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Easy, homemade crispy chicken tossed in a spicy-sweet honey garlic sauce. Serve this dish with asparagus, broccoli, or a combination of the two, cooked up right alongside the chicken. It’s the easiest sheet pan dinner. Add a side of rice for a main, or serve it on its own as an appetizer. This fun take-out-style dinner is great any night of the week!
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Some of my favorite types of dinners to create and share with my family are fun takeout-inspired dinners made at home. Well, tacos are probably my favorite, but takeout at home is a close second. My younger sister, Asher, adores any dish with a hit of soy sauce (I use tamari) and served over rice. Just like my mom, Asher adores rice.
I often make dishes like today’s recipe for them, but I love sharing new sauces and flavors! I always have fun creating these recipes.
I shared my recipe for chili ginger orange chicken just after the holidays. Since then, I’ve made it multiple times. The chili orange sauce is so delicious!
I felt like it was time to shake things up, so instead of the classic orange sauce, today I’m sharing a honey garlic sauce made with lemon! This sauce is so simple, but wow, the flavors really are delicious.
Honey, garlic, and lemon, all mixed with salty tamari – such an addicting sauce!
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts or thighs, cut into cubes
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper and Chile flakes
- Flour or gluten free flour
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Broccoli florets or chopped asparagus
- Sesame seeds
Honey Garlic Sauce
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Lemon juice
- Honey
- Garlic
- Chili paste
- Chopped green onion
- Toasted sesame oil
These are the details
Step 1: start with the chicken
I like to use cubed raw chicken—breasts or thighs, or a mix of the two. Toss the cubed chicken with garlic powder, black pepper, and chile flakes. I love to use Korean chile flakes. You can find them online, at Whole Foods, and in most major grocery stores in the Asian aisle.
Now add some flour. The flour allows the chicken to get crispy in the oven. It’s a small amount, so just a very light coating. It’s not a breaded chicken but it has just enough of a coating to ensure the sauce can stick nicely to the chicken.
Bake the chicken with a side of asparagus or broccoli. Depending on the size of your chicken pieces, this should take about 10 to 15 minutes to cook.
Step 2: the honey garlic sauce
This really is the heart of the recipe. The sauce brings all the flavor.
Mix the tamari (or soy sauce), with lemon juice and honey. The honey not only adds flavor but creates a sticky sauce that will adhere nicely to the chicken.
Then, fresh garlic, chili paste, green onions, and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. If you don’t have toasted sesame, you can easily just omit it from the sauce. I do love the flavor, but it is not a must.
Like most of my Asian-inspired dishes, I love to use chili paste. More often than not I use gochujang, a Korean chili paste. This really provides that extra flavor. The Mother in Law’s brand is my favorite, I get the original flavor from Whole Foods or order on Amazon.
Step 3: toss the chicken and the sauce
Pour the sauce over the baked crispy chicken and cook the chicken in the sauce over medium-high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon. The coating soaks up all the sauce – yum!
Step 4: serve with rice
You can easily serve this as is, but we love this chicken best served over rice and topped with lots of toasted sesame seeds.
Why you’ll love this sheet pan chicken
- One pan, minimal mess, crispy chicken + sauce that clings.
- Flexible: broccoli, asparagus, or both.
- Weeknight-friendly and very “takeout-style” without deep frying.
Looking for other busy weeknight-night recipes? Try these!
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema
Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Salmon with Caesar Roasted Potatoes
One Skillet Cheesy Green Chile Chicken
Lastly, if you make this 30 Minute Honey Garlic Chicken, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
30 Minute Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs, cut into cubes
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- black pepper and chile flakes
- 1/4 cup flour or gluten-free flour
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups broccoli florets or chopped asparagus
- sesame seeds, for serving
Honey Garlic Sauce
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 6 cloves garlic, grated
- 3-4 tablespoons chili paste, (gochjang) (gochujang)
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or rub with oil.2. On the sheet pan, mix the chicken, garlic powder, pepper, and chile flakes. Add the flour and toss again. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, tossing to coat. Arrange the chicken to one side of the baking sheet. Add the broccoli/asparagus to the other side. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.3. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a bowl or glass jar, combine all ingredients.4. Remove the vegetables from the sheet pan. Then pour the honey garlic sauce over the chicken and toss the chicken up in the sauce. Bake for another 5 minutes, until the sauce is baked onto the chicken.5. Serve the chicken, vegetables, and honey garlic sauce with green onions and toasted sesame seeds. I love this over rice, but it's also great as an appetizer too!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
So friggin yummy. Ooey, gooey, spicy, salty goodness. Turned out great.
Thanks so much, Shelby! Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it!
The comments were accurate. This recipe is a watery soupy disgusting mess. Don’t waste your ingredients or time making this. There is no way this recipe was tested before putting it out here.
The meal was delicious! Although it did not look accurate to the photo but overall it was amazing!
Thanks so much, Vivian:) Love to hear this dish turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great Thursday!
This recipe is delicious! BUT, it looks nothing like the picture. It does not turn out crispy or have a gooey coating. I used to separate pans so it wouldn’t be crowded. I will make it again, but I would like to figure out how to make it like the picture.
Hi Keri,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed. Next time, I would pop the broiler on at the end for a crispier result. I hope this helps!
How did you get your sauce to be more of a sticky coating? I used your exact portions and it was pretty liquidy Is your photo of this actual recipe? Mine didn’t look anything like that, it was pretty soupy on the baking sheet
Hi Annie,
Sorry to hear this. You can always pop the broiler on towards the end to help the sauce thicken up or add a cornstarch slurry. I hope this helps!
Mine did not come out as dark brown. But it was so good!
Hi Rosalie,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a winner! Have the best weekend:)
Great recipe! Only change I made was skipping the salt in Step 2. Using regular soy sauce offered plenty salt! Adding to my weekday rotation.
Hi Lisa,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for making it!
Sorry, but this recipe turned out nothing like I expected. 1. Too much soy sauce taste (even tho I cut back a little). 2. Overpowering garlic (I did cut down, based on what I know my family likes, and it was still too much for some people). 3. It looked nothing like the dish pictured. The sauce was very “liquidy” and did not coat the chicken pieces at all. Even after baking the additional 5 minutes, it did not thicken up. From the recipe photo, I expected it to be more like a glaze coating, which it was not. 4. It appears (to me) in the recipe photo that the asparagus was not “coated” with the sauce…glad I roasted my asparagus on a separate pan and served alongside the chicken and rice. On the positive side, cook time for the chicken was accurate; my asparagus took another 7 minutes longer. The sauce was so thin, it was used as a drizzle on the rice, as it did nothing to add flavor to the chicken pieces.
I really wanted to like this recipe a lot…sadly, it did not happen, and even after reviewing the recipe again twice, I can’t figure out what I did wrong. I will not make this recipe again.
Hi Carol,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your notes, I’m so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed.
Your text above the recipe says “pour the sauce over the chicken and cook over Med-high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon” but the recipe below says to pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 5 minutes.
Do we do it on the stove after baking for 5 minutes?
Hi Jen,
Nope, this is all made on a sheet pan in the oven, you do not need to do anything on the stove. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
would like a more detailed explanation on how to make the sauce I see you put chili paste in your ingredients list but I don’t see where I’m supposed to use it I’m assuming I just add it to the sauce so that’s what I’m going to do I don’t see the sesame oil either so I’m assuming I’m supposed to add that to the sauce as well I don’t know you tell me please
Hi Samantha,
All of the ingredients listed under the honey garlic sauce are all mixed together in step 3. I hope this makes more sense!
I think this would be way too spicy with the listed amount of chili paste. I put only one tablespoon in and it had just the right amount of kick without being overwhelming.
Hey Mary,
Awesome! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xx
Super easy recipe and delicious! I agree use 1 tablespoon of gochujang because it is spicy spicy!
Thanks so much! Love to hear you enjoyed this dish, thanks for giving it a try!
Great recipe! I roasted broccoli and a side of rice. It made my kitchen smell marvelous. My husband and I loved it!
Hi Lee,
Happy Monday! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your comment!!
This was so delish!! Wondering — do you think the chicken could be cooked in the airfyer next time? Any advice on if we were to try?
Hey Alisa,
Happy Sunday!! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was a winner!! My only concern with the air fryer would be the sauce portion, I’m not sure that would workout well for you.
Making this again this weekend! But do you heat chicken in sauce in oven or in skillet? Top have says one way and recipe itself says another. I baked it the first time but was going to bake and then transfer to skillet to save.
Hi Beth,
This recipe is made fully on a sheet pan in the oven, no skillet is needed:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Is this recipe AI? It was terrible. The sauce is so overwhelmingly awful, I think my house is going to reek for a week. All of it went into the trash. What a sad waste of ingredients. I’m serious, find a different recipe.
Hi Morgan,
So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed. What was wrong with the sauce? If there is anything that I can help with, please let me know!