Pan Cooked Sticky Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs
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One pan, 30 minutes, and boneless chicken thighs coated in a sticky honey garlic sauce that brings serious flavor. This stovetop favorite is sweet, savory, and just the right amount of saucy—no fancy steps, no extra dishes. Just a fast, flavorful dinner that’ll have everyone reaching for seconds.
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This dish isn’t just quick—it’s the kind of meal that saves the day when I’m tempted to call for takeout pair it with some rice and veggies and you’ve got a way better dinner (and faster) than delivery. Speaking of better than takeout…Honey Black Pepper Chicken, Easy Shrimp Lo Mein and Spicy Oven Baked Chicken Wings are some of my other “better than takeout” favorites.
Best part? The sauce comes together with everyday ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen—no special shopping trip required. Just big flavor, minimal effort, and a meal that hits the spot every single time!
Star Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs – I recommend boneless for this recipe because they cook faster and it is much easier to slice into strips if you wish so that that sticky sauce can ooze right into the juicy meat! You could also use boneless chicken breast but since they are thicker they will take longer to cook and tend to be less juicy than thighs.
- Honey – Any honey will do since you are heating this recipe but avoid any flavored honey varieties. And if you have crystallized honey, using it in this recipe is a great way to use it. When the honey heats up those crystals will melt right into the sauce.
- Garlic – lots of it! Fresh and finely minced is the way to go!
- Brown Sugar – Not only does the sugar add sweetness and to this dish it is an important ingredient because it helps turn thicken the honey garlic sauce into a tasty sticky glaze. You could use white sugar, but brown sugar adds a deeper more caramel flavor to the sauce and also gives the sauce more color.
- All-Purpose Flour – Used to add a thin coating to the chicken to give it thin crispy crust but also seals the moisture inside the chicken and helps to prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan while cooking.
Let’s Do This!
- Add the flour, seasoning salt and black pepper to a large bowl or a resealable bag and mix.
- Dredge one piece of chicken at a time in the flour or toss in the flour mixture to coat.
- Add the oil to a large pan and heat over medium-high temperature. I find if you sprinkle a little flour in hot oil it should sizzle or bubble and that is when you know the oil is heated.
- Add the dredged chicken to the pan and let cool for 15 minutes flipping after every 5 minutes or so to make sure it browns on all sides and cooks evenly. Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F in the thickest part of a chicken thigh.
- In a medium-sized bowl add the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, minced garlic and grated ginger. Mix well enough that the brown sugar and honey have dissolved.
- Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken in the pan and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Use tongs to flip the chicken over a few times to completely coat the chicken in the sticky sauce. The sauce will thicken as it cooks.
- Remove the honey garlic chicken thighs from the pan and serve with a sprinkling of slivered green onion or sesame seeds if you like.
Leftovers? No Problem
Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The crispy coating will soften and the sauce may also become thinner while it is in the fridge but trust me they are still super tasty! Just warm them up in the microwave for a minute or you can pop them back in the pan for a few minutes.
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe because the flour on the chicken won’t freeze well and will become gummy. This is a recipe that needs to be made when you want to eat it but it is a fast recipe to make so it works for any day of the week!
How to Serve It Up
This recipe can be served just as it is out of the pan but if you want to jazz it up a bit, sprinkle some sliced green onion and/or sesame seeds overtop for some visual interest.
To make this honey garlic chicken thigh recipe a full meal I like to serve it alongside:
- White rice or this shrimp and chicken fried rice
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Garlic Roasted Broccoli
Pan Cooked Sticky Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp seasoning salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Instructions
- Add a 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp seasoning salt and 1/4 tsp of black pepper to a large shallow bowl or resealable bag and mix.
- Dredge each chicken thigh in the flour mixture to coat or toss to coat in the resealable bag.
- Add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to a large deep-sided pan and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the flour-coated chicken thighs to the pan and cook for 15 minutes turning to every 5 minutes or so to ensure even cooking and to brown on all sides. Continue to cook until the chicken reaches and internal temperature of 165°F in the thickest part of one of the thighs.
- While the chicken is cooking mix 1/3 of a cup of soy sauce, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 2 tsp sesame oil, 2 cloves of finely minced garlic and 1 ts of grated fresh ginger to a medium bowl. Mix well until the honey and brown sugar have dissolved into the liquid.
- Pour the honey garlic sauce into the pan and over the cooked chicken thighs. Let the chicken continue to cook with the sauce for another 5 minutes turning the chicken over a few times to coat it with the sticky sauce. The sauce will thicken while cooking.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and serve hot.
Nutrition
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
