Recently, chili pickled garlic became a sensation on TikTok. It combined pickled garlic with hot sauce for a simple, quick snack. Well, if you enjoyed that, here is your new obsession – garlic and chili-infused honey! I’ve previously shared recipes for homemade chili oil and chili sauce – now it’s time for something wonderfully sweet with a kick of heat! By combining chili flakes with fresh garlic and high-quality honey and allowing them to infuse over several days slowly, you end up with a deliciously sweet, savory, and spicy honey perfect for spreading, drizzling, marinating, and even eating with a spoon – at your leisure. When you first eat it, you’ll taste the incredible sweetness of the honey, which makes way for a hit of savory (yet mellowed) garlic and, finally, a surprising lingering heat. Not a fan of heat? Why not try this fermented garlic honey or honey-fermented ginger and lemon! Even better, similarly to my turmeric honey, this method is heat-free, meaning you don’t lose any of the wonderful health benefits of the honey, so you get to enjoy the flavor and benefits in one go!
The Ingredients
Honey: use high-quality honey you like the taste of. There’s no need for it to be raw as we are allowing it to infuse rather than ferment (like this fermented garlic honey). However, you can use raw honey, too. Garlic: plenty of fresh garlic is needed. I like to use fresh, young garlic when possible for better flavor. Chili: I used a combination of chili powder and chili flakes for different textures and distribution throughout the chili honey sauce. Feel free to adjust this amount to personal preference. You could also substitute chili for a chili sauce/hot sauce.
How to Make Garlic and Chili Infused Honey
First, make sure to sterilize a jar by washing it in boiling soapy water and allowing it to dry completely. Then, peel the garlic and grate or mince it. If grating, you can do so directly into the jar. Next, add the chili and honey to the jar, mix well with a sterilized tool, and then add a lid and allow it to rest for 4-5 days at room temperature to infuse. If you use raw honey, then it may begin to ferment. In this case, I recommend ‘burping’ the jar daily. To do this, just open the lid to allow any built-up gases to release and close it again. The garlic will also release juices into the honey, making it more liquidy in consistency.
How to Make Ahead and Store?
Because of the garlic in the honey, once infused, I recommend storing this in the refrigerator and consuming it within 2 weeks. If you don’t include garlic, you can keep the spicy honey in the fridge or a cool, dark cupboard for 3 months. If using fresh chilies, then aim to use it within several weeks and keep it stored in the fridge. Note that if you store the honey in the fridge, it will solidify somewhat, so you’ll need to bring it to room temperature before using it.
How to Use Chili Infused Honey
There are tons of ways to enjoy this hot honey garlic sauce, with sweet and savory dishes. For example:
Spread over toast, bagels, crumpets, soft pretzels, simit, scones, etc. As a marinade or dip for your favorite proteins – particularly seafood like these coconut shrimp. Turn it into a dressing with a bit of olive oil. Drizzled over pizza and in wraps. Drizzled over veggie side dishes like roasted, broiled, and sauteed veggies. Add a little to your grilled cheese. Serve with a cheese platter and cheeses like goat’s cheese, ricotta, halloumi, and baked cheese like camembert/brie. Serve with egg dishes like healthy omelettes, scrambled eggs, or tofu. Drizzle a little over your favorite avocado toast or guacamole.
If you omit the garlic and make this as simple chili honey, then you could also use this to:
Spread over cakes and sweetbreads like banana bread and cornbread. Drizzled over vanilla ice cream. A little drizzle on a yogurt (or coconut yogurt) bowl with granola and fruit. Serve over waffles, pancakes, and french toast. Drizzle a little over cheesy pasta dishes and gnocchi. Over grilled fruit like watermelon, peaches, pineapple, mango, apricots.
For chili honey: if you want, you can omit the garlic entirely and just create chile honey. This will make it more versatile to use with sweet recipes like over ice cream, waffles, pancakes, etc. Adjust the heat: using different types of dried chili and adjusting the amount you use will affect how hot the honey is. Make sure to store it properly: Depending on if you include garlic, and fresh or dry chilies, the storage method and shelf life will vary. Refer to the recipe card for my recommendations.
Other Recipes for Chili Lovers
Tomatillo green chili salsa (Salsa Verde) Fermented garlic honey Roasted spicy eggplant dip (Baigan Choka/Bharta) TikTok spicy pickled garlic Hot Honey Recipe Garlic Infused Olive Oil
If you try this garlic and chili-infused honey recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d really appreciate a recipe card rating below, and feel free to tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
