Vegan Hot Honey
Prep and cook times are estimates — every kitchen moves at its own pace. None significant.
This vegan hot honey is going to blow you away. It starts with a homemade vegan honey — floral and citrusy from chamomile tea and lemon — then gets a gentle kick of heat from red pepper flakes. The result is sweet, subtly spicy, and extremely versatile: drizzle it over vegan cheese, avocado toast, or fried oyster mushrooms.
Optional heat boost: want more fire? Bloom the red pepper flakes in a teaspoon of oil for 30 seconds before the honey goes in — capsaicin is fat-soluble, so oil pulls out far more heat than honey alone. Or swap in 1/2 tsp cayenne, or steep a slit habanero in the warm honey (fish it out before straining) for serious heat.
Good to know: the vegan honey recipe makes more than the hot honey needs — save the rest for tea, biscuits, or drizzling over fruit. And yes, you can make the whole thing in one go; no chilling and reheating required.
Storage: don’t refrigerate — honey crystallizes in the fridge; room temp in a sealed jar keeps it pourable for weeks.
Watch it made
Directions
- Melt the vegan butter in a pot over medium heat.
- Add the water, chamomile tea bag, sugar, lemon slice, and lemon juice.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea bag and lemon slice, then pour through a fine mesh strainer into a glass jar. This is your vegan honey.
- Heat 1/2 cup of the strained vegan honey in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the red pepper flakes and the juice of half a lemon; simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Optional, for more heat: before heating the honey, warm 1 teaspoon of neutral oil in the saucepan, add the red pepper flakes, and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant — capsaicin is fat-soluble, so the oil pulls out far more heat. Then pour in the honey and lemon juice and simmer 2 to 3 minutes as above.
- Remove from heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar.
- Pour through a fine mesh strainer, let cool, then transfer to a squeeze bottle or jar.
- Drizzle over fried oyster mushrooms, vegan cheese, or avocado toast.
