Crispy chicken thigh pieces baked in the oven with a sticky honey, soy, and garlic sauce. So simple and quick to prepare! Serve these crispy chicken bites up with rice, noodles or in lettuce cups and drizzle with that gorgeous honey garlic sauce!

A tall, closeup shot of Baked Honey Garlic Chicken. The picture of the tray of baked chicken fills the image so the background cannot be seen. The chicken is in a white tray, and in the top right corner of the image, you can see a silver spoon resting in the pan with a few pieces of chicken in the spoon.
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Honey Garlic Chicken is one of my all-time favourite fakeaway recipes. So, I wanted to find a way to recreate those sticky, sweet tender pieces of chicken without the need for frying.

Obviously, nothing quite compares to chicken fried in oil, but this oven-baked method makes this dish much easier (and less messy) to cook. And having fewer dishes to wash afterwards is always a bonus!

📋 Ingredients

A wide, overhead shot of the ingredients for Baked Honey Garlic Chicken. They are laid out on a wooden cutting board. They are as follows: chicken, salt, pepper, cornflour, garlic powder, paprika, garlic, chicken stock, light soy sauce, rice vinegar, avocado oil, butter, and honey.

Chicken – Chicken thighs are preferable to chicken breast for this recipe, as we’re cooking at a high heat. Thigh meat stands up better to this high-heat cooking without drying out, plus thighs are brilliant at absorbing all the flavour of the sauce.

Rice Vinegar – This can be substituted for apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar if you can’t get your hands on it.

📺 Watch how to make it

***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***

  1. To start off, we want to prep the chicken thighs by trimming off any extra fat and chopping them into bitesize chunks.
  2. Dredge in the seasoned cornflour, then once fully coated, we toss in the oil (this helps to give us a crispy golden coating).
  3. Spread out onto one large to two medium baking trays, giving the chicken enough space around it so the hot air in the oven will let it get crispy. Then place in the oven for 15 minutes, until crispy. The chicken should be almost cooked after 15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, make the sauce.
  5. Once the chicken is crispy, take it out of the oven and pour the sauce around the chicken so it pools at the bottom of the tray. I try to ensure the sauce is going mostly on the tray, not the chicken (to retain that crispiness). Then, pop back in the oven until the sauce is bubbling and the chicken is cooked through.
  6. Give it all a good mix, so the sauce coats the chicken and serve. I like to serve with rice and top with chopped spring onions and dried chilli flakes.

Pro Tip

Serve the chicken with rice, noodles or in a lettuce cup and drizzle over the remaining sauce from the tray for a super quick and easy dinner!

This is a fantastic addition to a fakeaway banquet!

A tall, overhead shot of Baked Honey Garlic Chicken. The honey garlic chicken is in a large white tray, with a dark blue rim. The tray is in the centre of the image, at a slight diagonal. You can slightly see a large silver spoon resting in the top right corner of the tray with the chicken, there are a few pieces of chicken in the spoon. In the top left of the image, you can see the corner of a brown dish filled with whopped spring onions. Above it is a white bowl with fried rice in it, and in the top right of the image, you can see the corner of a clear container filled with dried chilli flakes. You can see to the bottom right of the image, there is a white napkin tucked underneath the tray. This is all set on a light grey background.

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🍽️ What to serve it with


That crispy, golden chicken coated in that sweet and savoury sauce is SO tasty!

A tall, closeup shot of Baked Honey Garlic Chicken. The picture is of a blue bowl filled with chicken, which fills the image. The chicken is topped with chopped spring onion and dried chilli flakes. There is a silver spoon sticking out of the right of the bowl. In the bottom right corner, you can slightly see the edge of a white napkin.

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5 from 2 votes

📋 Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe

Crispy chicken thigh pieces baked in the oven with a sticky honey, soy, and garlic sauce. So simple and quick to prepare! Serve these crispy chicken bites up with rice, noodles or in lettuce cups and drizzle with that gorgeous honey garlic sauce!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian

Ingredients

Crispy Chicken:

  • 8 skinless chicken thigh fillets (this is about 800g or 3/4 pound before trimming)
  • 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp oil

Honey Garlic Sauce:

  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar (sub with apple cider vinegar or white white vinegar if needed)
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
  • 80 ml (1/3 cup) chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
  • 110 g (1/3 cup) honey

To Serve:

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Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan).
  • Take your chicken thigh fillets, trim off the excess fat, and cut into bite-sized chunks. Put to one side.
    8 skinless chicken thigh fillets
  • In a medium-sized bowl, mix the cornflour, salt, pepper, garlic salt, and paprika.
    3 tbsp cornflour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp paprika
  • Place the chicken in the bowl with the cornflour, and mix, ensuring every piece of chicken is completely covered.
  • Drizzle the oil over the chicken in the bowl and mix it all up. You should end up with the chicken pieces looking well-coated and quite sticky.
    2 tbsp oil
  • Place the chicken into one large or two medium baking dishes or trays with sides (the sides need to be at least 2.5cm/1" high) in a single layer. Try not to crowd the chicken together. The more room it has, the more crispy it will get.
  • Place the tray(s) with the chicken near the top of the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile make your sauce. Add the rice vinegar, soy sauce and cornflour (cornstarch) to a jug or bowl and mix together to combine. Then stir in the stock, butter, garlic and honey. Put to one side (the butter should melt a little in the liquid due to the warm stock, but don't worry if it doesn't melt much).
    1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp cornflour, 1 tbsp unsalted butter, 4 cloves of garlic, 110 g (1/3 cup) honey, 80 ml (1/3 cup) chicken stock
  • After the chicken has been in the oven for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and give the chicken a turn. If you were using two trays, transfer all the chicken onto one tray, as it should be crispy by this point.
  • Pour the sauce into the tray around the chicken (don't pour it directly over the chicken, as it can lose some of its crispness). Place the tray back in the oven and cook for a further 10-12 minutes – until the sauce is bubbling.
  • Remove the tray from the oven and stir the chicken and sauce, so that the sauce coats the chicken.
  • Serve with rice and a sprinkling of spring onions and chilli flakes.
    boiled rice, chopped spring onions (scallions), chilli flakes, or egg fried rice

Video

Notes

Airfryer

You can cook the chicken in the air fryer (190C/375F) for about 15-18 minutes – until the chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink in the middle. Check on the chicken and give it a shake at least 3 times during cooking, to ensure the chicken doesn’t stick together.
Heat the sauce carefully in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, or in a saucepan, stirring once or twice during heating, then pour the sauce over the cooked chicken.

Can I make it ahead?

I don’t recommend making the chicken ahead to reheat, as the chicken can get soggy. However, you can make the sauce ahead of time. Just mix all the sauce ingredients together, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Then use when you’re ready (it’s great over shop-bought breaded chicken steaks too).
Nutritional Information is per serving (this recipe serves 4), without the serving suggestions of rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 415kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 174mg | Sodium: 1107mg | Potassium: 476mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 254IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

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Hi, I'm Nicky and I love to cook! I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

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Comments

  1. Harry Haggi says:

    5 stars
    Made this tonight.
    Absolute immense , Chicken was off the scale.
    Really intense flavour and no deep frying is always a bonus.

    Another recipe added to our repeat list.

  2. Kanessa Pryor says:

    I tried the recipe and I liked it but I needed to make extra sauce or do like you said and maybe put the sauce on the side and then just poor it over the rice when I’m ready to reheat it. Will definitely make again.

  3. Terry says:

    Hi Nicky – I must say I’m disappointed to see that you haven’t corrected the conversion g > lb error that I pointed out in my comment of July 9/24. For those living in the US, this would cause them to severely under buy chicken!
    And about the temperature for NON fan-forced ovens, as few have them?
    Thanks again.

  4. Kylie says:

    5 stars
    I am no cook so i rely on people like you (and nagi in australia) to get me through, and you have! We eat many curry dishes because, well, i like them – insert happy face emoji – but we do get a little sick of them from time to time. so one day recently i decided to go internet hunting and gathering for some asian recipes and came upon your website. i spose i dont indulge in asian style cooking much because i am not good at it – but this recipe is a kicker! i love the way you set out the instructions to recipes and often with a vid. We have peops coming for lunch tomorrow and its going to be a cold ol’ day here in the Adelaide Hills so i will be whipping up some of your asian delights with lotsa rice crusty bread and local wine – again insert happy face emoji. thank you!!

  5. Terry says:

    Hi Nicky! 2 things: (1) You’ve got a conversion error for the weight of the chicken. 800g = 1.77 pounds, not the 3/4#, before trimming, you have listed, and (2) what oven temperature, please, for a non convection (fan) oven. They aren’t common here, unless being installed in a newly built home.
    Thanks ever so much!

  6. Linda, Kefalonia says:

    My husband won’t eat chicken thigh meat! Could I use chicken breast instead please?

    1. Aisha says:

      Yes can we use chicken breast?
      Thanks

    2. Laura Smith says:

      Hi Nicky,
      This recipe looks yummy ☺️
      Just wanted to ask can you substitute corn flour for plain flour?
      And does diced chicken breast work?
      Thanks,

      Laura