30 Sweet And Savory Honey Recipes
♫ Like the summer sunshine, pour your sweetness over me… ♫
If you’re like us, you’ve got a jar or squeeze bear of honey kicking around in your cabinets, only to be pulled out when you’re sick (alongside chicken soup maybe?) or atop toast for a quick healthy breakfast. We’re here to tell you, you can use it for a LOT more. From savory weeknight chicken dinners to sticky sweet desserts, we’ve got a recipe here for you. Check out our 30 honey recipes for ideas.
First, some fun facts about honey! We all know honey comes from bees (we won’t get into the sordid details), but did you know that the flowers those bees are pollinating also affects the flavor of the honey? There are a few main types you’ll encounter, and you’ll want to experiment to see which you prefer, whether you’re baking or cooking with it, or enjoying it on its own. We like super floral options like wildflower or clover honey for baking, like in our very sticky sticky buns, our walnut and pistachio baklava, or our honey cake. Smoky mesquite or nutty buckwheat honey can be nice for savory applications, like our honey mustard chicken, honey balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts, or our honey garlic glazed salmon. Orange blossom and lavender honeys are lovely in drinks, like our Arnold Palmer or our gold rush cocktail. Try out different types and see which you like best.
Grocery store honey can be adulterated (the honey industry is a wild one), so though there are some regulations in place in the United States, the extra cheap stuff on the shelves might have more high fructose corn syrup or water in it than you’re expecting. If avoiding that is important to you, it’s better to pay a few more dollars for the good stuff. One of the best options is raw honey, particularly if you can get it from a local beekeeper at somewhere like a farmers market (Fun fact, if you can get it harvested locally, it can be great for fending off the symptoms of seasonal allergies!). This is the best option for when you really want to taste the honey, like on toast, in dressings like hot honey or honey mustard, or when you’re just using it as a garnish, like atop our baked brie.
Honey-Glazed Carrots
How do you make a picky eater fall in love with vegetables? When it comes to carrots, our answer is two-part: slather them in a sweet and sticky glaze and then roast them. In the oven, the honey and butter in the glaze will caramelize, transforming plain, boring carrots into an addictive side dish.
Get the Honey-Glazed Carrots recipe.
Honey Walnut Shrimp
Our crispy coated version of this slightly sweet dish more closely represents the Panda Express takeout version than the traditional. The candied walnuts are our favorite part and are what make this dish so special!
Get the Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe.
Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon
A longtime favorite of Delish readers, this savory-sweet salmon never disappoints. Hot tip: Let the fillets cook undisturbed for a few minutes. That, and super high heat is how you get that delicious crust here.
Get the Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon recipe.
Honey Cookies
These soft and chewy cookies are traditional for the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, but are delicious any time of year. They're beloved by all, young and old, and we can't keep a batch around for long!
Get the Honey Cookie recipe.
Hot Honey
This version is a smart cheat: 3 ingredients, 1 clean jar, and a few seconds of stirring, and you are done. A little tart, substantially spicy, and sufficiently sweet—just like honey should be.
Get the Hot Honey recipe.
Gold Rush Cocktail
Fans of the whiskey sour to the front, please! The Gold Rush cocktail is the whiskey drink you’re already in love with, minus the egg whites. This shaken bourbon cocktail also utilizes a honey syrup instead of simple syrup, taking it truly over the top.
Get the Gold Rush Cocktail recipe.
Honey Mustard Dressing
Why buy prepared honey mustard when it can be as simple as just two ingredients mixed together? Our version does add a little more into the mix for a rewarding richness from the mayo and perky puckers from the lemon and black pepper, but trust us, it's worth it.
Get the Honey Mustard Dressing recipe.
Honey Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts
The hardest part of making these Brussels sprouts is leaving them alone. Honestly if you're anything like us, you're going to be popping these in your mouth like they're popcorn. They are cooked until perfectly tender and golden brown, then glazed with a honey balsamic glaze that will change your life.
Honey Garlic Chicken
This easy weeknight dinner takes practically zero effort but is absolutely delicious. The glaze is simple and made up of things many people will already have in their pantry. Pair with some broccoli or fried rice and you'll have a delicious dinner on the table in under an hour.
Get the Honey Garlic Chicken recipe.
Classic Honey Cake
The trick to this simple cake is to use really good honey. While clover honey is typically used in baking because its flavor is mild, here we really want the honey flavor to stand out: We used a wildflower honey, which is sweet and floral, but an orange blossom honey would also work well.
Get the Classic Honey Cake recipe.
Honey-Garlic Cauliflower
Who doesn't love a good healthy snack? Much like our Parmesan cauliflower bites, these little guys have just enough crunch and flavor to keep us going. Craving salt but avoiding chips and unhealthy snacks? These sticky-spicy bites will save the day.
Get the Honey-Garlic Cauliflower recipe.
Walnut and Pistachio Baklava
Sticky and rich, baklava is a dessert made of layered sheets of phyllo dough, nuts, spices, and honey. Our version uses walnuts and pistachios but feel free to use whichever nuts you like the most!
Get the Walnut and Pistachio Baklava recipe.
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken
In our opinion, the crunchier the better. Which is why pretzels make the perfect chicken coating. The obvious and best dipping sauce? Honey mustard, of course. It's a MUST.
Honey Mustard Chicken
Chicken thighs are certainly the juiciest and most flavorful part of the chicken, but they also take the longest to cook. Here we trimming them and sear the skin before roasting to help speed up the cooking, meaning you can have this one-skillet meal on the dinner table in no time.
Get the Honey Mustard Chicken recipe.
Arnold Palmer
An Arnold Palmer is a super refreshing drink comprised of half iced tea and half lemonade, made famous by the golfer of the same name. We make our own simple lemonade here and sweeten the tea with honey for a bit of a floral note. Add more honey to make the drink a little sweeter if you like, but we think it's just perfect.
Get the Arnold Palmer recipe.
Steamed Carrots With Hot Honey Butter
Bang Bang Shrimp
This dish is an all-time fave at Delish. The pairing of crunchy Panko-crusted shrimp and creamy, spicy-sweet sauce is ridiculously addictive. No matter how often we make it, it never gets old.
Get the Bang Bang Shrimp recipe.
Baked Brie In Puff Pastry
Baked brie is one of those classic appetizers everyone loves. It's easy to make with very little prep (thanks to store-bought puff pastry) and a pretty short cook time. Drizzle it with some honey and you'll have a warm, cheesy app that feels extra fancy in no time at all.
Get the Baked Brie In Puff Pastry recipe.
Castella Cake
Castella cake is an impossibly airy and light Japanese sponge cake flavored with honey. It’s humble—never decorated, always loaf-shaped—and so simple. Traditionally served for special occasions, it's also delicious eaten alongside morning coffee or tea.
Get the Castella Cake recipe.
Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken
Crispy chicken underneath a sticky and sweet honey sauce? Yes please! Served with brown rice and broccoli, you'll never need takeout again.
Get the Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
