Description
Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs is a flavorful, easy-to-make dish featuring tender boneless chicken thighs cooked in a sweet and savory honey garlic soy sauce. This skillet recipe is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner and pairs wonderfully with rice or steamed vegetables.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Chicken
- 3 lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper - about 1/2 tsp each
Sauce
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 7 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
Garnish (optional)
- Chopped green onion
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat the skillet: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat to prepare for searing the chicken.
- Cook the chicken: Season the boneless chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Add them to the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes on the first side until browned. Flip and cook another 5-7 minutes on the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Sauté aromatics: In the same skillet, add diced onion and garlic. Cook for about 1 minute until fragrant, then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Make the sauce: Pour soy sauce and honey into the skillet with the garlic and onion. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate any browned bits, creating a rich sauce.
- Simmer chicken in sauce: Return the cooked chicken thighs to the skillet and simmer the mixture until the sauce thickens and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (75°C).
- Serve: Optionally, garnish with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds before serving hot, ideally alongside rice or your preferred side dish.
Notes
- Pro-Tip: Start cooking rice at the same time as the chicken for perfectly timed meal prep.
- Substitution: Chicken breasts can be used in place of thighs, butterfly and cut to size for even cooking.
- Oil choices: Olive oil, canola oil, or any preferred cooking oil can be substituted for vegetable oil.
- Adjust sweetness: Increase or decrease honey to customize the sweetness of the sauce.
- Soy sauce: You may use low sodium soy sauce if you prefer reduced salt.
- Storage: Leftovers store well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and freeze up to one month.
- Freezing: Freeze chicken (seasoned) and sauce ingredients separately, thaw 24-48 hours prior to cooking.
- Reheating: Heat leftovers in the microwave in 30-second intervals until warmed through.
- Scaling: Easily adjust ingredient quantities to serve smaller or larger groups; recipe yields 6-8 thighs as written.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 chicken thigh with sauce (approx. 150g)
- Calories: 623
- Sugar: 24g
- Sodium: 1257mg
- Fat: 40g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 24g
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 39g
- Cholesterol: 222mg
