Honey Ginger Chicken

Honey ginger chicken: juicy chunks of chicken thighs cooked in a sticky-sweet honey, ginger, and garlic sauce. This is a super fast and easy dinner recipe that can be on your table in around 30 minutes.

On the hunt for a new quick and easy chicken recipe to add to your weekly dinner rotation? I’m so glad you dropped by, because this honey ginger chicken is *exactly* what you’re looking for.  

It’s a total crowd-pleaser of a dish, with a sweet and tangy sauce and tender chunks of chicken thighs that are perfect for serving over a big bowl of rice.

Best of all, it’s super easy to make. This is my favorite sort of chicken recipe where the chicken is cooked in the sauce, so everything cooks in one pan and is super low-stress and practically fool-proof.

Once you have your ingredients prepped and measured out, which is honestly the most time-consuming part, the actual cooking time is less than 15 minutes.

So this is a dish that tastes great, is incredibly simple to make, and is going to have you in and out of the kitchen super quick. What’s not to love?

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

• Boneless skinless chicken thighs: Chicken thighs work great in this dish because you don’t have to worry about accidentally overcooking them in the sauce while you wait for it to thicken. You can substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts in this recipe, but when I tested it, I didn’t think they worked nearly as well.
• Ginger: Fresh ginger is so good in this dish, but if you don’t have any, you can substitute ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger. But the next time you’re at the store, buy some fresh ginger and pop it in your freezer so you have it on hand when you make this again!
• Flour: The flour in this recipe is optional. It helps the sauce cling to the chicken and assists with browning and thickening the sauce, but if you’re out of flour or don’t want the extra step, you can skip the dredging.
• White distilled vinegar: Vinegar gives the sauce a little kick that helps cut through the sweetness of the honey. I don’t recommend making this dish without some sort of vinegar, but if you’re out of white distilled, you can substitute apple cider or rice vinegar.

Measuring tip: Give your measuring cup a quick spritz with cooking spray before measuring out the honey. It will make the honey slide out of the cup faster and easier when you pour it into the sauce.

How to Make Honey Ginger Garlic Chicken

1. Cook your rice and prep your ingredients: This is a quick dish, so make sure your rice is almost ready before you start the chicken.

While your rice cooks, assemble and prep your ingredients so they’re ready to go. Once the chicken hits the pan, this dish comes together FAST and you definitely won’t have time to grate ginger or find the vinegar at the back of your cupboard.

2. Make cornstarch slurry: In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved (the cornstarch is easier to dissolve in a smaller amount of liquid at first) and then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Set aside. This will be used to thicken the sauce later.

3. Prep chicken: Pat chicken thighs dry and trim any excessively large pieces of fat from the meat. Also feel along the underside of each thigh for any pieces of cartilage your butcher might have missed. Cut each thigh into 1½ to 2-inch chunks.

Add chicken to a medium-to-large bowl and sprinkle flour and salt over the top. Toss until the chicken is well-coated.

4. Brown the chicken: In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Once hot, add the chicken. Cook the chicken undisturbed for 3 minutes. The pan is going to be too crowded to get a really good sear, but you should get a little extra browning, which is what we’re going for.

Stir the chicken and continue to cook just until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink.

5. Add the garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes: Turn heat down to medium and use a spatula to pull the chicken to one side of the pan. In the empty space, melt butter and add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.

Cook until the garlic is lightly golden and aromatic, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

6. Add remaining ingredients: Stir the soy sauce mixture in its bowl once or twice to re-mix any cornstarch that has settled at the bottom of the bowl. Add the mixture to the skillet along with the honey and vinegar.

Stir everything together and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickened (when you run a spatula or wooden spoon down the center of the skillet, the sauce should take at least 5 seconds to fill back in), about 5 to 8 minutes.

7. Serve: Serve over rice, garnish with scallions if desired, and enjoy!

FAQ

Can I make this in advance?

Yes. You can make this dish up to 48 hours in advance. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave. 

What to serve with honey ginger chicken?

Serve your chicken over white rice (I like Calrose rice for this sort of dish) with a steamed vegetable like broccoli or green beans. 

More Easy Dinners Recipes

• Honey Garlic Chicken
• Balsamic Chicken
• BBQ Shredded Chicken
• Teriyaki Beef
• Broccoli Potato Soup

Honey Ginger Chicken

Honey ginger chicken: juicy chunks of chicken thighs cooked in a sticky sweet honey, ginger, and garlic sauce. This is a super fast and easy dinner recipe that can be on your table in around 30 minutes.

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Asian-inspired

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes

Total Time: 34 minutes minutes

Servings (Hover or Click to Change Yield): 4 to 5 servings

Calories: 420kcal

Author: Tracy

Equipment

• 12-inch skillet

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ▢ 3 tablespoons soy sauce divided
• ▢ 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch pieces
• ▢ ⅓ cup (43g) all-purpose flour *
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (14g) butter
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic crushed or minced
• ▢ 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• ▢ Pinch of red pepper flakes optional
• ▢ ⅓ cup honey
• ▢ 2 tablespoons white vinegar

Instructions

• Prep and assemble your ingredients so they’re ready to go.
• In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce. Stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved and then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Set aside.
• Add chicken to a medium-to-large bowl and sprinkle flour and salt over the top. Toss until the chicken is well-coated.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Once hot, add the chicken. Spread the chicken out in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 3 minutes.
• Stir the chicken and continue to cook just until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink.
• Turn heat down to medium and use a spatula to pull the chicken to one side of the pan. In the empty space, melt butter and add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.
• Cook until the garlic is lightly golden and aromatic, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Stir the soy sauce mixture in its bowl once or twice to re-mix any cornstarch that has settled at the bottom of the bowl. Add the mixture to the skillet along with the honey and vinegar.
• Stir everything together and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickened (when you run a spatula or wooden spoon down the center of the skillet, the sauce should take at least 5 seconds to fill back in), about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Taste and add salt if needed. Serve over white rice and enjoy!

Notes

• *Flour: The flour in this recipe is optional. It helps the sauce cling to the chicken and assists with browning and thickening the sauce, but if you’re out of flour or don’t want the extra step, you can skip the dredging.
• Storage: You can make this dish up to 48 hours in advance. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave.
• Freezing: This dish freezes well. Store in a freezer bag in your freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating. 

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