This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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
very good, it was very tasty, I let it sit in the marinade or 6 hrs. prior to cooking. I used legs cut and skinned. added 10 min to cooking time. tender and juicy. Served with rice, kale in garlic with sesame seeds and green beans. it will be a regular. I didn’t realize I could enjoy the dark meat so well.
I tried this dish a couple of weeks ago and now eat it at least 3 times per week I Love this
It was excellent followed every step my kids all ate it their toddlers they wanted seconds rarely ever want seconds on meats probably only ate the veggies and noodles coming back for seconds because or this chicken dish and thanks so much I got to put them to bed early nice and full. Xoxo
Ha! That is awesome news :) thanks for sharing!
I followed your recipe exactly including the double foil and 8X8 cooking dish. The flavor was great and the chicken came out moist, but the sauce was not “sticky” – it was runny in fact. My husband likes burnt edges, so I put the chicken under the broiler for about 4 minutes I think next time I will add more honey. My husband really enjoyed the dish and cleaned his plate. I served vegetable stir fried rice as a side dish.
My sauce was also runny and wasn’t a dark brown either. My husband liked it which is something
The sauce is supposed to be runny like in the photo. I never said the sauce would be a thick sauce. I’m glad you liked it though :)
Do u have to use boneless thighs? If not and I use bone in chicken (breasts, drumsticks or thighs) how would it affect the cooking time?
You don’t have to but if you don’t and choose to use bone-in, I think cooking time would be roughly the same, if not maybe 10 minutes longer.
Can you marinade the chicken in mixture before cooking
Yes! :)
I rarely follow recipes, as I like to play in the kitchen and make up my own dishes. But I saw this and had to try it. It was easy since all of the ingredients are staples and in my house already… very clear directions, and simple to prepare on a busy night. It was delicious, and my favorite part was how fabulous my house smelled! Looking forward to scrolling through more of your recipes now.
Like to receive it
Thank you
Very tasty! Served with white rice and roasted bok choy. It was the perfect light and flavorful dinner and very easy. I prepared the chicken several hours ahead of time, so simply put it in the oven 40mins before dinner. Will definitely make again!
I made this last night, it was everything that you promised. No more dry, tasteless chicken for us !