Hot Honey Butter Chicken Thighs

These chicken thighs are crispy on the outside, amazingly tender and juicy on the inside, and slathered in flavorful sweet and spicy hot honey butter! There is so much flavor in this chicken and the sauce creates a deliciously sticky, caramelized exterior.

Your weeknight chicken dinner will never be the same after trying this recipe! If you are a fan of Nashville Hot Chicken, then you will love these saucy, sweet, and spicy chicken thighs. The chicken thighs are first pan-seared to crisp the skin and seal in the juices, then covered in hot honey butter sauce and finished in the oven.

Ingredients You Need to Make This Recipe

Hot Honey Butter

• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• ¼ cup of honey
• 2 tablespooons of sriracha sauce
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon of salt

Chicken Thighs

• 4 bone-in chicken thighs. You need about 2.5 pounds of chicken thighs with the skin on and bone in.
• Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. These spices are to used to season the chicken thighs.
• Extra virgin olive oil. The chicken is seared on the stovetop in one tablespoon of oil. You can also use vegetable or canola oil.

How to Make This Recipe

• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 °C).

• Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Place chicken thighs in a large mixing bowl and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Make sure the chicken is evenly coated with the spices and set aside.

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the honey, sriracha, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the sauce for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.

• Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. I used a 10.25 inch Lodge Cast-Iron Skillet. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet, skin side down, and cook for 7-10 minutes until the skin is browned and crispy. Flip the chicken and cook for 7-10 minutes on the other side.

• Pour the hot honey butter sauce over the chicken thighs and transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Cook the chicken in the oven for 10-12 minutes until cooked through.

• Using a spoon, carefully drizzle sauce from the skillet over top of the chicken, then turn on the oven broiler and broil the chicken for an additional 2-3 minutes until the exterior is browned and caramelized. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired and enjoy!

Variations and Substitutions

• You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe if you prefer. Just be sure to adjust your cooking time accordingly.
• You can use this sauce for baked or fried chicken wings, fried chicken tenders, fried or pan-seared shrimp, or baked fish.
• If you would like to make your sauce a little spicier, feel free to add cayenne pepper, or a hot sauce such as Frank's RedHot.

How Do I Make Sure My Chicken Thighs Turn Out Crispy on the Outside?

• Be sure to remove excess moisture from the chicken with paper towels before you begin. This helps the skin get really crispy.
• Sear the chicken, undisturbed, in the hot skillet for 7-10 minutes per side. Ideally you want to flip the chicken only once so that the skin has time to crisp up.
• Do not skip broiling the chicken. Once you pour the sauce over the chicken it will cause the skin to lose some of its crispiness, but broiling it for 2-3 minutes with the sauce gives you a crispy, caramelized exterior that tastes amazing!

Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions

You can make the hot honey butter sauce a day or two ahead of time and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to cook to your chicken. Just heat the sauce in the microwave before pouring it over the chicken.

Leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Recommended Tools for This Recipe

Mixing bowls

Small saucepan

Cast-iron skillet

Tongs

Wooden spoon

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• Easy Southern Baked Spaghetti
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📖 Recipe

Hot Honey Butter Chicken Thighs

Ashley

These chicken thighs are crispy on the outside, amazingly tender and juicy on the inside, and slathered in flavorful sweet and spicy hot honey butter! There is so much flavor in this chicken and the sauce creates a deliciously sticky, caramelized exterior.

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Servings 4 servings

Calories 290 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  1, 10-inch oven-proof skillet

Ingredients

  

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Hot Honey Butter

• ▢ 4 tablespoons butter unsalted
• ▢ ¼ cup of honey
• ▢ 2 tablespooons sriracha sauce
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• ▢ ½ teaspoon of salt

Chicken Thighs

• ▢ 4 bone-in chicken thighs about 2.5 pounds
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 °C).
• Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Place chicken thighs in a large mixing bowl and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Make sure the chicken is evenly coated with the spices and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the honey, sriracha, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the sauce for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet, skin side down, and cook for 7-10 minutes until the skin is browned and crispy. Flip the chicken and cook for 7-10 minutes on the other side.
• Pour the hot honey butter sauce over the chicken thighs and transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Cook the chicken in the oven for 10-12 minutes until cooked through.
• Using a spoon, carefully drizzle sauce from the skillet over top of the chicken, then turn on the oven broiler and broil the chicken for an additional 2-3 minutes until the exterior is browned and caramelized. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired and enjoy!

Video

Notes

• Leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 290kcalCarbohydrates: 21.1gProtein: 16.1gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 688mgPotassium: 189mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 17.9gCalcium: 18mgIron: 1mg

Keyword chicken recipes, easy chicken recipes, easy dinner recipes, honey chicken

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