Honey Basics

5 Delicious Ways to Incorporate Honey Into Your Diet

Michael Bell

Published at: November 23, 2022
Updated at: December 4, 2024

9 minutes

Executive Summary:

Honey can be added to virtually any dish to add a subtle layer of sweetness.
Our favorite things to add honey to include drinks, breakfast foods, savory sauces, ice cream, and baked goods.
We recommend using raw Manuka honey for your culinary adventures for a rich depth of flavor paired with its benefits as a superfood.

Upcoming Spotlight: Innovative Ways to Use Manuka Honey

Use	Description	Benefits
Beverages	Add to teas, coffees, and smoothies to enhance flavor and add natural sweetness.	Provides energy and nutrients, easy to dissolve.
Breakfast Foods	Drizzle over oatmeal, yogurt, or pancakes for a sweet start to the day.	Adds antioxidants, prebiotics, and MGO.
Savory Dishes	Incorporate into sauces and glazes to add a hint of sweetness to savory meals.	Enhances flavor profiles with a sweet twist.
Desserts	Perfect as a topping for ice cream or baked into goods as a natural sweetener.	Offers a healthier alternative to refined sugars.
Pure Form	Enjoy straight from the spoon for a direct taste of its rich, creamy texture and deep flavor.	Delivers a concentrated dose of nutrients.

How to Include Manuka Honey In Your Diet

Raw honey is a delectable food that’s a welcomed sweetener for most palates. Upgrade that to Manuka honey, and you add a rich, deep-flavored sensory experience that can elevate an entire dish.

While honey is often enjoyed stirred into tea or drizzled over peanut butter toast, there is much more it can do with a little creative culinary thinking. All honey — especially Manuka honey — can be savored in more than just a handful of ways!

What Foods Pair Best With Honey?

Whether you love Manuka honey for its one-of-a-kind sensory experience or the fact that it offers superpower-like benefits on top of being downright delicious, here are our five favorite ways to indulge in its golden goodness.

1. Elevate your beverages with a dash of honey.

Honey has been a go-to sweetener for tea for centuries, but why stop there? The rich, complex flavors of Manuka honey elevate almost any beverage. Stir a heaping teaspoon into your morning coffee for a naturally sweet start, or mix it into your post-workout smoothie for an added boost of energy and nutrients.

For a refreshing twist, try adding it to cold drinks like lemonade or iced tea—just dissolve the honey in a bit of warm water first to ensure it blends smoothly. This simple addition enhances the flavor and infuses your drinks with the natural health benefits of Manuka honey.

2. Start your day right, and add honey to your breakfast.

Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, and we say — rightfully so. The first thing you consume in the morning can affect your body's energy production and mood for the rest of the day.

Instead of opting for processed pastries or cereal bars packed with high fructose corn syrup or artificial additives, amplify your balanced breakfast by drizzling a little honey on your oatmeal, yogurt, toast, or pancakes.

You can also spread it on whole-grain toast or pancakes for a balanced meal that energizes you without the sugar crash. Pair it with Greek yogurt or a smoothie bowl topped with fresh fruits and nuts for an extra protein boost. Manuka honey adds sweetness and delivers antioxidants, prebiotics, and MGO to kickstart your day on the right foot.

We love a tasty breakfast as much as the next person, and luckily, you can add a little sweetness to your meal without sacrificing its nutritional value.

3. Add a sweet twist to savory dishes with honey.

Honey doesn’t have to be reserved just for sweet foods; you can use honey in sauces, glazes, and just about anything else to add a hint of sweetness to a classic savory flavor. A great bite offers a variety of flavors to greet your tongue and tastebuds.

A teaspoon of Manuka honey in your barbecue sauce adds a delightful caramelized finish to grilled dishes, while a drizzle over roasted vegetables can bring out their natural sweetness. Experiment by combining honey with spices like chili or mustard for a balanced, sweet-and-savory twist that will make your meals unforgettable.

4. Enhance your ice cream experience with a honey drizzle.

There’s no better way to follow a wholesome dinner than with a scoop of ice cream drizzled with liquid gold. Whether you opt for a drizzle over a scoop of classic vanilla bean or use it to complement matcha green tea, Manuka honey plays well with virtually any flavor as a natural sweetener.

For a gourmet touch, pair it with artisanal flavors like lavender, espresso, or salted caramel. You can even create a simple sundae by topping vanilla ice cream with honey, fresh berries, and a sprinkle of nuts or granola. The honey will enhance the sweetness and add a nutritional edge to your indulgent treat.

5. Incorporate honey as a healthy sweetener in baked goods.

Whether you're a novice baker or a seasoned pastry chef, Manuka honey can transform your baked goods with its rich flavor and health benefits. Replace refined sugar with honey in your recipes—start by using ¾ cup of honey for every cup of sugar, and reduce the liquid in the recipe slightly to compensate.

Manuka honey works beautifully in cakes, cookies, and muffins, lending moisture and a subtle sweetness that balances well with spices like cinnamon or ginger. You can also brush honey over freshly baked bread or pastries for a glossy, flavorful finish that enhances their appeal and adds an extra layer of deliciousness.

Important to Note: Honey is actually sweeter than sugar due to its phenolic compounds and can provide a more robust sweetness to your baked goods. This means you need less honey than sugar to achieve your desired sweetness.

Bonus: Savour the richness of Manuka honey straight from the spoon!

Many people describe a spoonful of Manuka as a palate-pleasing sensory experience because of its rich, creamy texture and deep, distinct flavor profile.

While Manuka honey is a perfect addition to the foods above, you can also enjoy it as a healthy indulgence all on its own.

Manuka honey contains unique wellness benefits thanks to beneficial nutrients such as MGO, DHA, Leptosperin, and oligosaccharides.

MGO (Methylglyoxal) is a naturally occurring nutrient with antibacterial properties. However, its potency can vary depending on which MGO grade you choose. The higher the MGO level, the more potent these properties are.

On top of MGO, Manuka honey contains naturally-occurring prebiotics called oligosaccharides. Prebiotics are essential for digestive health and wellness.

This means eating this nutritious honey in the morning on an empty stomach is a great way to kick start your day with the nutrients your body needs to feel energized.

We recommend our Manuka Honey MGO 600+ for daily wellness and vitality, as it contains nutrients that support general health. For immune support, our MGO 850+ offers nutrients to empower your natural, healthy immune response. For advanced support, including optimal digestive health, our MGO 1000+ provides nutrients to aid in digestion and support a healthy microbiome.

Which Honey is Best for Your Culinary Adventures?

As you’ve probably gathered by now, we will always choose and recommend Manuka honey over any other kind — we love Manuka’s complex flavor, thick, creamy texture, and the bonus of wellness benefits.

More often than not, your average store-bought honey undergoes a pasteurization process to achieve that uniform taste, color, and texture typically associated with honey.

Initially, the process of pasteurizing honey was developed to extend shelf life and prevent crystallization (honey hardening). Crystallization is entirely okay and natural, and it’s fairly easy to soften hardened honey. In fact, raw, unpasteurized honey isn’t prone to spoiling when stored correctly — namely, in a cool, dark place, out of direct sunlight.

To reap the benefits of honey while experiencing a flavor like no other, choose honey in its most raw form, free of pesticides and glyphosate, non-GMO verified, and ethically produced (Like the Honey With Superpowers™ you’ll find right here at Manukora).

At Manukora, we offer traceability for every batch of Manuka honey, including what hive it originated from and even the beekeeper who cared for the hive. We also provide third-party lab results and other details for every batch, so you can see the care put into our ethically-created products through the unique QR codes on each jar.

Enjoy the Sweet Goodness of Honey in Your Meals

We hope we’ve given you plenty of ideas to try, and we’re sure you’ll love each one of them! Whether you choose hot, cold, sweet, savory, or even straight from the spoon, your dish will be satisfying, delicious, and a little nutritious, too.

Our Trending Products feature a variety of Manuka honey options to suit every taste and need. The convenience of our Manukora Dose Spoon ensures perfect portion control for every use, whether drizzling over a favorite dish or enjoying straight.

Our MGO 850 10-Pack Stick Packets offer a convenient way to enjoy Manuka honey on the go. While indulging in its rich taste, it's crucial to understand why Manuka honey is so expensive; its unique qualities and limited production play a significant role. To further appreciate its value, learn more about Manuka Honey Quality Explained.

Finally, join our community in the latest August Sweet Talks with Manukora to stay updated on all things Manuka and discover more ways to incorporate this precious nectar into your lifestyle.

One last thing to note… If you truly want to benefit from the nutrients in Manuka honey, be careful when heating this precious nectar! The honey’s precious nutrients deplete when heated to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If adding to boiling water, let the water cool first. (This also isn’t to say you can’t enjoy some honey heated in a variety of different recipes!)

At the end of the day, Manuka honey is like no other honey — it's a delicious and easy-to-use superfood that can brighten and elevate anything you add it to!

Ready to try Manuka honey for yourself? Explore our best-selling Manuka honey products here.

Looking to learn even more about this super honey, or even just about honey and bees in general? Check out our blog for everything about honey and the busy bees that make it.

FAQs

What can I eat with honey to enjoy its unique flavor?

A: You can enjoy honey in various ways. Use it as a sweetener in your favorite drink. Drizzle it on ice cream or use it as a finish for your baked goods.

What dishes pair well with honey?

A: Honey pairs well with both sweet and savory dishes. You can add it to your breakfast for a sweet start to your day or use it in savory sauces for a unique and flavorful twist.

What benefits can I gain by incorporating honey into my diet?

A: Besides its delightful sweetness, honey, especially Manuka honey, contains plenty of nutrients that offer various wellness benefits. It has unique nutrients like MGO, DHA, Leptosperin, and oligosaccharides that support digestion, immunity, and general health and well-being.

How does Manuka honey differ from regular honey in terms of flavor and health benefits?

A: Manuka honey offers a deep, distinct flavor profile along with unique wellness benefits. It contains MGO, a compound with antibacterial properties, and prebiotics beneficial for digestive health. The nutrients in Manuka honey also boost your immune system.