Juicy chicken breast cutlets, seared, tossed in a mouthwateringly simple honey garlic sauce, then broiled until sticky and caramelized. Made with simple ingredients, in one pan, and in just 30 minutes – including prep time!ย
This ultra easy Honey Garlic Chicken recipe is a winner when it comes to weeknight dinners!ย We love easy main dishes, like my Honey Lime Shrimp,ย and Creamy Garlic Chicken.ย This is one of myย Dinnerย recipes youโll definitely want in your recipe rotation!
HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN RECIPE
After the popularity of my honey garlic salmon (you guys love it – and I’m so glad you do!), I knew I needed to find other ways to use that fabulous sauce!
We eat a lot of chicken around here; it’s just so versatile and the kids rarely balk at any meal involving white meat.ย So chicken was my first thought, then I remembered a honey garlic chicken recipe that I used to make allllllll the time when I was first cooking at home.
It was so good, and so easy to make!
Plus, chicken and honey garlic flavors are just a match made in heaven.ย I kept the seasoning and sauce nearly identical to the salmon recipe, with two exceptions.
I added a light dredge in some flour for the chicken.ย This creates a light crust on the chicken, as well as encouraging the sauce to really stick to the chicken.
Also, I omitted one of the tablespoons of water, since we won’t be cooking the sauce as long in this recipe, with less basting of the protein.
Regardless, this is a fabulous weeknight dinner option, when you need something easy to put together, yet tastes gourmet!
You wonโt believe how such a simple recipe can pack SO much flavor.ย Each bite is full of sweet and savory flavors and delicate textures.
HOW TO MAKE HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
- Prep chicken.ย Start prepping the chicken by slicing the 2 breasts into cutlets.ย Then season cutlets with spices on both sides.
- Dredge chicken.ย Coating the chicken in flour helps create a crust.
- Sear chicken.ย Cook chicken pieces about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden.ย Set aside on a plate.
- Make sauce.ย Add butter and saute garlic.ย Then add honey, soy sauce, water, sriracha and lemon juice and stir to combine.ย Let simmer until thickened.
- Add chicken back to pan.ย Once the chicken is in the pan again, turn it coat on all sides and spoon some sauce over the top.
- Broil.ย Broil chicken in the pan, just a minute or so, until sticky and slightly caramelized.
ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS
- THE FLOUR – it’s an extra step, but one that makes a great difference!ย This creates a light crust on the chicken, as well as encouraging the sauce to really stick to the chicken.ย You can omit it if you want, or if you’re gluten-free (see the gluten free variation listed in the next section below for more details).
- SOY SAUCE – whenever I’m using soy sauce, I always use a reduced sodium version, as I’d rather control the salt level myself, and regular soy sauce can be pretty salty!
- VARYING AMOUNTS OF GARLIC – I put a range on the amount of garlic cloves because everyone might not be a garlic fanatic like I am lol.ย We use 6 cloves when making this at home, but if you’re not a huge garlic fan, I’d go with 4, or even less if you really aren’t a fan.
- SLICING CHICKEN IN HALF – the reason I slice the chicken breasts in half is so they’re thinner and will cook quicker and more evenly.ย Plus you get a better sauce to chicken ratio ๐
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN CUTLETS FROM A CHICKEN BREAST
- Start on the thicker side of the breast, so it’s easier to work with.
- Hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and carefully slice the chicken from right to left (if you’re a righty) completely in half.
- Now you’ll have two thinner pieces of chicken, which are called chicken cutlets.
- Alternately, some grocery store may sell chicken cutlets or thin cut chicken, eliminating the need to do this yourself.
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- SPICY – if you’re a fan of spice, you can increase the amount of sriracha, add some red pepper flakes, or increase the amount of blackening seasoning.
- MILDER – personally, I think this recipe is fairly mild, but if you’re sensitive to heat, you can omit the sriracha sauce.
- GLUTEN-FREE – to make this recipe gluten-free, omit the flour, and use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.ย Tamari (a darker soy sauce) is generally gluten free as well, but you’ll want to check the ingredients on your bottle to be sure.
- BITE-SIZED – cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces (about 1″), and sear about 2 minutes per side, just until golden, then proceed with recipe as written.
- PROTEINS – this honey garlic sauce is fabulous on just about anything!ย Salmon, pork, shrimp, tofu, vegetables, etc.
- HERBS – the version of this recipe I used to make nearly a decade ago included fresh rosemary, so feel free to add a teaspoon of minced fresh rosemary, or a 1/4 – 1/2 tsp of dried rosemary to the seasoning mix!
MAKING HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN AHEAD OF TIME
I think this recipe tastes best when made right before eating, but you can absolutely whisk together the sauce ahead of time if youโd like.
You could also slice the chicken breasts in half ahead of time, and keep covered and refrigerated until dinner time.
STORAGE
Leftover chicken should be refrigerated in an airtight container and consumed within 4-5 days.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
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- Enameled Cast Iron Skillet – heavy bottomed skillets, like this one, heat evenly and give a reliable sear.ย Plus, it’s oven-safe for broiling!
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Ingredients
CHICKEN
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb. total)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp blackening seasoning (optional)
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- minced fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
HONEY GARLIC SAUCE
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced (adjust per your tastes)
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce reduced sodium
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp sriracha sauce
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
PREP CHICKEN
- Hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and carefully slice the chicken from right to left (if you're a righty)... opening the chicken breast up like a book.ย Slice all the way through, so you now have 4 thinly sliced pieces of chicken.
- Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, paprika and blackening seasoning (if using).
DREDGE CHICKEN
- Add flour to shallow bowl or dish and add chicken to top of flour, press lightly, then turn chicken and press into the flour on the other side. Then shake off excess and set aside to a plate.
SEAR CHICKEN
- Add oil to large oven-safe skillet (I use cast iron) and heat over MED HIGH heat.ย Add chicken and cook about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden.ย Remove to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
MAKE HONEY GARLIC SAUCE
- Reduce heat to MED. Add butter and melt.ย Add garlic and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, cooking about 30 seconds.ย
- Add honey, soy sauce, water, sriracha and lemon juice and whisk to combine well.
- Let mixture simmer for about 4 minutes, or until sauce thickens into a spoonable glaze, like warm honey.
RETURN CHICKEN AND BROIL
- While sauce is thickening, preheat broiler to high.
- Add chicken back to the skillet, and spoon sauce over the chicken, turning to coat.
- Add skillet to oven and broil for 1-2 minutes, until sticky and slightly caramelized.
SERVE
- Serve hot, with a spoonful of extra sauce drizzled over the top and garnished with minced fresh parsley.
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Chef Tips
- THE FLOUR - it's an extra step, but one that makes a great difference!ย This creates a light crust on the chicken, as well as encouraging the sauce to really stick to the chicken.ย You can omit it if you want, or if you're gluten-free.
- SOY SAUCE - whenever I'm using soy sauce, I always use a reduced sodium version, as I'd rather control the salt level myself, and regular soy sauce can be pretty salty!
- VARYING AMOUNTS OF GARLIC - I put a range on the amount of garlic cloves because everyone might not be a garlic fanatic like I am lol.ย We use 6 cloves when making this at home, but if you're not a huge garlic fan, I'd go with 4, or even less if you really aren't a fan.
- SLICING CHICKEN IN HALF - the reason I slice the chicken breasts in half is so they're thinner and will cook quicker and more evenly.ย Plus you get a better sauce to chicken ratio.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN CUTLETS FROM A CHICKEN BREAST
- Start on the thicker side of the breast, so it's easier to work with.
- Hold your knife parallel to the cutting board and carefully slice the chicken from right to left (if you're a righty) completely in half.
- Now you'll have two thinner pieces of chicken, which are called chicken cutlets.
- Alternately, some grocery store may sell chicken cutlets or thin cut chicken, eliminating the need to do this yourself.
ย
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Any nutritional information shared is an estimate, and is automatically calculated through a program.ย If calorie count is important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer.ย Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
The Chunky Chef is not a nutritionist and doesnโt provide full nutritional information for recipes as she wouldn’t want to potentially and unknowingly pass along incorrect information.
If changing the recipe serving quantity, the recipe plugin will change the ingredient values for you, but it does NOT change the written instructions, those are manually added and not subject to a slider. You will have to extrapolate that multiplication to any amounts listed in the instructions.
For example: if an ingredient calls for 4 cups, and you doubled the recipe, it will automatically change to 8 cups. In the instructions, if I say โuse 4 cups of cheeseโ, you will have to realize that since you doubled it, you use 8 cups, not 4.
Imani Andrews says
What side dishes can be paired with this honey garlic chicken?
Mostly, which rice dishes pair well with this chicken dish?
Does the cilantro lime rice work?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes the cilantro lime rice would work, as will my garlic ginger rice (https://www.thechunkychef.com/instant-pot-garlic-ginger-rice/), or classic rice pilaf (https://www.thechunkychef.com/classic-rice-pilaf/).
Miriam says
My husband really liked the Honey Garlic Salmon. I left out the water, so the sauce was a nice consistency. Will definitely make this again and may try it with pork and chicken.
Dara Ritter says
Just made this recipe tonight for the first time and it was a huge hit! It will definitely be added to the rotation of regularly made meals.
Lisa T says
The only problem with my dish was I let my husband clean up and since we ate all of the chicken, he didn’t save the remaining sauce for the leftover rice! Not a mistake I’ll make again!!!!
The dish was really easy to make and super tasty. I might add chili flakes next time for a bit more heat, but that is just personal preference.
Becky says
Fabulous dish! I did add some red pepper flakes just to add more heat. This was truly a great dish and so easy to prepare! Thanks for the great recipe. Yummy!!!๐๐
Lisa says
Another FANTASTIC recipe! I was eating the sauce like soup after everyone was done lol. We love your salmon recipe so I knew weโd love this and hubby thought it was especially yummy. Thanks for all your delicious recipes Chunky Chef!
Lisa says
Oh and I used all lemon juice and no waterโฆmade several times and so yummy.
Charloth says
Mamaw and hubby approved!!! They love this recipe and want me to make it again. THANK YOU, The Chunky Chef ๐
Debbie K says
Excellent. Very flavorful and simple. I didn’t have sirracha so I used chili garlic sauce and it was delicious. its definitely a repeat dish!
LauraEAD says
So, so good! I didnโt have any sirracha so I used red pepper. Still, the flavor was excellent and the directions were easy to follow as well as easy to make.
This goes into my favorite meals recipe binder. Thank you!
SticksNSpades says
Could you substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs?
The Chunky Chef says
Absolutely ๐
Alina says
Loved it ! Being active at the gym,Itโs so hard for me to eat chicken all the time . This recipe makes it less boring and delicious . I also loooove your recipes and photos to them . The plates usually has a very neutral colors , so the dish would stand out . Very pleasant to look at