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Say hello to your new best friend: Honey Chicken! What’s for dinner tonight? This is. Every. Single. Night. Sweet, tangy, and full of flavor, this honey chicken is quick, easy, and made from pantry ingredients.

 

 

Making honey glazed chicken is soooo nummy. The honey, soy sauce and spices perfectly coat the chicken creating a literal finger licking sauce that you could use on anything. Or everything.

But you should absolutely use it on chicken. It’s a great recipe that comes together in just a matter of minutes.

I love how this easy chicken recipe is so quick to make. With simple to follow instructions and a quick few minutes, I’ve got dinner on the table. And it’s very easy to double or triple the batch.

Which I do pretty much every time because if we eat honey soy chicken bites, we’re going to want to eat it again. And again. And again. Sooo delicious.

If you love Chinese food, but don’t want to spend hours cooking, whip up this easy recipe of honey chicken. Cooked on the stove top, it will become a family favorite meal!

 

 

What is Honey Chicken?

Honey Chicken is a popular Chinese chicken dish. It is created by frying the chicken and vegetables and then drenching them in a tangy and sweet honey chicken marinade with soy sauce and garlic. Most often it is served over rice but can also be served over vegetables.

There are many similarities between honey chicken, orange chicken, and sweet and sour chicken, but the main difference between them all is the sauce they are served with. Though in my own opinion, they are all super delicious. 

 

 

How To Make Honey Chicken?

First you need to gather your ingredients.

• Vegetable Oil: I personally love and use olive oil in this recipe. If you want to make your honey chicken more like what you’d find in a Chinese restaurant, you can also use sesame oil. The oil is not the flavor you’ll be tasting most though so feel free to use what works for you.
• Chicken: I use chicken breasts in my honey chicken recipe. I think they hold up well with the savory honey sauce, make the perfect biting proportions when cubed, and my kids love the texture. 
• Onion: Yellow onion, purple onions, white onions, so many onions, so many flavors, so many options. Pick the one in your cupboard. That’s always the best advice I can give you. This recipe will be wonderful with all of them.
• Bell Pepper: Green bell peppers tend to be a little less sweet and a little more bitter than the other colors. The reason you’ll love them in honey glazed chicken is because the honey is already sweet enough. The bell pepper helps add a little bit of a bite to all that sweetness.
• Garlic: used offset the sweetness of the honey. Not enough to make the chicken spicy, but enough to add flavor. You can either use fresh garlic or garlic paste. If you don’t have either, garlic powder could be substituted.
• Honey: I love to get honey from local farms in the area. I’ve heard it can help with allergies if you have them. I don’t know about that, but I do know it’s super sweet and delicious.
• Soy Sauce: Soy sauce gives the marinade the perfect amount of tang. I love the effect soy sauce has on everything.
• Black Pepper: All you need is a dash. And no salt needed because the soy sauce is already salty enough.
• Corn Starch: Used for thickening the honey marinade.
• Water: You need a little water mixed with cornstarch to get the right consistency before mixing into your honey chicken sauce. Also honey and cornstarch do some crazy things together so go look up oobleck while you’re at it and make some with your kids.
• Rice: I love this recipe served over Jasmine rice. It’s wonderful. But I think you could really serve this over any rice from sticky rice, brown rice or cauliflower rice. Use what you got and what you love.

Pro Tips:

• Use paper towels to dry off chicken
• Serve garnished with green onions or sesame seeds.
• Add a drop or two of your favorite hot sauce ore a few red pepper flakes to add a kick to your recipe.
• Thanks to the soy sauce, you wont need to add the standard teaspoon salt. Use low sodium soy sauce for best results.

 

 

How to Cook Honey Chicken?

1. Chicken: The chicken pieces and vegetables all get cooked at the same time in a large skillet until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are soft.
2. Marinade: While the chicken is cooking, get your sauce ingredients ready. It’ll include your garlic, honey, soy sauce, and pepper.
3. Mix: Mix the honey mixture all together with the chicken and get your thickening cornstarch and water in there. Allow it to do it’s thing and produce the best honey garlic chicken recipe you’ve ever had. Yum!
4. Serve: This recipe cooks FAST! Which I love. So here’s a tip: Get your rice ready first. Rice takes longer than anything else in this recipe and you’ll want to gobble it all up before your rice is ready if you don’t prep the rice first.

 

 

What to Simple Sides to Serve with Honey Chicken?

• Rice: Toss the rice right into your rice cooker, or instant pot, and call it a day. Whew! Or, get fancy with some easy Fluffy Buttered Rice. Yum! We usually serve this with white rice.
• Carrots: Steamed carrots are always a hit around my house. Also try these Candied Carrots or Sunshine Carrots. Quick and easy!
• Potatoes: Instant Pot Baked Potatoes are one of my favorite dishes because they are SO fast! And if you remember how fast honey chicken is, you’ll be grateful for the speed. 
• Broccoli: Bake them or steam them. I even sometimes like putting the chicken right on top of the broccoli so that it gets covered in that yummy honey chicken marinade too.
• Cucumber: We love grabbing cucumbers straight from the garden, slicing them, sprinkling them with salt, and serving. Or try this Creamy Cucumber Salad. Mmmmm. I can’t resist it.

 

 

How to Store Honey Chicken?

If you happen to have leftovers, save them for later! This is one of those quick meals that reheats well, so make a double portion!

To store for leftovers or meal prep honey chicken for a busy weeknight, simply use an airtight container!

Cook on medium-high heat in your microwave for 1-2 minutes. Though cooking time will vary depending on portion size and microwave.

 

 

Is Honey Chicken Gluten Free?

Lucky for you this Honey Chicken recipe IS gluten free. In fact it’s so gluten free that there is no all purpose flour in this recipe! We use corn starch to thicken the sauce!

You have so many options to make this dinner as fancy or as relaxed as you wish. Remember if you’ve seen it served in a Chinese restaurant, then know you can make it at home at a much cheaper cost. 

 

 

More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love…

• Coconut Lime Chicken
• Chicken Tortellini Alfredo
• Imperial Chicken
• Chicken Alfredo Lasagna
• Frozen Chicken Tenders in Air Fryer
• Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
• Air Fryer Chicken Breast
• Pretzel Crusted Chicken
• Chicken Satay Recipe
• Homemade Chicken Tenders
• Instant Pot Roast Chicken
• Chicken Marsala
• Baked Chicken Parmesan Recipe
• Tortilla Chicken Wrap

Honey chicken is so sweet and tangy, with a perfect little kick that everyone loves. When you serve this, your whole family will thank you. Just remember I told you at the beginning: you’ll wish you had doubled or tripled it. The leftovers taste just as good the next day as they did the first! 

 

Originally Posted: March 23, 2015

Photos & Text Updated: December 29, 2022

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