This Honey Chicken is tender chicken tossed in a skillet with butter, honey, garlic, fresh lemon juice, spices, and soy sauce. This Honey Lemon Chicken is a quick and easy 15-minute chicken dish.
When I am in a hurry and need a quick, weeknight meal that my family loves, I make this Sticky Honey Chicken recipe. It is super flavorful, and easy, and everyone loves it!
This Honey Glazed Chicken is tossed in a lemon garlic butter sauce and honey to give it the perfect amount of sweetness.
This Honey Soy Chicken is bursting with flavor from the garlic, fresh lemon juice, butter, honey, and soy sauce. You are going to be addicted in no time at all!
Honey Chicken Ingredients:
- Chicken Breast -- I suggest using boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces.
- Salt and Pepper -- sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper before tossing it in cornstarch.
- Cornstarch -- this is what helps the sauce adhere to the chicken and also gives it a slightly crispy coating. You may use flour instead.
- Garlic Powder -- also called granulated garlic. May substitute garlic salt for the garlic powder but just omit the salt above.
- Butter -- use salted butter in this honey chicken recipe.
- Olive Oil -- the combination of oil and butter helps to create the perfect crust.
- Honey -- use a regular, pure runny type of honey in this honey glazed chicken recipe.
- Garlic -- use finely diced fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor.
- Lemon Juice -- I suggest using freshly squeezed lemon juice for the freshest flavor.
- Soy Sauce -- may use regular soy sauce or gluten-free tamari sauce.
- Oregano -- this is optional but adds an extra layer of flavor.
How to make Honey Lemon Chicken:
- Start by cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss in cornstarch and coat well.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Cook chicken for 8-10 minutes.
- Add butter, garlic, honey, lemon juice, and soy sauce in a pan. Let cook and thicken for about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle with fresh oregano or parsley and serve.
If you love this recipe, check out my Asian Sticky Chicken Recipe with Coconut Rice. The coconut rice recipe would taste amazing with this honey garlic chicken recipe.
Tips and Q & A:
Can I use flour instead of cornstarch to coat the chicken?
Yes! You can use either cornstarch or all-purpose flour to coat the chicken. It helps the lemon garlic butter sauce adhere to the chicken.
What can I serve this Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken with?
You can serve this on top of rice, with creamy mashed potatoes, with smashed potatoes, easy oven-roasted potatoes, or served with vegetables like green beans with almonds and lemon zest.
Storage:
This honey lemon garlic chicken can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat it, I suggest heating it in a skillet.
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Honey Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. Chicken Breast (cut into bite-size pieces)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Garlic Cloves (minced)
- ⅓ cup Honey
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- Fresh Oregano or Italian Parsley (chopped for garnish)
Instructions
- Start by cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces. Pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place the cornstarch in a bowl and toss the chicken in cornstarch and coat well.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Cook chicken for 8-10 minutes.
- Add butter, garlic, honey, lemon juice, and soy sauce in the pan. Let cook and thicken for about 5 minutes. * If you want a thicker sauce, you may remove the chicken from the pan and cook the sauce for 5 minutes and then add the chicken and toss together.
- Sprinkle with fresh oregano or parsley and serve. May drizzle with more honey when serving.
Notes
- Chicken Breast -- I suggest using boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite-size pieces.
- Cornstarch -- this is what helps the sauce adhere to the chicken and also gives it a slightly crispy coating. You may use flour instead.
- Garlic Powder -- also called granulated garlic. May substitute garlic salt for the garlic powder but just omit the salt above.
- Honey -- use a regular, pure runny type of honey in this honey glazed chicken recipe.
- Lemon Juice -- I suggest using freshly squeezed lemon juice for the freshest flavor.
- Soy Sauce -- may use regular soy sauce or gluten-free tamari sauce.
Nutrition
Katie
We are obsessed with this recipe! The sauce is amazing!
Lohla
Incredible and tasty recipe. Easy to prep. Fast to make. Love. Love. Love.
Layla
Incredible recipe! The sauce is heavenly!
Tracy
Made this for dinner and my whole family LOVED it!!!!
Karen Jackson
Wow, this recipe is a keeper! My family and our guests DEVOURED it! Such an easy recipe with big results. Great flavor, especially using hot honey. Depending on how hot your hot honey is, I would go half hot honey and half regular honey, but drizzle the hot honey on top over the finished dish. Delicious! Thanks again Melissa, you are so talented!
Melissa Stadler
Karen I am so happy to hear it! I love making recipes that everybody can enjoy. Great tips with the hot honey, thanks for sharing!
Natalie Miller
I made this and my ten year old could not get enough!! I made it for dinner and the next morning, he wanted it for breakfast, came home from school and begged for more!! This is definitely a winner recipe just like all of your recipes! I love making your recipes! Thank you!
Melissa Stadler
Getting the ten year olds approval can be tough! I am so glad that he liked it, kids are some of my hardest critics! Thank you so much for using my recipe.
Ctown
My kids loved it, but not surprising because of the honey. Quick and easy and a saver!
Phyllis
This was so easy to put together, delicious, I will make this often.
Linda
I was just reading your recipe and it sounds wonderful. I have been trying to study spices and how to use them because I was not really taught a lot about them when I was learning to cook. I saw in your notes that garlic powder was also called granulated garlic but in my recent studies I read that granulated garlic is supposed to be a bit stronger in flavor? Do you know if it is? Thanks.
Kari
Delicious! My family of 7 loved this honey chicken-which is a HUGE compliment to you and win for me! Thank you!!
Diana
I tripled the recipe for my 3 teenage boys and there was almost none left over for my husband.
Modern Honey
I am right there with you, Diana, with the teenagers! They eat a lot! Haha! I am so glad it passed their test. 🙂
Laurie
I made this tonight and it was very easy and tasted really good. As suggested by others I will definitely triple the sauce since we like more sauce with our rice. Probably will do red pepper flakes too. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe!
Modern Honey
Thank you so much, Laurie, for trying my honey chicken recipe. I am so glad you liked it!
tersat
Love this recipe - quick and easy, and the chicken is light and tender! I triple the amount of sauce so we have plenty to have with our rice, and added some crushed red peppers and the garlic when sautéeing the chicken. Thank you, thank you!
Modern Honey
I love the idea of making more sauce and adding crushed red pepper and garlic to the chicken. I bet that added so much flavor! Thank you so much for trying my recipe.
Jay
I made a double batch of this last night along with a coconut rice recipe that I had and everyone loved it. In fact, my daughter and wife both are having leftovers for lunch today. I followed the recipe exactly, which was very easy, and it came out great. With the exception of chicken, the recipe is convenient as all the other ingredients are standard at home items. The flavors of the sauce came together beautifully and made it a pleasure to eat. It was better than the food we eat at my favorite Chinese restaurant here in Dallas (and that's a huge complement).
Ironically, I am a huge follower of yours, but I've always stuck to desserts as everyone loves dessert. In fact, I've made your Levain recipe probably about 30 times with various add-ins, and they're always a hit. My most popular variation of the levain is with white chocolate and craisins. I'll need to start paying attention to your entrees more frequently. Thanks!
Modern Honey
You are so awesome, Jay! Thank you for being a long time follower. I appreciate it so much! I am so happy your family loved it. Also, I love the idea of adding different add-ins to the Levain Bakery cookies. Amazing!
Sherry
The sticky honey chicken is yummy! I suggest either making 1 & 1/2 times or double the sauce.
Modern Honey
Hi Sherry! Thank you for trying my honey chicken recipe. That's a great tip to increase the sauce...especially if you put it over rice.
Lynda
I added cherry tomatoes for color and more taste. This was a great recipe. Thanks Lynda W.
Lynda
I added cherry tomatoes for color and more taste. This was a great recipe.
Modern Honey
What a great idea, Lynda! I bet that added some freshness to the honey chicken. Thank you for trying my recipe!
Barb
Do you thicken the sauce ingredients in a separate pan then add to the chicken in the skillet? Sounds and looks yummy and I’ll try it once the cooking instructions are clarified.
Modern Honey
Hi Barb! You can do it either way. You can add the sauce ingredients into the pan with the chicken or if you want a thicker sauce, remove the cooked chicken from the pan, add the sauce ingredients and let it thicken for 5 minutes, and then add the chicken and coat with the sauce. Either method works great. I hope that helps!
Christine
What a great recipe! I doubled it, we are busy, so we would have leftovers. Delicious over rice of any kind! A bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and we had a terrific evening!
Thank you!!
Modern Honey
Thank you so much, Christine, for already making the honey chicken. You are awesome! So happy you loved it.