Honey Garlic Chicken Skillet

This one is dee-licious. With the same, much loved flavor profile of honey garlic shrimp, we get to enjoy everyone’s favorite sauce with boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts. It’s simple to cook, quick and easy, but full of yum. And it’s 20-25 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken) from prep to table without lacking in flavor. Great for those quick weeknight dinners.

Don’t worry about all the shiny stuff on the pan that looks like oil. It’s actually the sauce. Loads and loads of sauce! This is the stuff that’ll give your chicken that wonderful glaze. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs because I feel they are juicier but if you prefer chicken breasts, this will work too. There’s only five ingredients here and it should serve around four with some sides. Try it with some greens (asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, green beans) or chop it up and toss it in a salad. There’s plenty of ways to enjoy this. So let’s begin.

One pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs turned out to be about four thighs for me. So if you sub with chicken breasts, go for one pound’s worth. Halve the thighs to make them cook quicker and cook them in two batches so you’re not overcrowding the pan. This also makes sure the chicken browns better instead of steaming. If your breasts are slightly on the thicker side, it might be worth it to slice it up in the middle as well, to cut that thickness in half so it’ll cook faster and more evenly. Also make sure the thighs/breasts are dry before we cook them so they brown up nicer (and so you don’t get attacked with angry, spitting oil).

Start heating up the pan over medium high heat in a 10″ skillet to sear and cook the chicken. I used about two tablespoons of oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Since there isn’t any skin on the chicken to render fat, we’ll be relying solely on the oil you add to the pan. It should take about 3-4 minutes to sear and cook each side, depending on the size. The smaller pieces will end up crispier than the bigger ones. Watch out for them and remove them from the pan earlier if needed. After the first side of chicken is done, reduce the heat to medium to stop the pan from smoking before flipping the chicken over. You will be cooking from medium to medium-low heat from here on out.

Even though we patted the chicken dry with paper towels earlier, there might still be some angry spitting from the oil. So it’s always worth it to invest in a splatter guard. And wear an apron! Once it’s all cooked, drain the chicken on some paper towels and remove any excess oil from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Mix your sauce ingredients, toss the chicken back in and pour the sauce over the chicken. Make sure to keep the heat on medium-low as boiling the sauce too fast will burn and harden it into a sticky mess. And even though sticky sauce sounds great, burning it changes the sweetness of the honey to bitterness. It’s not too tasty.

Flip the chicken in the sauce to coat both sides and once the sauce has reduced, we’re done. That’s it! Go enjoy your glazed chicken and brag about how you’re a cooking expert. There’s no need to tell anyone it was only five ingredients! 😉

Honey Garlic Chicken Skillet

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★★★★★

4.9 from 23 reviews

• Author: The Cooking Jar
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 20 mins
• Yield: 4

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Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs/breasts

Sauce:

• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon ginger, minced
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

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Instructions

1. Combine the sauce ingredients and pat the chicken dry with paper towels
2. Over medium high heat in a 10″ skillet, pan sear the chicken in some oil. Reduce heat to medium after searing the first side
3. Cook them on both sides in batches until browned, about 3-4 minutes per side or until center is no longer pink. Drain chicken on paper towels and remove any excess oil from the pan
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and toss the chicken back in the pan
5. Pour in sauce and bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat until reduced. Flip the chicken to coat in the sauce fully
6. Dish and serve hot