The amazing flavors of honey, garlic and soy sauce combine to make this easy chicken dish that is out of this world delicious! Honey Garlic Chicken Breast is tender and juicy, pleasantly sticky, and glazed with a sweet and savory sauce. This dish will become your new go-to dinner meal because it’s quick and simple, and everyone loves it.
These Asian inspired flavors go well with any protein. Check out my recipe for Honey Garlic Salmon and see for yourself!
I love skillet chicken dinners. There’s just something very satisfying about making a meal using just one pan on top of the stove. This recipe, along with others like Marry Me Chicken and Creamy Lemon Chicken, are one pan wonders, cooking up tender, flavorful chicken quickly to get dinner on the table super fast.
This honey chicken recipe features thinly sliced chicken cutlets, wrapped in a silky, sweet sauce that you’ll be licking off of your fingers! Total cooking time is less than 15 minutes, so you’re almost ready for dinner right now.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect Chicken Sauce. The soy, garlic, and honey sauce on this chicken is absolutely perfect! The flavor notes are perfectly balanced and the mix of sweet, sour, umami, and savory makes it quite addictive.
- Made in One Pan. If you have a skillet, you are ready to make this recipe. Both the chicken and the sauce are made in the same pan, saving you from washing a pile of dishes.
- Dinner is Ready Fast. It takes very little time to create this soy, garlic, and honey chicken recipe. Take just a few minutes to prep your ingredients, and cook the chicken in less than 15 minutes.
Ingredients Used
A handful of simple ingredients are used to make this easy honey garlic chicken:
- Chicken Cutlets: Cut two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 4 thin cutlets, or buy your cutlets already cut from the grocery store or butcher.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is used to coat the chicken so we get nice browning.
- Butter: Our honey soy garlic chicken sauce starts with butter; this makes it silky and decadent.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic will give you the best flavor here. 2 cloves, finely minced, is plenty, but I know some of you will add a bit more! It’s ok, more garlic won’t hurt.
- Soy Sauce: One of my favorite seasonings, soy sauce gives us salt, umami flavors, and adds liquid to create the sauce. Choose a low sodium soy sauce if you want more control over the amount of salt in the dish.
- Honey: The earthy sweetness of honey balances out the salty flavor of the soy sauce to make a beautiful chicken sauce.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: a bit of acidity is the final note to this amazing sauce. Substitute with fresh lemon juice if you like.
- Optional Ingredients: Garnish with fresh chopped parsley or sliced green onions. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to give the sauce some heat.
Tip!
Try this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs! Remove any excess fat and pound them thin if needed.
How To Make Honey Garlic Chicken
- Prep Chicken: In a shallow dish, combine flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour mixture to cover, and shake off any excess.
- Cook Chicken: In a skillet, over medium-high heat, melt the butter, then cook the chicken on both sides until a golden brown crust forms and chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
Tip!
Don’t flip the chicken too soon! Allow the chicken to cook fully on the first side before flipping to the second side. Your chicken will cook more evenly and quickly when you let it cook properly on each side.
- Make Honey Garlic Sauce: To the melted butter in the pan, add garlic, honey, water, soy sauce, and vinegar. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce is heated and starting to thicken. Return the chicken to the pan and flip it over to coat it well.
- Serve: Garnish your chicken with fresh chopped parsley. Serve over rice or noodles.
Recipe Tips
- This recipe produces a fairly sweet sauce that I think is amazing. If you aren’t into that, or looking for a low sugar meal, then consider making one of my other easy meals!
- Make sure that your chicken cutlets are the same thickness, so that they cook evenly and at the same time.
- Measure your ingredients ahead of time, so that you’re ready to throw them in when it’s time. The sauce comes together so quickly, you won’t have time to get things ready on the fly.
What to Serve with Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
As an Entree: Serve this chicken as the main event, on top of Cilantro Lime Rice or Instant Pot Brown Rice, and with a side of vegetables, like steamed broccoli, green beans, or sauteed spinach. A Simple Tossed Green Salad will round out this healthy meal.
Make it a Stir Fry: Similar to my Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry, cut the chicken into bite size pieces before cooking. Follow the recipe, adding a step to stir fry some vegetables in the pan after cooking the chicken and before starting the sauce.
In an Asian Chicken Salad: Let the chicken cool slightly, then slice and add to a bed of your favorite greens and raw veggies. This Asian Salad Dressing will be the perfect finishing touch.
As a Sandwich or Wrap: For a really quick dinner that’s also portable, throw the saucy chicken cutlets on your favorite bread, wrap, naan, or pita. Add some lettuce and enjoy a meal on the go.
frequently Asked Questions
This amazing sauce is made from soy sauce, garlic, honey, vinegar. It’s super simple, and delicious on everything!
Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, simply microwave until heated through, or add to a skillet and warm using low heat.
If you want more sauce with your chicken (I don’t blame you, it’s super amazing with rice!), you can double the amounts of the sauce ingredients. It will just take a few extra minutes to cook through and thicken up.
You can also make the sauce on its own, without the chicken, and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. I like to use it as a dip with grilled chicken tenders.
Make a gluten free honey garlic chicken by substituting gluten free flour or cornstarch for the flour in the recipe. Make sure that your soy sauce is gluten free too.
So that our chicken cooks fairly quickly and evenly, we want to cut it down into thin cutlets. To do this, place a chicken breast down flat on a cutting board. Hold one hand flat on top of the breast, and use a sharp knife to cut the breast in half, parallel to the cutting board.
Typically, that is all you need to do! The cutlets should be about ¼ inch in thickness. If they are thicker than that, use a meat mallet to pound them down thinner.
This sweet, sour, savory chicken dish is going to land on your list of dinnertime favorites for sure! It’s fast, easy, and everyone is going to beg you to make it over and over again.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts sliced into 4 thin cutlets, Note 1 & 2
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- chopped fresh parsley finely chopped for garnish
For the Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
Instructions
- In a shallow dish combine the flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken cutlets in the flour mixture, and shake off any excess.
- In a skillet, over medium-high heat, melt the butter, then cook the chicken on both sides until a golden brown crust forms (2-3 minutes per side). Remove onto a plate.
- To the melted butter in the pan, add garlic, honey, water, soy sauce, and vinegar. Cook for 1-2 minutes so the sauce is heated up and starts to thicken, return the chicken to the pan, and flip it so it’s all covered in sauce.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve over rice or noodles
Notes:
- To slice chicken breasts into thin cutlets: Place a chicken breast down flat on a cutting board. Hold one hand flat on top of the breast, and use a sharp knife to cut the breast in half, parallel to the cutting board.
Typically, that is all you need to do! The cutlets should be about ¼ inch in thickness. If they are thicker than that, use a meat mallet to pound them down thinner. - Boneless and skinless chicken thighs can be used in place of chicken breasts, but keep in mind that they take longer to cook.
- Make a gluten free honey garlic chicken by substituting gluten free flour or cornstarch for the flour in the recipe. Make sure that your soy sauce is gluten free too.
- Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, simply microwave until heated through, or add to a skillet and warm using low heat. If it’s too thick, add a splash of water and whisk.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Kelly says
I made this for meal prep for work and ot was so simple, but SO delicious. I like a little heat, so I added in a little sriracha to the sauce, and it was so good! Definitely going to be adding this one into the regular rotation.
Pk says
Very simple recipe… so easy to make… better than take out chinese!!
Lisa says
Easy and delicious great weeknight meal
Becky says
The whole family loved this! Thank you for the recipe!
Peter Block says
I really like the look and spice of this chicken.