Honey-Garlic Chicken

By Yasmin Fahr

Published April 23, 2024

Honey-Garlic Chicken
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(4,475)
Comments
Read comments

These sweet and salty honey-garlic chicken breasts are perfect for when you want big flavor, but you’re short on time. To ensure golden-brown chicken breasts that stay plump and moist, start with a hot pan and pat the chicken dry to avoid adding extra moisture, then allow the chicken to sear properly. Once your chicken has taken on color, set it aside and create a simple pan sauce of honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and butter. When the sauce is glossy, return the chicken to the pan and turn it until coated in the satiny honey-garlic sauce. Serve with roasted potatoes, rice or bread to soak it all up. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2chicken breasts, halved lengthwise, or 4 chicken cutlets (about 1 pound)
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • 2tablespoons honey
  • 2tablespoons soy sauce 
  • 2tablespoons apple cider, rice wine or white wine vinegar
  • 3 to 4large garlic cloves, minced or grated
  • 2tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional) 
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

322 calories; 16 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 32 grams protein; 504 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat the chicken dry. Season all over with salt and pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes until hot and shimmering. Add the chicken and cook without moving until it’s golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Use tongs to flip the chicken and cook until just cooked through, about 4 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    While the chicken cooks on the second side, mix together 3 tablespoons of water, the honey and soy sauce in a measuring cup.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside.

  6. Step 6

    Pour in the soy sauce mixture and let cook until the liquid reduces, about 1 minute. Add the vinegar, garlic and butter, stirring to melt and incorporate until thick and glossy, about 2 minutes more.

  7. Step 7

    Return the chicken to the pan, leaving behind any accumulated juices on the plate, and turn to coat in the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add the accumulated juices, then serve immediately, garnishing with the parsley, if desired.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
4,475 user ratings
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Comments

Kelly S

Liked by both my teenager and me. The sauce is great, very tasty and left a delicious flavour in my mouth! I didn't need to double the sauce and had enough for my rice, but my son just liked soy sauce on his rice, so maybe that's why I had enough. I prepped the ingredients for the sauce in advance. I put the garlic into the apple cider vinegar and it sat for over an hour. This might have mellowed the garlic.... recommend that idea.

honey garlic chicken

Add some grated ginger

Jackie D.

I think the recipe author didn't want to write vinegar after each type of vinegar. They're saying use one of these three vinegars: apple cider, rice wine or white wine rather than saying "Use apple cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar."

betsy

Pretty good but next time I’ll add more soy and garlic and honey and vinegar. I browned the chicken and then removed it from pan. Then I dumped all the wet ingredients and garlic into pan and let thicken slightly.

Bill Krumbein

This recipe works well with sous vide. I sliced the breasts, then put chicken and other ingredients is a ziplock freezer bag. Cooked 1 1/2 hours at 149°. Saved liquids in bag. Seared breasts with a little oil, medium heat for 3 minutes on a side. Put chicken in bowl. Poured saved liquid in hot frying pan and simmered to evaporate a little while scraping the burned bits and stirring. Returned meat with liquids simmered for about 5 minutes, then served.

AmandaDCap

This was good and a pretty quick weeknight dinner. Unfortunately I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would, but my kids (4 and 1) ate it so I can’t complain too much. Doubling the sauce or at least 1.5x would be a good idea if you’d like to serve it on top of rice, as I did. Agree with the comments that I probably could have reduced cooking time a bit for the chicken - they were quite well done. And might have benefited from marinating in the sauce for a bit longer after cooking. The sauce was delicious after it had mellowed a bit, but initially the apple cider vinegar was oddly discordant with the soy sauce and honey. Next time I’ll try a more neutral tasting vinegar like the rice or white wine vinegar suggestions.

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