With just 5 simple ingredients and 5 minutes of prep, this Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken is an easy weeknight dinner recipe for stress-free evenings!
With just 5 simple ingredients and 5 minutes of prep, this Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken is an easy weeknight dinner recipe for stress-free evenings! The tender, juicy meat is easy to pull off of the bone for little kids, while the rich, full flavor keeps adults happy as well! Plus, this adaptable recipe can be adjusted to serve just two people!
Let’s face it: most of us just don’t have the time, energy, or desire to spend more than a few minutes pulling together dinner every night. But for some reason, the family still wants to eat!???? And that’s where this Honey Garlic Chicken comes in…
Since the meal only requires about 5 minutes of hands-on prep time, it’s one of those great easy, go-to dinners for busy nights.
Plus, the honey garlic chicken is basted in the most dreamy, sticky, sweet-and-savory sauce that gives the meat a gorgeous golden brown, crispy exterior as it bakes. Seriously…this chicken is downright beee-you-tee-full!
Here’s What You Need To Make It;
- Chicken
- Garlic
- Honey
- Rice Vinegar
- Soy Sauce
- Water
What Type Of Chicken To Use
While it looks fancy enough to serve guests, the honey garlic chicken is equally appropriate for your kids who just want to use their hands to eat their food — utensils optional! Drumsticks and kiddos are a match made in heaven, right?
But don’t worry — if you prefer chicken breasts or chicken thighs, those pieces work equally well with this recipe. I typically use a combination of all 3!
If someone at your dinner table is a bit more finicky, you can easily remove the skin and bones after the meat cooks. The tender, juicy inside is mild and palatable for even your choosiest family members!
I like to serve our Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken with rice and steamed broccoli, but it also tastes great with salad, tucked inside a wrap, or served straight off the pan with a piece of crusty bread for soaking up the sauce!
No matter how you choose to enjoy it, I know that the easy dinner will soon become a regular at your family’s table as well!
Cooking Just for Two?
You can easily cut the recipe in half. The grocery store often sells bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks in packages that range from 1.5 – 2 lbs.
That’s the perfect amount of chicken to cook for two people, and then just cut the sauce ingredients in half as well. Cooking time and temperature will remain the same.
More Chicken Recipes To Try;
- Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole
- 5-Ingredient Crescent Roll Chicken Casserole
- Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
- Dump and Bake Jerk Chicken
5-Ingredient Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken
With just 5 simple ingredients and 5 minutes of prep, this Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken is an easy weeknight dinner recipe for stress-free evenings!
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken parts (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, or a combination)
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water more or less, to thin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
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For easy clean-up, line a roasting pan or a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
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Place chicken, skin-side up, on prepared pan. Season with salt and pepper on all sides.
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In a small bowl, whisk together honey, garlic, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Add water to thin, as necessary.
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Spoon about half of the sauce over chicken and spread liberally on each piece. Set aside remaining sauce.
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Bake, uncovered, for about 50 minutes - 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through and skin is crispy and golden brown. As the chicken cooks, baste it once or twice with the remaining sauce.
Recipe Notes
Cooking Just for Two? You can easily cut the recipe in half. The grocery store often sells bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks in packages that range from 1.5 - 2 lbs. That's the perfect amount of chicken to cook for two people, and then just cut the sauce ingredients in half as well. Cooking time and temperature will remain the same.
Oooh I love sweet, savory, sticky chicken legs! I wish I’d made this for dinner tonight!
Thanks, Melissa! I hope that you get to try it! 🙂
What do you do with the remaining sauce?
Hi! At the end of the recipe you’ll see that I use the remaining sauce to baste the chicken at the end of cooking. 🙂
This looks sooooo delish! Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks, Lizzy! Enjoy! 🙂
Loving these finger licking delicious chicken drumsticks and thighs. Love the fact that it just has a handful of ingredients and low prep. Sharing, of course!
Thanks so much, Bobbi! I appreciate the share!
If using boneless chicken breasts, what should the cooking time be?
Hi, Vivian! I would try them at 400 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken breasts. 🙂
Can you use other seasonings such as badia before applying the other toppings?
Hi, Nicole! Yes, you can season the meat with anything that you love before basting with the sauce!
Thank you Blair ????
Of course! 🙂
Is soy sauce a must?
Hey, Renee! I think it’s a must because I think it adds a great salty, savory flavor to the sauce. I’ve never tried leaving it out, so I can’t say how that would taste. If you don’t want to use soy sauce, you can sub with something like liquid aminos. Enjoy! 🙂
Can i substitute rice vinegar with rice wine?
Yes, I think that would work well!
I just made these. I did do 2 things differently. 1, we like a little zing so I used a fresh dragon cayenne pepper chopped up tiny. 2. I put the thighs in a zip lock bag and stuck them back in the fridge for 45 minutes. I brought them back to room temperature and the patted excess sauce off. At about 30 minutes and 50 minutes I gave them a little baste. My husband ate more chicken than I’ve ever seen him eat before.
Love that! So glad that your husband approved, too! 🙂
Wow these look incredibly delicious, I love the sticky garlic marinade!
Can I use balsamic vinegar instead of rice vinegar
Hi, Dorothea! Yes, you can definitely substitute with balsamic vinegar — the dish will just have a slightly different taste. 🙂
Can I use balsamic vinegar instead of rice vinegar
Making this as I type this. Smells amazing. Hopefully the kids eat it all.
Hi, Samantha! I hope that kids approved! 🙂
This sounds good. Can I leave out the rice vinegar?
Yes, you can! It will obviously have a slightly different taste without the vinegar, but it will work fine. You can thin with additional water, if necessary. Also, if you would like a substitute for the vinegar, you can use a different type such as apple cider vinegar.
Thanks so much. Trying thus tonight.
Awesome! Enjoy, Patty!
I’m actually gonna try to make this for dinner tonight…
Excellent! Enjoy, Letty!
This dish came out so good!!! My husband and children loved it!!! I think Marinate the chicken in the sauce!!! I would make this dish again!!! Thank you
Awesome! Thanks, Letty! 🙂
I have now made this several times but left out the vinegar and put a small amount of lemon juice in the sauce. The whole family has said that it needs to be a staple in our house! Thank you so much!!!!
Thanks, Sarah! I’m so glad that your family enjoys it! 🙂
This sounds so great. My problem is leaving the skin on the chicken. I’m on two very restrictive diets and chicken skin is not on the list. What will happen if I remove the skin?
Hi, Betty! I think that would be fine. It won’t have the same flavor and it won’t be as crispy on the outside, but it will still be tasty! 🙂
Thank you very much for replying so quickly.
Trying tonight with my own kick ???? thanks! Can’t wait!
Excellent! Enjoy, Caroline!
Ooh! Air fryer for your birthday present. ????You stated that you used the air fryer to roast the vegetables, have you use it to cook either chicken or beef or pork or fish yet? I am curious to see what the food tastes like cooking in an air fryer. Please let me know.
Pictures are beautiful.
Hi, Cecilia! Yes! We actually tried chicken wings in the air fryer over the weekend. Following the instructions in one of the recipe books that came with the air fryer, the chicken wings honestly turned out AMAZINGLY well. We were shocked, because we were pretty skeptical, but the wings were crispy and tasted like they had been deep fried. Keith is hooked, and we’re baffled as to how this actually works! Hah! I’m not a huge fan of chicken wings, so I’m looking forward to trying fried chicken thighs or breasts in there. Will report back on those!