Five ingredients and 20 minutes are all it takes to enjoy this honey garlic chicken with the much-loved sauce that won over kitchens everywhere.
Today we’re making some delicious, honey garlic chicken. With the same, much-loved flavor profile of honey garlic shrimp and honey garlic salmon, we get to enjoy everyone’s favorite sauce with boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. It’s an addictive sauce with a sticky, sweet and savory glaze that works great with almost every kind of protein.
It’s simple to cook, quick and easy, but so rewarding. And it’s 20-25 minutes (depending on the thickness of your chicken) from start to finish without sacrificing any flavor. If you’re in the mood for something with even more flavor, try this honey garlic butter chicken recipe which uses this recipe as a base.
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.
It’s a great answer for quick weeknight dinners. Serve with a side of rice or mashed potatoes with some greens on the side like green beans, broccoli, or asparagus. There are plenty of ways to enjoy this. Let’s start cooking!
How To Make Honey Garlic Chicken (1 Min Video)
What You Need For Honey Garlic Chicken
This one is SO simple and I wasn’t lying when I said you only need five ingredients. You can use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Both regular soy sauce and low sodium soy sauce will work.
And if you don’t have fresh garlic and ginger on hand, feel free to substitute with garlic powder and powdered ginger. Ginger gives the sauce a warm flavor but if you’re not a fan, you can absolutely leave it out too. It will not break the recipe. And if you want to build on this recipe for more flavor, try adding in a splash of lime juice or a few dashes of red pepper flakes.
HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN RECIPE TIPS
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 properly instead of steaming.
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 the 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, leaving just a little to saute the aromatics. Saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant, add the chicken back to the pan, and pour in the honey and soy sauce mixture.
TIP: 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 and 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! 😉
Customize It!
- Add more flavor – Add some heat with a few dashes of red pepper flakes. You can cut the sweetness of the sauce with some apple cider vinegar or a drizzle of lime juice. For a smoky flavor, do a finishing drizzle with sesame oil or sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
MORE HONEY GARLIC RECIPES TO TRY
- Honey Garlic Butter Chicken
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
- Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken
- Honey Garlic Salmon
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
- Air Fryer Honey Garlic Salmon
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Honey Garlic Chicken
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Five ingredients and 20 minutes are all it takes to enjoy this honey garlic chicken with the much-loved sauce that won over kitchens everywhere.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs/breasts
- 2 medium cloves garlic / 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced (optional)
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- Fresh parsley / green onions, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the honey and soy sauce and set aside.
- 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 the center is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 165°F. Drain chicken on paper towels and remove most of the oil from the pan.
- Add garlic and ginger (optional) and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chicken back into the pan.
- Pour in the honey and soy sauce mixture and bring to a gentle boil over medium-low heat until the sauce is reduced. Flip the chicken to coat in the sauce fully.
- Dish and serve hot.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Add more flavor – Add some heat with a few dashes of red pepper flakes. You can cut the sweetness of the sauce with some apple cider vinegar or a drizzle of lime juice. For a smoky flavor, do a finishing drizzle with sesame oil or sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Comments & Reviews
Farah! I just stumbled onto your blog page in a google search looking for chicken thigh recipes! I’m so happy to see this page has taken off for you in such a big way!!! I am going to make this recipe in a few minutes- it looks so good and SO easy!!
Hope you and your hubby have been doing well! Congrats again on your awesome success. I can’t wait to go back through and get tons more recipes from your blog!
– Grace Baltic (from ZVRS)
Heya Grace, I remember you and your wonderful photography! Thanks so much for remembering my blog! It slowly took off after I bought myself a camera two to three years back. It’s been rewarding helping people put meals on their tables and hearing their stories. I really hope you liked this recipe! It can be tough catering to a vast amount of taste palates so it’s often a hit or miss. 🙂
Had been looking for a skinless, boneless thigh recipe for 2 days and decided to try this after getting off work and not wanting to spend a great deal of time in the kitchen…wow!!! really loved it. I will be sharing with my friends at work tomorrow. This will be my go to dish when in need of a quick meal. Thanks for the fantastic dish.
Linda
You’re very welcome, Linda! I’m glad it worked out for you with minimum fuss. And I’m always happy to help someone find a new quick and easy staple, especially after a tiring day at work!
i was really excited about this recipe. Had to breasts and used them instead of thighs. Also was just using 2 halves. but i wanted all the sauce so made the full recipe. wellllll I hardly had enough sauce for us.
Thanks for trying it out, Susan. If you want more sauce, you can always double the sauce ingredients. It’s not a super saucy chicken dish to start out with so if you’re the kind that loves a lot of sauce, I would recommend doubling it to begin with, then reducing it to the desired thickness.
Do you need pound the chicken?
I didn’t pound mine but if you have a particularly large and uneven chicken breast, you can opt to pound it so it cooks evenly. Good luck, Marina!
I was searching for a new recipe using the 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs I bought yesterday, and your blog appeared. I had all the ingredients, and it was scrumptious. Will try it next with shrimp. (I saw your various options with shrimp. I think I’ll do the one with cilantro and lime. It sounds yummy!)
Hey, Annie! Thanks for trying it out. And I have to say, out of the three you mentioned my fave would have to be the cilantro and lime. I’m pretty sure I ate that whole pound all by myself. Worth it. Make sure to be liberal with sprinkling more lime juice while serving it! Ahh, talking about it brings such good memories and now I’m drooling.
Great recipe! So simple and so tasty. I tried it tonight and I think I’ll add it to my rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for trying it out, Jules! Happy eats!
Hello,
I’m thinking of making this delicious looking dish, but am wondering if I could substitute Agave Nectar for the Honey?
Thanks 🙂
~Andrea
Heya Andrea! Yes, you absolutely can. I have some agave nectar I use to substitute honey or sugar now and then. Good luck!
I love your recipe but I want to serve to my children and grandchildren. The total servings are 19 ?. Would I ruin your recipe if I baked the chicken (maybe broiled for a short time)?
Thank you,
Susan
That’s a huuuuge serving size. So I guess doing it all in a baking tray makes more sense. You can bake it just fine as long as you adjust the cooking times to accommodate the change of cooking method from searing to baking. Baking usually takes longer. I would suggest dividing the sauce into half, marinate the chicken with half of the sauce and using the other half to baste the chicken before broiling it to finish it off.
Thanks for this great simple recipe. I loved it! I did it with skin on / bone in chicken thighs, and tasted great.
However, I wasn’t so sure what side dishes would go well with honey garlic chicken. Any suggestions?
Yum! Love crispy skins. Just gotta be careful to make sure the chicken thighs are fully cooked and to adjust the time accordingly. Bone in tends to require more cooking time. Wouldn’t want you to get ill! As for sides, I will always advocate some greens. Seared asparagus or green beans in garlic. Keep it simple so the chicken flavor can shine. If you’re fine with carbs, maybe some mashed potatoes, hasselback potatoes or steamed rice. If you’re going with rice, theme it with Asian-style greens. Hope this helps!
I have served this with a lovely Ratatouille..
This chicken looks yum,i can’t wait to cook it.
I hope you enjoyed it, Marie. 🙂
Your photos are beautiful! Your meals look fantastic.
Thank you so much, Kim. Happy cooking!
This receipe was amazing! My kids loved it, I personally am a onion fan so I sauteed onion & garlic. Which gave extra flavor, thanks a lot for this, I am a single mother so anything to get my kids excited about dinner.
I love onions too! I try to keep the recipe basic for those that wanna stay simple but it’s always an option to jazz it up a little with a little this and a little that. This would taste lovely with caramelized onions. I’m super glad to help you guys with dinner!
I cannot stop my mouth from watering. These look so juicy and full of flavor and so stinking perfect for those busy weeknights!
“Stinking perfect”. Hahaha! Thanks for saying so, Karly!
Very good sauce and so easy to make. I took the base recipe then added some cornstarch mixed with a little pineapple juice and thickened it slightly to go on some deep fried wings. Yum! My 11 yo daughter told be I’d better make this again! Thank you for the recipe!
Oh that sounds delicious! I love the addition of pineapple juice to it. Great idea to thicken it and toss it with some wings!
I love easy and delicious recipes, and these chicken thighs looks tender, I love the glaze on top and I think I’ll take two thighs 🙂
Coming right up! 😉
You show a very lovely picture of thighs, and glaze, and something green and leafy. There’s nothing green and leafy in the ingredients. LOL.
It’s just some chopped up parsley that’s not needed for the flavor profile. I added it to make the pictures ‘pop’ instead of plain brown chicken, you know? Purely optional and more for presentation.
I just made these for the family last night. It was easy peasy and so dang delicious! ? Thanks for sharing. This recipe is definitely a keeper and one that will be rotated into my repitoire of regular meals.