This honey sriracha sauce is a very versatile condiment that I use as a dip, glaze, marinade and even a spread. It's sweet and spicy and sticky and pairs brilliantly with baked, deep-fried, or air-fried chicken.
I'm sharing two versions of this sauce with you. The first is my OG honey sriracha, and the second is a mayo-based aioli that's perfect as a dip for French fries and fried chicken.
You’ll never go back to store-bought honey sriracha
The first time I had this sauce was at a restaurant. It was so good with the wings that I started dipping my fries in it too, then my veggie sticks and by the end, I was licking whatever was left off my fingers. Sorry, not sorry.
I started frequenting that restaurant just for the wings and then one day it permanently closed its doors. I tried three different jarred honey sriracha and hot honey sauces, but none came close to what I missed so much. So I took it upon myself to make a good enough sauce that would satisfy my craving and after a few trials and errors, I came up with this perfect recipe I am sharing with you.
To give you an idea of how good this sauce is, someone tagged me in a Facebook post where they shared my recipe, saying it was the closest they’d found to the honey sriracha from a pub that had closed. Now I don’t know the first thing about that pub, but what I do know is that getting this feedback was all the validation I needed – my sauce is top notch restaurant-quality stuff that is worthy of being shared and loved.
You can serve it with wings, fries, tenders, sandwiches, spring rolls, fritters, dumplings, salmon, shrimp, ribs, pizza, and burgers. I’m sure there are more things I’ve paired it with that I can’t quite recall right now, but not exaggerating when I say that it goes with just about everything!
Ingredient Notes
Here are some helpful notes on the ingredients you need to make this honey sriracha sauce.
- The taste and heat of sriracha can vary by brand, so each will yield a slightly different honey sriracha sauce. Choose the brand you're familiar with so you may adjust the heat to suit your taste.
- Use freshly grated/minced garlic and ginger for the best flavor. While jarred versions can work in a pinch, nothing compares to the vibrancy of fresh aromatics.
- Lime and lemon can be used interchangeably, as can their zest. The flavors vary slightly, but both options yield a delightful sauce.
- For the aioli version, I prefer kewpie mayo but regular mayonnaise works just fine.
Instructions
Here are step-by-step photo instructions to help you visually follow the process. The ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
Heat olive oil in a saucepan and add grated ginger and grated garlic. Stir for a couple of minutes.
Then add honey to the saucepan.
Also add sriracha.
Then add all the remaining ingredients.
Give the sauce a quick mix, and turn the heat off.
Transfer the sauce to a jar once it cools down and use as needed.
For the aioli version, simply mix the prepared honey sriracha sauce with mayo, yellow mustard and lime/lemon juice.
Top Tips
- Taste as you go. If you're concerned about the heat, start with half the sriracha. Once all the ingredients are in, taste the sauce before turning off the heat. Adjust with more sriracha if you prefer extra spice.
- When scaling up, don't simply increase the spicy ingredients like sriracha or red pepper flakes in direct proportion. Spices can intensify more than expected as the quantity increases, so raise them by half for each additional portion. This ensures the heat stays balanced. You can always taste and adjust as needed towards the end.
Honey Sriracha Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil - or any regular cooking oil. Avoid strong-smelling oils.
- 1 teaspoon ginger - grated or minced
- 3 cloves garlic - grated or minced
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons sriracha - adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar - or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice - or lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lime zest - or lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes - adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Honey Sriracha Aioli
- 2 tablespoons honey sriracha sauce
- 4 tablespoons kewpie mayo - or regular mayo
- ½ teaspoon yellow mustard
- ¼ teaspoon lime juice - or lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Add the grated ginger and grated garlic and stir for a couple of minutes, or until the ginger and garlic begin to gently bubble in the oil.
- Then add the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan (honey, sriracha, ketchup, vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, crushed red pepper, and salt).
- Give it a quick mix, and turn the heat off. If you want the sauce to be thicker, gently simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes while stirring constantly. Be careful to not simmer too much, as the sauce thickens further when it cools down.
- Transfer the sauce to a jar once it cools down and use as needed.
The Aioli Version
- Mix the prepared honey sriracha sauce with mayo, yellow mustard, and lime juice in the quantities mentioned on the ingredient list and dip away like you mean business.
Anum says
beautiful and mouth watering presentation. receipes look tempting. definately gonna try the carrot pasta.
Nelo says
Thank you for the lovely feedback, Anum.