Honey Garlic Glazed Chicken

If you're searching for an alternative to takeout, this is it! Healthy, customizable, and comes together in about 10 minutes.

I no longer eat American-style Chinese food because of the high sodium content, but I do miss it sometimes, which is what led me to create this recipe. This is my new favorite takeout substitute, and I'm confident you will love it too!

This recipe serves 4 as written but is simple to scale up to feed a crowd. If you do double or triple the recipe, I would recommend cooking the chicken in multiple batches to avoid crowding the pan. Getting a good sear on both sides of the chicken is really important for the flavor and texture of the dish overall. Set aside the cooked chicken, make the glaze in the same pan, then return the chicken to the pan to toss in the glaze.

Serve over jasmine rice cooked with butter and salt and fluffed up before serving. A simple yet delicious meal with very little time and effort!

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs

Marinade:

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 tsp garlic paste or 3 cloves garlic, diced or grated

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. coconut aminos or soy sauce*

*Decrease amount of salt by half if using full-sodium soy sauce

½ tsp fine sea salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp dried thyme

½ tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Glaze:

1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. brown sugar, tightly packed in measuring spoon

1 Tbsp. honey

Optional but strongly encouraged:

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

⅛ tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

Marinate chicken:

1. Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and place into a Ziploc gallon freezer bag

2. In a small bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients

3. Pour marinade into bag with chicken

4. Seal bag carefully, leaving a small amount of air in the bag, and shake/rub bag to fully coat all chicken pieces

5. Marinate at least 1 hour or up to 6 hours

Cook chicken:

1. In a non-stick pan over medium heat, add the chicken pieces (no marinade)* and spread into an even layer, taking care not to overcrowd the pan

*No need to add oil to the pan; there will be enough oil and moisture in the marinade stuck to the chicken to last the short amount of cooking time

2. Sear chicken on the first side for 3 minutes without moving or stirring

3. Flip each piece over and sear the second side for 3 minutes without moving or stirring

4. Using a meat thermometer, check the internal temperature of the largest largest piece: chicken is safe to eat at 165°F, but chicken thighs are much more tender, juicy, and perfectly done at 195°F

5. Remove the cooked chicken from the pan; if it’s a small amount move it to one side of the pan

6. Reduce the heat to low, and in the same pan melt butter, brown sugar, and honey

7. Add cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes and gently stir for 1 minute - don’t stir quickly or aggressively, because hot butter and sugar are very dangerous if they splash on your hand!

8. Add the chicken into the glaze and gently stir to combine, making sure each piece of chicken is fully coated in the glaze

9. Turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the glaze for a few minutes before serving (the glaze will continue to thicken as it cools)

Suggested Products*

Mixing bowls

Ziploc gallon freezer bags

BergHOFF non-stick pan

Meat thermometer

My favorite spatula

*If you purchase any recommended products using the affiliate links above, I may earn a small percentage of income from the sale. I will only use this blog to recommend products I genuinely love and personally use. My opinions will never be bought. Click HERE to read more.