Honey Garlic Chicken

This is the best 5 ingredient back pocket recipe: sweet and sticky, savory and garlicky, honey garlic chicken. Perfect chicken in 15 minutes.

Sweet and sticky, savory and garlicky, honey garlic chicken is always the answer when I don’t know what to make for dinner.

It’s the quickest dish to whip up and aside from the chicken, is a straight up pantry recipe. A side of greens and some fluffy rice and you’re set!

This is the best 5 ingredient back pocket recipe. Honey garlic is my jam: I can eat it on literally everything, including toast. It’s one of the easiest most flavorful sauces you can make at home and is a definite crowd pleaser.

How to make honey garlic chicken

Cook the chicken. Lightly pat your chicken dry, season it on all sides with salt and pepper then cook it in a pan with a bit of oil. When it’s cooked through, it’s time to add the garlic.
Cook the garlic. Add the garlic to the pan (add a bit of oil if the pan is dry) and cook until it’s soft but not brown and smells amazingly garlicky.
Add the sauce. Stir in honey, soy sauce, and vinegar and let it bubble away and thicken, coating all the nooks and crannies of the chicken.
Enjoy! Remove the chicken from the pan along with all the sauce and enjoy!

Honey garlic chicken ingredients

chicken – I used bone in skin on thighs because I love how much flavor you get from bone in chicken and I love chicken skin! You can use literally any part of the chicken that is your favorite. I’ve included a handy cooking time chart just below.
garlic – this is a garlicky honey garlic with 6 fresh cloves. You can add more or have less based on your garlic preferences. For me, the more garlic the better. Oh, and save yourself some time and get a garlic press, it’s a prep game changer!
honey – mild, pure, 100% clover honey is what I reach for when cooking so the flavors don’t overwhelm the dish. Because we’re cooking the honey you don’t need raw honey, save that for your tea, toast, or oatmeal.
vinegar – vinegar adds a bit of acid and tang to this sauce and balances it out so it’s not just all sweet. I like to use rice vinegar but you can sub white vinegar or white wine vinegar too.
soy sauce – just a touch of soy sauce for umami and flavor. As always, use a soy sauce you love the flavor of and go for a naturally brewed soy sauce.

Pan-fried chicken cooking time chart

boneless breast: 10-15 minutes, flipping as needed
boneless thighs: 6-10 minutes, flipping as needed
bone-in thighs: 20-25 minutes, flipping as needed
drumsticks: 20-25 minutes, flipping as needed
wings: 10-15 minutes, flipping as needed

Side dishes

Why you should make homemade honey garlic chicken

super easy, barely an inconvenience
making it at home means your chicken can be extra saucy
you can customize it to your own taste with extra garlic or not too much garlic
it’s faster than delivery
the pure satisfaction of a home cooked meal

The best 5 ingredient back pocket recipe.

Serves = 4

Prep Time
10 mins

Cook Time
15 mins

Total Time
25 mins

Ingredients

1 lb chicken of choice
6 cloves garlic minced
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp rice vinegar or vinegar of choice
1 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions

Pat the chicken dry and season all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium high and add a bit of oil. When hot, add the chicken, skin side down if using skin on chicken and cook, until golden and cooked through, flipping as needed. See chart for approximate cook times

2. When the chicken is cooked through, push the chicken to one side of the pan and add the garlic and cook, stirring, until soft and fragrant. Stir in the honey, vinegar, and soy sauce and let bubble and simmer, stirring. Coat the chicken in the sauce and let it thicken slightly. Remove from the pan, being sure to scoop up the extra sauce and enjoy!