Honey Garlic Chicken

This 20-minute one-pan honey garlic chicken is an easy weeknight dinner that everyone will love.  

I have another quick and easy chicken recipe for you today, honey garlic chicken.

This is one of those recipes you’ll be glad to have in your back pocket on busy weeknights because it cooks up fast and easy. You just need a handful of pantry ingredients, 20 minutes, and one pan.

The chicken comes out moist and tender, cooked in a sweet honey garlic sauce that you’ll want to drizzle over everything. Serve it with some steamed rice and a green veggie, and you have a super simple, super quick meal that everyone will love.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

• 2 medium-to-large chicken breasts: Because we want the chicken to cook quickly, this recipe starts with 2 chicken breasts (about 1  to 1 1/2 pounds of meat), sliced in half to make 4 thinner cutlets. Cutlets cook much faster than full chicken breasts, allowing us to cook the chicken in the honey garlic sauce without it burning.
• Flour: Dusting the chicken with flour before frying is optional, but it gives it a nice golden crust and helps the sauce stick to the chicken after cooking. If you’re gluten-free or just short on time, you can skip the flour in the recipe, just sprinkle the chicken breasts with a little salt before browning. 
• Honey and white vinegar: Honey is the primary ingredient in this sauce, which makes it quite sweet. A little vinegar helps cut through that sweetness and adds a little acidic edge to the sauce. I really love vinegar in recipes, so I like to use 2 tablespoons here. If you’re not a huge fan, you can cut the vinegar in half or use a less aggressive vinegar like apple cider or rice vinegar.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps thicken the sauce, but it’s optional. In this recipe, you’ll mix it with 1 tablespoon of water before adding it to the rest of your ingredients. Don’t try and toss dry cornstarch into the pan with hot liquids or you’ll get cornstarch lumps that you won’t be able to get rid of.

How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken

1. Slice each piece of meat into 2 even cutlets by placing your hand on top of the chicken breast and running a sharp knife horizontally through the breast, slicing the top and bottom into two thin, even pieces.
2. Toss the chicken breast pieces in flour and then in a large skillet, sear on both sides until golden brown.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan, melt butter, and brown the garlic. Add sauce ingredients and bring to a low simmer.
4. Return the chicken to the pan, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the sauce and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

FAQ

Can I make this dish ahead of time?

Yes. You can make the chicken and the sauce up to 48 hours in advance.

Can I double the sauce?

Yes. You can double the sauce with no recipe changes except you may need to simmer it a little longer for it to thicken. BUT, this sauce is quite sweet. A little goes a long way, so you might not need as much sauce as you think you do.

How do you thicken honey garlic sauce?

A slurry of cornstarch and water helps thicken the honey garlic sauce. If your sauce is still not as thick as you’d like, just continue to simmer it until more liquid cooks off and it thickens to your desired consistency.

What to serve with honey garlic chicken?

Serve the chicken over steamed white rice with a simple veggie side like:

• Steamed broccoli
• Roasted green beans
• Roasted zucchini
• Steamed green beans

More Easy Weeknight Recipes

• Easy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
• Oven-roasted Tri-tip
• Quick Beef Teriyaki
• Asparagus-stuffed Chicken Breasts

Honey Garlic Chicken

This 20-minute one-pan honey garlic chicken is an easy weeknight dinner that everyone will love.  

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 8 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings (Hover or Click to Change Yield): 4 servings

Calories: 353kcal

Author: Tracy

Equipment

• 12-inch skillet with a lid

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 medium (about 1 to 1½ pounds) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ ⅓ cup (40g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (14g) butter
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic crushed or minced
• ▢ Pinch of red pepper flakes optional
• ▢ ⅓ cup honey
• ▢ ¼ cup water
• ▢ 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cornstarch whisked with 1 tablespoon of water

Instructions

• Slice each piece of chicken into 2 cutlets by placing your hand on top of the chicken breast and running a sharp knife horizontally through the breast, slicing the top and bottom into two thin, even pieces.
• In a bowl or container large enough to fit a chicken breast, stir together flour and salt. Dredge each chicken breast piece in the mixture until lightly coated.
• In a 12-inch skillet with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add chicken breasts and cook until well-browned, 2-3 minutes. Flip and repeat with the second side. Transfer chicken breasts to a plate.
• Turn heat down to medium and add the butter to the pan. Once the butter is melted, add garlic and optional red pepper flakes and cook until garlic is lightly golden, about 1 minute.
• Add honey, water, soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch/water mixture and bring to a simmer, using a wooden spoon to scrape any cooked-on bits from the bottom of the pan. Carefully add chicken back to the pan. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes. If at any point the sauce becomes too thick and looks like it might burn, add a couple tablespoons of water to the pan.
• Transfer chicken breasts to a clean plate and allow them to rest for 5 minutes. If sauce is not quite thick enough, you can allow it to continue simmering uncovered while your chicken rests until it reaches your desired consistency.
• Serve the chicken topped with the sauce and a side of rice.

Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Tag @BakingMischief or hashtag it #BakingMischief.

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