Honey Glazed Chicken

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This delectable honey glazed chicken is a quick and easy dish loaded with sweet and savory flavors.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Keyword: Honey Glazed Chicken Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 126kcal

Ingredients

6 pieces boneless skinless chicken thighs (approximately 2 pounds)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
⅓ cup honey, clover or wildflower
½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ to 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, optional garnish

Instructions

Coat the fronts and backs of the boneless skinless chicken thighs with salt and black pepper. You can trim any excess fat from each piece if needed.
Add the chicken thighs and cornstarch to a large zip-top bag. Close the bag and shake the chicken around in the cornstarch until all the chicken thigh pieces are lightly coated with cornstarch.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, low-sodium soy sauce, seasoned rice wine vinegar, minced garlic, and grated ginger. Set aside.
To an extra large, heavy-duty skillet, on medium-high heat, add the canola oil. Once the oil is hot, lay three of your chicken thighs flat into the hot skillet, being sure not to overcrowd the skillet. If your chicken pieces are smaller, you may not need to cook and brown your chicken thighs in two separate batches. See tips.
Cook and brown your chicken thighs for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until you get a light golden crust. Remove the browned chicken thighs to a plate and repeat steps 3 & 4 with the remaining pieces of chicken.
Once all your chicken thighs have been browned, return the pieces from the plate back to the skillet, along with any juices from the chicken (lots of flavors in those juices), and turn your heat down to medium.
Pour the reserved honey sauce mixture into the skillet, being sure to cover the chicken thighs, and cook the sauce for 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened. Be sure to spoon the honey sauce over the chicken as it is bubbling and thickening so that your chicken thighs are fully covered and coated with the sauce.
Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the honey-glazed chicken thighs to rest and the sauce to continue to thicken for 3 to 4 minutes before plating the chicken and serving. You can add a sprinkle of sesame seeds to the chicken once plated if desired.

Notes

If you want to enhance the flavor of the dish, you can marinate the chicken thighs in the honey sauce for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking.
It’s important to remove the excess fat for a better texture and flavor. A sharp knife or even kitchen shears will make removing the fat quick and easy.
Coating the chicken thighs in the cornstarch before browning them gives them a light coating that the honey sauce sticks to beautifully. The cornstarch also helps to thicken up the sauce when cooked. As it cools, it gives the honey sauce that beautiful thick glaze texture.
It’s really important not to overcrowd the skillet when browning the chicken thighs. Overcrowding can lead to steaming instead of achieving a nice golden crust.
Allowing the chicken to rest for 3 to 4 minutes will allow the sauce to thicken and enhance the flavors, as well as make sure the chicken is nice and juicy. Save the excess honey garlic sauce from the skillet to add over the plated chicken for extra flavor.

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