Gluten-Free Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit

Name: Gluten-Free Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 1 sandwich
Ingredients: 1 pouch (11.7 oz) Pamela's Gluten-Free Hot Honey Drop Biscuit Mix; 3/4 cup cold water; 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs; 1 1/2 cups buttermilk; 1 cup gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour blend; 1/2 cup cornstarch; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; Neutral oil, for frying; 1/2 cup honey; 1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes; 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar; Dill pickle chips, for serving

on Oct 14 2026

Table of Contents

Hot honey chicken biscuits show up on breakfast menus, everyone loses their mind for about six weeks, and then they quietly disappear. People spend the rest of the year searching to find out whether they are back yet.

If you are gluten-free, they were never there in the first place. Every one of them is a wheat biscuit with wheat-breaded chicken, usually out of a shared fryer. There has never been a version you could order.

This one takes about forty minutes and it does not go away. Crispy chicken, real hot honey, and a biscuit that already has the honey and chili in it, so the sweet heat comes from both halves of the sandwich instead of just the drizzle.

The hot honey is three ingredients and takes four minutes. So good, no one will guess they are gluten-free, the way Pamela's has done it since 1988.

How to Make Hot Honey

Honey, chili flakes, and a splash of vinegar. That is it, and store-bought versions are mostly the same three things.

For about half a cup:

1/2 cup honey
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
pinch of salt

Warm the honey gently over low heat or in the microwave for 20 seconds, until it is loose but not hot. Stir in the pepper flakes and let it sit for at least 10 minutes so the heat infuses. Then stir in the vinegar and salt.

Do not boil it. Honey scorches easily and turns bitter, and high heat also drives off the floral character you are paying for.

The vinegar is the part people skip and it matters. Honey on its own is one-dimensionally sweet. A teaspoon of acid makes the sweetness read as flavor and keeps it from coating your mouth.

Let it sit longer for more heat. Twenty minutes gives you a gentle warmth. An hour gives you something with real backbone. It keeps infusing as it sits, so a jar made a week ago will be hotter than one made this morning.

Strain the flakes out if you want a smooth drizzle, or leave them in for texture and a better look on the plate.

Getting the Chicken Crispy Without Wheat

Gluten-free fried chicken can be crispier than the wheat version, and the reason is starch.

Use a blend of gluten-free flour and cornstarch, roughly two parts flour to one part cornstarch. Cornstarch fries up lighter and crisper than any flour, and the combination gives you a shatter rather than a soft crust.

Brine in buttermilk first, at least 30 minutes and up to overnight. The acid tenderizes and the coating clings to a wet surface far better than a dry one.

Double dredge. Flour mixture, back into the buttermilk, flour mixture again. That is what builds the craggy, uneven crust rather than a thin shell.

Let the coated chicken rest 10 minutes before it hits the oil. The coating hydrates and grips, and it is the difference between a crust that stays on and one that slides off in the pan.

Oil at 350 degrees F. Too cool and the coating absorbs oil, too hot and it browns before the chicken cooks. A thermometer is worth it here more than in most recipes, because gluten-free coatings brown faster than wheat ones and the visual cue misleads.

Chicken thighs beat breasts for this. They stay juicy through frying and they fit a biscuit better than a thick breast does.

Fry 5 to 6 minutes per side for boneless thighs, until 165 degrees F internally.

A few notes about frying safely: Fill the pot no more than a third full. Oil expands and bubbles up when food goes in, and an overfilled pot is how oil ends up on the burner. Let the excess buttermilk drip off before the chicken goes in. Water hitting hot oil spatters hard, and a brined thigh carries a lot of it. Do not walk away from the pan. Oil goes from hot to smoking faster than most people expect. If oil ever catches fire, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or a sheet pan. Never use water, which makes it worse instantly. Lower the chicken in away from yourself, and use tongs rather than dropping it.

The Biscuit Does Half the Work

Most versions of this sandwich put a plain biscuit under the chicken and let the drizzle do everything.

Pamela's Hot Honey Drop Biscuit Mix already has honey powder, crushed chilies, and cayenne in it, so the sweet heat comes from the bread as well as the sauce. The flavor is in every bite rather than only where the honey landed.

The mix this is built on Pamela's Gluten-Free Hot Honey Drop Biscuit Mix, which includes honey powder, crushed chilies, and cayenne in the mix. Just add cold water. GFCO-certified gluten-free and kosher. Makes about 6 sandwiches.

Note the water and time on this one. 3/4 cup of cold water, not a full cup, and 12 to 13 minutes rather than 14. The pouch is smaller than the other drop biscuit mixes and the honey powder browns faster.

Bake the biscuits while the chicken brines. They are best warm, and the timing works out.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Yield 6 sandwiches

Serving Size 1 sandwich

Ingredients

1 pouch (11.7 oz) Pamela's Gluten-Free Hot Honey Drop Biscuit Mix
3/4 cup cold water
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour blend
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Neutral oil, for frying
1/2 cup honey
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Dill pickle chips, for serving

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Directions

Put the chicken thighs in a bowl with the buttermilk and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight.
Make the hot honey. Warm the honey gently until loose but not hot, stir in the pepper flakes, and let it sit at least 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Do not boil it.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Stir the biscuit mix with the cold water, about fifteen stirs, until the dough looks shaggy. Drop 6 large mounds onto a parchment-lined sheet and bake 12 to 13 minutes, until lightly golden.
Whisk the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika together in a shallow dish.
Lift each thigh from the buttermilk, dredge in the flour mixture, dip back into the buttermilk, and dredge again. Set on a rack and rest 10 minutes so the coating grips.
Heat 1 inch of oil to 350 degrees F. Fry the chicken 5 to 6 minutes per side, until deep golden and 165 degrees F inside. Drain on a rack, not paper towels.
Split each warm biscuit. Lay pickle chips on the bottom half, add a piece of chicken, and drizzle hot honey over the chicken. Serve right away.

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Gluten-Free Hot Honey Drop Biscuit Mix

Recipe Tips & Notes

Building It

Order matters more than it seems.

Split the biscuit while it is still warm. A cooled biscuit tears instead of splitting.

Pickles go on the bottom half, under the chicken. Two or three dill chips. The acid cuts the sweetness and the fat, and every version of this sandwich worth eating has them. Putting them underneath keeps them from sliding off.

Chicken next, then the hot honey over the chicken, not over the biscuit. The crust holds the drizzle where a biscuit top just absorbs it.

Drizzle at the table, not in the kitchen. Hot honey on a crisp crust starts softening it immediately, and the gap between assembly and eating should be short.

Butter the top half if you want to. It is not traditional and it is very good.

Air Fryer and Oven Methods

Frying gives the best crust, but neither alternative is a big step down.

Air fryer: spray the coated chicken generously on both sides, 380 degrees F for 12 to 14 minutes, flipping halfway. Spray it again after the flip. Gluten-free coatings look dry and chalky in an air fryer without enough oil, and that is the most common complaint.

Oven: 425 degrees F on a wire rack over a sheet pan, 20 to 25 minutes, flipping once. The rack matters. Chicken sitting directly on a pan steams on the bottom.

Either way, check for 165 degrees F rather than going by color, since both methods brown the coating before the chicken is done.

What Else Hot Honey Goes With

Once you have made a jar, it does not stay a chicken sandwich condiment for long.

Pizza, especially with pepperoni or a salty cheese. This is the pairing that made hot honey mainstream.

Fried chicken, obviously, in any form.

Cheese. Drizzled over a soft cheese like burrata or fresh mozzarella, or on a cheese board next to something sharp.

Roasted vegetables, particularly brussels sprouts, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

Biscuits on their own, warm, with butter.

Cornbread, where it does the same job as regular honey but more interesting.

The rule is that hot honey works on savory, salty, or creamy things. It does not work on anything already sweet, which is why it goes on a chicken biscuit and not on pancakes.

Storing Hot Honey

It does not need refrigeration. Honey is naturally shelf-stable, and the pepper flakes and vinegar do not change that.

Keep it in a sealed jar at room temperature for up to 3 months. Refrigerating it makes it thick and hard to pour, which is the opposite of what you want.

It will keep getting hotter as the flakes continue to infuse, so a jar made a month ago has more kick than the day it was made.

If it crystallizes, which honey does, set the jar in warm water for a few minutes. Do not microwave it hard or heat it on the stove.

Strained hot honey lasts better than unstrained, since the flakes can eventually soften and affect the texture.

What This Contains

This recipe contains milk, soy, and egg.

The biscuit mix has buttermilk, butter powder, and whey, plus soy flour and soy lecithin. This mix cannot be made dairy-free or vegan.

The chicken uses a buttermilk brine, which adds more dairy. Egg is not required if you double dredge in buttermilk, but many breading methods use it.

Check your frying oil and your gluten-free flour for the coating. And if you are cooking for someone with celiac disease, use fresh oil rather than oil that has fried breaded food before.

Eggs and tree nuts are not ingredients in the mix, but Pamela's products are made on equipment that processes both.

If you need dairy-free, our Biscuit & Scone Mix contains no milk and no soy and lets you add your own fat and liquid. You would add honey and chili flakes yourself, and brine the chicken in a plant milk with a teaspoon of vinegar.

Every Pamela's product is certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, made in a certified gluten-free, peanut-free facility, and certified kosher.

Other Recipe Notes

Hot honey keeps at room temperature in a sealed jar for up to 3 months. Do not refrigerate it, which makes it thick and hard to pour.

The hot honey keeps getting hotter as the pepper flakes infuse, so a jar made last week will have more kick than one made today.

For an air fryer, spray the coated chicken generously on both sides, cook at 380 degrees F for 12 to 14 minutes, flip halfway, and spray again.

Drain fried chicken on a wire rack rather than paper towels, which traps steam and softens the crust.

Fill the pot no more than a third full with oil, let excess buttermilk drip off before frying, and do not leave the pan unattended. If oil catches fire, turn off the heat and cover the pan. Never use water.

Recipe FAQs

Warm 1/2 cup of honey gently, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes, let it infuse at least 10 minutes, then stir in a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. Do not boil it, since honey scorches and turns bitter. The vinegar is the part people skip and it is what keeps the sweetness from flattening out.

No. Honey is shelf-stable and the pepper flakes and vinegar do not change that. Keep it sealed at room temperature for up to 3 months. Refrigerating makes it thick and hard to pour. If it crystallizes, set the jar in warm water for a few minutes.

A one-to-one blend mixed with cornstarch, roughly two parts flour to one part cornstarch. The cornstarch fries lighter and crisper than flour alone, and the combination gives a crust that shatters rather than softens. Double dredge and let the coated chicken rest 10 minutes before frying.

Yes. Spray the coated chicken generously on both sides, cook at 380 degrees F for 12 to 14 minutes, flip halfway, and spray again after the flip. The second spray matters, since gluten-free coatings look dry and chalky in an air fryer without enough oil. Check for 165 degrees F rather than going by color.

No. Every version on a breakfast menu uses a wheat biscuit and wheat-breaded chicken, usually cooked in a shared fryer. They also tend to be limited-time items that come and go. Making it at home takes about 40 minutes and it is available whenever you want it.