Sticky Buffalo Honey Hot Wings coated in a flavorful rub then smothered in a perfect marriage of honey, molasses and Hot Wings Sauce. I’ve also included a recipe for the BEST traditional Hot Wings.
Usually I am a pretty decisive person. Whenever I was going on a date in college, my roommate would tease me “you’ll know tonight”- meaning I wouldn’t waste his or my time with a second date if I didn’t think it was going anywhere. I had a lot of first and last dates.
When it comes to food, I am also usually pretty decisive. But when it comes to which variation of hot sauce concoction to smother your wings with (traditional hot sauce, honey hot sauce, or a combo of the two) I am really indecisive. In this case of win-win-win sauces, I just couldn’t bring myself to pick which sauce I liked best – or thought you would like best – it would be like choosing your favorite child – they are all special and different. So I’ve included three variations of hot sauces that you can choose from depending on your mood and you can start with the Buffalo Honey Hot Wings if you are indecisive. But the great news is, you can’t go wrong with any of the sauces, especially when the wings themselves are to live for smothered in the tantalizing rub.
So I guess the real question is, not what sauce you will pick, but rather, Are you ready for the BEST Buffalo Wings – ever?!!! As in even better than any “wings” place you have ever been to? And easy enough that you will never be tempted to buy wings again? In fact, when Patrick and I went out on a double date to a wings joint, we both left feeling completely cheated. Cheated we had spent our hard earned money on wings that may be good by the world’s standards but mediocre compared to the standard of these Buffalo Hot Wings. Its a high standard.
These wings are layered in spices, crispy on the outside yet juicy on the inside and smothered in hot sauce or honey hot sauce. They are packed with flavor from a rub of chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, etc. and baking powder to make them crispy.
You won’t be able to taste the baking powder but in simplified terms it helps draw moisture to the surface of the skin where it evaporates, breaks down proteins within the skin and accelerates the browning process resulting in crispy, baked wings.
To achieve this finger licking goodness, all you do is line your pan (for easy clean up), add your wings to a bag to shake with the spices and bake until crispy.
Then you toss in your simple sauce of a little butter, honey, molasses and hot sauce.
So every crispy wing is smothered in tangy sweet hotness.
These wings are so good, I was eating them at every stage – baked with only the rub, baked with the rub and smothered in sauce and then baked with the rub, smothered in sauce then dipped in blue cheese sauce. If I didn’t have pictures I would have lost count of how many wings this recipe makes! In addition to their delish factor, these wings make the perfect appetizer for any occasion (like New Year’s coming up!) because all of the prep can be done beforehand and because everyone loves crispy smothered chicken that you get to dip and dip and dip…
Now for a little breakdown of the 3 sauces:
1. Traditional Buffalo Hot Wings Sauce tastes like traditional hot wings flavor by combining hot sauce, molasses and butter – traditional and amazing.
2. Buffalo Honey Hot Wings Sauce (pictured in this post) is a balance of honey and hot sauce for the sweet and spicy combination I adore. This sauce also uses molasses and butter but the primary ingredient is honey which is then spiced with hot WINGS sauce instead of regular hot sauce – which is much spicier than traditional hot sauce allowing you to use less of it and can keep honey as the main ingredient. You can adjust the heat to your liking.
3. Buffalo Mild Honey Hot Wings Sauce is a fusion of the above two recipes with a hint of sticky honey and a slightly milder heat due to the addition of honey and the use of original hot sauce (NOT hot wings sauce). If you still want a hint of honey but like hotter wings, add some Hot Wings Sauce to spice them up (but only add the hot wings sauce if you like HOT).
Can you see my indecisiveness? I just had to share all the sauces because they are each lip smacking delicious depending on what you are looking for. And I’m sure you will find what you are looking for. And more, much more. With one bite, you’ll “know tonight” these wings were meant for you.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 60 minutes |
| Servings | chicken wings |
- 24 chicken wings with skin rinsed and patted dry (approx 3 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground celery seed
- (Hot sauce unites with a touch of molasses for the traditional hot wings flavor)
- 2/3 cup Frank's ORIGINAL Hot Sauce (NOT hot wings sauce) mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon butter
- (Honey is the dominant ingredient in this sauce for sticky hot wings while still being hot by using Hot WINGS sauce)
- 2-3 tablespoons Frank's Hot WINGS Sauce (NOT original hot sauce like above) mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoons molasses
- 2/3 cup Frank's ORIGINAL Hot Sauce (NOT hot wings sauce) mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1-3 teaspoons Hot Wings Sauce (Optional for hotter wings)
Ingredients
Rub
Traditional Buffalo Hot Wings Sauce
Buffalo Honey Hot Wings Sauce
Buffalo Mild Honey Hot Wings
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- Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup. Top baking sheet with baking rack/oven proof cooling rack and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, mix together Rub Ingredients. Add half of the Rub to a large freezer bag. Add half of the wings and shake until coated evenly. Line wings on prepared baking rack so they are not touching. Add remaining Rub ingredients and wings to freezer bag and repeat.
- Bake on upper middle rack for 45-50 minutes. Move oven rack approximately 6-8" from broiler and broil to desired crispiness, watching closely so they don't burn. Flip chicken wings over and broil the other side until crispy.
- The prep for all of the sauces is the same. **While wings are cooling, melt butter over medium heat. Add remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a simmer until slightly thickened, approximately 3-5 minutes. Taste and add additional hot sauce for spicier sauces/more honey for sweeter.
- When chicken is done, add to a large bowl and pour over sauce. Gently toss wings with a spatula until evenly coated.
- Serve with desired Blue Cheese/ Ranch Dip, etc. dip
- Dig in!
Start with the Buffalo Honey Hot Wings if you aren't sure what to try first 🙂
**You don't want to make the sauce in advance or it will become too thick.
***See BELOW for more delicious recipes to use up your bottle of Frank's Hot WINGS sauce.
Carlsbad Cravings Original
Other delicious uses for your bottle of Frank’s Hot Wing’s Sauce:
Sweet and Spicy Cranberry Meatballs (Slow Cooker)
Baked Buffalo Popcorn Chicken with Creamy Honey Buffalo Dip
Smothered Buffalo Chicken Burritos
Sweet and Spicy Pineapple Salsa Chicken (Slow Cooker)
15 Minute Beefy Buffalo Mac & Cheese
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SEE MORE RECIPES HERE
You might also like:
Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Meatballs
Buffalo Chicken Dip Stuffed French Bread
Chinese Five Spice Chicken Wings with Sticky Soy, Balsamic Reduction Glaze
Buffalo Popcorn Chicken with Creamy Honey Buffalo Dip
35 Minute No Rise No Wait Stromboli
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I made the wings with the Honey Buffalo Sauce and the were SO good! Everyone loved them and is begging me to make them again! Thanks for making me look good :). So happy I found your site. Can’t wait to make more of your recipes!
Hi Teresa, I am so happy you made these and everyone loved them! And no doubt you made yourself look good with your brilliant execution 🙂 I am excited for you to try more of my recipes as well, Enjoy!
Can you tell me if the chicken wings should be thawed out it they are frozen? Thank you
yes they should be thawed. enjoy!
All that sticky sauce is seriously making my mouth water.. these hot wings look so incredible!
Your comments always brighten my day Thalia, thank you so much!
My first attempt was a disaster… don’t do what I did and mistake teaspoons for tablespoons! WOAHZER! That was spicy -.- (sauce was awesome though, lol). Will try again once my taste-buds recover!
Sad! teaspoons verses tablespoons will do that to you! I am so happy you liked the sauce though, and hopefully your tastes buds won’t take too long to recover! Let me know how your second attempt goes :)!
These look awesome! That baking powder trick opens up so many flavor possibilities for crispy chicken wings. The first time I tried the method, I goofed and used baking soda. not. good. My mouth tasted like baking soda for a week! 😉 Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Hi Marissa, I am so glad you commented so I could find your site. Those Salted Coconut and Honey Nut Bites look like balls of deliciousness! I love the baking powder trick – works wonderfully – as long as it is baking powder – LOL – too soon? Thanks for visiting and I look forward to following you on instagram!
I just made these wings after seeing them on myfitnesspal superbowl foods under 300cals. These wings are fantastic! without the sauce fabulous! with sauce incredible, my mom even said these are the best wings she’s ever had. Thank you for sharing.
I look forward to cooking more of you delicious recipes.
Hi Ixchel, welcome to Carlsbad Cravings! I am so happy you loved these wings with and without the sauce! Thank you for the compliment! I am excited for you to try more of my recipes as well. I hope you find more that you love!
I’ve decided to make these for dinner tonight but I just realized that I never got my oven rack back from my sister. That being said, I am going to attempt these without the rack on my pan…hopefully they’ll still be as yummy as yours.
Hi Tamerra! I’m glad you decided to still make these without the rack – hopefully they still turned out delicious!!!
I made these with a slight variation on the mild honey buffalo sauce last night. It was a great option to the traditional version and everyone enjoyed!
Thank you Ann, so happy everyone enjoyed it! Doesn’t get much better than wings!
OMGoodness!!! Why did I stumble on this site…I am definitely going to need to get in the gym because I will be trying all of these recipes. They all look soooooo delish!
Hi Rhonda, welcome!!! I am so happy you found my site – even if it means more gym time for you – hopefully you will find the deliciousness worth it! 🙂 Enjoy!
Dear Jen,
My husband made these on a weekend (so good!), and I was inspired to make them during the week, with boneless, skinless chicken thighs.. THEY TURNED OUT SO GOOD! I chopped them up and made a Buffalo Chicken Salad: Chicken, lettuces, thin-sliced red onions, a strip of crumbled-up bacon, blue cheese dressing, blue cheese crumbles, tomatoes and croutons. I’m trying to eat healthier (lower-calorie), so I went light on the fattening ingredients (or skipped them altogether). I didn’t feel like I was missing thing! Thanks so much.
You are SO welcome! Thank YOU for letting me know how much you loved this and I LOVE your variation! So glad you could still enjoy all the flavor with less calories. BRavo!
Nice! I’ve been doing boneless chicken nuggets for years now. Normally to mimic Applebees, and then later found a good KFC recipe to make popcorn chicken. This is the next thought I’ve been wanting to try, looks and sounds good. ESP from the comments, I definitely want to try this.
Generally, I like to soak the chicken overnight in a brine of Accent, sea salt and others. Have you (Jen) or anyone else do the same? Thanks again for the post!
Hi Dan, your chicken nuggets sound delicious! I don’t find it necessary to use a brine or marinade with these wings because the rub is so flavorful so you might want to try them first without and then if you feel like they are missing something, feel free to use a brine. I hope you enjoy!
Hi did u just use franks hot sauce the original ?
It depends on which version of sauce you are using. I used Franks HOT WINGS sauce in the the Buffalo Honey Hot Wings Sauce and Frank’s ORIGINAL in the Traditional Buffalo Hot Wings Sauce Buffalo Mild Honey Hot Wings. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Great recipe. I made this along with cheesy, bacon, ranch potatoes. My family says this recipe is a keeper. I think though that the honey hot and mild recipe is mixed up.
Hi Crystal, I am so glad this is a keeper! The Honey Hot Sauce is hotter than the mild due to the use of hot WINGS sauce instead of original hot sauce even though less hot sauce is used. I hope you find more recipes to enjoy here!
You went over the top with this recipe for buffalo-hot-wings! THE BEST. The missing link for me was your fabulous rub. Except for a smoke alarm incident, (30 seconds too long under the broiler) everything was perfect including the sauce. (I used a combo plus an extra 3 tablespoons Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce). The BONUS. I had extra rub and coated grilled cod with it for fish tacos on Cinco de Mayo! Fabulous. Thanks for the excellent recipes.
Paul
YAY! SO happy to hear how much you loved them!!! I agree, its the rub that totally pushes them over the top. And I LOVE your idea of using the rub for grilled fish tacos – I might have to borrow that one 🙂 Thanks so much for letting me know how much you loved them!
I came onto your website via Pinterest to get ONE recipe and 30 minutes later, I’m still here following the never ending trail of delicious ideas. I had already picked out our month’s worth of meals but I’ve been replacing them with new recipes from your website. What I really love is the VARIETY of foods from corn dogs to Mongolian beef. Thank you for inspiring me to try new things!
PS My husband is a carrier of the CF gene, your story really gets to my heart and fills me with happiness that you’re still here and thriving.
Blessings, girl! xoxo
Hi Kristi, I am so happy you found my site – your comment made my day! My blog is mostly what I crave so the variety fits my endless palate swings 🙂 I hope you enjoy everything you try here! Thank you so much for your well wishes!!! I am so grateful to be doing so well AND to be doing what I love! God is good! God bless you and yours! (that’s a lot of !!!!!!! 🙂 )
These are delicious! I made these last night and they were a big hit! I will definitely make this again!
I am thrilled these were such a big hit Yin! Thanks for taking the time to comment and make my day! I hope you find more to love here 🙂
I found your site just last week and couldn’t wait to try these wings. My hubby and I are self-proclaimed foodies and I must say they are the BEST wings we’ve ever made (and that says a lot because we’ve tried so many variations!) We loved the rub so much we can’t wait to try it on chicken thighs. The glaze was fantastic-perfect blend of sweet and heat. We can’t wait to try more of your delicious recipes!
Wishing you wonderful health and happiness 🙂
Hi Melissa, WELCOME to my site! I am so happy you found me and I love that you tried the wings already and LOVE that you love them – YAY! That means so much especially from “self proclaimed foodies”!! 🙂 I hope you have fun exploring and trying new recipes!
I made these yesterday for our Sunday football watching day. They turned out AMAZING!! We loved them. I hoped to take some for my lunch to work today, but when I got up this morning my son’s father ate the big bowl I had leftover in the fridge. He REALLY loved them 🙂
This recipe is definitely a keeper!! Thank you!
LOL! The visual of your husband’s father eating the big leftover bowl had me smiling ear to ear! I love that EVERYONE loved them so much – maybe a little too much – hehe Thanks for the thanks – you made my day!
The honey buffalo with Frank’s hot sauce wings were SUPER GREAT!
I look no further for super hot wings *****
YAY! now that is the ultimate compliment! Thank you so much Sonya! So happy you loved them!
I’ve made this recipe a few times as written and its DEELISH!!! I’m wondering if it’d turn out the same to grill the wings instead of bake them, as I’d like to make these while camping. Would I still add baking powder to the rub? Thanks!!!
Hi Lori, I am so happy you love this recipe! I think they would be fantastic grilled, and I would still use the baking powder in the rub. You are going to be the most popular campsite around!
Hi! I’m going to be making these with boneless skinless chicken breasts. With the leftover rub, I’m going to put on pork ribs. I’ll let you know how both turn out!
i just finished eating these! They came out so good. The dry rub is also good…so good that i almost didn’t use the hot sauce!!! But I did and they came out good, I love that it’s baked and I am deff saving your recipe! Hubby loved them too!
Awesome, so happy you both loved them so much Ria! Hope you find more recipes to love here!
Has anyone tried to make this in the crockpot? I came to Pinterest looking for the best way to make wings in the crockpot and I stumbled upon this post with all different sorts of sauces, just the kind of sauces I like for that matter. Would the proportions change if it’s in the crockpot rather than baking?
*** UPDATE ***
I tried it in the crockpot tonight and it was just as amazing! I put the wings in the crockpot with the mild honey buffalo wing sauce and let it cook for 2.5 hours then stirred and cooked another 2.5 hours stirring occasionally. After 5 hours I took the wings out and put them on a baking sheet lined with foil and broiled for 5 ish minutes with some extra sauce on top. They were perfect! Fall off the bone wings! Will use this sauce again.. Might not do it in the crockpot again though.
Hi Erin, I am thrilled this turned out delicious in the crockpot and that you loved the sauce! Thank you so much for trying them and for sharing your slow cooker method!
Hi Erin, I am thrilled this turned out delicious in the crockpot and that you loved the sauce! Thank you so much for trying them and for sharing your slow cooker method!
Hi
Is it molasses sugar you use or the syrup?
Thanks
Hi there, it is the unsulphered molasses that usually comes in a jar. It looks like this click HERE
I stumbled upon your blog through Incredible Recipes on FB. What wonderful recipes. For a neighborhood get-together, I combined two of your recipes. I used the rub from the Buffalo Honey Hot Wings recipe and the sauce from the Buffalo Meatballs recipe. Instead of baking, I browned the wings lightly in coconut oil. From there, they bathed in a slow cooker with the sauce. Incredible! Even one of my “sons” who is a very picky eater wanted to know how to make them. Score!
Hi Ginny, Welcome to my blog – I am so happy you found my through IC! And oh my goodness, I am salivating over the method/combination you used – I cannot wait to try that myself! So happy it was a hit! I hope you have fun exploring and trying new recipes!
Is there something instead of molasses
Hi Ciara, it won’t be quite the same but you could substitute honey. Enjoy!
Jen,
The Buffalo Mild Honey Hot Wings were AMAZING!!! My whole entire family enjoyed them…they were all over them. Thanks so much for the recipe. I can not wait to try your others <3
YAY! Thank you so much Holly! I love hearing your entire family loved them and I that you were able to use the “mild” version to suit everyone 🙂 I hope you have fun trying my other recipes!
This was great!! Made it for my husband and 6 year old son..they loved it! It’s so hard to find something that my son will actually eat so this will definitely be a keeper. They made me do half and half.half with just the dry rub and the other half with the honey buffalo sauce. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Samantha, I am so happy this was a winner with everyone! It sounds like your son has quite the palate – I ‘m glad he knows what good hot wings taste like 🙂 I hope you find some recipes here you all will love!
If I cook it with frozen wings how much longer should I cook it ?
Hi Eusenia, I wouldn’t recommend using frozen wings unless you thaw them first otherwise the rub won’t work. In any case, I am not sure as I have only used thawed wings- sorry!
These looks so good I cant wait to try these out ,My favorite food are wings I could eat them everyday !!!I am glad I came across this recipe and I love that we can change the serving sizes as well , I m not that good with larger measurements , what would 1.25 teaspoons= ,0.50tablespoons=,2.50tablespoons=??
Thank you Linda, I could eat wings every day too! I am not sure I understand your question regarding the measurements? What are you trying to convert to?
I’m trying to convert to make 30 wings its said 5 servings makes 30 wings and the measurements that I don’t know how to covert to make 30 wings is 2.50 teaspoons,2.50 tablespoons,1.25tablespoons,1.25teaspoons & 5/8cup??
Hi Linda, the recipe as written makes 24 wings so I think its close enough to just follow the same measurements – maybe making the measurements “heaping” – that would be the easiest and still taste great!
How come I see this now?? ( 2 yrs later) but perfect for watching the upcoming Rose bowl game with my PSU! GO LIONS! Yes these will be delicious I’m already thinking of doing a trial run around Christmas…just to make sure 🙂
It is easy to miss recipes that are a couple years old when there are new ones all the time but this is definitely a classic – SO so good! I hope you do do the trial run around Christmas and love them – you can never have too many reasons to make Buffalo Hot Wings! Thanks and Merry Christmas Tara!
Oh my gosh!!! This rub is amazing!! I couldn’t make the hot sauces because my husband is a baby, but I used the rub along with a BBQ/buffalo sauce and the wings turned out incredible. I will definitely be saving this recipe.
BBQ/buffalo sauce:
– 1 cup BBQ sauce
– 1/2 cup honey
– 2 tablespoons ketchup
– 2 tablespoons hot sauce
– 4 tablespoons butter
– 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Hi Brooke, I’m so happy you loved the rub and so glad you were able to use your own delicious BBQ sauce – sounds amazing!!
Oh my goodness. I made these last night. After they were done my husband walked in the door and I asked him to try one, afraid he was not going to like them because he only likes “breaded wings”.Well…….. He loved them!!!!
Thank you so much, they were delicious! I left some without the sauce for my daughter who does not eat anything spicy and she loved them too. Because they are already delicious before the sauce goes on them!!!
And I love the fact that not deep frying is needed. 🙂
I cannot wait to try some other of your recipes!!
Hi Carla, I am so thrilled this was a hit with your entire family – even your breaded wing lover! I hope you have fun exploring my site and trying new recipes! I hope you find some more new favorites!
Hello !
I am in England and I just found your website on Facebook !
I am going to make your Buffalo Honey Hot wings and Traditional Buffalo Hot wings, but I can’t find a recipe for your Blue Cheese Dip 🙁
Do you have a link please ?
Thank you
Andrew, welcome to my site! I don’t have a blue cheese dip recipe – sorry about that! I hope you love the wings though!
Hi these look great but is one spicier than the other ? I would like to do these for my sons bday but not sure if it will be too spicy for the kids
Hi Amanda, as described in the post the Buffalo Mild Honey Hot Wings are the least spicy – you can add more or less hot sauce to taste to make them kid friendly. Happy birthday to your son!
I just want to make this sticky buffalo wings..Instead of baking can i just fry the wings instead? Cos my oven is not working right now. Thanks
HI Susan, I don’t see why not!