This one-pan honey garlic chicken recipe is the answer for those who are after a quick, delicious dinner. File this recipe under healthy, gluten-free, and meal-prep friendly. Keep it within reach – it’s a recipe you’re gonna come back to again and again.
Chicken is the main source of protein in this dish and is accompanied by broccoli and roasted baby red potatoes. The potatoes give you the carbs, the broccoli provides fiber and minerals, and the olive oil drizzled over the potatoes has good fats. It’s got the green light from the food pyramid. Winner winner, chicken dinner!
I am a big fan of one-pan and one-pot meals. It reduces the amount of cleaning that needs to be done and saves so much time. Simply put all the recipe ingredients into a single pot/pan, let it cook, and watch an entire meal come together. Well, don’t literally watch it…
While your one-pot wonder is cooking, treat yourself for all the hard work you’ve been doing, and whip up a quick dessert. I’m thinking of a healthy avocado chocolate mousse!
My favorite part about one-pan dishes is that it melds all the ingredients together, so whatever sauce drips to the bottom of the dish is extremely flavorful. Slurp! The honey garlic sauce that glazes the baked chicken pieces is the stuff of dreams. It seeps into the chicken so that every bite bursts with goodness. You could even make extra to serve separately as a sweet salad dressing.
When to serve this honey garlic chicken recipe?
This recipe works great on its own as a complete meal for 6 people. Even for occasions, it is a wonderful addition to any lunch/dinner spread.
I can see this honey garlic chicken being a dish for:
- Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner
- Canada Day party (along with a classic Caesar)
- A summer picnic or potluck party – see Storage Instructions for my top tips on making this dish in advance.
Recipe Ingredients
This recipe serves 6. Let’s start with the main ingredients:
- Chicken breasts – We will need 6 chicken breasts. Boneless cuts of meat are way less messy and they’re the way to go if you’re making a one-pan dish.
- Baby red potatoes – Cut 18 medium-sized baby red potatoes into quarters. Light and creamy, they are the best kinds of potatoes for this recipe.
- Broccoli – Chop 2 heads of broccoli into florets.
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoon for drizzling over the potatoes. This can be replaced with sesame oil for extra nutty fragrance.
The honey garlic sauce has more than just honey and garlic to it. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Olive oil – Measure 3 tablespoons of your preferred type of olive oil (extra virgin, virgin, or light olive oil).
- Unsalted butter – Melt ¼ cup of unsalted butter. This will thicken the sauce slightly, but if you want a way thicker sauce, make some roux with flour and butter. See section on How to Thicken Sauce.
- Dijon mustard – Measure 1 ½ tablespoons of Dijon mustard for a bit of tanginess.
- Honey – This recipe uses ¼ cup of honey. It may sound like quite a small amount, being the primary ingredient of the sauce, but the flavor still comes through so well! Alternatively, use the same amount of maple syrup.
- Brown sugar – Measure 3 tablespoons of brown sugar.
- Garlic – Add 6 minced garlic cloves.
- Spices and seasoning – Complete the sauce with some dried oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.
Optional: Garnish the honey garlic chicken with green onion and fresh herbs like parsley or rosemary. Alternatively, top it off with spices like red pepper flakes or some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Delish!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Let’s make this easy honey garlic chicken. This recipe has a prep time of 15 minutes and a cooking time of 45 minutes, which adds up to a total cooking time of just 1 hour.
Step One: Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step Two: Make the honey garlic sauce. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and season with oregano and basil. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
Step Three: Place potatoes onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving enough space for the chicken. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Step Four: Next, arrange the chicken breasts on the baking sheet and brush each chicken breast with the honey mixture. Pour the remainder over the potatoes.
Step Five: Cover the baking sheet with tin foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Step Six: Remove the pan from the oven and discard the tin foil. Place the broccoli florets on your pan and toss the broccoli in all the juices on the pan.
Step Seven: Bake uncovered for another 20 minutes.
Step Eight: Serve immediately and garnish with parsley if you like to get fancy.
Bon Appetit!
How to Thicken Sauce
A thicker sauce has a more velvety texture and is definitely richer. If you are making a thicker sauce, try these reliable tried-and-tested methods:
- Melt some butter – Just like we’ve done in this recipe, adding melted butter to the sauce thickens it and makes it glossy.
- Flour and water – When making stews and rich sauces, flour and water are common thickening agents. To prepare, add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour (cornstarch if gluten-free) to every cup of liquid. Stir and cook it on low heat, then mix it into your sauce base.
- Roux (flour and butter) – Roux is a great sauce thickener (like in mac and cheese) that is made by melting 1 part of the butter in a skillet, adding 1 part of flour, and stirring both over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Add the roux into the honey garlic sauce base immediately.
Storage Instructions
Chill the chicken in the fridge:
This honey garlic chicken recipe can be kept well covered tightly in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. But don’t just toss it into the fridge right away. Ensure the chicken has cooled down completely (this should be about 2 hours after removing it from the oven).
Meal-prep tip:
I like to portion this dish into individual containers so that it’s ready to go whenever. This recipe makes for a delicious, healthy meal-prep dish. What this looks like for one person is a piece of chicken breast, a spoonful of potatoes, and a few florets of broccoli. I then scoop up some of the leftover sauce from the pan (so flavorful!) and pour it over the chicken.
Reheating:
Reheating leftover chicken can be a bit risky especially if you don’t have the right techniques. It’s hard to retain the tenderness and juiciness of chicken breasts, and the last thing you want is a tough, overcooked piece of dry chicken.
To get the best results, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the chicken in a baking dish and add some liquid broth (chicken or vegetable stock). Cover with tin foil (this traps the steam, creating a moist environment for the chicken), and then bake it for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Can’t get enough of one-pan dishes? Check out these recipes on my blog:
Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 boneless chicken breasts
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 ½ tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 18 medium sized baby red potatoes quartered
- 2 heads of broccoli chopped into florets
- parsley optional for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of olive oil, melted butter, honey, brown sugar, Dijon, garlic, oregano and basil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place potatoes onto your prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Now add chicken to the baking sheet and brush each chicken breast with honey mixture.
- Cover with tin foil and place into the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, and discard tin foil. Place broccoli on your pan and mix around with your hands to toss the broccoli in all the juices on the pan.
- Return to the oven (uncovered) and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if you like to get fancy!
