We are both staring at this beautiful bowl of crisp chicken pieces coated in a sweet and sticky sauce, roasted broccoli and a hot rice. This recipe for Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs is my family's favorite dinner, and I love that it's a sheet pan meal!
As someone who feigns vegetarianism in most social situations unless barbecue is involved, my weakness is chicken thighs. Especially these honey garlic chicken thighs! They're one of my favorite chicken thigh recipes on the planet.
It's not often, but I get a craving for crispy fried chicken coated in a sweet and sticky honey garlic sauce about once a month.
Dipping chicken in cornstarch and eggs creates a crispy crust that begs for a sweet sticky sauce. Plus, I love that cornstarch sticks to the protein better than flour typically does.
If you're afraid of frying, I have a 'I believe I can fry' manifesto on my Pork Schnitzel recipe. Frying is something that you have to practice.
For some reason, the first time anyone golfs, they assume they're going to be terrible. But the first time someone follows a recipe and tries a new cooking method, they assume they should get perfect results.
Becoming a good cook takes practice, and this is especially true with frying. It's delicious practice and you get to eat along the way, so join me! We can start with these chicken thigh recipes, and move up from there.
Ingredients
I love that this is a sheet pan dinner, aside from frying the chicken before it hits the pan, of course. After I've fried the chicken, it's so convenient to make the broccoli side dish on the same roasting pan.
Anytime a sheet pan dinner cooks protein and a veggie at the same time, I'm happy! Less dishes for me, plus a delicious dinner, is really my only love language.
- Garlic. Three large fresh garlic cloves that you smash and chop yourself. I find the flavor lacking in the jarred or prepared garlic.
- Honey. We need ¼ cup of your favorite honey. It doesn't need to be super floral or aromatic; regular honey is fine.
- Soy Sauce. I always develop recipes with low sodium soy sauce. If you think a recipe needs more salt in the end, you can always add it.
- Ketchup. This provides a sweet and sticky base to our honey garlic chicken sauce.
- Chicken Thighs. This recipe calls for 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, and it serves 3-4 people.
- Cornstarch It is imperative to dip the chicken pieces in cornstarch before dipping them in egg. Do not skip this ingredient! Use the rest of the container to make my crockpot creamy chicken.
- Oil. While we are frying the chicken briefly, we only using 1 cup of oil in a shallow pan to lightly fry it. The majority of the oil will not be soaked up by the chicken, so you can strain and re-use it for another fry session to make my chicken fried steak.
- Egg. We need the sticky proteins in a whole egg to help the cornstarch adhere to the chicken.
- Broccoli. You can use 2 cups of the bagged already clean broccoli florets or one small broccoli head chopped.
- Rice. I serve these honey garlic chicken thighs with freshly cooked hot white rice, but brown rice is also welcome here. Alternatively, you can use any other grain or even mashed potatoes as the base to this bowl.
How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
- Preheat the oven to 375-degrees Fahrenheit, and have a large sheet pan ready.
- Next, make the sauce: whisk together the garlic, honey, soy, and ketchup.
- Cut the chicken thighs into bite-size pieces with kitchen shears.
- Drop the chicken pieces into a plastic bag that contains the cornstarch, salt and pepper. Shake to coat very well.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a shallow frying pan until hot. It's sufficiently hot when you can only hold your hand a few inches above the oil for a few seconds.
- Beat the egg in a shallow dish, and dunk each piece of cornstarch-coated chicken into the egg before dropping it into the hot fry oil.
- Fry the chicken on the first side until a light golden crust forms. It will feel crispy when you touch it with the tongs. Flip and cook the second side until a crust forms again. The chicken might not be all the way done, but it should have a thick crispy crust on it.
- Move the chicken to the sheet pan, and pour the sauce on top. Toss to coat, and then add the broccoli to the other side of the pan. Drizzle the broccoli with a small amount of oil, salt and pepper before tossing to coat.
- Bake for 15 minutes, toss and serve with the rice.
Storage
This recipe is best the day it's made, but it can be rewarmed in a toaster oven to maintain the crispness if you want to serve it leftover.
Other Chicken Thigh Recipes:
Besides these honey garlic chicken thighs, I also have a few other chicken thigh recipes on my site. They're truly my favorite cut of chicken meat. I've nearly always got a package or two in the freezer!
-Chicken Cacciatore Recipe uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
-Instant Pot Butter Chicken uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
-Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
-Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs uses bone-in, skin-on thighs.
-Chicken Baby Food Recipe with carrots can use either chicken thighs or chicken breast.
Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
Honey garlic chicken thighs with roasted broccoli. A sweet and sticky chicken sheet pan dinner that rivals any takeout order!
Ingredients
- 3 large garlic cloves, finely diced
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus extra
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup neutral oil for frying, plus extra for broccoli
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- hot cooked white rice, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray, and set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, honey, soy sauce and ketchup. Set aside.
- Next, using kitchen shears, cut each chicken thigh into 5 or 6 bite-size pieces. Add the chicken to a large resealable plastic bag.
- To the bag of chicken, sprinkle in the ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ½ cup of cornstarch. Close the bag and shake the chicken to coat it with the mixture.
- Meanwhile, in a non-stick skillet, heat the oil until it's very hot and almost rippling.
- Have the beaten egg ready in a shallow dish nearby.
- Remove each piece of chicken from the bag, dunk it in the beaten egg, and then place it in the oil to fry. Fry until the crust is lightly golden (it will feel crispy with your tongs), flip and fry on the other side, too. The chicken won't be done completely, but it will have a nice crispy coating. It might take 2 batches to fry all of the chicken, depending on the size of your skillet. Place all of the chicken on the prepared baking sheet, and push it to one side.
- Pour the honey garlic sauce over the chicken, and use a spoon to toss it to coat.
- Spread the broccoli florets on the other side of the pan, drizzle with extra oil, salt and pepper, and toss.
- Bake the pan for 15 minutes.
- When the chicken is done, stir it again to coat it in the sticky sauce.
- Serve the chicken with the roasted broccoli and cooked rice.
Notes
Storage: This recipe is best the same day its made, but it can be reheated in a toaster oven, too. Don't reheat in the microwave.
Soy Sauce: I always use low sodium soy sauce. If it needs more salt, it can be added at the end, but salt can never be removed.
Chicken Thighs: This recipe calls for 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, and it serves 3-4 people.
Cornstarch: It is imperative to dip the chicken pieces in cornstarch before dipping them in egg. Do not skip this ingredient!
Oil: Most of the oil will not be soaked up in the frying process, so it can be drained and re-used.
Rice: You can serve this with any hot grain: white rice, brown rice, quinoa, millet or even mashed potatoes as the base.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 917Total Fat: 66gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 57gCholesterol: 183mgSodium: 1027mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 3gSugar: 20gProtein: 33g
Honey garlic chicken thighs questions:
No, not really. The garlic mellows as it cooks in the oven, and provides a savory, rich flavor. It doesn't have a raw garlic bite to it.
Yes, but it's so easy! I even made you a how-to video. You can use a bigger skillet than me so it takes much less time.
This recipe is developed for using the oven, not the instant pot. If I create a recipe that uses the instant pot, I will post it soon.
Breann says
So good! I think this is the closest taste wise to restaurant Chinese food!
Connie Villamil says
I made this today and it was delicious! The only changes that I made was doubling the sauce and adding a little Sriracha and a bit of ginger it. I'll definitely be keeping this recipe!
Victor Moses says
I tried this today. The only wrinkle was that 375 on my oven was too high and the underside of the chicken thighs was black and the sauce burnt stuck to the baking sheet. But scraping off the burnt parts the chicken was very good. I will adjust the temp down next time.
classickitchensupplies says
Delicious, my guys ate every last bite and in my house that’s a win. I love to cook but have always been wary about frying. I read the “I can believe I can fry” info , watched the YouTube video and I do believe I can fry. My dinner turned out perfect!! For newbies like myself, I highly recommend using a deep fry thermometer, it was really helpful. I made a double batch, added red pepper flakes to the sauce , roasted peppers with the broccoli, and used brown rice. Cheers
CrisB says
Seriously really good, my very picky eater ( almost 4) went up for therds of this chicken ( 15 ish pices) this is saying something as he hate meat unless its bacon.
I did have to make a few substitutions as I just didnt have a lot of honey, I added in some brown sugar and some maple syrup to replace the honey. And I added in some apple cider vinegar for a bit of a bite. Definitely making again but may try a bit of ginger in it too
Laura Hopkins says
Can you use whole boneless thighs instead of cutting them up?
Christina Lane says
I don't see why not! Just increase cooking time and make sure the thighs are done in the middle before serving. This sounds delicious!
Isadora says
Just made this, I wish it were a little sweeter but overall not bad. Next time I’ll add a little maple syrup and honey. Oh, I used grape seed oil and brown rice. Yum & Thank you!
Jeff Lauze says
Just applied this recipe to Elk and moose and added 1 tsp ground ginger....adapts to an unbelievable ginger beef (venison) dish that the whole family loves, even the picky kid!
Thanks a million!!
Rose says
This turned out even better than I was expecting! And very quick to make. I will definitely be adding this to the recipe box. Thanks for the delicious meal!
Jancien says
Just made this tonight. Dinner was ready in under an hour! The sauce is amazing! Coats the chicken beautifully & so tasty! I added sriracha to the marinade & wow! Will definitely make this again. I’ve never made something off of your website that I didn’t love.