Chicken dinners · American

Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs

Name: Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 1.5 lb (680 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs; 1 tbsp olive oil; 0.75 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 0.25 cup (85 g) honey; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar; 0.5 cup (120 ml) low sodium chicken broth; 1 tsp cornstarch stirred with 1 tbsp cold water; 2 green onions, sliced thin; 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Honey garlic is the sauce that makes people who claim to be tired of chicken quietly take a second helping. It is five ingredients, most of them pantry staples, and it reduces to a glossy glaze in the same skillet you seared the chicken in, which means the sauce is built on real browned bits, not from a bottle.

The plan runs in one skillet in 30 minutes. Sear boneless thighs until golden, flip, and while they finish you whisk the sauce together. The chicken comes out to rest, the sauce goes in and reduces for three minutes, and everything comes back together for the glossy finish.

Thighs are the cut to use here. They have the fat to stand up to a sweet glaze, and they stay juicy with a wide margin for error that breasts do not offer.

Jump to recipe

By the TasteBoard team. Timed in a home kitchen, with total time added up and safe temperatures checked.

Photo: @Ewan Munro from London, UK / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

30 min promise: 30 min total
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 30 min
Servings: 4
Course: Chicken dinners
Calories, about: 420 per serving

Ready in 30 min, honestly. No hidden waiting.

Instructions

1Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season both sides with the salt and pepper. Dry skinless thighs sear instead of steaming.
2Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for 2 minutes, until it shimmers.
3Sear the thighs 5 to 6 minutes on the first side, without moving them, until deeply golden. Flip and cook 4 to 5 minutes more, until an instant read thermometer reads 165 F (74 C) in the thickest thigh. Work in two batches if the pan crowds, overlapping thighs steam.
4Move the finished thighs to a plate and tent loosely with foil. There should be browned bits stuck to the pan, those are the flavor base, do not wipe the pan.
5Pour off any excess fat if there is a lot, more than a tablespoon, then lower the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant but not browned.
6Add the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, and broth, and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom to dissolve the browned bits into the sauce. Simmer 2 minutes.
7Stir the cornstarch slurry to recombine it, pour it in while stirring, and simmer 1 more minute, until the sauce coats the spoon and a trail holds for a second when you draw the spoon through it. That is glaze, not syrup, pull it before it goes too thick.
8Return the thighs and any juices from the plate to the pan, turning them in the glaze for 30 seconds. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds and serve with the glaze spooned over.

Tap a step to mark it done, saved on this device only. Timer buttons count down right here and beep when time is up.

Why you will love it

One skillet, 30 minutes total, and the sauce uses the browned bits most people wash down the drain.
About 420 calories per serving with the glaze, an estimate, and 38 g protein.
The glaze is honey, soy, garlic, vinegar, and a cornstarch slurry, five real ingredients, nothing artificial.
Kid approved sweetness with enough garlic edge to keep the adults interested.
The chicken cooks to a real 165 F (74 C), safe and juicy, no guesswork.

Tips

The cornstarch slurry is the difference between sauce and puddle. Stir it again right before it goes in, cornstarch always settles at the bottom.
Brown the first side without poking. Every flip is a reset on browning, and the glaze only tastes as deep as the sear underneath it.
The sauce thickens more as it sits off heat. Pull it when it is slightly thinner than you want, the resting chicken finishes the job.
A pinch of red pepper flakes in with the garlic makes it hot honey chicken, add them with the garlic so they bloom.

Swaps and variations

Chicken breasts: cut them in half horizontally for even thickness, sear 3 to 4 minutes per side to 165 F (74 C). The sauce works identically, the meat is leaner, and the calorie estimate drops.
Maple syrup instead of honey: a rounder, less floral sweetness, and the recipe becomes fully vegan capable if you also swap the chicken for firm tofu cubes, seared the same way.
Bone in skin on thighs: crispier and richer, sear 6 to 7 minutes skin side down, then 8 to 9 minutes flipped, to 165 F (74 C), and drain the extra fat before the sauce step, there will be some.

What to serve

Steamed white rice, the glaze was designed to land on it.
Our sticky sesame tofu bowls flip this flavor into a vegetarian night, same sauce family.
Quick stir fried green beans or broccoli in the empty pan after, 3 minutes, they pick up the leftover glaze.

Storage and reheating

Keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container, glaze and all. Reheat gently in a skillet over medium low with a splash of water, 3 to 4 minutes, turning the thighs until the glaze loosens and the chicken reaches 165 F (74 C). The microwave works in 60 second bursts covered, but the glaze tightens up, stir in a teaspoon of water to bring it back. Freezes for up to 3 months in the glaze, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheat slowly so the honey sauce does not scorch.

Calories shown are an estimate from standard ingredients, not medical advice. Brands and amounts change the number.

Questions cooks actually ask

Why is my glaze not thickening?

Usually one of two things. The slurry settled and went in weak, so stir it hard right before pouring. Or the sauce is still boiling hard and needs 30 more seconds, cornstarch thickens at a simmer, not a violent boil. If it somehow over thickens, a teaspoon of water loosens it, do not panic.

Can I use low sodium soy sauce?

Yes, and that is what the recipe assumes. Regular soy sauce makes the glaze noticeably saltier, so if regular is what you have, drop the added salt on the chicken to half a teaspoon and taste the sauce before any extra salt.

How do I know the thighs are done without a thermometer?

Cut into the thickest one, the juices should run clear and the meat should be opaque all the way to the center with no pink. Honestly, the instant read thermometer takes all the stress out of chicken, and thighs at 165 F (74 C) are both safe and at their juicy best.

Can I make the sauce ahead?

The glaze is best made in the pan with the sear, that is where its depth comes from. You can mix the honey, soy, vinegar, and broth in a jar up to 3 days ahead, but save the garlic and the slurry for the pan, garlic dulls and cornstarch settles over days.

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Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs

Instructions

Why you will love it

Tips

Swaps and variations

What to serve

Storage and reheating

Questions cooks actually ask

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Keep exploring

All chicken dinners recipes

American recipes

High protein recipes

Weeknight recipes

Chicken Temperatures, the Honest Guide

9 Easy Chicken Dinners for Weeknights