Honey Soy Chicken Thighs - Dressed in a sweet and savory honey soy sauce, these chicken thighs are so easy to put together and taste delicious! It’s an easy one-pan dish your whole family will love.
A little sweet and a little savory come together to make this finger-licking good Honey Soy Chicken Thighs recipe. Tender chicken is marinated and baked in a well-balanced honey sauce to create a show-stopping dish that will wow your family and guests!
Just like my 30-Minute Chicken Stir Fry and Instant Pot Chili, this recipe is easy to throw together and takes almost no time to prepare. Plus, the oven does most of the work! Serve it over arugula quinoa salad or mashed potatoes for an epic family-friendly meal.
There’s no searing involved in this recipe. Instead, the honey soy sauce chicken is baked in its marinade and finished with a quick broil. In the end, you’ll have juicy and tender chicken thighs that are perfectly caramelized and smothered in an out-of-this-world sauce.
Ingredients for honey soy chicken
Boneless and skinless chicken thighs are marinated in a honey soy sauce that is both sweet and savory. If you can, use raw honey in the marinade for added nutrients and natural sweetness! These are the rest of the ingredients you need:
- Boneless and skinless organic chicken thighs
- Olive oil
- Fresh ginger and garlic
- Raw honey
- Soy sauce
- Salt and pepper
Combine all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl before preparing the chicken.
How to bake chicken thighs
Step 1: Place the chicken in the bowl with the marinade. Let it marinate for at least 1 hour.
Step 2: Pour the chicken and marinade into a cast iron skillet or a shallow baking dish and bake until the chicken is cooked through. Flip each piece a few times to ensure all sides turn out juicy and tender.
Step 3: To finish, broil on high for 5 minutes to achieve a beautiful crust all around the outside of the chicken.
Step 4: Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with rice or mashed potatoes. Pour some extra sauce over the plated chicken and enjoy!
Recipe tips and variations
- You can use chicken breasts instead of thighs, but they will need a little less time in the oven. Chicken breasts can dry out easily, which is why I recommend using an internal thermometer to check when they’re done.
- You can also use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs to make this recipe. They’ll take about 10 or 15 minutes longer in the oven.
- Baked chicken thighs and breasts are cooked through once they reach 165ºF.
- The chicken thighs need at least 1 hour to marinate but can be left for up to 24 hours. Keep the chicken in a bowl with the marinade in the fridge until it’s time to cook.
- If you don’t have raw honey, regular honey will work just as well.
- Craving sweeter flavors? Try my Baked Pineapple Chicken Thighs instead.
Storing and reheating leftovers
Cooked chicken thighs make delicious leftovers! Make sure to store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, place the chicken in the microwave and cook on high for a few minutes.
Alternatively, bake the leftovers in a 350ºF oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until warmed through.
What to serve with honey soy chicken
The Asian-inspired flavors in this sweet and savory chicken go so well with a variety of side dishes, like:
More chicken recipes to try for dinner
These chicken thigh recipes are juicy, tender, and easy to prepare when you’re craving something delicious for dinner:
- Chicken Thighs and Rice Casserole
- Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
- BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs
- Greek Chicken Shish Kabobs
- Chicken Thigh Mushroom Casserole
Q. DO YOU like this Easy Chicken Recipe?
Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!
Thank YOU for YOUR Comment, Share & Recipe Review!
When YOU make this Honey Chicken Recipe tag us on Instagram @MunchkinTimeBlog we would love to see your creation!
Best Honey Soy Chicken Thighs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine olive oil, ginger, honey, soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Rinse and trim off all of the fat from the chicken, then place it in the bowl with the marinade. Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Marinade chicken for at least 1 hour. Place chicken thighs and marinade in cast iron or baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thru, make sure to flip the chicken few times, that way the chicken will be juicy & tender without dry top. After flip the chicken on the other side and broil on high for 5 minutes or until beautiful roasted color.Garnish with chopped parsley, serve with fried rice or mashed potato, and make sure to pour the sauce over the chicken when serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Quote Of The Day
Have an awesome day!
Julie
Excellent flavor. (I marinated for 24 hours). My only regret is that my chicken thighs shrunk quite a bit and I didn’t make enough! So tasty and easy!
Munchkin Time
Thank you Julie, for an awesome recipe review! 🙂
Andrea
What temperature do I have the oven set at??
Munchkin Time
Hi Andrea, it's set at 400F.
Kim Kim
Served it with rice and steamed broccoli--delicious, quick and easy! And, best of all, my picky husband LOVED IT, so I'll be adding it to my recipe rotation! A win-win!!
Munchkin Time
Woohoo! Thank you Kim, so happy your picky husband loved it!
Daisy
This recipe was so easy and absolutely delicious. My family ate every single piece! I served it with brown rice and sautéed stir fry veggies! So good 😉
Xiomara
Excellent, my boyfriend loved it. Definetely a repeat.
Munchkin Time
Thank you! So happy he loved it!
Jamie
Taste was good but our sauce never got thick. We cooked it a total of 45 min with 5 min broil.
Munchkin Time
Glad you liked the taste, the sauce is not thick in this recipe.
Drew
Anytime you want a thicker sauce- pour it into a sauce pan, add 1-3 tablespoons flour, mix it in and let it reduce u til it’s thick. This usually only takes about 5 minutes so you can do it while the chicken (or any other dish) cools.
Carrie Palmer
I wouldn't necessarily add flour. I would make a slurry of corn starch and water then add it to it. Will thicken it fast and also not leave clumps of flour in your sauce.
Sara G
This may be a silly question but I am new to marinading.... can I let it sit in the marinade in the fridge for like 4-5 hours? Or do you recommend just 1?
Munchkin Time
Hi Sara! Your question is not silly at all 😀 it is best to marinate it over the night or at least 1 hour. So marinating it for 4-5 hours is really good. Hope this helps!
Diana O'Donnell
Made this dish tonight. Instant fam fav! Thank you so much for posting. We used bone in thighs in an iron skillet in oven 30 min per side. It came out beautiful! YUM!
Munchkin Time
So happy you and your family enjoyed this recipe!
Stacie
Made this last night for dinner and the family all loved it! The marinade that the chicken cooks in made the most delicious sauce to go on top of the rice we had with it.
Munchkin Time
Thank you so much Stacie, for an amazing recipe review! So happy you liked this honey soy chicken thighs recipe.
Taylor
Hi there, I don’t want to be overcooking as there are only 2 of us in the house. If I use 3 chicken thighs instead of 2.5 pounds of chicken, do I need to half all of the ingredients?
Munchkin Time
Yes, half the rest of the ingredients.
Sue
Absolutely amazing recipe. I had a honey soy chicken recipe that I thought was good but this beats it! Thank you.
Munchkin Time
OMG! Thank you so much Sue, I am so happy you like this honey soy chicken thighs recipe, it's our favorite, too!
Shelley
I just Made this for our dinner with Asian stir fried veggies and smashed potatoes. Entry good and simple recipe. I Made 1-1/2 times the Sauce and used a ton more ginger and garlic. The whole house smelled amazing. I worked 7 hours on my yard today and wanted something easy and cozy - this was it!!!! Thank you
Munchkin Time
Wow, that sounds amazing, Shelley! Thank you so much for this awesome recipe review!
Jim
Tweaked it just a touch but absolutely amazing! Thank you
Munchkin Time
So happy you liked it!
K
Simple, easy, delicious! First meal where all four of us ate the same thing in forever! For this reason alone you get my first blog post comment ever LOL...and a new follower/subscriber.Thanks! Great dinner!
Munchkin Time
Wow! Thank you so much K! I appreciate your comment and this amazing recipe review! SO happy all 4 of you enjoyed this chicken thighs recipe!
Melissa
Can i use chicken breast instead?
Munchkin Time
You can, but the cooking time and texture of the meat will be different.
C
Ok, honest question: You can cook the chicken in the marinade ? I was always taught to through out the marinade prior to cooking because of the risk of bacteria... is this an issue with this recipe ?
Monica
You're cooking the marinade so there's no risk.