These Hot Honey Chicken Wings are easy to make at home and because they’re baked, not fried, they’re a healthier appetizer for you. This game day classic is a crowd favorite!

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I love creating healthier recipes for your game day gatherings. Can you believe this is my first homemade chicken wing recipe to publish in 15 years of Happy Healthy Mama recipes? How did that happen?! These are the perfect appetizer!

I think chicken wings have been on my radar more now that I have a teenage boy who loves them. I’d much rather make them at home where I can control the ingredients (no vegetable oil and no seed oil) and the cooking method.

I bake these rather than deep fry to avoid needing so much oil. In my recipe testing I tried air frying them as well, but in the end liked the baked wings better. The one benefit of air frying is that it’s quicker than baking, but I didn’t find it made crispy hot honey chicken wings like I thought it would. The baked ones were actually crispier. For the crispiest chicken wings, you’ll need to deep fry them, but broiling these at the end makes them plenty crispy for us!

This is such an easy recipe; I’m sure you’ll see more chicken wing recipes from me in the future. Send in your flavor requests!

Ready to make some Hot Honey Chicken Wings? Let’s go!

Recipe Ingredients–What You Need

You’ll be happy to see that you can make these spicy hot honey chicken wings with simple ingredients you probably already keep on hand in your pantry!

These ingredients are also available in printable form in the recipe card below.

3 pounds chicken wings
2 teaspoons smoked paprika–smoked paprika lends a deep, smoky flavor, so make sure you use this and not sweet paprika.
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder–garlic is a classic flavor for chicken wings
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted–melted butter brings a richness to our hot honey butter sauce that makes these homemade chicken wings incredible. I use salted butter, but if you only have unsalted butter, that is fine.
2/3 cup honey–the star of the sauce for the sweet-spicy combo that is our homemade hot honey sauce.
1/3 cup hot sauce–regular Tabasco hot sauce works well here, but you can also use

How to Make Hot Honey Chicken Wings at Home

These instructions are available in printable form in the recipe card below.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil (Optional–for easy clean up. I forgot this step when I was taking photos, but did it in my recipe testing and it just saves some time cleaning up). Place a wire rack on top of each tray. Set aside.
Place the chicken wings in a bowl and pat them dry with a paper towel.
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Drizzle the seasoning mix on the chicken wings and stir them until they are evenly coated.
Place the seasoned chicken wings on the baking racks, making sure they are in a single layer, spaced apart to not be touching. Bake for 20 minutes, then use tongs to turn them over. Switch the position of the two trays and then bake an additional 25 minutes. I used two different wire racks as that’s what I have. Both worked just fine.
Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce ingredients: 1/4 cup melted butter, 2/3 cup honey, and 1/3 cup hot sauce.
Place the chicken wings in a large bowl and pour about 2/3 of the sauce over them. Reserve the remaining sauce. Carefully stir so the wings are coated with the sauce, then use the tongs to place them back on their wire racks in an even layer.
Place each baking sheet under the broiler for 1-3 minutes, long enough to caramelize the sauce and they are golden brown, but not burn the wings. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.
Brush the wings with some of the remaining sauce immediately as they come out of the oven. Serve any extra sauce with the wings for dipping and garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired. Enjoy!

FAQs

Can I air fry these Hot Honey Chicken Wings?

Yes, I air fried these in my recipe testing and it worked. Every air fryer is different, but what worked for me was 20 minutes at 375 degrees, adding the sauce half way through the cooking time, just like the regular recipe. The cook time will vary depending on your air fryer, but it will likely take 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Can I reheat leftover hot honey wings?

Yes, if you have leftovers, you can reheat them. We had leftovers during recipe testing and found using the air frier for reheating worked best. They were perfect after 7 minutes at 375 degrees, but again, every air fryer is different. Make sure to store your leftovers in an airtight container.

What do you serve these hot wings with?

We like them with ranch dressing and the extra spicy hot honey sauce for dipping.

Can we serve these for dinner?

Of course! For an easy weeknight dinner, serve them with a simple salad to get your veggies in and you’re good to go!

I hope you love these easy hot honey chicken wings as much as we do! If you try them (or any of my healthy recipes), please leave a comment and star rating–it’s so helpful! Share a photo of these on Instagram so I can see and I’d love to feature you.

If you’re looking for more healthy-ish appetizers, scroll below the recipe card to see some favorites! You can also find some of my favorite recipes here–> Healthy Super Bowl recipes