Mouthwatering Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Breast with a simple sweet and tangy honey garlic sauce. It’s a restaurant quality Asian inspired healthy dinner that will become your new favorite quick and easy chicken recipe!
Our other family favorites are this lemon garlic chicken, air fryer chicken breast and garlic butter chicken breast.
This honey garlic chicken breast is oven baked until tender and juicy then smothered in a delicious sweet and sour glaze made from honey, garlic, soy sauce, and lemon juice.
It’s an easy 30 minute dinner that comes in extremely handy when you have no idea what to make for dinner!
This chicken recipe is our go-to on busy weeknights when we’re looking for something quick, healthy, and super easy!
I make some healthy sides while the chicken is baking and bam, an Asian-inspired, healthy baked honey garlic chicken is ready to be served with Asian chopped salad or healthy broccoli salad recipe.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Baked not fried: A flavorful and saucy baked chicken recipe is so much healthier than any fried chicken!
- Easy: This quick 10-minute marinade is one of my favorite chicken marinades that sits while the oven preheats!
- Impressive: The beautiful sheen on this delicious glaze is pretty enough to serve dinner guests.
- Pantry staples: Made with budget friendly ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Especially great when you have stocked up on chicken breast!
Ingredients You Will Need
To make this baked honey garlic chicken, you will need only a few simple ingredients.
- Chicken breasts: About 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts. Cut them into thin cutlets lengthwise as I did with this chicken and tomatoes. This way the 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 for this recipe, it doesn’t matter which kind you choose.
- Soy sauce: Regular soy sauce or liquid aminos have the same amount of sodium. I used only 2 tablespoons of aminos.
- Acid: You can use freshly squeezed lemon juice, lime juice, or apple cider vinegar.
- Fresh garlic: I used 2 grated garlic cloves to bring out even more flavor in the sauce and 1 minced garlic clove for texture in the final product.
- Cornstarch: Or arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce. You can skip it if you don’t have it.
- Green onion and sesame seeds (optional): This honey garlic chicken is meant to be Asian-inspired and although not exactly authentic, we can still add some delicious garnishes for zing and crunch!
How to Make Baked Honey Garlic Chicken
- Marinate chicken for 10 minutes in a sauce which is a combination of honey, soy sauce, lemon juice, and garlic. Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and let them sit while the oven is preheating to 450 degrees F.
- Preheat the oven. Grab a baking sheet and line it with unbleached parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. It makes cleaning up caramelized honey a breeze.
- Bake honey garlic chicken for 20 minutes. Arrange chicken in a single layer and bake, turning once.
- Chicken is ready when it reaches 165 degrees F internal temperature. 20 minutes should be good. You can even pull it out when the internal temperature is 155 degrees F and allow it to keep cooking with the residual heat.
- Combine chicken breasts with sauce: Transfer the marinated honey garlic chicken pieces onto a platter, drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with green onion and sesame seeds.
Optional Add-In’s and Variations
- Ginger: Keep some extra grated ginger aside and add a little more into the sauce.
- Different cuts of chicken: This baked honey garlic chicken breast recipe works for baked chicken thighs as well.
- Heat: Add some red pepper flakes into the honey garlic marinade for a little spice!
- Garlic: Grate all the garlic instead of combining grated and minced, if preferred.
- Make this on the grill! Preheat the grill to 450-500 degrees F and rub with an oiled paper towel. Grill chicken for 8-10 minutes, flipping once. Careful not to overcook the chicken! Make a sauce on the stove or over the side burners on the grill. So good!
Tips for Best Results
- Chicken has to be fresh or defrosted. Not frozen.
- I do not recommend pan frying this chicken as the honey burns quickly. Been there, done that! Try my pan fried chicken breast 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. Or, reduce it to just 1 tablespoon.
- Cornstarch settles fast, so whisk again before adding to the sauce. It makes for a much smoother finish! Also, cold water is the key to avoiding lumps.
- Dinner for two? Feel free to cut this baked honey garlic chicken recipe in half if you’re serving 2 people or less. Otherwise, save your leftovers, they freeze like a charm.
- Do not discard marinade! Make healthy honey garlic sauce by bringing the marinade to a boil in a small pot. Whisk cold water with cornstarch, add and cook a few minutes until the sauce has thickened.
FAQs
You can! Chicken thighs are darker, less lean than chicken breast, so they’ve got a bit more fat and flavor. These work just as well and there’s no need to cut them thinner.
The only time it is safe to reuse marinade is if you boil it first. It is a must, otherwise, you need to discard any leftover marinade. The reason for this is it has been contaminated with raw chicken and consuming this is dangerous.
It is similar in that they both have a sweet element. Other than that, not really! Chinese honey chicken is typically battered and fried with egg and flour (like tempura) and then sweetened with either honey or another type of refined sugar.
This recipe for baked honey garlic chicken is not battered or fried and it has a tangy sour component along with the sweet.
What to Serve Baked Honey Garlic Chicken With?
Serve baked honey garlic chicken recipe with:
- Grains: Brown rice, quinoa, or whole wheat spaghetti.
- Veggies: Classic steamed vegetables or air fryer broccoli possibly drizzled with Asian salad dressing completes our Asian-inspired theme.
- Low carb: Serve with low carb side like cauliflower fried rice.
- Craving comfort food? While the chicken is baking, make healthy mac and cheese or even easier Instant Pot mac and cheese.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Store: Refrigerate honey garlic chicken leftovers in a covered container for up to 5 days. This is great for teriyaki chicken meal prep for the week!
Freeze: It also freezes extremely well for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and reheat on low heat. The sauce will thicken in the fridge, so add a splash of water and watch it come back to life. Easy-peasy!
Make Ahead: Marinate the chicken for up to 3 days ahead of time. Keep it covered and stored in the fridge and use it when you’re ready!
I hope you enjoy this super easy baked honey garlic chicken recipe! Come back and let me know in the comments. I reply to every single one of them.
More Chicken Recipes to Try
- Cilantro lime chicken breast
- Grilled chicken breast
- Baked chicken breast
- Stuffed chicken breast
- Baked BBQ chicken breast
- Healthy orange chicken
- Chili lime chicken
- Chicken and broccoli stir fry
- Baked chicken caprese
Also be sure to browse all healthy chicken recipes!
Baked 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.
- Serve honey garlic chicken with Instant Pot brown rice or Instant Pot quinoa or healthy broccoli salad.
Video
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Perfect for a meal prep.
- I do not recommend pan-frying this chicken as the honey burns quickly. Been there, done that!
- If your honey is solid, melt it on a stove in a small pot on low heat.
- Cornstarch settles fast, so whisk again before adding to the sauce.
- Use a proper sized baking sheet: To avoid sauce bubbling over and causing oven mess. A rimmed edge is perfect.
Delicious,
Yum! This recipe is so easy to follow and tastes just as good the next day! It’s my go to when boneless chicken thighs are on sale. I like to add a little chopped onion and fresh grated ginger to the marinade/sauce just for more zing. I love that Olena always recommends a side dish/vegetable that goes with the main!
Thanks Betty!
So tasty. Love the way the marinade is used for a nice sauce. Definitely the best part of my Monday. Thanks,
So happy to hear this Jeanne!
Quick, easy and tasty!! I used a ziplock bag to marinate the breast as the oven was rising to temp. I was worried about cooking these breasts at such a high temp. But I took them out after 20 minutes. Tender and juicy! I threw some frozen Brussel sprouts with onion and squash on the cooking sheet too. All worked out! Start to finish 30 min!
So fantastic to hear this Debbie!
I just made this for dinner tonight. It was very good and looked just like the picture you have of it. I sauteed mine though instead of a hot oven that messes with my ac for some reason.
Glad you liked it Wendy!
Amazing flavor! Chicken was cooked beautifully! 100% recommend this dish. Also good with mashed potatoes 🙂
Thanks for sharing your positive feedback Somer!
tried this last night and loved it! any tips on how to reheat the chicken so it doesn’t dry out? thanks!
Yes! Simmer on low in a skillet with a splash of water or broth and covered – it will heat through.
Your line “pretend Asian dinner” had me salivating for Chinese food! Didn’t quite tickle my tastebuds like I thought it would, yet it was delicious. Like the recipe said, I cut the breasts in half lengthwise but they were cooked after 10 minutes! I thought maybe I had the wrong oven temp, but it was correct. Gotta keep an eye on that sauce…I couldn’t keep it boiling as it started to burn very quickly. Next time? Low heat for this kitchen greenhorn! Like all the others I’ve tried, this is another great recipe?
This looks great but I have Salmon in the frig for tonight. Could I use this same recipe with my salmon? I saw one of your similar videos where you used something very close on salmon and added butternut squash and brussel sprouts for a one-pan meal. I never could find that recipe and I noticed that you splashed the sprounts and squash with avocado oil first. Is there a sub for the avocado oil?
Sure!!! It is one pan salmon and veggies recipe. Yes, any oil works.
Yummy