Pan-fried juicy chicken thighs coated in a sweet honey garlic sauce made with minimal ingredients! This quick and easy honey garlic chicken recipe is ready in 20 minutes and budget-friendly. Great as a main dish or for meal prep for the family!
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This honey garlic chicken features tender chicken thighs pan-fried with a delicious sweet and savory garlic sauce! It serves best with steamed rice and vegetables.
You'll often find this chicken dish served at Asian and American restaurants as honey garlic chicken doesn't come from a specific country, even though it uses many Asian ingredients.
The best part about this chicken recipe is that it easily comes together in little time and in one-pan making cooking and cleanup easy!
It's fantastic for families or for busy weeknights when you need a dish on the dinner table fast!
I also share how to air fry the chicken below, if you prefer that cooking method.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Skin-on Bone-in Chicken Thighs: or substitute with skinless boneless chicken thighs or boneless chicken breast but only cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F with a digital thermometer, remove off heat and let the residual heat carry over the cooking process to 165 F.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid heavy scented oils with a low smoke point.
- Salt
- Black Pepper: or substitute with white pepper.
- Garlic Powder: or substitute with onion powder.
- Green Onions: for garnishing
Honey Garlic Sauce
- Fresh Garlic Cloves
- Liquid Honey: avoid using flavored honeys. If you're allergic to honey, substitute with maple syrup, brown sugar, golden syrup, light corn syrup or agave.
- Cold Water
- Rice Vinegar: or substitute with white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Sesame Oil: or substitute with sesame seeds. If you're allergic to sesame, omit this ingredient.
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch, tapioca starch or arrowroot powder to help thicken the sauce
Note: Your Asian grocery store will carry most of the Asian pantry ingredients or check Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh chicken thighs by performing a smell test at the grocery store. If you smell a heavy gamey odor, get a fresher pack.
- Make small slits around the bone using a sharp paring knife when deboning the chicken thighs or you can cut into the skin.
- Pat dry the chicken especially the skin so the seasoning can stick better.
- Don’t skip the water in the sauce. It helps dilute the honey to prevent burning.
- Do not overcook the chicken!
- Let the sauce simmer until it thickens but be careful not to burn the sauce. You can always remove the chicken from the sauce and simmer the sauce longer to thicken it.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make honey garlic chicken:
- Debone the chicken thighs by turning the chicken thigh bone side up. Then locate the bone and make small slits around the bone with a sharp knife until you’re able to remove it.
- Pat dry the chicken pieces on both sides with clean paper towel.
- Season on both sides of the chicken thighs with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the honey garlic sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Place the chicken skin side down and fry until skin is golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Fry on the other side until the meat is cooked through (about 2 mins) or until an internal temperature of 165 Fahrenheit with a digital cooking thermometer or until juices run clear.
- Reduce to low-medium heat. Pour in the honey garlic sauce around the chicken thighs and let the sauce thicken. Flip the chicken over so it’s skin side down for 15 seconds so the skin can absorb the sauce and flip over again.
- Garnish the chicken with green onions.
- Transfer cooked chicken to a cutting board to slice into smaller pieces and enjoy!
To Air Fry
- Spray the air fryer basket with neutral oil or cooking spray or line the base of the basket only with a square piece of parchment paper. Make sure your parchment paper is not touching the hot elements of the air fryer. The latter makes clean up easier.
- Place the seasoned chicken thighs in the basket in a flat single layer and skin side up. Do not overlap. You will need to air fry in batches depending on how many thighs you can fit without overlapping.
- Air fry for 6-9 minutes at 375 degrees F or until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F and skin is browned to your liking. No need to flip halfway.
- In a large pan, simmer the sauce until thickened on low-medium heat and add in the cooked chicken thighs.
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? This can be stored in a freezer friendly bag and frozen up to 1 month. To reheat, defrost it and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a pan.
Pairing Suggestions
Honey garlic chicken serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, or fried rice
- chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Mongolian Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Bang Bang Shrimp, Shrimp Omelet, Soy Garlic Tofu and more!
FAQ
Can I make this in advance?
Honey garlic chicken can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
Can I substitute the honey?
The honey can be substituted with maple syrup, brown sugar, golden syrup, light corn syrup or agave.
📖 Recipe
Easy 20-min. Honey Garlic Chicken
Pan-fried juicy chicken thighs coated in a sweet honey garlic sauce made with minimal ingredients! This quick and easy honey garlic chicken recipe is ready in 20 minutes and budget-friendly. Great as a main dish or for meal prep for the family! I also share how to air fry the chicken in the notes section below. Note: This recipe has been recently updated as of Nov 2024 and includes an additional ingredient not shown in the attached video.
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs (or substitute with boneless skinless thighs)
- 2 teaspoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
Honey Garlic Sauce
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup honey or maple syrup/brown sugar/light corn syrup if you're allergic to honey
- 3 tablespoon water cold
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ½ tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch/tapioca starch
Instructions
- Debone the chicken thighs by turning the chicken thigh bone side up. Then locate the bone and make small slits around the bone with a sharp paring knife until you’re able to remove it.
- Pat dry the chicken pieces on both sides with clean paper towel.
- Season on both sides of the chicken thighs with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the honey garlic sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Place the chicken skin side down and fry until skin is golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Fry on the other side until the meat is cooked through (about 2 mins) or until an internal temperature of 165 Fahrenheit with a digital cooking thermometer or until juices run clear.
- Reduce to low-medium heat. Pour in the honey garlic sauce around the chicken thighs and let the sauce thicken. Flip the chicken over so it’s skin side down for 15 seconds so the skin can absorb the sauce and flip over again.
- Garnish the chicken with green onions.
- Transfer cooked chicken to a cutting board to slice into smaller pieces and enjoy!
Notes
To Air Fry
- Spray the air fryer basket with neutral oil or cooking spray or line the base of the basket only with a square piece of parchment paper. Make sure your parchment paper is not touching the hot elements of the air fryer. The latter makes clean up easier.
- Place the seasoned chicken thighs in the basket in a flat single layer and skin side up. Do not overlap. You will need to air fry in batches depending on how many thighs you can fit without overlapping.
- Air fry for 6-9 minutes at 375 degrees F or until you reach an internal temperature of 165 F and skin is browned to your liking. No need to flip halfway.
- In a large pan, simmer the sauce until thickened on low-medium heat and add in the cooked chicken thighs.
Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!
Suggested Equipment & Products
Nutrition
Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 506mg | Potassium: 271mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 89IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg
Tanya
Easy, delicious and perfectly sweet! Thank you!
Christie Lai
So glad you liked it! Thank you so much for making it.
Jd
I've bèn making your honey garlic chicken over & over, the more I make the more I like it,that's hw delicious that recipe of yours is
Quinn Puffer
I think this recipe has good composition but just didn't work out quite right when I made it (I am somewhat of a beginner cook, hence why I am leaving a 5 star as I probably messed up somewhere). I think my stove top runs cold in general, so when I made this I had to give the chicken a little extra time to cook through even though I was using tenderloins which are thinner and then I think the sauce just didn't thicken like it was supposed to. Next time I'm going to try adding the sauce earlier in to let it reduce a little more so that it's thicker. The sauce itself tastes good.
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for leaving a positive review! Yes, I find each stove top can be varying in its heat settings and its different across all brands so I'm glad you gave the chicken extra time to cook so it's cooked through. Also, if there isn't a high enough heat the sauce won't thicken as much. Hope this helps and glad you enjoyed it overall!
Kay
Thank you for this recipe. My family loved it.
Christie Lai
So glad to hear! Thanks so much for making it!
Jd
Just tried cooking your honey garlic chicken & it's so delicious just ate too much I really love ure recipes
Margot
Made this the other night and it was a hit with the family! Thank you.