Honey garlic chicken is an outrageously delicious, effortless recipe. Put together a quick dinner in just 15 minutes that’s perfect for busy weeknights made with pantry staples. Seared chicken thighs are smothered in sticky sweet garlic, soy, and honey sauce. Serve with jasmine rice or fried rice.
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Honey garlic chicken thighs
- Skip the takeout; make an easy and quick dinner in just 15 minutes.
- It will easily become your family favorite and sit proudly on your weekly menu rotations.
- Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dredge in cornflour. Cook chicken on low heat, this helps in making the crispy outer crust.
- Acidity in soy sauce helps tenderize chicken and the sweetness from honey makes it sticky and delicious. And with a dash of red pepper flakes finish you get balanced flavors.
- I prefer chicken thighs (boneless) over chicken breasts, for better flavor and juicier!
What you’ll need
Here’s what you’ll need-
- 1 lb chicken thighs (boneless) with or without skin
- 2 tablespoon oil (any neutral cooking oil like sunflower oil or canola oil)
- 3-5 cloves garlic (adjust as per taste)
- Salt and ground pepper to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ¼ cup chicken stock (low sodium)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or plain vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
- ⅓ cup honey
For garnish:
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds
- Red pepper flakes
Chicken – I prefer chicken thighs over chicken breasts for better flavor and juicier chicken. Use boneless chicken thighs with or without skin.
If using chicken breast, use the whole breast as it is or cut into thin tenderloins.
Oil – best you neutral taste oil like sunflower oil or canola oil.
For richer taste, add half oil half butter.
Garlic – it’s all about garlic flavor in the recipe.
Love garlic? Add more.
Not that much of a fan? Reduce garlic to 2 to 3 cloves.
Seasoning for chicken – season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Seasoned chicken = better flavors, better taste.
Corn starch (corn flour)– for coating. This makes chicken slightly crispier on the outside.
Sauce – To make the sauce mix low sodium chicken stock, low sodium light soy sauce, rice wine vinegar (or plain vinegar or apple cider vinegar) with honey.
Additional ingredients and substitutions
To balance the sweetness of honey and the acidity of vinegar you can add hot sauce for heat. Hot sauce will balance the sweetness. Use any Asian chili sauce for heat.
Or use red pepper flakes.
To kick in more flavor to the sauce you can include
- Hoisin sauce
- Teriyaki sauce
- Oyster sauce
Honey is a must in the recipe. The stickiness of honey is what makes this honey garlic chicken unique. If you want to substitute honey use brown sugar.
Don’t skim on garlic as this dish is supposed to have a pronounced garlic flavor. Not a fan of garlic? reduce the amount of garlic in the recipe, don’t skip it altogether.
How to make honey garlic chicken recipe
Start by making the sauce. Mix low sodium chicken stock, low sodium light soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and honey in a bow. Set aside until use.
- I prefer to use chicken thighs over breasts for more flavor and juicier chicken.
- Season boneless chicken thighs with salt-pepper to taste add 1.5 teaspoon garlic powder. Rub on both sides.
- Dredge seasoned chicken thighs in corn starch. Shake off excess flour.
- Heat oil in a wide pan.
- Sear chicken in hot oil for 4-5 minutes or until crispy and golden on one side.
- Flip and cook on another side for 2-3 minutes.
- Add more oil (or butter for a richer taste).
- Stir minced garlic along with the chicken. Turn down heat to medium so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Pour prepared sauce. Stir well.
- Turn up the heat allow the sauce to boil.
- Reduce heat to low, simmer for 4-5 minutes or until sauce is thickened, chicken is cooked through.
- Remove pan from heat.
- Sprinkle red pepper flakes, black and white sesame seeds, and green onions.
- Serve hot with jasmine rice or fried rice.
Useful tips
- Use boneless chicken thighs for better flavor and juicier chicken. With or without skin both works well.
- Always season chicken well. Nobody prefers flavorless, bland chicken. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Dredging chicken in corn flour creates crispy outer crust on chicken.
- For added kick, include any Asian hot sauce (like sweet chili sauce or schezwan sauce).
- Other protein can be used in the recipe. The sweet sticky sauce is ideal for other kind of proteins like beef/pork steaks, lamb cutlets, shrimp, even tofu works.
How to serve honey garlic chicken
Chicken is smothered in this sweet sticky yummy sauce. It’s perfect to be served with rice along with some sides like cucumber salad or cauliflower mash. The sauce is full of strong flavors and delicious to be served with cauliflower rice or jasmine rice. Honey garlic chicken is best served with rice. Don’t stop there. Try to mix things up by serving them with noodles. For a low carb option try it with zoodles.
FAQS
I prefer chicken thighs over chicken breasts for better flavor and juicier chicken. Use boneless chicken thighs with or without skin.
If using chicken breast, use the whole breast as it is or cut into thin tenderloins.
Yes, you can. Here’s how. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder seasoning to the chicken. Dredge in cornflour (or plain flour for more even browning), shake off excess flour. Cook chicken on low heat. You get the crispy outer crust.
With corn flour you may not be able to achieve even browning, that’s ok. When chicken is smothered in sweet sticky sauce, you won’t make out the difference.
The sauce will thicken as you cook. You have to remove the pan from the heat soon as the sauce is thickened and is in pourable consistency.
If your sauce turned too thick, you have to thin it down. To make sauce thinner, add one or two teaspoons of water or chicken stock to the pan and stir it well. Adjust the amount of water (or stock) to make a pourable thick sauce.
The cornflour coating on the chicken will help thicken the sauce. If the sauce does not thicken, mix 2 teaspoons of corn starch in 3 tablespoons of water and pour it into the dish. Cook for a few minutes and this will help thicken the sauce. Remove pan from the heat soon as the sauce thickens.
I won’t recommend garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. The flavor of fresh garlic is unmatched and can’t be attained with garlic powder.
Garlic powder is only used to season chicken which is then cooked relatively on low heat to create a golden crispy crust.
It’s not entirely sweet, the flavor of the dish is both sweet and savory from soy sauce. I highly recommend you add any Asian hot sauce or a generous sprinkle of red chili flakes at the end to balance the sweetness and add heat to the dish.
Yes, you can. Plain flour browns chicken more evenly than chicken dredged in corn flour. Corn flour is a great substitute for making gluten-free chicken.
The difference in browning isn’t noticeable when you smother chicken in sticky sauce, so don’t sweat over it!
To kick in more flavor to the sauce you can include
Hoisin sauce
Teriyaki sauce
Oyster sauce
Yes, you can. Although chicken may lose some of its crispiness as it’s been in the sauce for a while and chicken may also lose its tenderness when reheated.
Yes, it can be frozen for longer storage. But frozen chicken won’t taste as good as freshly made honey garlic chicken. The chicken will lose it’s tenderness when reheated.
Frozen chicken can be stored for up to 3 months.
To reheat the frozen chicken, place it in a baking dish and reheat at 250F until warmed. Or reheat on the stovetop on low heat until warmed through. You might have to adjust the sauce consistency by adding little water or chicken stock while reheating.
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📋Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken thighs boneless with or without skin
- 2 tablespoon oil any neutral cooking oil like sunflower oil or canola oil
- 3-5 cloves garlic adjust as per taste
- Salt and ground pepper to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ¼ cup chicken stock low sodium
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce low sodium
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or plain vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ cup honey
For garnish:
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Start off by making the sauce. Mix low sodium chicken stock, low sodium light soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and honey in a bow. Set aside until use.
- I prefer to use chicken thighs over breasts for more flavor and juicier chicken.
- Season boneless chicken thighs with salt-pepper to taste add 1.5 teaspoon garlic powder. Rub on both sides.
- Dredge seasoned chicken thighs in corn starch. Shake off excess flour.
- Heat oil in a wide pan.
- Sear chicken in hot oil for 4-5 minutes or until crispy and golden on one side.
- Flip and cook on another side for 2-3 minutes.
- Add more oil (or butter for a richer taste). Stir minced garlic along with the chicken. Turn heat to medium so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Pour prepared sauce. Stir well. Turn up the heat until the sauce begins to boil.
- Reduce heat to low, simmer for 4-5 minutes or until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through.
- Remove pan from heat.
- Sprinkle red pepper flakes, black and white sesame seeds, and green onions.
- Serve hot with jasmine rice or fried rice.
Video
Notes
- Use boneless chicken thighs instead of chicken breast for better flavor and juicier chicken. With or without skin both work well.
- Always season the chicken well before cooking. Nobody prefers flavorless, bland chicken. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Dredging chicken in cornflour creates a crispy outer crust on the chicken.
- For an added kick, include any Asian hot sauce (like sweet chili sauce or schezwan sauce) while making honey soy sauce.
- Other proteins can be used in the recipe. The sweet sticky sauce is ideal for other kinds of proteins like beef/pork steaks, lamb cutlets, shrimp, even tofu works.
Shannon T.
Hands down – amazing. If you love Chinese food – this is your recipe. The smells that fill your house while cooking this will get your taste buds going. My husband has already asked when I can make this for dinner again.
The go to pictures and instructions were spot on and helpful. Thank you #CurryTrail!
Jyothi Rajesh
So glad you and your husband loved the recipe Shannon! Thank you for sharing!