Honey Butter Garlic Chicken
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, if you purchase through those links, I earn a small commission. Thank you! Read our disclosure policy
Honey Butter Garlic Chicken has juicy, tender bites of chicken coated in a rich, buttery sauce with the perfect balance of sweet and savory. Made with simple pantry staples and ready in under 30 minutes, it’s the kind of recipe you’ll keep on repeat like my Honey Garlic Shrimp and Broccoli.
It’s one of those recipes that tastes like you spent way more time on it than you actually did. The chicken pieces are smothered in a sticky, sweet, and savory sauce that is absolutely delicious! Once you try it, you’ll see why it quickly becomes a go-to favorite for busy weeknights like my Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry!
What Readers Are Saying
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My husband and picky kids loved it! So flavorful and easy to make. Great any time of year. Thank you so much!
– Renee
Quick Look: Honey Butter Garlic Chicken
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 8 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 4
- 📊 Calories: ~358 kcal per serving
- 🥣 Ingredients: chicken, butter, garlic, honey, apple cider vinegar.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy, great for a quick weeknight meal.
Summarize & Save This Content On
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Quick and easy for busy nights. Ready in under 30 minutes with simple steps—perfect when you need dinner on the table fast.
Packed with sweet, buttery garlic flavor, the rich sauce coats every bite of tender chicken for a flavor that’s seriously hard to resist.
Made with simple pantry staples. No complicated ingredients—just everyday items you likely already have on hand.
For even more quick recipe options, try my Shrimp Scampi or my Beef Stir Fry!
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken- you can use boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders in the recipe. But hands down, the thighs are my favorite. Dark meat is always juicy and never dried out.
- Garlic- Use fresh garlic for the best flavor. Garlic powder doesn't have the same effect here.
- Apple cider vinegar- adds the perfect amount of acidity.
How to make Honey Butter garlic Chicken
- Step 1- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces
- Step 2- Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet, add the chicken, season with salt and black pepper, and cook until golden brown.
- Step 3- Add the remaining ingredients and stir until the chicken is coated.
- Step 4- Simmer the honey garlic sauce and chicken to caramelize.
Recipe Tips
- This dish comes together fast, so you need to have everything chopped, measured, and ready to go.
- Patting the chicken dry before searing helps the chicken brown better and gives a nice golden crust.
- Simmer the sauce until it thickens. Let the honey, butter, , and garlic reduce slightly so it clings to the chicken.
- Serve it hot over rice or mashed potatoes. It’s all about that saucy, buttery goodness soaking into your sides.
- Cut the chicken pieces into the same size so they cook evenly. Do not overcook the chicken.
Honey Butter Garlic Chicken FAQ's
Absolutely! This is definitely a tasty sauce and very easy to double.
These chicken bites can be served over white rice or my Boursin Cheese Mashed Potatoes; the honey butter sauce is fantastic over both. My Oven-roasted Asparagus or Roasted Broccoli Florets are a delicious side dish for this chicken.
You need to make sure you simmer the sauce long enough. Let the honey, butter, soy sauce, and garlic reduce slightly so it clings to the chicken.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Let’s stay connected! 🍴Follow Butter Your Biscuit for cozy comfort food inspiration
Honey Butter Garlic Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3-4 tablespoons Honey
- 1- 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Fresh chopped parsley or green onions for garnish
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Instructions
- Cut chicken thighs into small bite sized pieces.
- Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet (cast iron works best) on high heat.
- Add the chicken to the skillet, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let cook until it starts to change from pink to white and get some golden edges about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the remaining butter, garlic, vinegar and honey. Stir until chicken is coated.
- Simmer sauce and chicken to caramelize the outside about another 2-3 minutes.
- Top with fresh chopped parsley or green onions. Serve chicken over rice or mashed potatoes.
Awesome Patrick, I hope you love it 🙂
Trying this tonight! Can't wait.....
I was using a cast iron 11" grill pan for about 1lb of chicken. Maybe that isn't enough space. Still tasty, though!
Sorry it didn't get caramelized for you Melissa. It does need to be a super hot, large skillet. Cast iron works best to get that caramelization.
Tasty but there is no way to carmelize this in an additional 2-3 minutes unless youre using a giant pan. The amount of liquid that has to evaporate prevents the caramelization.
Yay Carla! I agree its even better the next day, thanks for coming back here to share with me and the great review 🙂
I made this the other night. I added some Bella mushrooms and some spinach. I just doubled the sauce and garlic. Sooo good!! We had a little left over. We put rice and all in a bowl and put it in the fridge. I ate the rest for lunch. It was even better!! The sauce mixed in the the rice and it was scrumptious!! Definitely a recipe I'll keep using!!
Fantastic Anita! So glad your family loved it. Thanks for coming back here to share that with me 🙂
Delicious! Family loved it! We like more sauce, so I tripled the sauce ingredients.
Wait I am so very sorry read after posting that I was able to get it to caramelize. It took much longer than the recipe called for but it totally worked in a nonstick pan on a very high heat. It actually went from liquid to caramelization very quickly towards the end. So I apologize for my post we will definitely be making this one again