Honey Garlic Chicken

Name: Honey Garlic Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts approx 4 chicken breast; 1/4 cup flour; 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt I used Diamond Crystals; 1/4 teaspoons black pepper; 2 tablespoons canola oil or other flavorless oil such as vegetable or avocado oil; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter may use a vegan butter too; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/4 cup honey; 6 garlic cloves minced; 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water; 2 tablespoons water; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley divided

by Clayton on November 20, 2024 0 comments

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This sweet and savory Honey Garlic Chicken is a one-pan recipe your entire family will love!

This sticky, sweet Honey Garlic Chicken is pure comfort food! This one-pan chicken recipe is super simple and is made in four steps. This is one of our favorite go to meals when groceries are running low. I almost always have chicken breast in the freezer and the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples you probably already have on hand! Serve this savory chicken dish with rice or noodles for the perfect easy meal!

What you’ll love about this recipe:

ONE PAN – This recipe is made in just one pan for easy clean-up! Use a dutch oven or large skillet for the best results!
MEAL PREP – You can make this dish ahead of time, as it reheats perfectly! This is a quick and easy recipe to meal prep for a weeknight dinner or grab-and-go lunches!
BASIC INGREDIENTS – There are no tricky or hard-to-find ingredients here! This simple dish requires things you probably keep on hand such as butter, garlic, honey, and brown sugar!

Ingredients for Honey Garlic Chicken

As always, this is a quick overview of the ingredients you will need for this recipe. For the complete, printable recipe just keep scrolling. To make this sweet and sticky chicken you will need:

honey garlic chicken ingredients on a white table

Chicken: boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs work great in this recipe. You want these cut into pieces that are easy to eat and of equal size so that they cook evenly.
Flour: regular or gluten-free flour works in this recipe.
Cooking oil: Feel free to use olive oil, avocado oil, vegatable oil, or whatever cooking oil you like.
Butter: if using salted butter you may want to hold back on the additional salt in the recipe until you do a taste test.
Brown Sugar: regular brown sugar, or brown coconut sugar.
Honey: this is a major ingredient, so use good quality honey you enjoy.
Garlic: fresh garlic cloves are best in this recipe.
Cornstarch: a cornstarch and water slurry is used to thicken the sauce.
Spices: salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes.

You may also choose to garnish with fresh herbs, chopped green onions, sesame seeds, or cracked black pepper.

How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken

In addition to the ingredients listed above you will need a dutch oven or large skillet. Below you will find a step-by-step guide that walks you through the entire process.

Season the Chicken

spices, flour, and chicken in a mixing bowl

In a large bowl mix together the flour, 1 tsp salt, and pepper. Next, pat the bite-sized pieces of chicken dry with a paper towel. This will remove any moisture and help the chicken get a nice sear. Then cut the chicken breast into 1-inch cubes. Try to make the chicken as uniform as possible so they cook evenly. Place chicken cubes into the flour-spice bowl and toss until well coated.

Cook the Chicken

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. When the oil is hot, add the
chicken cubes to the skillet (leaving behind any excess flour to discard), in an even layer. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes to allow the chicken to become golden brown and crispy. Next, cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes to fully cook the chicken. Use a meat thermometer to check the chicken to ensure it reaches 165°F. Remove the chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving behind any oil in the pan.

Make the Sauce

garlic, butter, brown sugar and honey in a dutch oven

honey mixture being stirred in dutch oven

In the same pan add the garlic and butter and saute for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Whisk in
the remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, honey, and the cornstarch-water mixture and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens. It may take about 2 minutes for the honey garlic sauce to thicken.

Toss Chicken with the Sauce

chicken being stirred in honey garlic sauce

parsley being added to honey garlic chicken in dutch oven

Add the chicken back to the pan and toss to completely coat. If needed, add 1-2 tbsp water to loosen the sauce. Cook the chicken, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes until warmed through.

Serve

Serve and garnish this honey chicken with chopped parsley and freshly cooked white or brown rice! This would also be fantastic with roasted broccoli, cauliflower rice, sauteed zucchini, or your favorite stir-fry veggies. I actually love to splash a few dashes of low-sodium soy sauce over my Honey Garlic Chicken to get that sweet and salty combo. If you prefer a spicy kick to balance out the sweetness, add a little drizzle of sriracha.

Tips & Tricks

Super easy recipe! This dish is very forgiving. If you accidentally make the sauce too thick simply add a bit of water to thin it.
For an even saucier chicken (if you want a lot extra to put on the rice), feel free to double all of the sauce ingredients: garlic, butter, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, honey,cornstarch-water mixture (essentially doubling ingredients in steps 5-7).
Want it even more garlicky? Use up to 10 garlic cloves! I think the average person would like 6 cloves of garlic as I mentioned in the recipe but to each their own.
Feel free to leave out the red pepper flakes if you can’t handle any heat. It doesn’t make the dish spicy, since it’s so little, but if one is concerned just leave it out.

Storage and Reheating

You can store this honey garlic chicken recipe in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. You can reheat this dish by heating it in 30-second increments in the microwave until warm. Alternatively, you can add the leftovers to a skillet and warm it over low heat. You may need to add 1 tablespoon of water to the sauce.