This Honey Butter Garlic Chicken is a quick dinner meal that comes together in only 30 minutes! It’s made with lightly pan-fried chicken and a delicious sweet & savory sauce.
Love quick stir-fry recipes? Try my Asian Ground Turkey Stir-Fry next!
I love weeknight dinners that’s packed with flavor, easy to make and one the whole family will enjoy. And this recipe accomplishes just that! The sauce is simply irresistible and tastes great served on jasmine white rice.
INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED
Chicken Breasts - I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
Garlic - fresh minced garlic is definitely the way to go for this recipe, with that being said, I won’t be mad at you if you use the jarred garlic.
Butter
All purpose flour
Honey, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Chicken Broth - to make the yummy sauce!
Chili Garlic Sauce - added to the sauce mixture. This is what really makes this recipe stand apart. It gives the sauce so much flavor!
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder & Paprika
HOW TO MAKE HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
Full instructions are included in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick overview:
Step One: Prep your ingredients! Mince the garlic or press it through a garlic press. Next measure your sauce ingredients: honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and chicken broth in a small bowl. Stir together and set aside.
Step Two: In a large skillet on medium heat, add oil and half of butter. Cook the chopped, seasoned and lightly floured chicken pieces until done. *Be careful not to overcook. Remove and set aside.
Step Three: Add remaining butter to the skillet and saute minced garlic for 30 seconds. Next add sauce mixture to the skillet. Gently stir with a wooden spoon and simmer on medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Sauce will start to thicken.
Step Four: Add cooked chicken back in the skillet and coat with the sauce. Simmer for 2-3 more minutes. Top with thinly sliced green onions (optional) and enjoy! That's it...super easy!
SUBSTITUTIONS
Chicken Thighs - Personally I’m a chicken breast type of girl. But you can certainly swap out the breasts for boneless, skinless, chicken thighs instead. Cook time will vary when using chicken thighs instead of breasts.
Cornstarch - You can use cornstarch in place of the flour to lightly coat your chicken pieces.
Crushed red pepper - If you are using the chili garlic sauce ingredient in this recipe, which I definitely recommend, then you won’t need to add the crushed pepper. But if you don't have any chili garlic sauce then I would suggest adding ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to give the sauce an extra kick!
Recipe Tips
Make your sauce ahead of time. When it comes to quick stir-fry recipes, it’s always best to prep your ingredients ahead of time as the cooking process happens pretty fast. Go ahead and mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set it aside so it’s ready to go as soon as you need it.
Don’t overcook your chicken. With chicken breasts it’s easy to overcook and dry out your chicken. Making sure to not overcook the chicken really makes a big difference with this recipe. Since the chicken breasts are cut into bite-sized pieces they won’t take long to cook about 3 minutes on each side.
Want more Honey Butter Garlic Chicken? This recipe makes 2-3 servings, but if you want to make more just chop up an extra chicken breast and make a little more sauce.
Serving Suggestions
I enjoy serving this with Jasmine White Rice that I cook in my Instant Pot. The Instant Pot cooks it perfectly and allows me to make the rest of the recipe at the same time that the rice is cooking. You can also enjoy honey garlic chicken with fresh steamed vegetables.
More Quick Stir-Fry Recipes
Honey Butter Garlic Chicken
Video
Ingredients
Honey Sauce:
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- ¼ cup chicken broth
Crispy Chicken:
- 1.3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 4 garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- Add the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and chicken broth to a small bowl. Stir together and set aside.
- Lightly pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet or meat pounder to create an even thickness on all sides. Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch bite-size pieces. Transfer chicken pieces to a large bowl. Season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the bowl on top of the chicken. Gently mix until all the chicken pieces are lightly coated. You can also shake the chicken pieces with the flour in a large plastic food bag to make it easy.
- Next, in a large skillet, heat cooking oil and 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat. Add chicken pieces and cook for approximately 3 minutes. Once golden brown on one side, flip and cook for another 3 minutes on the opposite side. Promptly remove chicken to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the minced garlic to the skillet and sauté for 30 seconds. Next add the honey sauce mixture to the skillet. Stir well with the garlic and butter. Let the sauce simmer on medium-low heat for 2 minutes until it begins to thicken.
- Add the chicken pieces back to the skillet and mix the chicken in the sauce until all the chicken is thoroughly coated.
- Allow the chicken to simmer with the sauce for 2-3 more minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Garnish with green onions (optional) and serve over rice or steamed vegetables. Enjoy!
Sally Mixon says
Definitely trying it tomorrow! Just need new stuff to try!
Jason Quinn says
Amazing dish!
Marsha says
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Rita says
Thank you for sharing your tasty recipe. Made my day. Delicious!
Marsha says
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Asata says
Looks good. I'm making this for the family tonight. I have teens so I will quadruple the recipe and let you know how it goes. I bet they love it!
Marsha says
Lol. Thanks for sharing. I too have to double the recipe sometimes 🙂