This honey soy chicken is as equally flavorful as its sister, holy yum chicken, but just a different flavor profile! Asian and saucy!
I came up with honey soy chicken because of the overwhelming response to my holy yum chicken.
Quick and easy chicken dinners that can be made in one casserole dish seems to be the way to your hearts!
I know it is for me because when you’re tired after a long day, the last thing you want to do is make an elaborate dinner.
Have no fear that just because this is an easy chicken recipe that it is lacking in flavor.
It is just the opposite!
Honey soy chicken has so much flavor!
The ingredients in honey soy chicken give it a lot of flavor. Here’s the run down of the ingredient list:
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
How do you get it all nicely browned on top?
I stick the entire casserole dish under the broiler to get the nice golden brown color you see in the photos.
This step is absolutely optional and you don’t have to. I obviously did it because I think it looks better and I love a crispy caramelized edge on my chicken thighs.
Can you use chicken breasts?
You can but I love using dark meat/chicken thighs.
They are foolproof and don’t dry out like chicken breasts do.
They also tend to take less time to cook.
Is the sauce supposed to be thick?
No. I keep getting comments from people saying their sauce is runny.
It’s supposed to be runny like you can see in the photos.
There’s nothing in the ingredients that would make the sauce thick.
I did mention that soy sauce and honey are both sticky ingredients when cooked at high heat but that doesn’t mean the sauce is going to be thick.
I’m saying that the excess sauce that may be on the sides of your baking dish or foil will be sticky/crusty. Hope that clarifies things!
Can you make this in the slow cooker?
I mean, I guess you could but it already whips up so fast in the oven that I feel putting it in the slow cooker would be a bit of an overkill.
Here are some tips to help you make this honey soy chicken recipe a success!
- If you don’t follow directions and want to improvise, that is definitely ok! But please do not come back to yell at me for a failed dish. The instructions are laid out completely above because I have tested it myself and it works the way it’s written above.
- If you do not use the right equipment it will likely not turn out either. 8×8″ pan means 8×8″ pan. 2 layers of foil means 2 layers of foil. Why? 8×8″ pan will keep the sauce together and compact and won’t cause it to spread out over a large surface area. If you put it in a larger pan, it will spread, therefore, causing the sauce to get cooked off and you’ll end up with dry chicken and little to no sauce. Double layering the foil insulates the sauces and the chicken, it’ll keep the sauce from burning on the scalding hot pan.
- Yes, it really is cooked at 425 degrees. I’m not going to lie to you. Yes, it’s high but it also works (proof: above pictures!)
- If you’re using (thin cut) chicken breasts, reduce cooking time by 10-15 minutes or you’ll end up with dry chicken.
More chicken recipe ideas:
- Holy yum chicken
- Roasted chicken with olives and tomatoes
- Fig and rosemary glazed skillet chicken
- Coconut harissa curry braised chicken
- Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
Watch me make the honey soy chicken recipe with this video!
Honey Soy Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (most of the fat cut and discarded)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 5 tablespoons honey
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 8×8″ oven-proof pan with 2 layers of tin foil. I HIGHLY advise using foil in this dish because soy sauce & honey are STICKY and tend to adhere heavily on glass dishes when cooked at high temperatures. Unless you want to be scrubbing forever, use the foil!
- In small bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ground ginger, and pepper.
- Place the chicken thighs in the foil layered pan then pour the mixture on top of it. Turn the chicken around in the sauce to make sure it gets all coated.
- Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure the tops are not browning too quickly. If they are, cover with foil and resume baking until chicken is done.
- Remove from oven and let chicken sit for 5 minutes then transfer to a plate. Do NOT discard the liquid.
- Immediately after plating chicken, pour sauce over top of chicken. It’s delicious so you want all the sauce you can get!
- Serve with white or brown rice and some steamed veggies.
Notes
Photography by Ari Laing
Looking for some inspiration . new recipes!!
Increasing to 3 lbs of chicken so using a little bit longer pan. I don’t want to overcrowd the pan. Thinking those who want a thicker sauce could just transfer the sauce to a small saucepan after the chicken has cooked and thicken with a cornstarch slurry.
Made this today….and its my new fav! The only tweak I made to the recipe is adding 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes because I thought it would be awesome with just a little kick of heat, and after the 40 min cook time, It didn’t have that carmelization/color like in the pics, so I broiled it on high, the second rack in th oven, for 5 min.
Has anyone tried marinating the chicken in the sauce for an hour or so before baking?
I believe people have done this before and it’s a great idea!
Unsure where I went wrong. Per your very terse directions, I always follow your recipes to the letter. We found this dish very tasteless.
I want to make this tonight but have bonein chicken breast. Do you think I could use this ?????
Yep, definitely
I am confused about putting the water in the pot. The hole should be above or below the water I put in.
Above or below?
Thanks,
Pat
There is no water nor pot used in this recipe.
Is there any way I could make this in a crockpot? I absolutely love this recipe; it is my whole family’s favorite!! This is what they request but I need to make it in the crockpot tonight. Is it possible?
Many people have made this in the slow cooker so I think you totally can do it!
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe! Very easy and tastes great!
Tried recipe. Tasty but needs salt.
I’ve made this a bunch and it’s delicious every time! Love it!
Had it tonight. It was so good. It’s definitely a keeper.
Loved this! Made as directed and added a pinch of red pepper flakes. Question: I’m curious about omitting the oil in the sauce. The finished product seemed to have a decent layer of oil floating on the top. Granted, I could use a separator, but that’s another step and another thing to wash. Wondering if I omit the oil, since the fat renders off the thighs, if I’ll have similar tasty results. Thoughts?
You could definitely omit the vegetable oil; I wouldn’t omit the sesame oil though!
Made this tonite. Looked beautiful! Smelled even more beautiful. Comments were…..bland. With more soy sauce added to finished chicken was better. Will definitely make again with added justments! So there!! I’m NOT telling at you!
I’ve made this several times and my family loves it! We have high standards for recipes and this really hits the mark! The only change I make is to thicken the sauce a bit and broil the chicken at the end. I cook for 35 mins instead of 40. Add cornstarch slurry (1 TB or so). Baste chicken then broil 3 mins. Baste again (thicken sauce more if needed), and 2-3 more mins broil. This is so so good! Our favorite side with it is buttery mashed potatoes. Mmm.
This recipe is lit. I did exactly how the recipe says but added garlic salt and cayenne pepper to the mixture. Next time i am going to exit the veggie oil and add more sesame oil. I topped it on jasmine rice!
Just made this, with a few minor variations, and it was awesome
If I could give this recipe a Hundred stars out of five I would! Bottom line the best chicken recipe I’ve ever eaten. I Have cooked in a lot of hospitals hotels and restaurants and needless to say I’ve tasted a lot of recipes, but this by far, hands-down has won my heart, thank you!
Oh this makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for your feedback!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! My husband loved it. Will make this again real soon.
Making this tonight, I followed everything to the T and we will see what the family thinks. I used the foil and serving with white rice. I used minced garlic that I had in the fridge, about 3 tsp. I am planning on using the broiler for 3 min on each side. I have been reading the comments and that seems to be the key…Thanks for such an easy recipe!!
Enjoy!!
Excellent
Sounds like a delicious and simple recipe. I’ll be making it tonight. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve cooked this recipe several times over the last couple of years… my family and I love it! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us, Julie!
Thanks Rosie! So glad you have made this regularly!
Super easy and turned out perfect
If I use more chicken can I use aw bigger pan?
Yes
Making your honey soy chicken thighs (no bone or skin). You say 8*8 pan… Are the thighs touching each other? Excited to make dish tonight!
yep, mine were touching!
I read some of the comments and I guess my only thought is seriously? This is a fabulous chicken recipe that would only be easier if someone invited you to dinner and made it for you!! The directions were clear and considering and I didn’t have to guess about anything! Some people just HAVE to complain. Keep the fabulous recipes coming!
Thank you so much!
Delish and super easy. Next time I make it I’ll probably add some orange zest and/or red pepper flakes but this really was fantastic as is.
This was so easy to prepare and we loved it. We will definitely be adding the recipe to our favorites notebook.
I absolutely love this recipe! The flavor and tenderness of the chicken is absolutely amazing! It is surprising that a recipe this simple is so good. I make this often and usually serve it with steamed rice and mixed oriental vegetables. YUM!
Love this recipe! Doubled everything and cooled in a big part on the BBQ. Have a big dinner party coming up is it ok to crowd chicken on the pan?
you can but you just gotta be sure to flip it around and change the chicken on the bottom to the top, etc..b/c if they overlap, you will have some underdone chicken
So so easy and yummy! Doubled the sauce, used fresh ginger and didn’t broil and it was still perfect. Also tried on salmon with some fried rice and it was amazing there too!! Thanks for your talents.
Can you grill the thighs on grill
you can
Why dont you tell the amount of each ingredient ‼‼‼
why don’t you actually scroll down to the recipe card??? all values are given in there!
I’ve come back a second time for this recipe in two weeks. This was so good and a new go-to recipe!
We love this one!!!
Perfection!! Only change I made to the recipe was to add a little bit of salt to the sauce. I made double the amount of chicken so I doubled the ingredients, and baked in a 9×13 pan.
Delish!!! Made with a few modifications and only had bone in chicken thighs. Also added some green bell pepper, onion, and zucchini. Next time I am making a bigger batch!!
This dinner was very yummy and sooo easy! Was just wondering about if I wanted to omit the honey. I don’t love honey with soy sauce and was wondering if I should sub in something else or just omit it? Thanks for posting!
maple syrup maybe? the recipe is called honey soy chicken so honestly the flavor i was aiming for in this recipe was a combination of honey + soy together!
After making this, my wife who is Filipino said, “this is chicken adobo without the vinegar”
Hi, I was wondering if chicken breast w/bone in would work?
yes, it would but you would need to add in extra time for cooking
Biggest fan of chicken cooked with Asian flavours. I love the spicy flavour of chicken and soya sauce salty flavour. It looks very easy to prepare due to your precise and well-explanatory instructions. Thanks!! Keep Up the good work chef!!