Honey Garlic Chicken is an epic 12 minute chicken breast recipe with a magic 5 ingredient Honey Garlic Sauce! This is a terrific back pocket quick dinner idea for busy nights that’s made with pantry staples. It’s quite amazing how so few ingredients can transform into such a tasty sauce for chicken!
BONUS: This can be made with any protein – beef, pork, lamb, shrimp/prawns, even tofu!
Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
This sauce for chicken breast is a variation of my Honey Garlic Salmon which has been popular with readers for many years.
If I were ever to do a summary of my top 5 Most Used Sauces, Honey Garlic Sauce would probably be right at the top of the list. I love it because it requires so few ingredients that are pantry staples, and when simmered with a seared protein in a skillet so it becomes all bubbly and syrupy…. oh WOW.
It’s just DA BOMB!!! ( <– Who talks like that at my age???! I do. Only in extenuating circumstances. Excitement over crazy delicious secret-weapon sauce falls under this category. 😎)
Terrific quick chicken breast recipe
Though I personally have a preference for chicken thighs over chicken breast (better flavour, juicier!), I find myself putting chicken breast in my shopping trolley week after week.
Thus over the years, I’ve built up a wide variety of quick and easy chicken breast recipes – and this Honey Garlic Chicken is one of my favourite quick dinners that I find myself making over and over again.
What you need
See? I told you that you’d have everything! 😉
How to make Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
Split chicken breast in half – so 2 breasts makes 4 pieces;
Dust chicken with flour (gives the chicken a slight crust so the sauce clings to it better!)
Sear chicken, add butter, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, honey.
Simmer until the sauce thickens. Turn chicken to coat in the amazing honey garlic sauce.
And THAT’S IT!
Want to BBQ it? Use this Grilled Honey Soy Chicken recipe instead.
Notice how the sauce is clinging to the surface? That’s because we dusted the chicken with flour so when it’s pan fried, it creates a crust.
What to serve with Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
There’s enough sauce to drizzle over veggies and soak into rice or whatever you serve it with. The flavour is strong enough such that you don’t need loads – a bit goes a long way!
It’s pictured above with Cauliflower Rice (tossed with a squeeze of lemon, parsley, salt and pepper) with Cucumber Salad on the side.
Even though it’s got soy sauce in the Honey Garlic Sauce, this doesn’t taste specifically Asian-y. But it’s versatile enough that it will go just as well with Fried Rice as it will with a Macaroni Salad or even Mac and Cheese. Yes really! Try it once and you’ll understand (it only takes 12 minutes, you’ve got the time!!) – Nagi x
Honey Garlic Chicken breast recipe
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 500g / 1 lb chicken breast , boneless and skinless (2 pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup flour (Note 1)
- 3 1/2 tbsp (50g) unsalted butter (or 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or white or other clear vinegar)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce , light or all purpose (Note 2)
- 1/3 cup honey (or maple syrup)
Instructions
- Cut the breasts in half horizontally to create 4 steaks in total. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
- Place flour in a shallow dish. Coat chicken in flour and shake off excess.
- Melt most of the butter in a large skillet over high heat – hold back about 1 tsp for later.
- Place chicken in skillet and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until golden. Turn and cook the other side for 1 minute.
- Turn heat down slightly to medium high.
- Make a bit of room in the pan and add garlic and top with remaining dab of butter. Stir garlic briefly once butter melts.
- Add vinegar, soy sauce and honey. Stir / shake pan to combine. Bring sauce to simmer, then simmer for 1 minute or until slightly thickened.
- Turn chicken to coat in sauce. If the sauce gets too thick, add a touch of water and stir.
- Remove from stove immediately. Place chicken on plates and drizzle over remaining sauce.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Honey Garlic Chicken breast recipe originally published February 2018, it has since been improved with new photos and video but no change to recipe (I wouldn’t dare, readers love it as it is!).
More quick and easy chicken breast recipes
Life of Dozer
The fish down at the beach taunt Dozer endlessly, splashing around and leaping out of the water. Sometimes he’ll be in the water swimming non stop chasing fish for an hour! It’s brilliant – no effort required on my part!
Delish! I let my chicken cook a little longer in the sauce just to make sure it was done…and adding a little hit of sriracha is recommended for anyone who wants a little kick. Really good!
WOW is all I have to say. So easy to cook yet packed with so much flavor. It is totally addicting.
Wife loves it, I love it, everyone who I’ve made it for has loved it. It’s a staple meal and I haven’t gone a month without making since I first found this recipe. The sauce also works perfectly with some salmon.
This was a huge hit with my Celiac mom! I used gluten-free flour and soy sauce, and subbed in maple syrup instead of honey. Thank you for a great recipe!
Taste of this sauce is combined in heaven! yum!
Hi y’all,
Would balsamico or red wine vinegar go with this as an alternative to normal vinegar?
Made this tonight for dinner; such a simple recipe yet SO delicious! We had it with Israeli couscous.
Another excellent recipe. Fast and easy. I used the maple syrup vs honey. It was so good.
I made this tonight. Delicious. Used white vinegar. and served with boiled rice.
I highly recommend this recipe. Super delicious.
Another amazing recipe!! Every dish I have made from your recipes has come out perfect and so easy. Thank you for what you do!
I love this recipe!! Tried it awhile back it is now a staple in my house!! So easy tasty and quick!! Love it!
I just prepared it for dinner. My family loves it. Thanks for the recipe. Will definitely do it again 😉
I was just looking for a recipe for chicken breast amd came across this..
i made the right decision! this is amazing!! tastes great! my husband loved it!
Made this last night for the first time. My husband LOVED this. It was delicious!!! The kids loved it to wich is a bonus! LoL. Definitely making it again!
My family’s new favorite! Versatile, healthy, and although I didn’t measure everything it still came out delicious.
A nice change of pace! The whole family loved it and it tasted amazing!
A warning: it uses a LOT of honey! Make sure you have enough before starting!
Can thighs be used here?
Yes you can Marc – see Note 3 under the recipe! N x
Absolutely delicious. So quick and easy and I paired it with your fried rice. I’m loving your recipes 🙂
Thanks Nicky! I am glad that you are enjoying my recipes!! N x
Can this be made without vinegar?
It needs some acid to balance out the sweetness – you could try a bit of lemon instead if you don’t like vinegar. N x
We haven’t made it yet but it looks delish! Just wondering if this can be kept for a couple of days for meal prep?
This one is best cooked fresh. I would cut the breasts ahead of time and then it only takes about 10 minutes to get on the table! N x