Five ingredients and 20 minutes is all it takes to enjoy this honey garlic chicken skillet. With the much loved sauce that won over kitchens everywhere.
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.
HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN SKILLET TIPS AND TRICKS:
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. Cut the thighs in half to make them cook quicker and cook them in two batches so you’re not overcrowding the pan. This also makes sure the chicken sears instead of steams.
If your breasts are slightly on the thicker side, it might be worth it to cut it up lengthwise 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. 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 to sear them.
It should take about 3-4 minutes to sear and cook each side, depending on the size of each chicken piece. The smaller pieces will end up crispier than the bigger ones. Keep an eye on 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! 😉
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Honey Garlic Chicken Skillet
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Five ingredients and 20 minutes is all it takes to enjoy this honey garlic chicken skillet. With the much loved sauce that won over kitchens everywhere.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs/breasts
Sauce:
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon ginger, minced
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients and pat the chicken dry with paper towels
- Over medium high heat in a 10″ skillet, pan sear the chicken in some oil. Reduce heat to medium after searing the first side
- 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
- Reduce heat to medium-low and toss the chicken back in the pan
- Pour in sauce and bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat until reduced. Flip the chicken to coat in the sauce fully
- Dish and serve hot
97 Comments
Vickie
December 13, 2016 at 7:58 AMI made this last night for my family and they all loved it. We used bone in because that is what I had and it worked out fine. Thanks!
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
January 23, 2017 at 3:37 PMThat’s wonderful to hear, Vickie. Bone in is usually more tasty but most people prefer the fuss free boneless, skinless thighs/breasts so I try to cater the recipes to the majority with a caveat that people can change up with what they like/prefer!
Wen
December 17, 2016 at 2:16 PMIt is simply tasty!!! I was hestating before trying it because it looks so simply. It comes out fabulous! Thanks for this awesome recipe!
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
January 23, 2017 at 3:40 PMThank you, Wen! The honey garlic series has been tremendously popular because the flavor is surprising for only a five ingredient recipe. You’re welcome and thanks again for coming back to weigh in 🙂
Crystal
January 16, 2017 at 9:02 PMI made these two nights ago for dinner for the first time and my husband, who has never requested the same meal in the same week, aaked me to make them again tonight! Absolutely delicious flavor and oh so tender, it’s amazing that it is such a simple recipe! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
January 23, 2017 at 3:43 PMMy mom is usually picky like that too about eating the same meal twice or too often but my hubby and I have no such compunctions! We’ll dutifully chip away at leftovers until it’s all gone. But I’m glad it was such a hit with you guys, Crystal!
Pam
January 22, 2017 at 3:03 PMWht is a good side with this I am making it for dinner tomorrow I have 2 picky teenagers
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
January 23, 2017 at 3:26 PMI would suggest balancing out the protein with some veggies they like. Broccoli/asparagus/green beans are some common ones. It can be a simple saute with some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste or a way you already know how to prep them, or steamed. A third side could be rice or mashed potatoes. Good luck, Pam!
Linda
February 2, 2017 at 7:20 PMMade these tonight for dinner. Spectacular! The sauce is so delicious and EASY! I had large chicken breasts so I finished them off in the oven since the cooking time was a bit longer. I will use this recipe for kabobs with chicken and shrimp. So easy and definitely a keeper. Thank you.
★★★★★
Stephanie C
February 19, 2017 at 5:36 PMWow, this was fantastic. My grocery store only had ~2lb chicken breast in stock, so I upped the sauce portions a bit and now get to eat this for the next several days. 🙂 Can’t wait!
★★★★★
Mel B.
March 8, 2017 at 4:14 PMHi Farrah,
Normally I do my honey garlic chicken in the slow cooker and it’s great but I stumbled upon your recipe and see all the positive comments. I’m going to try your way tonight. Question: Do you have to use a wrought iron skillet? I have All Clad and Caphlon nonstick only. Thanks so much!
The Cooking Jar
March 8, 2017 at 4:56 PMHeya Mel. No it’s not compulsory to use a cast iron skillet for this recipe. I just find I get a better sear on meat with it. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it.
Mel B.
March 8, 2017 at 11:04 PMHaha! Cast iron of course! Will let you know how it turns out. Thanks!
Jannira Velazquez
April 4, 2017 at 6:05 PMThis was yummy but it didn’t make “loads of sauce” for me. With 4 tblsp of honey and 2 tblsp of Soy sauce it barely coated it. ?
The Cooking Jar
April 4, 2017 at 6:29 PMIf you like lots of sauce, you can double the sauce portions and then thicken it up some with a cornstarch slurry! Or alternatively, add a tiny bit of chicken stock before thickening it up with the cornstarch slurry.
Vince
May 3, 2017 at 9:03 PMMade this dish tonight for dinner, using halved chicken thighs. It tastes very much like my local Chinese place’s “Bourbon chicken” without the bourbon! I might just cut the thighs up smaller and go with this much like a stir-fry next time.
Thanks for a keeper!
★★★★
The Cooking Jar
May 9, 2017 at 4:12 PMAbsolutely welcome, Vince. If you go the stir-fry method feel free to add in some veggies too. Broccoli/snow peas/asparagus/carrots and the like.
Karen
September 24, 2017 at 10:39 PMMade this last night. Absolutely delicious! (and so EZ)! Thanks!
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
October 11, 2017 at 3:21 PMYou’re welcome, Karen. Thanks for letting me know how you liked it!
Dennis P Wilder
October 4, 2017 at 8:13 PMJust cooked this turned out very good I added some onion powder to the glaze. I served it with garlic parmasan stacked potatos family loved it.
The Cooking Jar
October 11, 2017 at 3:22 PMGreat side. Adding onion powder is also a good touch 🙂
Robin
October 31, 2017 at 11:15 AMAwesome recipe! Im new into “cooking” and I have been looking for new easy recipes! Thnks for this! I will try it this weekend… Wish me luck haha
The Cooking Jar
December 6, 2017 at 1:22 AMOh, belated good luck to you and I hope you did end up trying it and liking it. Happy eats, Robin. And congrats on trying a new life skill!l!
Cassandra Veney
November 21, 2017 at 10:57 AMI was looking for a different way to prepare chicken and I am so glad that I stumbled across this recipe. It is very easy and the chicken is to smack your lips over. I will definitely look for more of your recipes to prepare for myself and for when company comes.
The Cooking Jar
December 6, 2017 at 1:23 AMThanks for saying so, Cassandra. I hope you find more of what you’re looking for here.
Barbara
December 30, 2017 at 7:08 PMLooks and sounds wonderful and is a new way for me to do chicken bone-in thighs, which is about my favourite form. But I also love the versatility of usng breast or thigh meat in kebabs and a stir-fry. I also appreciated the usefulness of your preamble comments. Generally I find preambles mindlessly, furiously annoying ad a waste of time. Thanks very muc
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
January 29, 2018 at 6:01 PMYou’re welcome, Barbara and thank you for noticing. For the past few years I’ve tried educating and providing as many tips as I can to make the recipe a success instead of padding it with mindless fluff. Some people are newbie cooks so I just assume that when I do a write up.
Regina
January 8, 2018 at 12:18 AMThis is absolutely scrumptious, and I don’t care for chicken usually.
The Cooking Jar
January 29, 2018 at 6:02 PMThank you for saying so, Regina! I’m not a huge fan of chicken either unless it’s fried (I know, badness) or smothered in sauce. It’s a bland, blank canvass that needs building on!