5-Ingredient Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken

Featured image of baked 5-ingredient crispy and sticky honey garlic chicken

5 from 7 votes

5-Ingredient Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken

With just 5 simple ingredients and 5 minutes of prep, this crispy, sticky honey garlic chicken is an easy weeknight dinner recipe for stress-free evenings!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Asian

Keyword garlic honey chicken, Honey Garlic Chicken, honey garlic chicken thighs

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 5

Servings servings

Calories 305kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

3-4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, or a combination)
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic (or 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons less-sodium soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons water
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Optional garnish: sesame seeds, sliced green onion

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
For easy clean-up, line a roasting pan or a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Place chicken, skin-side up, on prepared pan. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper on all sides.
In a small bowl, whisk together honey, garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and water.
Spoon about half of the sauce over the chicken and spread liberally on each piece. Set aside remaining sauce.
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. The meat should reach an internal temperature of 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Notes

Pat the chicken dry before seasoning and basting. Removing the extra moisture will help the skin get nice and crispy in the oven.
Use a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. A lot of fat, juices, and sauce will drip off of the chicken as it bakes, so the foil-lined sheet catches those drips and makes cleanup easy.
The total cooking time will vary depending on the size and type of chicken that you use. Smaller wings, drumsticks, and thighs will cook faster than large bone-in chicken breasts, for example. As a result, it's best to use an instant-read meat thermometer to know exactly when your chicken is done. The meat should reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
We find that bone-in honey garlic chicken thighs are our favorite, since the dark thigh meat stays so tender and juicy in the oven.
Make the chicken spicy by garnishing the pieces with crushed red pepper flakes, or by adding a dash of hot sauce (like sriracha) to the honey garlic sauce.
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 ½ - 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.
Add a bit of sesame oil to the sauce for even richer, toasted Asian flavor.

Nutrition