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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
Honey Soy Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 5 tablespoons honey
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ – 2 pounds (1 ⅗ kg) boneless skinless chicken thighs, (most of the fat cut and discarded)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 °F (218 °C). 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.3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 5 tablespoons honey, 4 cloves of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground black 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.1 1/2 – 2 pounds (1 ⅗ kg) boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 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
Nutrition
Photography by Ari Laing
We LOVED this!! So juicy and flavorful! I did the double foil & clean up will be easier, so thanks!
Hi! I just found this on Pinterest and I’d love to make it for dinner sometime this week. However, I have a lot of chicken breasts that I’d like to get rid of before buying more poultry. Do you think this recipe could work with chicken breasts instead, and how would I adjust the baking time for this? Thank you!
Hi Rebecca, please read point #4 above the recipe under the disclaimer. I hope you enjoy!
Darn auto correct. lol Holy Cow! Well…apparently one needs to have a tough skin in this blogging business. Who knew? Looking forward to trying the chicken!
Haha I’ve definitely developed a tough skin over the years :) hope you enjoy the chicken!
Just made this for dinner. It was my first time working with chicken thighs and my first time cooking anything even vaguely Asian. I’m a super picky eater working to expand my palate and I absolutely LOVED this. So savory and yummy, with just a hint of sweetness. This will definitely be making repeat appearances on my dinner table!!
For some reason this made my entire house smell awful. Did this happen to anyone else?
DP – Really? How cow – Julie wasn’t at all rude. It’s her blog and quite frankly, she is only saying what most people are thinking. I would say that if anyone was rude – you might want to re-read your comments. I totally get her frustration.
<3 thank you Cat
The chicken looks delicious, but I found your blog post to be a bit rude. I think it’s generally accepted that deviating from a recipe might bring different results than those intended. There’s no need to constantly b**** at people in advance because they might do something later on that you disapprove of.
Hi DP, yes, I get that deviating from a recipe can bring different results – which I am PERFECTLY fine with but the problem that I have is people who deviate from the recipe and then BLAME me for the mishap. Have you honestly read the comments and see what I deal with? This recipe was derived from holy yum chicken: https://www.tablefortwoblog.com/holy-yum-chicken/ and if you even caught a glimpse of the comments on that one (over 700 comments) about how they didn’t do this and that to the recipe and it came out horrible and blamed me for it, yadda yadda, then you would have disclaimers too. I’m not bitching – I’m simply stating that IF people choose to deviate from my recipe, then don’t come back and blame me for something because the recipe, as written, is one that I personally tested and worked.
You are awesome! Great recipe
And your post was not rude at all. Some people just want to find any reason to complain. Amazing recipe AND blog <3
I was commenting to my son about the negativity on some of the feedback in these sites (not only yours) if I look at a recipe which is made in a certain way I follow the instructions if it comes ok or awesome I do it again if I don’t like it I don’t cook it again. Full stop. However I never ruined a meal following recipes from any site. The only thing they did not suit my taste. There is no need to be rude and negative we should be thankful that people experiment and share their experiences. These chicken seems to be yummy I will try it as I have all the ingredients on hand. Thanks for sharing and keep the good work.
I just happened to find your blog..and I love your upfront comments!! I cannot imagine the nasty comments you must get. I am going to make this recipe tonight! It looks and sounds awesome! I will continue to follow you!!
is the chicken going to cook as if i am making baked chicken?
Yes, basically. I’m not quite sure what the question is..if you could elaborate, I’d love to help!
Any way this could be cooked on stovetop rather than the oven?
Yes, you likely could!
Just made this for dinner and it is so tasty and easy to make! Followed the directions to a T except I used a single use foil pan and doubled the recipe. Hoping for leftovers for tomorrow! Thanks for sharing.
Yay! Glad you enjoyed!