Honey Garlic Chicken is amazing chicken recipe to have as a backup plan. Delicious honey garlic sauce with simple ingredients from your pantry will transform fresh chicken breasts or thighs into a restaurant quality dinner.
Our other family favorite Asian fusion recipes are honey garlic salmon and chili lime chicken.
Table of contents
Baked Honey Garlic Chicken
Honey garlic chicken! It is a saucy, juicy and easy 30 minute dinner I have been making for over a year now. When I truly have no idea “What’s for dinner?”, I pull out pantry ingredients, make honey garlic sauce, bake chicken and cook a side while chicken is roasting in the oven. Greek chicken, baked chicken thighs or any of these easy chicken marinades would be fair contestants.
I prefer baked chicken vs. fried for health reasons, so quick 10 minute marinating is all this chicken needs. And it all happens while oven is preheating. So easy!!! Kids and husbands loved this Asian dinner that I paired with broccoli salad. You can also serve it with Asian salad or black bean salsa (I do use it as a salad).
Ingredients for Honey Garlic Chicken
Feel free to cut honey garlic chicken recipe in half is serving 2 people or less. But leftovers freeze like a charm – see below.
- Chicken breasts or thighs: About 3 large boneless and skinless breasts. Cut them into thin cutlets lengthwise like I did with this chicken tomato recipe. If using thighs, no need to cut. I love using both as even breasts come out juicy and saucy.
- Honey: I try to buy unpasteurized and raw honey for its health benefits. Keep in mind once heated it loses many of its good properties, so doesn’t matter for this recipe but still…
- Soy sauce: Regular or liquid aminos have the same amount of sodium. I used only 2 tbsp aminos.
- Acid: You can use freshly squeezed lemon juice, lime juice or apple cider vinegar.
- Fresh garlic: I use a combination of 2 grated garlic cloves that makes sauce more flavorful and 1 minced garlic clove for texture in final product.
- Cornstarch or arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce. You can skip if you don’t have it.
- Green onion and sesame seeds: Although this honey garlic chicken is not exactly Asian food but somewhere from there. Garnishes add a nice zing and crunch but are OK to skip.
How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken
- Marinate chicken for 10 minutes in a mixture of honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and let them sit while oven is preheating to 450 degrees F.
- Bake chicken for 20 minutes turning once. Rimmed baking sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper or silicone baking mat makes caramelized honey clean up a breeze. Do not discard marinade.
- Make healthy honey garlic sauce by bringing marinade to a boil in a small pot. Whisk cold water with cornstarch, add and cook a few minutes until sauce has thickened.
- Chicken is ready when it reaches 165 degrees F internal temperature. 20 minutes should be good and I pull it out even if T is 155 degrees F as it keeps cooking with residual heat.
- Combine chicken with sauce: Transfer chicken onto a platter, drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with green onion and sesame seeds.
Tips for Best Chicken
- Chicken has to be fresh or defrosted. Not frozen that you can get away with if making chicken noodle soup.
- I do not recommend to pan fry chicken as honey burns quickly. Done that! 🙂 Try my lemon chicken recipe instead.
- If your honey is solid, melt it on a stove in a small pot on low heat.
- You can use low-sodium soy sauce as well if you are watching your salt intake.
- Cornstarch settles fast, so whisk again before adding to the sauce. Also cold water is key to avoid lumps.
How to Serve, Store and Reheat Chicken
Serve honey garlic chicken with:
- Grains: Brown rice, quinoa or whole wheat spaghetti. If you have time, try this easy spaghetti recipe.
- Veggies: Classic steamed broccoli possibly drizzled with Asian salad dressing complete faux Asian theme. Broccoli quinoa salad combines side and veggies in one.
- Low carb: Serve with low carb side like cauliflower fried rice.
- Craving comfort? While chicken is baking, make healthy mac and cheese or even easier Instant Pot mac and cheese.
Store: Refrigerate chicken in covered container for up to 5 days. It also freezes extremely well for up to 3 months.
Reheat honey garlic chicken in a skillet or saucepan. Sauce will thicken in the fridge, so add a splash of water and watch it come back to life on low heat. Easy-peasy!
I hope you enjoy this super easy and healthy dinner! Come back and let me know in comments. I reply to every single one of them.
More Chicken Breast Recipes
- Cilantro lime chicken
- Grilled chicken breast
- Caprese chicken and zucchini
- Stuffed chicken breast
- Grilled chicken thighs
- Browse all healthy chicken recipes.
Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts boneless & skinless
- 1/3 cup honey melt on the stove if it is hard
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp green onion for garnish
- 2 tsp sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make thinner cutlets. More sauce will coat more chicken this way.
- Grate 2 garlic cloves and mince the other one. More flavor this way.
- In a large bowl, add chicken, honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic. Stir with tongs and let marinate while oven is preheating.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and line large rimmed baking sheet with silicone baking mat or unbleached parchment paper.
- Arrange chicken in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes on the lowest rack, turning once.
- While chicken is baking, pour marinade into a small pot. Don’t discard it – we will make delicious sauce. Place on a stove to bring to a boil.
- In a small bowl, whisk cold water with cornstarch. When marinade is boiling, add slurry to it and cook until sauce has thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the oven and transfer onto a serving platter. Drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with green onion and sesame seeds.
Store: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Perfect for a meal prep.
Make ahead: You can marinate honey garlic chicken for up to 3 days in advance. Cover, refrigerate and cook as per recipe when ready.
Grill: Preheat grill on medium-high (450-500 degrees F) and rub with oiled paper towel. Place chicken on the grill, close the lid and grill for 8-10 minutes turning once. Do not overcook. Make sauce on the stove or o na side burner of the grill. Easy-peasy.
Video
Notes
- Instead of breasts, you can use boneless & skinless chicken thighs. No need to cut them thinner.
- You can always reduce soy sauce to 1 tbsp.
- You can also grate all garlic – I like to see some texture of it in the sauce though.
- Broccoli quinoa salad combines side and veggies in one.
- Serve with low carb side like cauliflower fried rice.
- Craving comfort? While chicken is baking, make healthy mac and cheese or even easier Instant Pot mac and cheese.
Nutrition
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My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys, a wife to Alex and we reside on magical Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This is our healthy family recipes blog. Originally from Ukraine, I grew up on real food. As an adult, I struggled with diets for years because none worked long-term. Now for over 10 years, I cook easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.