Like a little sweet with your heat? This honey sriracha chicken delivers with bold spicy flavors and a touch of honey sweetness. You can cook this dish in the air fryer (similar to my air fryer whole chicken) or in your oven — all using easy pantry staples!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for baked honey sriracha chicken, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Chicken:
Whole Chicken – This recipe calls for a whole, bone-in chicken. I used a 4-pound chicken, which fits just right in the air fryer, but any size will work if cooking in the oven.Honey – I used Wholesome Yum Keto Honey to keep this recipe sugar free, but you can use regular honey if it fits your lifestyle.Sea Salt & Black Pepper – For easy seasoning.
Honey Sriracha Sauce:
The sauce for honey sriracha chicken is sweet and spicy — you’ll mix together the ingredients below, and the honey gets added separately to prevent burning. Keep in mind that cook time will vary and you may end up with leftover sauce. (You can use the sauce from this recipe, and follow my recipes for baked chicken breast, air fryer chicken breast, baked chicken thighs, or air fryer chicken thighs for cook times. Since these smaller cuts don’t cook for as long, you can mix the honey with the other sauce ingredients, instead of brushing separately halfway through as you would with a whole chicken.
Sriracha – You can find this sauce at most grocery stores, particularly in the Asian foods sections or with other condiments.Garlic – Fresh garlic tastes best, but you can also use jarred minced garlic. You can also substitute 1 teaspoon garlic powder in place of the 4 cloves fresh garlic.Coconut Aminos – This is a gluten-free soy sauce substitute. If you’re not sensitive to soy, you can simply use regular soy sauce.Lemon Juice – Use fresh squeezed juice, or bottled lemon juice for convenience. Lime juice also works.Olive Oil – I usually choose extra-virgin olive oil, but any neutral cooking oil, such as avocado oil, will work.Dried Herbs – Including dried thyme and dried basil.
How To Make Honey Sriracha Chicken
This section shows how to make honey and sriracha chicken, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Storage Instructions
Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.Meal prep: Make sauce ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until ready to cook.Reheat: Reheat in a microwave or warm oven at 350 degrees F.Freeze: Cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for storage. (You can freeze whole or carved.) Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before reheating.
What To Serve With Honey Sriracha Chicken
A zesty dish like this needs a cool or creamy side to balance the heat! Try these simple dishes, or simply serve with white rice or cauliflower rice: If you have time, remove your chicken from the refrigerator up to 30 minutes before starting this recipe to take the chill off. Place chicken back-side up in a roasting pan and bake for 45 minutes. Flip and roast for an additional 30 minutes. Remove chicken, brush with honey, and continue roasting for 15-20 minutes until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
More Healthy Spicy Recipes
Ready for more heat? Try these spicy recipes next! Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram, or in our Facebook support group, too – I’d love to see it! Nutrition info was calculated using sugar-free honey substitute. Sugar content will be higher using regular honey.
