Honey Garlic Chicken is an incredible 12-minute chicken breast recipe featuring a magical 5-ingredient honey garlic sauce! It’s the perfect go-to dinner for hectic evenings, made entirely with basic pantry ingredients. You’ll be amazed how just a handful of items come together to make such a delicious chicken dish.
BONUS: This recipe works beautifully with other proteins—try it with beef, pork, lamb, prawns, or even tofu!
This sauce variation stems from my much-loved Honey Garlic Salmon recipe, a reader favorite for years.
If I had to list my top five most-used sauces ever, Honey Garlic Sauce would be right up there. It’s ridiculously simple—just everyday pantry ingredients—and when you simmer it with a golden, seared piece of protein in a skillet, it becomes thick, glossy, and absolutely irresistible.
Honestly, it’s next-level good. (Yes, I still say things like “da bomb”—but only when the situation truly calls for it. And this sauce does.
The Sauce Magic
Photo: Spoon pouring honey garlic sauce over chicken breast
Close-up: Tender chicken breast smothered in syrupy honey garlic glaze
The Perfect Quick Chicken Dinner
While I lean toward using chicken thighs for their extra juiciness and flavor, I still find myself buying chicken breasts on the regular.
So over time, I’ve built a library of easy, tasty chicken breast recipes—and this one remains a personal favorite for busy nights when I want something fast, reliable, and full of flavor.
What You’ll Need
Just a few ingredients—bet you already have them all!
Ingredients List:
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Chicken breasts
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Flour
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Butter
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Garlic
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Vinegar
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Soy sauce
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Honey
How to Make It
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Slice the chicken breasts horizontally to get 4 thinner pieces.
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Lightly coat them with flour—this helps create a slight crust so the sauce adheres beautifully.
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Sear the chicken, then add butter, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, and honey.
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Let everything simmer until the sauce thickens. Flip the chicken to coat it evenly in the glossy sauce.
And that’s really it—so simple, so good!
Grilling Tip: Want to toss it on the BBQ instead? Use the Grilled Honey Soy Chicken version instead.
Notice how the sauce hugs the chicken? That’s the magic of a quick flour coating—it creates a light crust that the sauce sticks to like a dream.
What to Serve It With
This recipe makes plenty of sauce—just enough to drizzle over sides like veggies or rice. The flavor is bold, so you won’t need much to make an impact.
In the photo above, I served it with cauliflower rice (seasoned with lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper) and a crisp cucumber salad.
Even though there’s soy sauce in the mix, the flavor isn’t overly “Asian”—it’s incredibly versatile. It pairs just as well with fried rice as it does with a creamy macaroni salad… or even mac and cheese. Don’t believe me? Try it once. It only takes 12 minutes—you’ve got nothing to lose!
Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
This fast and flavorful chicken breast dish is ready in just 12 minutes. Golden seared and finished in a rich honey garlic glaze, it's proof that simple pantry ingredients can create something exceptional. The quick flour coating is key—it helps the sauce stick to the chicken perfectly.
Ingredients
- 500g / 1 lb chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (2 pieces)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (See Note 1)
- 3 1/2 tablespoons (50g) unsalted butter (or use 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or white/clear vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, light or all-purpose (See Note 2)
- 1/3 cup honey (or substitute maple syrup)
Instructions
- Slice each chicken breast horizontally to make 4 thinner fillets. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Pour the flour into a shallow bowl and lightly dredge the chicken pieces, shaking off any excess.
- Heat most of the butter in a large skillet over high heat, saving about 1 teaspoon for later.
- Sear the chicken in the skillet for 2 to 3 minutes until browned, flip and cook the other side for 1 more minute.
- Reduce the heat slightly to medium-high.
- Create a small space in the pan, add the minced garlic and the reserved teaspoon of butter. Stir the garlic briefly as the butter melts.
- Add the vinegar, soy sauce, and honey. Stir or shake the pan to mix everything together. Let the sauce simmer for about 1 minute until it slightly thickens.
- Turn the chicken pieces to coat well in the sauce. If the sauce thickens too much, stir in a splash of water.
- Remove from heat right away. Plate the chicken and spoon over any remaining sauce.
Notes
- Gluten-Free Option: You can use cornflour or cornstarch instead of regular flour. It won’t brown as evenly, but once coated in sauce, the difference is barely noticeable.
- Soy Sauce Tip: Use light or all-purpose soy sauce. Avoid dark soy sauce as its intense flavor will overpower the dish.
- Alternate Proteins:
Pork, Beef, Lamb: Use chops or cutlets. Follow the same steps, adjusting cook time based on thickness. Add garlic and sauce ingredients before the meat is fully done so it finishes cooking in the glaze.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 395Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 123mgSodium 458mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 0gSugar 23gProtein 37g
All Chicken Recipes.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although allchickenrecipes.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.