Honey Garlic Chicken is a quick, better-than-takeout dinner with tender bite-sized chicken pieces tossed in a sticky, sweet, and savory homemade sauce made with honey, garlic, soy sauce, and ginger. Serve it over rice with broccoli for a protein-packed meal the whole family will love, just like my hot honey cornflake chicken nuggets and one-pan honey mustard chicken dinner.

A Quick Look

Recipe Name: Honey Garlic Chicken
Ready In: 40 minutes
Serves: 4 servings
Main Ingredients: chicken breasts, flour, salt, pepper, olive oil, arrowroot powder or cornstarch, reduced sodium soy sauce, honey
Why You'll Love It: Enjoy a flavorful, protein-packed dish with this Honey Garlic Chicken. Eat bite is overflowing with flavor! Paired with broccoli and rice, the meal is nutrient-rich, filling, and extra satisfying.

Jump to:

The Best Easy Honey Garlic Chicken
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients Needed To Make This Honey Garlic Chicken
How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken
Erin's Expert Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Storing leftovers
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Honey Garlic Chicken

The Best Easy Honey Garlic Chicken

This is the dinner I make when everyone's craving takeout. Small pieces of chicken get a light coating of seasoned flour, so they turn golden in the skillet and soak up every drop of sauce. Then a quick homemade honey garlic sauce simmers right in the pan until it's thick, glossy, and irresistible.

The sauce is the star: honey, plenty of fresh garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, and a little sriracha for gentle heat. It's sweet, savory, and just a touch tangy. If you love sticky, saucy chicken dinners, my healthy pineapple chicken stir-fry is another family favorite.

It's great for busy weeknights and meal prep lunches. And if you need more easy takeout-style dinners like this one, you're going to LOVE my Sheet Pan Hawaiian Chicken or my Healthy Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Better than takeout. Sticky, sweet, and savory, with a homemade sauce you can feel good about.
Packed with protein. Each serving has 39 grams of protein.
One skillet. The chicken and sauce cook in the same pan.
Kid-approved. The sweet honey sauce is a hit with picky eaters.
Great for meal prep. Pair it with rice and broccoli for easy lunches all week.

Ingredients Needed To Make This Honey Garlic Chicken

Here's a little bit about everything that goes into this honey garlic chicken:

Photo of ingredients for Honey Garlic Chicken with labels.

Chicken breasts: Diced into small, bite-sized pieces so they cook quickly and soak up the sauce. Chicken thighs work too.
Flour: A light coating helps the chicken get golden and gives the sauce something to cling to.
Reduced-sodium soy sauce: The savory, salty base of the sauce without going overboard on sodium.
Honey: Sweetens the sauce and makes it thick, sticky, and glossy.
Garlic and ginger: Six cloves of fresh garlic give this dish its name, and ginger adds a warm, zippy kick.
Rice vinegar: A splash of tang that balances the sweetness of the honey.
Sriracha: Just a teaspoon for a gentle kick of heat. Add more if you like it spicy!

How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken

Start by cutting the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces and tossing them with flour, salt, and pepper until evenly coated. Cook the chicken in a hot skillet with olive oil, stirring often, until it's golden and no longer pink.

While the chicken cooks, whisk the arrowroot into the soy sauce, then add the honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, sriracha, and seasonings. Lower the heat, pour the sauce over the chicken, and let it simmer until thick and sticky. Serve over rice and broccoli with sesame seeds and a drizzle of spicy mayo!

ingredients for honey garlic chicken bowls

Step 1: Cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken to a large bowl and toss with the flour, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.

Step 2: Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until no longer pink.

Step 3: While the chicken cooks, whisk the arrowroot powder into the soy sauce. Then whisk in the honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, sriracha, garlic powder, and onion powder. Lower the heat to medium-low and pour the sauce over the chicken. Stir to coat and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Step 4: Serve over rice and broccoli, topped with sesame seeds and spicy mayo.

Before you start

erin antoniak in the kitchen giving expert tips on how to make her recipes

Erin's Expert Tips

From my kitchen to yours

Cut the chicken small. Truly bite-sized pieces cook faster, more evenly, and get coated in more sauce.
Whisk the arrowroot into the soy sauce first. Dissolving it before adding everything else prevents clumps and helps the sauce thicken perfectly.
Lower the heat before adding the sauce. Honey can burn quickly, so drop to medium-low before pouring it in.
Don't crowd the pan. If your skillet is small, cook the chicken in two batches, so it browns instead of steams.
Adjust the heat. Add more sriracha for a spicier sauce or leave it out for little ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some common questions about this honey garlic chicken.

This sauce is made with reduced-sodium soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, fresh garlic, ginger, sriracha, garlic powder, onion powder, and arrowroot powder to thicken it.

Yes! Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work great and stay extra juicy. Just cook them until they reach 165°F.

No. They share some ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, vinegar, and garlic, but orange chicken gets its tangy flavor from orange zest and orange juice.

Yes. Swap the flour for arrowroot powder or a gluten-free flour blend, and use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.

White rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice with steamed broccoli are our favorites. It's also great with green beans or a simple cucumber salad.

Let it simmer a few more minutes, since it thickens as it cooks and cools. If it's still thin, whisk another ½ teaspoon of arrowroot with a splash of water and stir it in.

Storing leftovers

Store leftover honey garlic chicken in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 2-3 days. Keep the rice and broccoli in a separate container so they don't get soggy. Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat or in the microwave, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much.

If you tried this recipe or any other recipes on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Follow @erinliveswhole on Instagram and tag me in any of the recipes you make so I can repost them!

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39gprotein

chicken, dinner, lunch, Main Course, meal-prep