This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
Ever since I was a very young kid I enjoyed spicy food. I remember sitting at the table with my dad and brother over a Styrofoam container of wicked hot wings from the local pub. With our faces bright red, our noses running and sweat accumulating on our foreheads, we chowed until our lips burned like a wildfire.
Many years later, my love for all things spicy has not been tamed one bit. In fact, my condiment of choice is Sriracha, I’ll pretty much squirt it on anything that doesn’t contain sugar.
Since it’s Super Bowl week, I thought this would be the perfect time to share my favorite recipe for sweet and spicy chicken wings. You can definitely control the level of heat by simply backing off a bit of the cayenne and Sriracha. The honey adds amazing glaze factor that sends these wings over the edge! Serve these Sweet and Spice Chicken Wings with some homemade blue cheese or ranch dressing and a side of celery sticks and you’ll be all set for game night!
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds chicken wings and drums
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup honey, divided
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large jellyroll or broiler pan with foil and place a metal rack on top of the foil. Spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.
- Rinse the wings in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
- Arrange wings on metal rack and season with pepper.
- Place wings in oven and set timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, remove the wings from the oven and brush the wings with ½ cup honey. Be sure to glaze both side of the wings, using metal tongs to turn.
- Place wings back into the oven, set the timer for 30 minutes, and prepare the sauce.
- In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, remaining 1/2 cup of honey, Frank’s Red Hot, Sriracha, cayenne, and garlic powder; whisk to combine.
- While the wings are baking, periodically baste both sides of the wings with the sauce (about every ten minutes). Once the timer goes off, crank the heat up to 400 degrees F and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Notes:
- Lining your pan with foil will save you a lot of work, trust me, you don’t want to skip this step. Baked honey and a pan equals a hot mess!
- Control the level of heat by increasing or decreasing the amount of amount of cayenne and Sriracha.
- Things may get a little smoky during the last 15 minutes of cooking, so be sure to turn your ventilation system on.
- Sriracha is typically found in the ethnic aisle of the grocery store.
Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!
These look great! Question – what metal rack do you use? I’m always on the lookout for one!
Mia-
I use a generic one that came with a roasting pan – no clue which brand. Sorry I am not more of a help.
-Jamie
I made these the other day… Most of my family didn’t get to try them because I was inhaling them… OMGSH they were great. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Yum! These sound delicious. I love the touch of honey. I recently posted a recipe for baked sweet and spicy wings too but my secret weapons are ketchup and soy sauce! http://www.behindtheplates.com/simplesweetspicywings/
First, I’d like to say that these wings were very good. I doubled the sauce recipe as we enjoy a saucy wing. It was the perfect balance between sweet and spicy. That said, if you are looking for a crispy wing, this may not be for you. Though they look crispy, and can get a nice texture, they are not “crispy”
looks great! Thanks for posting.
Paula,
You’re very welcome! Thank you for following MBA and have a great day!
Jamie
Made these today for our office Hallo-Wing party and tied for first place! Used 1/4 tsp cayenne! Everyone loved them!
Nicky-
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the wings – thank so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback! Woo-Hoo to first place! Have a great day.
-Jamie
This recipe was really good. Even my 5 and 3yr old boys loved it. Thanks for the foil tip. And my kitchen smelled sweet and spicy. mmmm.mmm..good!
Van-
I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe – thanks for reporting back on your experience with it! Have a great day.
-Jamie
What would be your thoughts about making these a day ahead of time? We are going to the SunBowl this Saturday but then have a New Years Eve Party to attend shortly after, was wondering if I could make these Friday to save myself some time since they take about an hour in the oven. Thanks for the advice!