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Home » Recipes » Quick Chicken Recipes

15-Minute Honey Garlic Chicken

Square headshot image of Family Food on the Table's Kathryn Doherty.
By Kathryn Doherty · Modified: Jun 12, 2025 · Published: Sep 12, 2016 · This post may contain affiliate links
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This 5-ingredient, 15-minute honey garlic chicken with an addictively delicious sauce is a perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe!

It uses on hand ingredients, is simple to make and tastes fantastic. Serve with rice and a vegetable for a complete meal.

A saucy honey garlic chicken skillet with sesame seeds and sliced green onions sprinkled on top and a bowl of rice to the side.


 

"My husband and my son love this recipe and ask me to make it almost every week since I discovered it a few months ago. It's so easy and so good." - Hannah

This post has been updated with new photos and a new recipe video.

You might know by now that quick and easy is the name of the game most nights at my house.

This honey garlic chicken recipe fits the bill perfectly.

Just 5 ingredients and 15 minutes are all you need to whip up this dinner.

No dredging needed, no specialty ingredients or sauces and we're taking the shortcut of cubing the chicken so it's small and cooks up quickly.

Close up of a saucy honey garlic chicken skillet with sesame seeds and sliced green onions sprinkled on top.

In fact, you probably have all of the ingredients on hand already to make this tonight.

And just wait until you taste the sauce. Oh that sauce!

It's got sticky sweet honey, the salty rich soy sauce, a kick of garlic and a hint of spice from the red pepper flakes.

It gets glazed on to the chicken and simmered down and concentrated slightly so it's ready to drip and drizzle all over your plate. Please, put it ALL over your plate!

I also use this sauce in my slow cooker honey garlic chicken recipe, if you want to check that one out for a hands-off dinner you can start earlier in the day.

There's also this 15-minute honey garlic pork chops if you're always looking for more pork chop recipes like me.

Back to today's recipe. Let's get cooking.

Ingredients laid out in separate bowls for making a honey garlic chicken recipe.
Cubed chicken breast pieces being cooked in a skillet.
A soy sauce mixture added to cubed chicken breasts cooking in a large skillet.
Saucy cooked chicken pieces in a large dark skillet.
Cooked chicken pieces in a soy sauce mixture in a large dark skillet.
A saucy honey garlic chicken skillet with sesame seeds and sliced green onions sprinkled on top.

Recipe Notes:

Be careful not to overcook the chicken. We are cubing the chicken into small pieces so they cook fast, which is kinda the point with this dinner. But you don't want them to go too far and be overdone.

On the other hand, that sauce is seriously so good, it'll disguise your chicken if it gets a little overdone. It's a forgiving dish!

You could substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of the chicken breasts if you prefer, but the cooking time might be a little longer.

I use and recommend low-sodium soy sauce so you can control the amount of sodium in this recipe. You could also substitute a gluten-free tamari if you need this recipe to be gluten-free. 

Thickening: If your sauce doesn't seem thick enough, try adding a quick cornstarch slurry in the last 1-2 minutes. Mix 1-3 teaspoons of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the pan to help thicken the sauce. I don't ever need this but it's a nice option and better than having to dredge the chicken in flour beforehand.

Honey garlic chicken pieces served over steamed rice with sesame seeds and sliced green onions sprinkled on top and the skillet of chicken in the background.

To make a complete meal for dinner, just add some steamed rice and a veggie.

I use brown rice, which takes a little longer, so I get that started first then I prep my chicken and get it cooking. While the chicken is going, I get a veggie ready to steam. For us it's usually broccoli, green beans or snow peas. You could also use a steam-in-the-bag veggie.

And voila, dinner is ready and on the table in no time!

Finally, let's finish this off so we can eat.

Topping Ideas: 

  • Sliced green onions
  • Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
  • Chopped peanuts
  • Lime wedges to squeeze over the chicken
  • An extra sprinkle of red pepper flakes
  • Drizzle of sriracha for a spicy kick
Honey garlic chicken pieces served over steamed rice with sesame seeds and sliced green onions sprinkled on top.

I hope you give this a try soon for your new favorite go-to weeknight dinner!

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn

Close up of a dark skillet with a saucy honey garlic chicken dish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions sprinkled on top.
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4.46 from 3108 votes

15-Minute Honey Garlic Chicken

This 5-ingredient, 15-minute honey garlic chicken with an addictively delicious sauce makes a perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe!
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (or canola oil)
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes (about ½ inch)
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, adjust for heat)

For serving (optional):

  • Brown or white rice, sliced green onions, sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, lime wedges to squeeze over chicken

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Lightly season the cubed chicken with salt and pepper. (Go easy because the soy sauce has plenty of sodium.)
  • Add the chicken to the skillet and brown on one side, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, make the glaze. Whisk the honey, soy sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes, if using, in a small bowl until well combined.
  • Turn the chicken pieces over to begin cooking on the other side. Add the sauce to the pan and toss to coat the chicken pieces. Cook until chicken is cooked through, 4-5 more minutes. (The small pieces cook quickly, which is the point, so be careful not to overcook them.)
  • Serve with steamed rice and top with green onions, sesame seeds and a squeeze of lime juice, if desired.

Notes

Thickening: If your sauce doesn't seem thick enough, try adding a quick cornstarch slurry in the last 1-2 minutes. Mix 1-3 teaspoons of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the pan to help thicken the sauce.
Some people also double the sauce to make sure they have TONS!
For serving: To make a complete meal, just add some steamed rice and a veggie. Or serve this over quinoa, cauliflower rice or a thin noodle.
Leftovers, once cooled, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove until warmed through. (Make sure to store and reheat with the sauce!)

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 360kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 665mg | Sugar: 13g
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or follow me on Instagram @familyfoodonthetable and tag me in your photo!

You can also check out my easy chicken recipes for more dinner time inspiration, like this easy cream cheese chicken or quick chicken curry. Dinner doesn't have to be hard!

And if you love easy, delicious and healthy recipes like I do, sign up for my free e-newsletter to get more meal-time inspiration sent straight to your inbox.

Here's one of the older photos of this recipe:

Close up of cooked cubes of chicken breasts in a honey garlic sauce with red pepper flakes.
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Comments

  1. Kerhys says

    October 17, 2025 at 1:43 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you everyone loved it! Delicious 🥰

    Reply
    • Kathryn Doherty says

      October 20, 2025 at 8:27 am

      Oh that's great to hear! Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
  2. Maddie C says

    October 20, 2025 at 8:13 pm

    5 stars
    Just made this and it lives up to the 15 minute name! So yummy too! Thank you for this recipe!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Doherty says

      October 22, 2025 at 7:37 am

      Oh I'm so glad to hear you loved it Maddie! Thank you for sharing! : )

      Reply
  3. Portia Jones says

    October 26, 2025 at 6:48 pm

    In the process of making this now & sooo simple !!! I can’t wait to do the taste test on it with the family and see how they like it !

    Reply
  4. Joyce Clifford says

    October 30, 2025 at 7:41 pm

    5 stars
    Quick and tasty! Thank you

    Reply
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4.46 from 3108 votes (3,077 ratings without comment)

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Meet Kathryn

Hi there! I’m Kathryn Doherty, a cookbook author, mom of two, and devoted food and home cooking nut. I’ve got lots of easy recipes to help you get delicious food on the table for your family!

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