Name: Grilled Spicy Honey Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Grilling
Ingredients: 1/2 cup honey; 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 2 teaspoons granulated garlic; 2 teaspoons chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 teaspoon coriander; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon cumin; 3-4 chicken breasts, butterflied; 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, or other safe high heat oil

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Spicy yet sweet, this simple grilled chicken is naturally allergy friendly, dairy free & gluten free because it just uses spices & honey. No marinating or prepping hours before! Perfect for summer and for lots of guests, no matter their dietary restrictions. Find this grilling favorite below!

Why I Love This Spicy Honey Chicken Recipe

This is my husband’s favorite grilling recipe I have. I’m not one to grill much, but everyone has to have a good grilling recipe up their sleeve for Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and for friend and family gatherings.

This grilled spicy honey chicken is such a great entrée because it’s unique–it’s not just another chicken marinade, it’s meat coated in a spice rub full of punchy spices, and then tempered with a sweet honey glaze that gives it a one-two punch.

It’s also great, because many grilling recipes require hours of marinating and you can do this without any prep time!

This recipe could also be considered “hot honey chicken” as some people know it. The recipes tend to vary online, but they’re usually just a spicy chicken with some type of honey glaze. I especially like this one, because it has no breading, which makes it less calories, and naturally gluten free too (plus less mess). I can’t handle a ton of heat, and this has just the right amount of spice. Of course, if you want more, you could always add some crushed red pepper flakes to the spice mix too. Your whole family will love it–as will all your friends and neighbors and anyone you grill for this summer.

How is this Spicy Honey Chicken gluten free?

One thing I love about this recipe is its simplicity. Oil, spices, honey and apple cider vinegar. That’s it. The only thing you’ll need to do to ensure there’s no gluten is to read all of your spice labels. It would be very odd if any of them had anything other than the desired spice, but it never hurts to double check.

How is this Spicy Honey Chicken dairy free?

Again, because it’s just oil, spices, honey and apple cider vinegar, there is no dairy in this spicy honey chicken. The only possible cross contamination might be from using a grill that has grilled cheeseburgers on it. Be sure to clean your grill thoroughly before using. Or, if going to a place where you can’t clean the grill beforehand, you can always place some aluminum foil over the grates and grill your food that way (you’ll miss the char marks, but it will be safer).

WHAT INGREDIENTS DOES THIS SPICY CHICKEN RECIPE NEED?

I bet you already have all of these pantry staples. This flavorful chicken only needs:

INGREDIENTS:
- Chicken breasts (or skinless boneless chicken thighs will work too)
- Canola oil (or other high heat oil, not olive oil)
SPICE MIXTURE:
- Granulated garlic
- Chili powder
- Onion powder
- Coriander
- Salt
- Cumin
HONEY DRIZZLE
- Honey
- Apple cider vinegar
*Not mandatory, but I do recommend an instant read meat thermometer

Do I Have to Use Chicken Breasts?

I grew up eating chicken breasts, so it’s what I’m used to and most comfortable with. Though, many who grill swear by juicy chicken thighs because they feel they dry out less. Use whatever cut of chicken you like best, as long as it’s boneless and skinless. Chicken tenders would probably work too. Depending on the size of the pieces of chicken, you may get a little more or less than what I called for. If your chicken is fatty, be sure to use kitchen shears to trim excess fat before grilling. No matter the cut of chicken, this should be the best chicken you’ll make this time of year.

How do you make this Grilled Spicy Honey Chicken?

This easy chicken recipe is so simple! Butterfly your chicken (or simply cut it so that they’re all the same thickness. I tend to go for thinner, because it cooks faster). Then, brush your chicken with some oil so the spices will stick. Mix your spices in a small bowl. Sprinkle your chicken with the spices generously on both sides while your grill preheats. Then, grill chicken over medium-high heat until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Cook time will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken. While the chicken rests for 5 minutes, stir together the honey and apple cider vinegar. Drizzle the honey mixture over the chicken and serve. Easy peasy! If you have any leftover chicken, keep it in an airtight container, with the honey sauce kept separately.

Is this Spicy Honey Chicken allergy friendly?

It most certainly is! It is free of the top-8-allergens. There is no: wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish. Just make sure that if you do have a soy allergy, that you’re using a safe oil (not vegetable) that is meant for high heat. Who knew leaving out so many allergens would still leave so much flavor!

What goes well with Spicy Honey Chicken?

Really, any sides that you typically love at a BBQ will work, but here are some of our favorites that go well with the spicy flavors, that are also gluten and dairy free:

potato salad, either my German Potato Salad, or my ranch bacon potato salad
watermelon
steamed broccoli or other steamed vegetables
potato chips (my son can do Lays original, or Good Crisps)
corn on the cob (I have how to cook it in the instant pot in my cookbook)
baked beans (recipe in my cookbook)
Greek salad with dairy free tzatziki dressing
And for dessert, we love for a crowd my chocolate sheet cake.

Do I have any other grilled chicken recipes?

I’m not a huge grilling person, but I do have two other staples that we really enjoy. In fact, we love these gluten and dairy free grilled chicken recipes so much, that we make them year round in our indoor grilling pan.

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Planning dinners is the worst–especially when it’s hot and you’d rather be outside. I have four weeks of summer dinner plans all ready to go for you! They are broken out into weekly grocery shopping lists too. None of them require the oven, so you don’t have to heat up your house either. Winning! Check out my SUMMER MEAL PLAN HERE.

Grilled Spicy Honey Chicken

Yield: 6-8

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Spicy, sticky and sweet. It's the trifecta of grilled chicken. I don't grill much, but when I do, my husband sure loves when I bust this recipe out.

Ingredients

3-4 chicken breasts, butterflied
2 teaspoons vegetable oil, or other safe high heat oil

SPICE RUB:

2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cumin

GLAZE:

1/2 cup honey
1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Heat your grill to medium high.
In a small bowl, stir together all of the spice rub ingredients.
Butterfly your chicken, so that they're all a uniform thickness.
Rub the chicken with the oil on both sides.
Sprinkle the spice rub evenly on all of the chicken pieces.
Place the chicken on the grill, and cook until done (an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. I highly recommend getting an instant read digital thermometer.)
While letting the meat rest for five minutes before serving, place a small bowl with your honey and apple cider mixture in the microwave oven and warm it for 20 seconds or so, just so it's thinner and easier to pour.
Either pour, or brush on the honey glaze on top of your chicken before serving.

Notes

Feel free to use chicken thighs instead of breasts.

Adapted from Our Best Bite's Spicy Honey Chicken

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 390Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 446mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 1gSugar: 35gProtein: 38g

DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT. WHILE THERE, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT ALL OF MY DIETARY SPECIFIC BOARDS.

Megan Lavin

Hi! I’m Megan, a mom to four kids, two with multiple food allergies & one with EOE. I’m a published cookbook author that constantly tweaks recipes to make them allergy friendly–it’s an addiction. I share every recipe & tip with you, to help you eat like you did before food allergies & dietary restrictions. You can still be awesome, even with food allergies!