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!
Hi Nagi,
Thank you for all the delicious recipes; you truly are a gem. Can I ask if I can make this recipe in a slow cooker? Please advise.
Thanks again, Sylvia
Not this one as written sorry Sylvia! N x
This was delicious, really simple too. And I think if I wanted just the sauce, that would be super doable.
So quick and easy, everything in the pantry or freezer, #MelbourneLockdown
I added chilli flakes with garlic. and spring onion at end to pretty it up.
Has anyone tried this in a crockpot?
I’m so glad I found your recipes, I have made two so far, this one and the beef ribs in BBQ sauce. Definitely both favourites and looking forward to trying more!
I do not have vinegar currently, can I leave it out or does it change the flavor considerably?
Hi Elise, vinegar balances the flavours – try lemon juice instead – N x
Just had this for dinner; absolutely AMAZING!!! I served with garlic green beans and smashed potatoes. I made extra sauce and will be using it on wings this week-end. So, so good!!
This is a simple and a really great recipe.
Trying to stay close to a Keto program, I substituted sugar free maple syrup with a little monk fruit for the honey. No one noticed the substitution and the family all had nothing but compliments on the recipe.
Way to Go Nagi!
All I have to say is that if you haven’t made this yet MAKE IT! It’s SO AMAZING! Just tried it and wow! Thank you for the amazing recipe!! ♥️
I don’t have Apple cider vinegar right now. What can I substitute for it if anything? susan
Hi Susan, rice vinegar would work here too! N x
I made this with chicken thighs and dusted the chicken with cornstarch…. I doubled the sauce and mixed honey and maple syrup…. It was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! It literally took about 15 minutes to cook… served it with cauliflower rice….
I liked this for a weeknight since its very quick and easy. My sauce didn’t really thicken, however. Maybe its because I tripled the sauce? Or because I used the olive oil alternative instead of butter? Not sure…
Hi AMF, yes both of those reasons would cause the sauce not to thicken, tripling the sauce creates more volume too which would take longer to reduce. N x
I cooked this tonight, complete with the cauliflower rice and cucumber salad, and even my fussy eaters thought it was delicious. Every recipe we have tried so far Nagi has been delicious. Thank you so much for making meal times easy.
This recipe tonight was delicious. I loved that it was quick to prepare, especially after working all day. Thanks for providing another great recipe!
I made this recipe tonight for dinner for my husband and I and it was delicious. I loved that it was quick to prepare, especially after working all day. Thanks for providing another great recipe!
Made this and added some roasted garlic and fresh parsley to garnish. Not only was this delicious, but one of the most presentable dishes I’ve ever made.
Tried this Honey Garlic Chicken & it turned out to be awesome. Everyone just loved it & licked every bit of it. Thanks for such great recipes.
Made this last night with just a salad and it was lovely! Perhaps a tad sweet for me, next time I will try a 1/4 cup of honey. I also cooked boneless thighs… FABULOUS! Combined with the saltiness of the feta in the salad. Really great recipe.
I made this for my family. The chicken was delicious! What would you use to give it some heat? Would you suggest red pepper flakes?
Yes red pepper flakes would work well! N x
Just made this for dinner tonight with some sticky rice. This recipe was delicious. Just the right amount of sweetness. Reminds me of the meals we would get in Japan. Definitely going in my recipe tin/book!