of dark mean poultry but seriously, this recipe is the very best following your recipe exactly. We just gobbled it up even my 4 & 2 year olds ate every bite! I served it with your brazilian cheese muffins and a green salad and it was sooooooo good! Perfect summer meal!
Best chicken I’ve ever made. Made my self stop eating it so I could take some for lunch tomorrow. What an amazing recipe.
Hey Sara there is no doubt its a super awesome stuff but i dont have a bbq or grill can i still cook it on a normal gas with a pan on it.
Yes, or even better yet, use your broiler.
I was so excited to try this recipe! I bought the thighs even though I have never used them.. The chicken was good but I could only taste the coriander and I can say I am not a huge fan! I will make this again and omit the coriander all together.. Other than that.. The glaze was Delish!!!!!
I don’t even have the words to describe how much my husband and I enjoyed this! I love all of your recipes- so much that I’ve almost quit my day job to become a chef. 🙂 They make me love to cook even more because I always know that my food will taste amazing!
Yum yum yum!! Delish! I didn’t have the chipotle chili powder so I added some chipotle Tabasco to the rub and it was great!
I served it with some steamed green beans with butter and cilatro and a squeeze of lime over the chicken..
Great recipe!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing!! Everyone devoured it:) Will make this again. Thank you!!
This is an amazing recipe. I love the flavors in the chicken. I must say, this was my first time buying chicken thighs and they are a little too fatty for me. I like the fact that they are thinner than a chicken breast so you get more flavor so I think next time I will try a chicken cutlet (a chicken breast sliced in half to make it thinner) so you still get a lot of flavor and not as much fat. If granulated garlic is just garlic powder, could you just put garlic powder in the recipe? I am sur I wasn’t the only one who had never heard of granulated garlic. I served this with coconut rice, as you suggested in your cookbook and both dishes knocked the socks off of our guests. Thanks!
Since you are a culinary genius, would you mind suggesting a great side dish for this chicken? I love it in the salad but I am serving this to some meat and potatoes type of people who might sneer at a salad for dinner. Thanks!
I love it with coconut rice, or the lime-cilantro rice!
I’ve made this numerous times now and just love it. However, I’m writing to say that I’ve forgotten the glaze more than once (doh!), and the chicken is just about as yummy without it! Don’t get me wrong — I love the honey/vinegar, but I just thought I’d mention that the rub can stand on it’s own, too
After drooling over the picture for a few days I finally got around to making this. So good! My husband who usually hates chicken liked it. Even my kids ate it up. I can’t wait to make it again! I didn’t find it too spicy and I will probably add a litte more chipotle chili powder next time.