Honey Butter Garlic Chicken
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Honey butter garlic chicken is easy and loaded with tender bites of chicken in a delicious sauce! Using simple pantry staples, it can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.
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Table of Contents
A family favorite loved time and time again. Perfectly balanced with flavors that the whole family will love.
The chicken pieces are smothered in a sticky, sweet, and savory sauce that is absolutely delicious! If you love shrimp and are looking for another simple recipe, check out my Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp, another quick dinner idea for the entire family.
Why this recipe works
Honey and garlic are two easy ingredients that blend beautifully together, the sweetness of the honey and the powerful flavor of the garlic. Honey garlic chicken is cooked in a skillet and uses just a few simple ingredients. Juicy, tender chicken bites in a quick sauce that's packed full of flavor. Want a little spice? Try this Hot Honey Salmon Skillet, I think you'll love it!
Ingredients for this recipe
Ingredients Notes
- 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.
- Parsley leaves or green onions- both will work to add a bit of freshness and color to the dish.
How to make this recipe
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.
Recipe Faq's
Absolutely! This is definitely a tasty sauce and very easy to double.
These chicken bites can be served over white rice or mashed potatoes, the honey butter sauce is fantastic over both. My oven-roasted asparagus or roasted broccoli florets are a delicious side dish that would work great.
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
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Honey Butter Garlic Chicken
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
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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.
Very tasty! I didn't measure the salt and pepper, I seasoned to my liking. I doubled up on the sauce ingredients, glad I did. It was good without the green onions but the bomb with them. Love this recipe! Thank you!
Yay! So glad you loved it Ann!
The butter, honey, apple cider vinegar and juices from the chicken creates a sauce. There is a video in the post that may be helpful.
What sauce are you talking about when u say simmer sauce?
This was delicious! Also very easy to make.! I did add corn starch to the sauce, to thicken it up as mine was very runny. We cooked Basmati rice , to serve with it. Definitely making this again , thank you!
Lemon juice is a great substitution 🙂
What can I substitute apple cider vinegar with?
I'm assuming when you say it resemble scampi, you mean the color isn't dark. In order to get a good caramelization you need a really hot pan. The sauce isn't supposed to be super thick, more like a glaze. Hope that helps Morgan 🙂
Not sure what I did wrong. The sauce never thickened and it resembles shrimp scampi but with chicken.
Maple syrup would be a great substitute. Glad everyone loved it Kate! 🙂