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
I have everything but the Sesame Oil. Will that make a big difference?
No, you will be okay without it
I have tried this twice now. I just am not a fan. It smells so good but it seems to have a slight not salty enough bitter sauce. Maybe some hoysein sauce and or duck sauce?
Bitter? Perhaps the garlic burned. That’s the only ingredient I know of in this recipe that would get bitter.
Do you think I could put this in the crock pot on high for 4 hours and it still be yummy? I have made this in the oven and I LOVE it, just curious if you have tried to do it in the crockpot :) ?
I haven’t tried it with a slow cooker but I believe others have — I can’t quite remember. I honestly don’t think it would ruin it, if that helps!
Deliciously,tender,juicy and flavorful. Simple to make. Family loves it.
Just made this with chicken breasts! Broiled for the last 3 minutes and it was so yummy! Also accidentally did the extra sesame oil (read 1TBSP instead of 1 tsp) and it was still so good! Thanks for this recipe! Will be checking out some of your others!
Lol I did the same thing with the sesame oil…tablespoon instead of teaspoon. I’m glad I read the comment re broiler Browning. The pic looks great, and I like a little crispness. Making this tonight. Hope it’s a hit.
I am making this dish as I write this. The cooked chicken in your video looks nothing like the picture. The picture looks like the chicken was crisped up in a pan or broiled?
Yeah, I stuck it under the broiler for photos. I didn’t do it in the video :)
My fiancée and I LOVED this!! My chicken didn’t brown like yours, though. I followed all the instructions to the T. Mine were a lot lighter and didn’t look crispy like yours. It was still delicious, but I feel like we may not know what we’re missing ha! Any suggestions?
I broiled it to get it more brown for photos!
Would have been nice if you would have mentioned that little tidbit in your instructions !
Some of the tips people are getting angry about seem like common sense to me. Dont take it to heart. Thanks for the recipe. I’m making it tonight but added a few drops of another seasoning. Hope I didn’t screw it up! ?
You think it would be ok to cook this on the Weber grill in disposable aluminum pans???
Yes, definitely!! You can even sear the exterior too on the grill after they’re done cooking to caramelize the sauce onto the chicken even more!
I made this dish for Rosh Hashanah and everyone loved it! The only thing I changed is that I used fresh ginger instead of ground,(that’s all I had on hand). It looked just like the picture. I will make this again for sure!
I did everything exactly as you said! Must have been a hole in foil. Dish got sticky residue STUCK to it, chicken, not so much. I will NEVER make this again. Ugh.
Wait, so how is this my fault that you had a hole in the foil?? You’re not going to make a dish again because you had a hole in the foil?
Hahahaha! You must’ve snuck over to her house and put a hole in her foil! Kidding, kidding. I couldn’t resist. Anywho, I’m making this chicken tonight! Sounds delish!