Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken {20-Minute Meal}

Dinner has never been simpler! This delicious, flavorful skillet honey garlic chicken can be on the table in 20-minutes or less and is a perfect, easy weeknight dinner solution!

Listen, I know the hot topics this week are pie, turkey, pie, stuffing, pie, gravy, and pie…but in my world, the troops still have to eat.

So even though I have some amazing holiday recipes yet to come, you know I’m not going to leave you hanging when it comes to every day eating, even while the world explodes with holiday menu planning (and political diatribes).

Dinnertime around these parts is often more a matter of survival and necessity than it is a gourmet, made-with-love meal, but like I always say, “If you have to eat, it might as well be delicious.” Even if that means it is shockingly simple.

This skillet honey garlic chicken is just that. Delicious. And shockingly simple.

You know that honey and garlic were meant to be together, right? Those delicious flavors make up the base of the delectable sauce that envelopes the tender chicken and makes me want to eat honey garlic everything for the rest of my life.

This meal always reminds me that sometimes simple is the very best option now and forever, and makes me inwardly declare: I’m done with complicated meals forever!

(Yes yes, slightly hypocritical advice considering Thanksgiving, the ultimate in time-consuming meals, is just around the corner.)

I usually serve this skillet honey garlic chicken with brown rice (this Instant Pot brown rice pilaf is a great option) or quinoa.

Lately, I’ve also been stocking up on bags of frozen, shelled edamame at Trader Joe’s when I go on my monthly outing, because lightly steaming the edamame and tossing it with a bit of kosher salt is the perfect little side dish for this honey garlic chicken.

One of the keys to delicious success is getting the skillet piping hot before adding the chicken in a single layer. And then, whatever you do, resist the urge to mess with the chicken and move it all about.

This isn’t the hokey pokey. You want the chicken to stay put, undisturbed, so it can develop that beautiful golden color on the 1st side that sizzles in the skillet.

It makes a huge difference in flavor and in presentation. So chill out and let the magic happen, ok?

Once it gets nice and golden on one side, go ahead and get flip-happy and pour in the sauce. Let the chicken simmer in the flavorful bath of honey garlic goodness, and before you can actually really do the hokey pokey, you’re going to be ready to eat.

Have I mentioned I love simple skillet weeknight meals? Seriously.

They make me so happy, and this skillet honey garlic chicken is right at the top of my favorites list.

If you are deep in the middle of holiday menu planning…or just life (hello, me and you, baby)…this meal is for you. It’ll save you. Make you look good. And make dinner time manageable and delicious.

One Year Ago: The Perfect Thanksgiving Menu
Two Years Ago: Warm Russian Tea
Three Years Ago: Healthy Applesauce Carrot Muffins {a.k.a. Carrot Cake Muffins}

Skillet Honey Garlic Chicken

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

4.56 stars (34 ratings)

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• Salt and pepper
• ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Hot cooked rice or quinoa and edamame, for serving (optional)

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Instructions 

• Lightly season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
• Whisk together the broth, garlic, honey, soy sauce, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
• In a large, nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot and rippling.
• Add the chicken in a single layer and cook, without stirring, for a minute or two until the chicken starts to turn golden on the side in contact with the hot skillet. Flip the chicken pieces.
• Whisk the sauce to recombine and stir it into the skillet; bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and the chicken is cooked through.
• Serve over hot, cooked rice or quinoa and edamame (optional, but delicious).

Author: Mel

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Method: Stovetop

Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 228kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 34g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 97mg, Sodium: 520mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g

Recommended Products

Wire Whisk

12-Inch Nonstick Skillet

Garlic Press

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (inspired by a pressure cooker recipe from this cookbook)

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