Honey Garlic Chicken is an epic 12 minute chicken breast recipe with a magic 5 ingredient Honey Garlic Sauce! This is a terrific back pocket quick dinner idea for busy nights that’s made with pantry staples. It’s quite amazing how so few ingredients can transform into such a tasty sauce for chicken!
BONUS: This can be made with any protein – beef, pork, lamb, shrimp/prawns, even tofu!
Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
This sauce for chicken breast is a variation of my Honey Garlic Salmon which has been popular with readers for many years.
If I were ever to do a summary of my top 5 Most Used Sauces, Honey Garlic Sauce would probably be right at the top of the list. I love it because it requires so few ingredients that are pantry staples, and when simmered with a seared protein in a skillet so it becomes all bubbly and syrupy…. oh WOW.
It’s just DA BOMB!!! ( <– Who talks like that at my age???! I do. Only in extenuating circumstances. Excitement over crazy delicious secret-weapon sauce falls under this category. 😎)
Terrific quick chicken breast recipe
Though I personally have a preference for chicken thighs over chicken breast (better flavour, juicier!), I find myself putting chicken breast in my shopping trolley week after week.
Thus over the years, I’ve built up a wide variety of quick and easy chicken breast recipes – and this Honey Garlic Chicken is one of my favourite quick dinners that I find myself making over and over again.
What you need
See? I told you that you’d have everything! 😉
How to make Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
Split chicken breast in half – so 2 breasts makes 4 pieces;
Dust chicken with flour (gives the chicken a slight crust so the sauce clings to it better!)
Sear chicken, add butter, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, honey.
Simmer until the sauce thickens. Turn chicken to coat in the amazing honey garlic sauce.
And THAT’S IT!
Want to BBQ it? Use this Grilled Honey Soy Chicken recipe instead.
Notice how the sauce is clinging to the surface? That’s because we dusted the chicken with flour so when it’s pan fried, it creates a crust.
What to serve with Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
There’s enough sauce to drizzle over veggies and soak into rice or whatever you serve it with. The flavour is strong enough such that you don’t need loads – a bit goes a long way!
It’s pictured above with Cauliflower Rice (tossed with a squeeze of lemon, parsley, salt and pepper) with Cucumber Salad on the side.
Even though it’s got soy sauce in the Honey Garlic Sauce, this doesn’t taste specifically Asian-y. But it’s versatile enough that it will go just as well with Fried Rice as it will with a Macaroni Salad or even Mac and Cheese. Yes really! Try it once and you’ll understand (it only takes 12 minutes, you’ve got the time!!) – Nagi x
Honey Garlic Chicken breast recipe
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 500g / 1 lb chicken breast , boneless and skinless (2 pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup flour (Note 1)
- 3 1/2 tbsp (50g) unsalted butter (or 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or white or other clear vinegar)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce , light or all purpose (Note 2)
- 1/3 cup honey (or maple syrup)
Instructions
- Cut the breasts in half horizontally to create 4 steaks in total. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
- Place flour in a shallow dish. Coat chicken in flour and shake off excess.
- Melt most of the butter in a large skillet over high heat – hold back about 1 tsp for later.
- Place chicken in skillet and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until golden. Turn and cook the other side for 1 minute.
- Turn heat down slightly to medium high.
- Make a bit of room in the pan and add garlic and top with remaining dab of butter. Stir garlic briefly once butter melts.
- Add vinegar, soy sauce and honey. Stir / shake pan to combine. Bring sauce to simmer, then simmer for 1 minute or until slightly thickened.
- Turn chicken to coat in sauce. If the sauce gets too thick, add a touch of water and stir.
- Remove from stove immediately. Place chicken on plates and drizzle over remaining sauce.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Honey Garlic Chicken breast recipe originally published February 2018, it has since been improved with new photos and video but no change to recipe (I wouldn’t dare, readers love it as it is!).
More quick and easy chicken breast recipes
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Brandyce Hill says
Very tasty! Kids loved it! Plates were clean. Super simple and fast to put together. Kids already rating this recipe in top 5!
Nagi says
And that’s the best compliment Brandyce!
Bethany Joy Payne says
WOW! I always love RecipeTin’s recipes, but Nagi outdid herself with this one! Easy, delicious, and quick! It will be hard to top this one 😍
Nagi says
Thanks so much Bethany ❤️
Julie says
Although the sauce did not thicken, it had good flavor. Followed the exact recipe.
Lisa says
Can salmon be subbed for the chicken?
Nagi says
Sure! Try this one: https://www.recipetineats.com/honey-garlic-salmon-5-ingredients-15-minutes/
Lisa says
Great thanks so much!!
Sue says
We liked this recipe but it took quite a while for the sauce to thicken. Maybe 20 minutes but I had doubled the sauce so maybe that’s why. Will definitely make again.
Nagi says
Hi Sue, yes if you double the quantity the longer it will take to reduce. I’m so glad you liked it though – N x
Katy says
Do yourself a favor and make this!! The only thing I did differently was use rice vinegar because that’s all I had. I did not change or add anything else and it was so tasty!!! I get intimidated by making chicken on the stove top but the directions are spot on and precise. I didn’t fear that it was undercooked for one minute.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I can now put this delicious chicken paired with jasmine rice in my rotation. Seriously, thank you!!
Nagi says
That’s so nice to hear Katy – thanks so much ❤️
Matt says
My wife made this last night and it was fantastic. She’s not always the fastest cook but she had this meal ready in no time. The sauce is simple, but fantastic.
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s great Matt!
Kelly says
I made this tonight and it was amazing- my husband (who hates when I make rice) cleaned his plate.
I cooked the chicken as fillets but cut it up to serve and added sesame seeds and some stir-fried onions, carrot and celery. I though the sauce was good on the chicken but it was even better on the vegetables.
Douglas Clarke says
Hi Mia I love your chicken recipe thanks’!!!!
Melisa says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit! It’s definitely going into my dinner rotation. Thank you for the recipe!
Mia says
Hey Nagi, this recipe looks delicious but i’m thinking of making it with chicken thigh instead as i find chicken breast to be a bit dry- do you think it will still work? Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Mia, the chicken in this recipe is definitely not dry, if you’re finding chicken breast too dry then it’s most likely that it’s slightly over cooked. In saying that you could definitely use thigh here – you just need to pound it thin so it cooks quicker – N x
Louise says
Made for my family of four with a husband and daughter who both have strong ideas about what they like. Both came back for seconds! Easy to cook and tasty.
Madi says
This is SO good!! I will definitely be making this again!
CLD says
This was a winner at our house!!
Nagi says
Wahoo! Great stuff CLD!
Pam says
Instead of the vinegar could I substitute with white wine?
Nagi says
You could, or try lemon – N x
Michelle says
I’ve made this twice now & my whole family love it! Tastes a lot like Honey Chicken you might get from a Chinese takeaway in my opinion, only less sticky & more saucy
Nagi says
Perfect Michelle – and so much better because you know what’s actually in it 🙂
Nat says
Love this recipe made it a few times. I was wondering could I cut the chicken up into bite size pieces and make this you think? Thanks for the great recipe!!
Dg says
I tried this recipe last night. I loved it! Was very tasty. I’m new to cooking, but it was super easy to follow. Thank you so much! The chicken was not very soft. Does that mean I over cooked it?
Nagi says
Hi Dg, sounds like it may of overcooked a little, try cooking a little less next time – N x
Rhonda says
I have made this a few times. But I use boneless and skinless chicken thighs. It is very delicious! It was super easy and quick to make! I love this recipe! Thank you so much!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you love it Rhonda!
Aisha says
Question. I don’t have vinegar is there anything else you can substitute for this or would be ok to omit? Thank you!
Nagi says
Hi Aisha, do you have any type of vinegar at all?
Kristin says
I’m allergic to soy sauce. Is there a simple alternative?
Nagi says
Hi Kristin, there’s a mushroom based soy or I’ve heard coconut amino is a good alternative – N x
Marcia says
Quick and easy! This recipe received rave reviews from the family with comments of “ we need to have this again! “
Nagi says
Wahoo! That’s great!
Judy Tate says
I made the garlic honey chicken oh my yummy. Thanks