These pan seared Spicy Honey Garlic Thighs are sticky, flavourful, and so easy to make! Made with pantry staples and just a handful of ingredients, these honey garlic thighs are perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or as a meal prep.
These chicken thighs are the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. When H took his first bite (after hovering in the kitchen as he could smell it from the office), he declared that these spicy honey garlic thighs were “so good.” He didn’t find the spice levels to be overwhelming and how the honey doesn’t make it too sweet.
Why You’ll Love These Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
- From start to finish, it takes me less than 30 minutes. The chicken requires 5 minutes per side to sear and then another 5 for the sauce to thicken up to coat the chicken. So quick! I usually make my rice in a rice cooker and I either have to get that going ahead of time or use the quick cook option because I’m done my chicken on the stove before the regular rice cycle!
- I coat the chicken thighs in flour so the thighs have a beautiful brown crust to it for the sticky honey garlic sauce to cling onto.
- It meal preps really well as it reheats wonderfully!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- honey
- soy sauce — I recommend using low sodium soy sauce
- mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with extra honey
- sriracha
- chicken thighs — I use boneless skinless thighs. I don’t believe in trimming fat off the thighs but if you’d like a leaner cut, you can swap for chicken breasts.
- salt & pepper
- flour — all purpose flour is fine.
- olive oil
- butter — unsalted butter as we already have salt added to the chicken.
- garlic — I pre-mince my garlic and freeze the minced garlic so it’s easy to grab tablespoons’ worth of garlic at a time.
How to Make Spicy Honey Garlic Chicken
- In a small bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, mirin, sriracha, and 2 to 3 tbsp of water. Set aside.
- Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper before lightly coating with the flour.
- Add olive oil to a large cast iron over medium heat, and slowly add in the chicken thighs, smooth side down and then cook for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches if necessary.
- Add in the butter and garlic to the pan alongside the chicken and let the butter melt.
- Pour the spicy honey mixture over top of the chicken and allow the mixture to bubble. In less than 5 minutes, the spicy honey garlic sauce should have thickened enough to coat the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken before serving.
Tips and Notes
- Chicken thighs are done when they’ve reached an internal temperature of 165F/74C. Use an instant read thermometer to check.
My Recommendation
This is my go-to meat thermometer for making sure that the internal temperature of my meat is good to go. It’s also magnetic so I have it on my fridge door to save drawer space!
Get it Now!
- Avoid moving the chicken when you first place it in. Allow the chicken to sear. The chicken will come off the skillet once it’s ready. If you move it too early, the chicken will stick to the skillet and tear.
- Chicken thighs can be swapped out for chicken breasts but you’ll have to change the cook time to avoid overcooking it.
- Allow the cast iron skillet to heat up before adding the chicken to the pan.
- This recipe isn’t too spicy but the black pepper I add to the chicken at the beginning contributes to the heat of the chicken.
- For an easy dinner, I like serving this chicken thigh recipe with this silken tofu recipe and seasoned spinach.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: store the cooked chicken in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. I usually like to pack this with some rice and broccoli!
- Freezer: I haven’t tried freezing this and I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up as it is coated with a lot of sauce.
Spicy Honey Garlic Thighs
These pan seared Spicy Honey Garlic Thighs are sticky, flavourful, and so easy to make! Made with pantry staples and just a handful of ingredients, these honey garlic thighs are perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or as a meal prep.
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Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the honey, soy sauce, mirin, sriracha, and 2 to 3 tbsp of water. Set aside.
- Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper before lightly coating with the flour.
- Add olive oil to a large cast iron over medium heat, and slowly add in the chicken thighs, smooth side down and then cook for 5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches if necessary.
- Add in the butter and garlic to the pan alongside the chicken and let the butter melt.
- Pour the spicy honey mixture over top of the chicken and allow the mixture to bubble. In less than 5 minutes, the spicy honey garlic sauce should have thickened enough to coat the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken before serving.
Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥
Nutrition Disclaimer
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Chopped Chicken Salad
- Chicken Cobb Salad (Meal Prep)
- Herb Chicken Thighs Salad
- Garlic Butter Chicken Salad
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