This is the most delicious, easy Honey Sriracha Sauce recipe for chicken, salmon, brussels sprouts, and anything else that needs a tangy, swicy sauce. It calls for just 6 ingredients and comes together in one pot on the stovetop!
For other delicious sauces for brussels sprouts, try my dukkah-spiced brussels or pepper jelly brussels.
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✔️ Why this recipe is great
Great on Everything – the balanced sweet, sour, and salty notes of this spicy chicken sauce make it almost universally appealing, though it particularly complements the mustardy, mildly bitter flavor of any leafy green veggies or high-heat meats.
Customizable Heat Level – no matter how high or low your heat tolerance is, simply add more or less sriracha sauce, or add a bit of hot pepper powder to up the heat without affecting viscosity.
Super Easy to Make – an entire pot of honey sriracha sauce can be ready in under 10 minutes, or 5 minutes if using garlic powder. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
❓ What is sriracha sauce?
Sriracha is a type of hot sauce originating from Thailand, known for its bold, mildly spicy, and slightly sweet flavor. Made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt, it delivers a tangy kick with a bit of heat.
This bright red condiment has gained immense popularity worldwide, becoming a staple in many kitchens and home, and even restaurants. It’s versatile and can be used to enhance the flavor of soups, noodles, and marinades, with a special nod to sriracha-flavored sauces.
Sriracha’s distinctive taste – and its iconic bottle with a green cap and rooster logo – have cemented its status as a beloved addition to a wide array of dishes.
🍯 Ingredients
Honey: this is arguably an integral part of honey sriracha sauce, giving it both the sweetness and viscosity typical of honey sriracha dip, as well as the caramelizing properties that help it stick to anything you pour it on.
Sriracha: the most integral ingredient in honey sriracha sauce, this spicy, umami, complex sauce offers the perfect contrast to honey. A surprisingly perfect substitute for sriracha is an equal amount of chili garlic sauce. When compared to sriracha, it has the more favorable qualities of the sauce.
Soy Sauce: adding saltiness you the recipe, you could also swap it for tamari or coconut aminos.
Butter: similar to a buffalo sauce, the butter in this recipe buffers the heat from the sriracha while also adding a creamy heft and helping the sauce stick better by creating a caramel-like sauce with the honey.
Rice Vinegar: adding sour tang and balance to the flavor, rice vinegar is also known as rice wine vinegar.
Minced Garlic: the fresh garlic imparts a funky umami flavor that brings the sauce together, but you could also use a teaspoon of garlic powder for a similar effect.
Corn Starch: this is not a requirement, but making a slurry of corn starch (or arrowroot starch or tapioca flour) with a couple tablespoons of hot water creates a strong thickener that must be immediately blended into the sauce. It will make a thick honey sriracha sauce, but it can also sometimes clump up, so it’s essential to stir the slurry into the hot suace immediately.
See recipe card for quantities.
📖 How to make honey sriracha sauce at home (instructions)
Step 1. Put the honey, sriracha, soy sauce, butter, vinegar, and garlic into a saucepan and heat everything until melted.
Step 2. Stir the mixture well and heat on medium-low for a couple minutes, until everything is simmering. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes before turning off the heat and moving the sauce pan to a cool burner.
💡 Pro-Tip: to make it a bit thicker, like a honey sriracha sauce for wings, add 1 teaspoon corn starch) to 2 tablespoons of hot water and immediately stir until combined, then stir the slurry into your still-warm sauce.
📝 Substitutions and variations
I make homemade honey sriracha sauce all the time, and have tried several substitutions, but I haven’t swapped out every single ingredient. If I haven’t personally tried that swap, I make note of that.
No Honey: I haven’t personally tried any swaps for honey, since it’s a pretty integral ingredient in the sauce, but if you’re in a pinch your best bet is agave nectar.
No Sriracha: if you’re out of sriracha, chili garlic sauce is by far the best swap that I’ve tried. If you’re a fellow sriracha lover, you’ll undoubtedly have discovered how disappointing most alternatives are, so if you find another decent substitute, please leave a comment. Note also that Trader Joe’s brand sriracha is NOT as hot as the original, so if that’s all you can find, use a bit extra.
No Soy Sauce: to make gluten-free honey sriracha sauce, you can use either tamari or coconut aminos in equal measure for a similar salty, umami flavor profile. However you may need to double-check the ingredients in your sriracha if you’re strict gluten-free.
No Rice Vinegar: I haven’t tried swapping out the rice vinegar, but other recipes have called for lemon juice or lime juice, though rice vinegar is a more traditional ingredient in Southeast Asia and matches the flavor profile of the ingredients better, in my opinion.
No Garlic: if you don’t like garlic, you can omit this extra, but there is garlic in sriracha, so regardless there will be some garlic in the sauce. However if you just don’t have fresh garlic or don’t want to chop any, you can also substitute 1 teaspoon garlic powder (it tastes just a bit less sharp and pungent, to me).
- Dairy-Free – I haven’t swapped it out yet, but other recipes have noted swapping the butter for butter-flavored coconut oil or even vegan butter, though I’d be more inclined to omit it altogether and enjoy the sharper notes of a honey sriracha sauce without butter.
- More Spicy – you can add up to 2 more tablespoons of sriracha and a teaspoon of chili pepper flakes or powder while cooking to imbue extra heat into the sauce.
- Less Spicy – use as little as 3 tablespoons of sriracha to weaken the heat in the sauce, as my heat-intolerant mom does when she makes my sriracha honey sauce recipe (still tasted great!).
Try the mayo-based version of this spicy sauce with my easy sriracha mayo!
🥘 Storage and reheating
Keep homemade sriracha honey sauce in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. There’s not much water in the sauce, so it doesn’t create a lot of ice crystals.
However I do recommend putting it into ice cube trays if you plan to store it long-term and use it in smaller quantities, like when reheating wings. Make sure to also add the sauce several minutes before you finish cooking your dish, otherwise it won’t caramelize as well.
👨🏻🍳 Expert notes & tips
Sauce Smartly: if you’re making honey sriracha sauce for brussels sprouts, wings, or anything else where you want the honey to get sticky and caramelize, be sure to toss the food in your sauce or drizzle on the sauce halfway or one-third of the way before the cook time ends. For example, I like adding the sauce 4-5 minutes before my wings are done cooking.
Spicy Honey Sriracha Sauce: control the heat level of your sauce by using 1-2 tablespoons more or less sriracha sauce in the pot, though you could also add up to a teaspoon of gochugaru or other hot pepper powder when you add the other sauce ingredients.
Thicker Sauce: to make your sauce even thicker, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of a powdered starch (like arrowroot, tapioca, or corn starch) to 1-2 tablespoons of hot water and immediately stir until combined, then stir the slurry into your sauce. Make sure the water is hot, or it won’t properly activate the starch’s thickening properties.
🙋🏻♂️ Frequently asked questions
The ingredients in sriracha sauce typically include chili peppers, sugar, salt, garlic, distilled vinegar, and sometimes preservatives or other additives to maintain freshness. Its thick, smooth consistency and bright red color are distinctive features, along with its signature tang.
Sriracha is generally considered to be moderately hot, around a 3.5/10 heat level. It provides a noticeable but not overwhelming heat, making it a versatile condiment that appeals to those who enjoy a balance of spice and flavor in their food.
Honey sriracha sauce is made by combining sriracha sauce with honey, and often additional ingredients like soy sauce, butter, and garlic, to create a sweet, spicy, and savory condiment. The honey tempers the heat of the sriracha, resulting in a milder flavor profile.
Yes, you can buy honey sriracha sauce pre-made from various brands at grocery stores, specialty food shops, or online retailers, though it’s not very common. It’s also pretty simple to make at home, and is much more customizable when homemade.
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5-Minute Honey Sriracha Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup sriracha alt. chili garlic sauce
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce alt. tamari or coconut aminos
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 large cloves minced garlic alt. 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- optional 1 teaspoon corn starch + 2 tablespoons hot water alt. arrowroot starch, tapioca flour
Instructions
- Put the honey, sriracha, soy sauce, butter, vinegar, and garlic into a saucepan and heat everything until melted.
- Stir the mixture well and heat on medium-low for a couple minutes, until everything is simmering. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes before turning off the heat and moving the sauce pan to a cool burner.To make it a bit thicker, like a honey sriracha sauce for wings, add 1 teaspoon corn starch) to 2 tablespoons of hot water and immediately stir until combined, then stir the slurry into your sauce.