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.
"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 for dinner. It's usually all I can handle!
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 and mess, no specialty ingredients or sauces, and we're taking the shortcut of cubing the chicken so it's small and cooks up quickly. (That's one of my favorite hacks for creating quick and easy chicken recipes.)
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.
Or browse all the most popular 15 minute dinner recipes that I go back to again and again.
Back to today's recipe. Let's get cooking.
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.
Also, lots of people double the sauce. It's a good idea if you want to have plenty for your rice and veggies in addition to the chicken.
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
I hope you give this a try soon for your new favorite go-to weeknight dinner!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
15-Minute Honey Garlic Chicken
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.
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Notes
Video
Nutrition
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!
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Here's one of the older photos of this recipe:
Donna Butler says
This is so easy and soooooo delicious!! Thanks!
Kathryn says
Yay, I'm so glad you loved it Donna! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Andrew says
Add a little sriracha and sesame oil. Trust me.
Kathryn says
Those sound like great additions!
Lorraine says
Made this with turkey. I realised after I had started cooking I was out of garlic so substituted some crushed ginger and a few shallots. It was delicious and really simple to make. Quicker than waiting for a takeaway and so much healthier.
Kathryn says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Lorraine! 😊
Emily says
I came across this recipe whilst searching for ideas on how best to cook diced chicken, which been in the fridge for a while. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, it was amazing. Another factor that is important for our family was the cost - it was inexpensive, using mainly ingredients we had already. That was very important to us both being on a low income. Overall, a superb dish which I will be making again!!
Kathryn says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this Emily! Thanks for sharing!
Laura Corcoran says
Kathryn ...... Absolutely amazing! I did spruce it up a bit by adding Thai rice noodles (that soaked for 20 minutes while dicing, chomping, and cooking the chicken) and a bag of chopped broccoli. Also I had doubled that yummy sauce. Turning it into more of a stir fry. This was so yummy that my husband requested this for dinner tonight! I made this 2 days ago. Big, big hit.
Kathryn says
I am so happy to hear you both loved it Laura! Love those additions too 🙂
Brenda says
My family enjoy this dinner very much. It was very simple but so tasty. Will be making it again
Kathryn says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Brenda!!
Mario says
Mine did not look that golden brown at all
Laura says
So I'm pregnant and have been super paranoid about undercooked food and definitely cooked this (literally) a minute too long. It still tasted good but unfortunately my skillet does not appear to have survived. I would tell people to keep a very close eye on it once you hit that 4 minute mark at the end. Mine overcooked very fast!!
Kathryn says
I'm glad you liked the recipe but I'm sorry about your skillet Laura! I wouldn't think with all the sauce that anything could possibly get burned on, but maybe if it went too long at high heat... anyway, I hope you try it again and good luck with the rest of your pregnancy! ❤️
Yanitza Somarriba says
Sooooooooooooooooooooooo good! It makes me believe I can actually cook lol Thank you!
Kathryn says
I'm SO happy to hear that you loved this!! Thanks so much for sharing! ❤️
Wendy Jones says
I substituted ginger for the garlic. Awesome!! Quick easy and my son actually ate. I added the lime and seaseme.
Kathryn says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Wendy! Thanks for sharing!
Lyd says
Made this recipe with vegetarian "chicken". Only to 10 minutes, and tasted great. I've cooked it lots already because its so easy, quick, and delicious.
Kathryn says
I'm so happy to hear you loved this - and what a great idea to make it into a vegetarian meal! 😊
Cindy says
I made this last night & it was DELICIOUS!! So happy to have come across this recipe. Will definitely be keeping this in regular rotation!!
Thanks so much for sharing. 😊
Kathryn says
I'm so happy to hear you loved it Cindy! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
rose says
Seriously love this recipe. Will gonna try this tonight. Sounds awesome. Will give the feedback after try it.
Kathryn says
Thanks Rose! I hope you enjoyed it!
Adriane says
Hi I loved that you put nutrition facts! Is the nutrition facts including rice and a veggie on side or just the chicken alone? I found the calories to be a little high for just chicken alone and one serving
Kathryn says
Thanks Adriane! I just cross-referenced with another nutrition calculator (the one I use is automatically calculated from my ingredient list so it can be difficult for me to tell what's included on the back-end) and yes, it appears this recipe is calculated with a serving of rice included. Just the chicken and sauce is about 235 calories per serving. I hope that helps!
GC says
I added fresh cilantro at the end. It was delicious. Tossed leftovers in my salad the next day.
Kathryn says
Yay! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Love the cilantro addition!
Rhiannon says
Needed something quick and easy to make my dad for his lunch for work...he loved it so much! My mom and sister tried a few pieces and loved it so much that they wanted me to make it for dinner the next night! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Kathryn says
Oh I'm so happy to hear you all loved this! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Sonya says
Kathryn, thank you for tasty recipe! My son doesn't like poultry, but this one he ate with pleasure, and even asked more) Pinned)
Kathryn says
Oh yay, glad to hear this was a hit for your son! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Danielle says
Oh my goodness!!! I made this for the first time and I am burning my mouth on it- I cannot stop. This recipe is easy, inexpensive and absolutely delicious! Hubby’s on the way home right now can’t wait to see what he thinks!!
Kathryn says
Haha, I'm so happy to hear you loved it Danielle!! Hope your husband did too! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Danielle says
This is night two in a row!!
Danielle says
I’m counting the chicken chunks to make sure we have even portions 😂😂😂😂 I’ve never been so excited over chicken
Kathryn says
Aww, that makes me so happy!! ❤️
Lorie says
Made this tonight. Super yummy and super quick! Thank you!
Kathryn says
Yay, I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it Lorie! 😊
Amanda Warren says
So simple and delicious!! This will become a staple in our home after tonight. Thank you for the great recipe!
Kathryn says
I'm so happy to hear you loved this recipe Amanda! Thanks for sharing! 😊
Uto says
This recipe was easy and so so flavourful!! My husband did not believe that I made it....even he often brags about how much of a good cook I am! Yes, it was that good. This will be a family staple 🙂
Kathryn says
Oh yay! I'm so happy to hear you both loved it and that it's a new staple at your house! 😊
guymartins says
i can't actually wait to try this hope its gonna be good
Kathryn Doherty says
I hope you enjoy it! 😊
Ami Allison says
Just had to say this recipe has been a go to for my family for years! I'm making it again this weekend on vacation with my sisters family and our family. I'm excited for them to try it. I'm adding Shrimp to the mix for one of her daughter's who is a pescatarian. Anyways just had to let you know.
Kathryn Doherty says
Aw, that makes me so happy Ami! I'm so glad to hear you and your family love it! Hope your sister's family does too! 😊
Ricardo H says
I loved the recipe, it's delicious. The only problem was that I couldn't find the video on the page. I've found it on youtube, but it would be better to have the link here.
Kathryn Doherty says
I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Sorry you had trouble with the video though. It normally should autoplay when the page is open, but after it finishes, other videos get played. You could refresh the page to get it to start over, but I'll also see about adding a direct link - good idea!
Amelia Hanton says
Hi if I am making this for 3 people should I triple the ingredients for the sauce. Sounds amazing btw. X
Kathryn Doherty says
Hi Amelia! The recipe as written makes enough for 4 servings/people, so you should be find to make it as is if you are serving 3 people. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy it!