Sweet and savoury, this Sticky Orange Glazed Chicken Thighs is one of my favourite ways to make chicken thighs. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or as an easy lunch meal prep.

Whenever I have some orange juice kicking around in the fridge, I like to make this simple orange glazed chicken. It’s a delicious chicken recipe that uses up leftover orange juice! It’s sweet, it’s sticky, it’s savoury, what’s not to like?!

A plate with a bed of rice with green onions with two orange glazed chicken thighs on top with a fork.

Why You’ll Love this Orange Glazed Chicken

This chicken recipe gets its bold flavours from pantry staples. Just by using a handful of ingredients in my cabinets, I’ve got this delicious orange honey glazed chicken in 30 minutes.
The orange glaze sauce so is nice and sticky. I love how the glaze just clings onto the chicken thighs!
This honey orange chicken meal preps really well! Make a large batch on Sunday and enjoy it throughout the week. The orange honey glaze holds up really well.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for orange glazed chicken thighs.

orange juice — make sure to get the one without pulp
soy sauce — I recommend low sodium
brown sugar — light or regular brown sugar is fine
honey
optional: sriracha
salt
pepper
paprika — smoked or sweet paprika is fine
chicken thighs — boneless skinless
olive oil

How to Make Orange Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs

In a saucepan, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, and honey. Add sriracha if you want a hint of heat to the sauce. Let simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until thickened.

In the meantime, season the chicken thighs with the salt, pepper, and paprika.
Heat a skillet to medium heat with olive oil.
Add the chicken thighs to the skillet, smooth side down. Cook in two batch if needed.
Pan sear for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 6 to 7 more minutes, or until cooked through.
When done, set aside until the sauce is ready.

Coating chicken thighs in sticky orange honey glaze.

Close up of chicken being coated in orange honey glaze in a skillet.

Meanwhile, wipe down your skillet or grab a new one. Add in the cooked chicken thighs and the honey orange glaze and let the sauce simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes while spooning the sauce on top of the chicken thighs.
Serve and enjoy.

A plate with a bed of rice with green onions with two orange glazed chicken thighs on top.

Tips and Notes

The orange flavour is not super strong. If you’d like a stronger orange taste, you can add in some orange zest and extra orange juice along with decreasing the soy sauce to ⅕ cup.
I like to add a little toasted sesame seeds to the chicken thighs before serving.
These orange honey glazed chicken thighs should have an internal temperature of 165F/74C degrees when done.

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!

Chicken thighs can be swapped for chicken breasts, however, the cook time may change. You can also halve the chicken breasts to speed up the cook time.
I usually like to add 1 tbsp sriracha sauce to the glaze but if you’re serving this to younger family members, you can skip the sriracha.
Want to try a tofu version? Try my orange tofu recipe!

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: store the cooked chicken in an air tight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. I usually like to pack this with some rice and broccoli! Coconut Rice (Instant Pot Coconut Rice) goes well with this chicken meal prep as well.
Freezer: allow the chicken thighs to cool before transferring it into an airtight container before storing them in the freezer.

Meal prep container with orange honey glazed chicken thighs with broccoli and rice.

Sticky Orange Glazed Chicken Thighs

Sweet and savoury, this Sticky Orange Glazed Chicken Thighs is one of my favourite ways to make chicken thighs. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or as an easy lunch meal prep.

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 35

Servings: servings

Ingredients

1 cup orange juice
¼ cup soy sauce, low sodium
⅓ cup brown sugar
¼ cup honey
1 tbsp sriracha, optional
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp paprika
8-10 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

In a saucepan, combine the orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, and honey. Add sriracha if you want a hint of heat to the sauce. Let simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until thickened.
In the meantime, season the chicken thighs with the salt, pepper, and paprika.
Heat a skillet to medium heat with olive oil.
Add the chicken thighs to the skillet, smooth side down. Cook in two batch if needed.
Pan sear for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 6 to 7 more minutes, or until cooked through.
When done, set aside until the sauce is ready.
Meanwhile, wipe down your skillet or grab a new one. Add in the cooked chicken thighs and the honey orange glaze and let the sauce simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes while spooning the sauce on top of the chicken thighs.
Serve and enjoy.

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 Per Serving

Author: Carmy

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Meal Prep

Nutrition Disclaimer

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