Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings

What is Hot Honey Sauce?

Hot Honey Sauce (Spicy Honey Sauce) is a sweet, spicy, tangy, and super versatile condiment that can be used as a glaze, a dip, or even a marinade.

While you can make hot honey using any hot sauce you prefer, the one I am sharing with you is made using the ever-popular Sriracha.

Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings

In this hot honey lemon pepper wings recipe, you will find two cooking methods. If you want your wings deep-fried, you can always do so. But, if you are cutting back on the use of oil, then the air-frying and baking methods I am sharing with you will not disappoint your taste buds at all.

You can enjoy these wings wet with the delightful sauce slathered all over them, or serve them dry with the hot honey sauce as a dip.

Don't get intimidated by the list of ingredients. These are commonly used ingredients, and if you have everything on hand, the sauce and the wings will come together very quickly.

Ingredient Notes

Here are some helpful notes on the ingredients you need to make these hot honey lemon pepper wings.

Chicken Wings

A whole chicken wing has three parts:

• The tip is the smallest, non-meaty section of the wing that is often discarded and is not sold with the pre-cut wings.
• The wingette, also known as the flat, is the center section of the wing.
• The drumette, or the drum is the meatiest part of the wing, resembling drumsticks from chicken legs.

You can use whole chicken wings if you like, but I prefer using pre-cut wings. The pre-cut, unseasoned wings are frequently referred to as split wings or party wings.

Cut-up wings are easier to prepare than whole wings. They cook slightly faster, crisp up better, and cook more evenly. And they make great finger food or bite-size appetizers for game day.

If you can’t find pre-cut wings, you can cut them at home. Here is a page with easy step-by-step instructions on how to cut up chicken wings.

If you're using frozen wings, make sure they're completely thawed before cooking. Room-temperature wings bake and air fry uniformly, yielding the crispiest results.

Also, pat your wings dry with paper towels before preparing them with the seasonings. This will ensure that the seasonings do not get watered down and adhere well to the wings.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is the fat of choice in most of my cooking. But you can use any cooking oil you prefer, as long as it doesn’t have a low smoke point and doesn’t smell very strong and overpowering.

If you’re feeling fancy, you can even use melted butter. Use unsalted butter, as there is enough salt in the seasonings.

Lime or Lemon Juice

Use fresh lime or lemon juice for this recipe. You can also use bottled juice, but the wings won't have the same citrusy freshness.

Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Lemon pepper, or lemon pepper seasoning, is a widely available condiment that is used on seafood, chicken, and other types of meat. It's made primarily of lemon zest or peel, salt, and ground black pepper.

You can use any brand of this seasoning that's easily available. If you can't find a commercially packaged seasoning, check out this page to make a homemade version of the lemon pepper seasoning.

If you're using a salt-free lemon pepper seasoning, add ¼ teaspoon of table salt to the seasoning for every pound of chicken wings.

Garlic Powder

Not to be confused with garlic salt, which may be quite salty. If you don't have garlic powder, there are a few alternatives.

Replace 1 teaspoon of garlic powder with:

• 2 teaspoons of garlic, freshly grated; or
• 2 teaspoons of garlic paste; or
• 1.5 teaspoons of granulated garlic (don’t use garlic flakes as their size is not suitable for this recipe).

Dried Parsley Flakes

If you don’t have dried parsley flakes, you can use dried cilantro instead or skip this ingredient altogether.

Ground Paprika

Paprika is a ground red chili powder that's commonly sold in North America and tends to be mildly hot. There can be a lot of variation in the flavor profiles of different types of paprika, ranging from almost sweet to very hot.

If you don’t have ground paprika, there are a few substitutes you can use. However, because we want mild heat, the substitution ratios could be different.

• Ancho Chili Powder - use the same quantity as paprika
• Guajillo Chili Powder – use the same quantity as paprika
• Kashmiri Chili Powder - use the same quantity as paprika
• Chipotle Chili Powder - use half ½ the amount of paprika
• Ground Cayenne – use one-third ⅓ the amount of paprika, as cayenne is very hot
• Indian Red Chili Powder - use one-third ⅓ of the amount of paprika

Ground White Pepper

Ground white pepper adds some earthy heat and gives the spice blend a more complex flavor. If you don't have it on hand, use an equal quantity of black pepper instead.

Baking Powder

Not to be confused with baking soda, which is just sodium bicarbonate. You will need aluminum-free baking powder, or the wings might taste a bit metallic.

Baking powder dries out the chicken and makes it crispy and crunchy, so you don't want to skip this ingredient.

Corn Starch

Cornstarch is also known as corn flour or maize starch in some regions. Like the baking powder, this too adds to the crispiness of the wings.

You can also use arrowroot starch in place of cornstarch in an equal amount.

Sesame Seeds

These are for garnish. Feel free to skip it if you don’t have any on hand.

Additional Ingredients for Hot Honey (Honey Sriracha Sauce)

See the detailed ingredient notes for Honey Sriracha Sauce here.

Sriracha (Hot Sauce)

I use Huy Fong Sriracha, which comes in a squeeze bottle with a rooster on the label, but you can use any brand you like.

You can also use any of your favorite hot sauces or pastes instead of Sriracha, such as Cholula, Frank's red hot sauce, or gochujang. If you are using a very hot variety, you may want to reduce its quantity in this recipe to prevent the hot honey sauce from getting too spicy.

I’ve also tried this recipe with Sambal Oelek (an Indonesian chili paste/sauce) and it turned out great.

Honey

Use regular, unflavored honey.

Ketchup

Ketchup adds some sweet tomato goodness.

Fresh Garlic

Use freshly grated garlic. You can also use a garlic press or finely mince the garlic cloves. Or use a mortar and pestle to make garlic paste. Garlic paste (jarred puréed garlic available in Indian markets) will also work.

On a side note, if you frequently use fresh garlic, you may find this post very useful. I tested several different ways of peeling garlic to find the easiest method.

Fresh Ginger

Use freshly grated ginger or finely chopped ginger. Ginger paste (jarred puréed ginger available in Indian markets) will also work.

Vinegar

Use regular, distilled white vinegar or an equal amount of apple cider vinegar instead.

Crushed Red Pepper (Red Pepper Flakes)

Depending on your spice preference, use more or less of the crushed red pepper flakes.

Salt

I use table salt in my cooking, but you can use kosher salt, Himalayan pink salt, sea salt, or whatever variety of salt you cook with.

Lime or Lemon Zest

Lime zest or lemon zest can be used interchangeably in this recipe.

Instructions (Step-by-Step Photos)

Follow these simple, photo-assisted instructions to prepare these hot honey lemon pepper wings. Don't forget to check out the recipe card down below for the printable version of this recipe with detailed instructions and all the important tips and notes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Tips for Recipe Success

For crispy wings:

• Always preheat your air fryer or oven.
• Use baking powder, not baking soda. Those are not the same.
• Pat the wings dry with a kitchen paper towel before you add anything to them.
• Always use the perforated tray/pan or rack that comes with the air fryer to let hot air circulate all around the wings. When baking, use an oven-safe wire or cooling rack for the same purpose.
• When air frying or baking the wings, start the cooking with the skin side down. Then turn the wings halfway through, so the skin side is facing up for the remaining time.
• Do not overcrowd the wings in the air fryer or on the baking rack. Keep a little space between the wings for maximum crispness.
• To produce perfectly crispy wings, different air fryers and ovens may require different cooking times. If this is your first time preparing wings in your air fryer or oven, start with a small batch and modify the air frying/baking durations accordingly.
• Cooking times may be longer if you are using large wings or uncut wings.
• Let the baked wings rest for 5 minutes on the rack after you take them out of the oven. They will crisp just a bit more while resting.
• To preserve the crispiness of the wings a bit longer, don't toss them in the sauce. Instead, serve the wings dry (with an extra sprinkle of lemon pepper seasoning) and serve the hot honey as a dipping sauce.

Other Tip:

• If you're concerned that the hot honey sauce might be too spicy for you, start with half the amount of sriracha or the hot sauce you’re using. Then add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Before turning off the heat, do a quick taste test. If you want the sauce to be spicier, add some more sriracha or hot sauce to taste.

Scaling the Recipe

• Scaling up a recipe is not always an exact science. Spicy ingredients can sometimes increase the heat of a dish disproportionately. And that can be the case with the taste and smell of some aromatics too. For example, 2x (double the quantity) of a spicy ingredient might be 3x (3 times) spicier.
• When scaling up, increase the quantity of the spicy ingredients (for example, Sriracha/hot sauce and crushed red pepper flakes) by half for each additional portion. This will prevent the spice from overpowering the sauce. Do a quick taste test and adjust as per your liking.
• Avoid crowding the wings in the air fryer or on the baking rack when making a large batch of wings. Divide the wings into smaller batches.
• Enjoy as you go. Cook a batch and serve immediately while the wings are still hot and crispy. Don’t wait for the next batch(es) to finish cooking.

Making Ahead

The sauce can be prepared up to a week ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

You can prepare the wings for baking or air frying some hours in advance.

• Mix in all the wing preparation ingredients (excluding the baking powder and cornstarch) to the wings.
• Place a wire/cooling rack on a rimmed baking pan/sheet and arrange the wings in a single layer on the rack. Refrigerate the wings uncovered for up to 12 hours.
• This method allows the wings to dry out and become more crispy when cooked.
• To avoid cross-contamination, always keep wings on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and do not store any other food on that shelf.
• Before air frying or baking, transfer the wings to a big bowl, add the baking powder and cornstarch, and mix well to coat evenly.

I don’t like baking or air-frying the wings ahead of time. While reheated wings can be crisped up a bit, they do not taste the same as freshly made wings. However, if you must prepare them fully in advance, check the storage and reheating instructions below.

Storage

If you plan on refrigerating cooked wings, don’t toss them in the sauce, so the wings can crisp up a bit upon reheating. Leftover sauce-coated wings can also be stored, but don't expect them to crisp up like dry, uncoated wings. To refrigerate the wings:

• Allow the air-fried/baked wings to come to room temperature.
• Refrigerate them in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 2 days. See the reheating instructions below.

You can also freeze cooked wings (dry or sauce-coated) for up to 2 months.

• Let the cooked wings come to room temperature.
• Transfer them to a freezer-safe zip-top bag, press out excess air, and seal. Don’t fill more than half the bag and label the bag before freezing.
• Place the bag flat in the freezer and carefully spread the wings in the closed bag, so they are spaced out a bit. This will prevent the wings from clumping together as they freeze, and you will be able to reheat frozen wings without thawing or declumping them first.
• For food safety reasons, do not freeze wings that have been sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Reheating

Reheating refrigerated wings:

Oven:

• Preheat the oven to 400 °F / 204 °C.
• Place an oven-proof wire or cooling rack on a rimmed baking pan/sheet.
• Put the wings on the rack in a single layer, spacing them out a bit for even reheating.
• Bake the wings for 10 to 14 minutes at 400 °F / 204 °C on the middle rack of the oven. Flip the wings halfway through.

Air Fryer:

• Preheat the air fryer to 350 °F / 177 °C.
• Arrange the wings in a single layer in the air fryer basket/tray. To ensure even reheating, do not overcrowd the air fryer.
• Reheat the wings for 6 to 9 minutes at 350 °F / 177 °C. Flip the wings halfway through.

Reheating frozen wings:

Oven:

• Preheat the oven to 425 °F / 218 °C.
• Place an oven-proof wire or cooling rack on a rimmed baking pan/sheet.
• Put the (declumped) frozen wings on the rack in a single layer, spacing them out a bit for even reheating.
• Bake the wings for 25 to 30 minutes at 425 °F / 218 °C on the middle rack of the oven. Flip the wings halfway through.
• If you want to reheat completely thawed wings, follow the reheating instructions for refrigerated wings above.

Air Fryer:

• Preheat air fryer to 400 °F / 204 °C.
• Spread out the wings in the air fryer basket/tray in a single layer. Do not crowd the air fryer to ensure even reheating.
• Reheat the wings for 14 to 18 minutes at 400 °F / 204 °C, flipping them halfway through.

Wings reheated in the microwave turn out chewy, tough, and just sad. So I don’t recommend the microwave method.

Variations

• Use your favorite hot sauce instead of Sriracha in the hot honey sauce.
• Instead of tossing the wings in the sauce, serve the hot honey as a dipping sauce with the dry wings. If you're serving the wings dry, season them with some lemon pepper seasoning after baking or air frying.
• If you don't want to air fry or bake these wings, you can also deep-fry or grill them.

Servings Ideas

Recommended Garnishes

• White sesame seeds
• Finely chopped fresh cilantro/coriander or parsley
• Lemon/lime zest

Recommended Sides

• Fries or potato wedges
• Coleslaw
• Corn on the cob
• Hot honey carrots
• Celery sticks
• Roasted veggies