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This sweet and savory Dump-and-Bake Honey Garlic Chicken is a healthy, easy dinner recipe that the whole family will love! Serve it in lettuce wraps, over rice, on salad or in tortillas. The versatile, freezer-friendly meat can be prepped in advance and baked in the oven or thrown in the slow cooker for a quick meal any night of the week!
We all need plenty of quick and easy chicken recipes for dinner, since they tend to be the healthiest, most affordable options that everyone at the table can enjoy. This particular baked garlic chicken recipe takes advantage of either chicken breasts or chicken thighs — so pick your favorite, toss it with with a simple marinade, and pop it in the oven (or Crock Pot)!
Dinner will be ready with just 10 minutes of prep!
How to cook Honey Garlic Chicken:
First, place the chicken breasts and the diced onion in a 2-quart baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Next, prepare the honey garlic chicken marinade! You’ll need the following ingredients:
- Soy sauce
- Honey
- Hoisin sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Garlic
- Sesame oil
- Ground ginger
Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a separate bowl or measuring cup, and then pour it over the chicken.
Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake the chicken in a 375 degree F oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F. The total amount of cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your meat.
When the chicken is done, shred the meat with two forks and stir it with the sauce.
What to serve with Honey Garlic Chicken:
This Chinese Honey Garlic Chicken goes well with other Asian-inspired sides. Try serving the meat with:
- Rice or cauliflower rice;
- Wrapped in tortillas or lettuce leaves;
- Over a salad, such as this Chinese Chicken Salad with Cashews (use the honey garlic chicken as the chicken for the salad);
- With this Ramen Noodle Salad;
- Alongside egg rolls (just buy some in the freezer aisle!);
- With Cold Peanut Sesame Noodles;
- Paired with vegetables like this Sesame Ginger Snap Pea Salad or this Oven-Roasted Sesame Broccoli.
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- Prep ahead! I like to whisk together the sauce in advance, and prep the chicken and onions in the dish. Keep everything covered in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. Just before baking, pour the sauce over the chicken, cover with foil, and pop it in the oven.
- The cooked meat and sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Stored in an airtight container, the cooked chicken will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Make it a freezer meal! In a large Ziploc freezer bag, combine raw chicken, onion, and sauce. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the chicken and sauce in the refrigerator overnight, then bake according to recipe instructions below.
- Make it in the Slow Cooker! Instead of baking the chicken in the oven, you can let it simmer in the Crock Pot. Place chicken and onion in the bottom of a slow cooker. Pour honey garlic sauce over top. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours. Shred the chicken with two forks and stir to combine with the sauce. TIP: I find that chicken thighs stay more moist and tender in the slow cooker than chicken breasts. Feel free to use 2 lbs. of chicken thighs instead of the chicken breasts called for in the recipe.
- Cooking just for two? Cut all of the ingredients in half. The baking instructions remain the same.
- Use the same honey garlic marinade to create a Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry dish in a skillet. Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and brown in the pan. Add some vegetables (such as broccoli florets, onion, red bell pepper) and simmer with the sauce until sauce thickens and vegetables are tender.
More easy healthy chicken recipes that you might enjoy:
- Dump-and-Bake Chicken and Mushrooms
- Dump-and-Bake Mediterranean Chicken
- Tomato Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken
- Dump-and-Bake Chicken Marsala
- “No Work” Baked Chicken
- 5-Ingredient Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken {this recipe works well with drumsticks or wings!}
Dump-and-Bake Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 4 chicken breasts that were approximately 8 ounces each)
- 1 cup finely diced onion (I used frozen pre-diced onion for a shortcut)
- ½ cup less sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic (I used pre-minced fresh garlic for a shortcut)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- Optional garnish: crushed red pepper flakes; sliced green onion; chopped peanuts
- For serving: rice, pasta, tortillas, salad, or lettuce wraps
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Place chicken breasts and diced onion in the prepared dish.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil and ginger. Pour sauce over the chicken.
- Cover tightly with foil. Bake (covered) for 45-50 minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- While the chicken is still in the dish (or on a separate cutting board), use two forks to shred the meat. Stir the chicken and sauce together until everything is combined.
- Serve shredded chicken over rice, noodles, in tortillas or lettuce wraps, or on salad. Garnish with crushed red pepper flakes, chopped peanuts, and sliced green onion, if desired.
Notes
- Prep ahead! I like to whisk together the sauce in advance, and prep the chicken and onions in the dish. Keep everything covered in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. Just before baking, pour the sauce over the chicken, cover with foil, and pop it in the oven.
- The cooked meat and sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Stored in an airtight container, the cooked chicken will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Make it a freezer meal! In a large Ziploc freezer bag, combine raw chicken, onion, and sauce. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the chicken and sauce in the refrigerator overnight, then bake according to recipe instructions below.
- Make it in the Slow Cooker! Instead of baking the chicken in the oven, you can let it simmer in the Crock Pot. Place chicken and onion in the bottom of a slow cooker. Pour honey garlic sauce over top. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours. Shred the chicken with two forks and stir to combine with the sauce. TIP: I find that chicken thighs stay more moist and tender in the slow cooker than chicken breasts. Feel free to use 2 lbs. of chicken thighs instead of the chicken breasts called for in the recipe.
- Cooking just for two? Cut all of the ingredients in half. The baking instructions remain the same.
- Use the same honey garlic marinade to create a Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry dish in a skillet. Dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and brown in the pan. Add some vegetables (such as broccoli florets, onion, red bell pepper) and simmer with the sauce until sauce thickens and vegetables are tender.
This looks so wholesome and delicious.
Yum this sounds so good!! Will definitely be giving it a try soon. 🙂 Thanks for all your recipes.
Awesome! Thanks, Tess! I hope you enjoy! 🙂