Make Honey Garlic Chicken as an Easy Skillet Meal Tonight!
Try this savory and sweet-tasting honey garlic chicken! It’s an easy skillet meal idea the entire family will LOVE!
Need a quick meal idea for busy weeknights?
Try this easy chicken recipe as an easy skillet meal idea the entire family will LOVE! We ate every last bite, and the caramelized buttery texture on this chicken is FANTASTIC. I love the buttery honey drizzle it creates too.
You’ll be adding this tasty idea to the meal rotation for sure!
Easy skillet meals with common ingredients are the BEST!
The fresh minced garlic and apple cider vinegar add a delicious, savory flavor, and the honey makes the chicken taste sweetened and caramelizes nicely. I added some crunchy garlic chili sauce I picked up at my grocery store like this one. Trader Joe’s has a great version too. It can be omitted or adjusted to taste. You can also just add chili flakes or chili oil.
Honey Garlic Butter Chicken
yield: 4 SERVINGS
prep time: 10 MINUTES
cook time: 20 MINUTES
total time: 30 MINUTES
This savory and sweet chicken is an easy-to-make family favorite!
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons crunchy chili flakes in oil
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- rice, for serving
- broccoli, for serving
Directions
1
Heat up a large skillet on the stove to med/high heat with olive oil and 2 tablespoon of butter.
2
Add the small cut up pieces of chicken to skillet once butter is melted. Season chicken generously with salt & pepper. Let chicken cook until it starts turning white.
3
Add the remaining butter, minced garlic, vinegar, chili oil, and honey. Stir well to coat chicken.
4
The sauce will be a thin consistency and then cook down. Keep cooking and turning the chicken to caramelize the outside. Note: if the sauce isn't caramelizing as much as you'd like, remove the chicken and turn up the heat on the sauce until it cooks down and thickens. Then add the chicken back in.
5
Once the sauce and chicken is fully cooked and caramelized, pour chicken pieces over rice, and serve with a veggie such as broccoli as desired.
Additional Notes
Recipe adapted from RealHouseMoms.com
More tips for making honey butter garlic chicken:
- You can use chicken breast meat or thighs for this. I have made it numerous times with each, but do prefer the thigh meat as it’s more tender.
- While the chicken is cooking I usually have the rice and veggies steaming in the rice cooker. You can also serve it over mashed potatoes.
- Use your largest skillet or a wok for this recipe. I enjoy cooking with my Hexclad hybrid nonstick frying pan as it sears meat well and is dishwasher safe.
- It does take a bit for the chicken to sear and caramelize. if the sauce isn’t carmelizing as much as you’d like, remove the chicken and turn up the heat on the sauce until it cooks down a bit.
Honey butter chicken heaven!
My kids went nuts for this meal, and they can be a super picky crowd! I served this chicken on top of steamed white rice and some steamed broccoli on the side, and there were no leftovers! I loved the amazing texture and everything about this honey-butter chicken. Next time I may add some cashews or peanuts for a crunch! Easy no-fuss meals like this one make me so happy, and this one is for sure worth trying. Enjoy!
Here’s what my teammate Emily had to say about this wonderful chicken dish:
”Before I say anything else, I beg that you plan to double the sauce for this recipe. Or triple it. Or quadruple it. It is SO SO SO good I could eat it straight. This recipe makes your kitchen smell heavenly and is guaranteed to be a hit with your family!
If using chicken breast chunks instead of chicken thighs, remove the chicken from the pan after it has cooked through while the sauce reduces, and then add it back in at the end. Chicken breasts require a little less cook time than thighs, and this helps ensure the chicken doesn’t overcook.
I am anxiously awaiting the next time I make this recipe. It is phenomenal!”
Dive into the behind-the-scenes fun on our YouTube!
Make my easy weeknight stir-fry next!
This sounds awesome, I will be making this real soon. Thanks
Thanks so much! Enjoy! : )
Since I don’t have any Chili Oil, I found an easy recipe for homemade Chili Oil on the Food Network (just olive oil and dried crushed red pepper flakes). I know, I know, I should just pick up some at my local Asian Market, but that’s an extra stop. 🙂
Thank you.
Oh! That’s awesome! Saves me a purchase for something I won’t use often!
Thanks for the tip, won’t have to buy something extra, love those homemade ideas.
That’s what I always do…why buy something that you can easily make yourself? I use corn oil instead though, since it doesn’t have a strong flavor and aroma like olive oil.
Such an awesome tip! 🙌
I’m definitely going to try this and serve it over riced cauliflower with broccoli. Sounds delicious AND I have everything at home; WIN!
Fantastic my family loved it thank you for the push to make dinner and save some money 😉 10,000 times better than any take out 😉 I love you ALL at hip2save…..follower for like 9 years omg!!! Thank you!!
Yep, the title of this dish got me. Buttery honey..What could be better!?! Yum, will try soon, thanks!
Yeah, finally a meal that doesn’t involve an instant pot or air fryer. Sorry I just prefer stovetop/skillet cooking.
Hmm, the chili oil……………seems like a good use for those free packets at pizza hut!
I’m assuming the blue thing is a salt container? Wheres it from?
Yes my salt crock is by Le Creuset 🙂 —> https://amzn.to/2DaLfpZ
This looks delicious I can’t wait to try this. I have just decided that this will be one of my side dishes for Christmas dinner when I go home. Going try this with spaghetti noodles and do a stir fry. Love simple recipes that can easily be adapted many ways. Also thanks for the chili oils recipe my bottle apparently turned rancid ugh. Thanks for a stove top skillet meal that I will be sharing with family and friends.
That sounds awesome with the noodles! Yummy.
Making several meals today for my son and his wife who are expecting (my first grandchild!) Sitting down for a minute and came across this recipe. I’m going to make this as soon as my sorry old bones get up!
That blue salt container sells on amazon for $8.56 Stoneware-Keeper has a lid also.
Sorry I meant to say serving spoon not lid…
Sounds delicious! We will definitely be trying this recipe, thank you!
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit with the whole family; even my picky kiddos. Thank you very much! This recipe will be going on the regular rotation for sure!
I am so happy! Thanks for sharing!
Mine came out very watery and wasn’t carmelizing. I made a double batch and rechecked measurements, but not sure why. Maybe I should have drained it after I browned it and before I added the last ingredients?
I initially had the same problem but turned up the heat and that was the key for me to get the carmelizing.
Mine too, I’m glad I’m not the only one, it still tasted good but had to soak up a bunch of oil first. I thought I followed the steps too, next time will drain chicken first.
what if i did not have the chile oil? Can I use olive oil or regular oil ?
oh sure – just omit or maybe throw in a few chili flakes 🙂
Whenever I need a good sear or carmalize, I start my chicken in my cast iron pan. then I remove it and use my copper pan for the rest of the recipe!
This sounds so yummy! Can’t wait to try it. Do you know about how many this would serve? I’m thinking 4?
Yep! Oh thanks so much for stopping by. You’ll love this.
I recently made this chicken recipe. It was very delicious, cooked as written, with the thigh pieces. We also added slightly more chili oil (found in Wal-Mart) for a little pop. Super yummy, easy to make and kids + adults can enjoy the flavor.
Thanks Brittany! I’m so glad you enjoyed – this is a yummy meal 🤗
I’ve tried this twice. The first time didn’t get it to caramelize but tonight it was perfect. I varied the ingredients a little bit but it was still quite tasty.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Oh good! Glad you could adapt to your own ❤️ yum!
Sounds kind of like chicken adobo! Will definitely try this, with chicken thighs and I am also going to add veggies to make it a meal — trying to be more low carb.
Thank you!
Perfect – sounds yum!
Ugh, tried this recipe twice and couldn’t get it to carmelize either time! What am I doing wrong?
Oh darn! Sorry this didn’t work out- I know that’s frustrating…hmm – wonder if there was more water in your chicken, or pan not hot enough maybe? 😔
Thanks so much for this recipe! I just made this for the 3rd time. Everyone loves it! It’s so easy to make and goes great over mashed potatoes.
Made for first time. Served it over Trader Joe’s Jasmine Rice and it was very good. My only issue is that, in trying to get better caramelization, I overlooked the chicken (breast meat—we don’t like dark meat) and it was a little dry. I’ll know for next time.
Thanks for sharing Sharon! ❤️
I don’t even know how i came upon this recipe but i am so glad i did. I made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing. i used chicken breast instead and i didn’t have chili oil or crushed red pepper flakes to omit but it was still very yummy. Will be looking for the chili oil to keep on hand as i see this being a staple recipe. Thank you Hip2save
That’s so great to hear Tracey! So glad you enjoyed ❤️
Made this tonight it was delicious served over rice. I used chicken breasts and I didn’t use Chile oil. I am going to get Chile oil for my next time I make the recipe. Thank you
Does the chili oil make it at all spicy? I am very sensitive to even mild levels of spiciness. Any substitutes for the chili oil I could try? Otherwise sounds awesome!
It adds balance to the honey, but you can dial it back or just add a few red paper flakes instead to taste?
I’m going to try the recipe for homemade chili oil as monosodium glutamate tends to make me ill. Thanks!
You’re welcome, KarenJ! Hope you enjoy! 💗
Some in family won’t eat chicken. I wonder if anyone has tried to make it with salmon cubes instead of chicken.
Hey there, TS! We haven’t tried that, but it seems salmon can be substituted for chicken in many recipes. Let us know how it turns out if you decide to give it a try! 💖
I finally got to make this for my family – my brother and sister-in-law are in town too so I made it for them as well and I have to say you made me look like an amazing cook! Thank you so much for an amazing meal to share with them!!
Oh yayyyyyy! That is awesome news. Thanks for sharing!