Honey Garlic Chicken

Sweet, tangy, and weeknight-friendly—your new go-to chicken dinner!

After a busy day I love being able to whip up a quick dinner meal like this Honey Garlic Chicken recipe. I almost always have all of the ingredients at home and saucy chicken recipes happen to be my family’s favorite! This dish includes lots of tender chicken that gets covered in a super delicious sweet & tangy honey garlic sauce. It’s simple enough to make for lunch or dinner, and is so good you might get a special request to make it every week!

How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken Step-by-Step

Start by making the sauce. Combine the 1/3 cup honey, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sriracha, 2 tsp toasted sesame oil, and 1 Tbsp cornstarch together in a small bowl. Set the sauce aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 Tbsp of oil. Swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Once the skillet is hot, add half of the chicken and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet onto a separate plate and set aside. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil and repeat with cooking the 2nd batch of chicken until cooked through. Set all of the chicken aside.

In the same skillet add 2 Tbsp of butter and lower the heat down to medium-low heat. Add four minced garlic cloves and sauté for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.

Next give the sauce another brief stir, then pour the sauce into the skillet with the garlic. Stir the sauce and scrape up any browned bits that are stuck at the bottom of the skillet.

Let the sauce simmer for about 2 minutes to allow the cornstarch to activate and thicken the sauce.

Now add the cooked chicken back to the skillet and stir with the honey garlic sauce until all of the pieces are evenly coated. Continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes to allow the chicken to heat through.

Remove the skillet from the heat and top with sliced green onions. Enjoy with fluffy white or brown rice!

Serving Suggestions

I served this honey garlic chicken with a side of white rice and some sliced green onions on top. But you can also enjoy it with brown rice, vegetable fried rice or even cauliflower rice. Sautéed green beans or a side of this sesame cucumber salad would also taste great!

Watch how to make it

Honey Garlic Chicken

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1/3 cup honey ,,,,, 2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar ,,,,, 1 tsp sriracha
2 tsp toasted sesame oil ,,,,, 1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ,,,,, 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper ,,,,, 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 green onions, sliced

Start by making the sauce. Combine the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha, toasted sesame oil, and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Set the sauce aside.
Cut the chicken breasts into small 1/2 inch sized pieces. Season with salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Then toss the chicken pieces in the flour until each piece is evenly coated.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 Tbsp of oil. Swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Once the skillet is hot, add half of the chicken and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet onto a separate plate and set aside. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil and repeat with cooking the 2nd batch of chicken until cooked through. Set all of the chicken aside.
In the same skillet add the butter and lower the heat down to medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic cloves and saute for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
Next give the sauce another brief stir, then pour the sauce into the skillet with the garlic. Stir the sauce and scrape up any browned bits that are stuck at the bottom of the skillet. Let the sauce simmer for about 2 minutes to allow the cornstarch to activate and thicken the sauce.
Now add the cooked chicken back to the skillet and stir with the sauce until all of the pieces are evenly coated. Continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes to allow the chicken to heat through.
Remove the skillet from the heat, top with sliced green onions, and enjoy!

Gluten free – use cornflour / cornstarch instead. It won’t brown quite as evenly but once covered in sauce, you won’t know the difference.
Soy Sauce – Light or all purpose soy sauce is suitable for this recipe. I don’t recommend using Dark Soy Sauce (flavour will dominate, bottle label will say if it is Dark Soy Sauce).
Other proteins: This sauce is ideal to use for any protein that is suitable for searing in a pan. Use chops, steaks, cutlets! Follow the recipe as written, including dusting the protein with flour. Just adjust the cook time – the trick is to add the garlic and other sauce ingredients before it is fully cooked through, so the meat finishes cooking as the sauce reduces down into a syrupy consistency.
Tofu – Use FIRM tofu. Cut “steaks” about 0.75cm / 1/4″ thick. Pat dry, spray or rub with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, THEN lightly coat with flour. Coat base of skillet with oil over medium high heat, then cook tofu 1 min each side until crispy, then remove onto paper towels. Then make the sauce in a small saucepan or skillet using just 2 tbsp (30g) butter (instead of 3.5 tbsp), following recipe from Step 5. Serve with crispy tofu!
Prawns/shrimp – use large prawns (thaw, drain well and pat dry if using frozen). Lightly coat prawns with flour per recipe and sear for 1 minute on the first side, then just 30 seconds on the other side before proceeding with Step 5.
Fish – cook per recipe for chicken breast. This sauce is very, very good with fish! This is a good sauce for economical fish because it’s a strong flavoured sauce. For expensive fish, I think it’s better to let the flavour of the fish come through and serve with an elegant sauce like this Lemon Butter Sauce.
Nutrition per serving, assuming you scrape every drop of Sauce from the pan, and why wouldn’t you?

Calories: 347kcal
Carbohydrates: 30g
Protein: 14g
Fat: 20g
Fiber: 1g

Hi, I'm Amelia

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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Honey Garlic Chicken

How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken Step-by-Step

Serving Suggestions

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Honey Garlic Chicken

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Hi, I'm Amelia

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