Tons of garlic & a touch of sweetness make this tasty Garlic Honey Chicken Thighs recipe the perfect baked chicken thigh to add to any menu!
Chicken and garlic, two ingredients you will always find in our kitchen. This household loves us some garlic and chicken and some skin-on baked chicken thigh recipes, so I give you these baked Garlic Honey Chicken Thighs!
Ingredients Needed
- Bone-in, skin-on Chicken Thighs - This is also great for other cuts of chicken and of course you can make them skinless, too. See recipe notes.
- Butter - Salted or unsalted. If you use unsalted, just add a pinch more salt.
- Garlic - Fresh and lots!
- Honey - A high-quality raw honey is best for this.
- Brown sugar - Light is what we usually use, but you could also use a dark. Just keep in mind that the darker the brown sugar, the greater the molasses flavor. Oh and by the way, did you know you can make your OWN brown sugar from scratch??
- Spices: Garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, and salt. Fresh oregano can of course also be used, too!
This is a favorite baked chicken thighs recipe to add to a weeknight meal because we pretty much always have all of these things on hand!
Simple to Make
Another reason why we love this tasty honey garlic chicken recipe is that it's easy. Like real easy.
- Sear the chicken. Melt some butter in a super hot pan and get that sizzzzllleee onnn.
- Create the Sauce - Set aside that chicken, turn down the heat, cook the garlic and then add the honey, sugar, brown sugar, and spices!
- Bake! Return the chicken to the pan and then finish in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.
Garlic Honey Chicken Thighs, done!
Serve it With:
Is there anything better than a nice low maintenance this meal? Once it's in the oven, then you have about 30 minutes to make a side to go with it. Here are some of our favorite sides to serve them with!
- 10 Minute Garlic Kale
- Easy 10 Minute Garlic Broccoli
- Baked Parmesan Steak Fries and Garlic Aioli Dipping Sauce
- Balsamic Spinach and Mushrooms
- Homemade Onion Rings
- 15 Minute Mustard Green Beans
- Butter Garlic Mushrooms
- Crispy Garlic Rosemary Potato Wedges
Can you tell we're a garlic loving household??
Other Great Chicken Thigh Recipes:
Looking for some more great chicken thigh recipes? Here are our favorites!
- Maple Soy Glazed Chicken Thighs
- Spicy Roasted Chicken Thighs
- Sweet and Spicy Sriracha Chicken Thighs
- Cornell Chicken
FAQs
Of course! Just note that bone-in will always add time, so if using boneless, it will cook much faster. Always check that the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165 degrees. See recipe notes for cooking other cuts of chicken.
Of course, you can use olive oil instead of butter.
Yup! See recipe notes for instructions.
Of course. Substitute 1 tablespoon fresh minced oregano for 1 teaspoon dried.
Any of your other favorite sweetener. You can use white granulated, a diabetic friendly brown sugar, or even add a little different flavor by using a hoisin sauce!
Garlic Honey Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- large saute pan
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-in chicken thighs
- 6-8 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons salted butter divided
- 1/4 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper to season chicken
- fresh parsley chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large sauté pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium high heat. Sear chicken by adding it to pan and cooking for 2-3 minutes on each side and set aside.
- Add remaining butter to pan and turn heat down to medium and then add the garlic and sauté about 1-2 minutes. Add honey, brown sugar, oregano, garlic, and onion powder and stir until sauce is all well combined. Remove pan from heat.
- Return chicken (skin side up) to the pan. Give chicken a quick baste with the sauce, and add whole pan to oven to roast for 25-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through (internal temp of 165 degrees F).
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
I love garlic and the honey will be a nice offset the garlic's spiciness. Perfect easy weeknight meal that has loads of flavor and not a lot of fuss.
Easy and delicious is how we roll around here!
The sauce sounds sooooo good. I love that you use brown sugar as it is one of my favorites with savory dishes!
Mine too!
This was one of the best chicken recipes I have ever made!! I have shared it with everyone at work. Love love love 🙂
So glad to hear it!
Honey garlic is one of my favourite flavour combinations of all time. Every Friday night at our home is order in pizza night and I always order some chicken wings too. And, you guess it, they are always honey garlic. I'm loving the big, chunky garlic in that sauce. Looks so good!
I love Friday night at your house!!
Chicken thighs are our favorite chicken part. We believe they are super versatile - you can't dry them out and they soak up all the yummy seasonings and liquids you put to them. I love the sound of the honey plus garlic -- great flavors. It sounds a bit lit our recipe when we use a bit of soy along with the honey. YUM!! Great recipe for any night of the week.
Those chicken thighs look perfect! My hubby would love this dish.
This dish looks amazing, juicy and moist. My family to enjoy such meals.
Another great chicken recipe to add to my menu!
You can't have too many ways to prepare chicken ... and honey & garlic? There's a winner flavor combination!
With a combination of garlic, honey, sugar and a little herbs that sauce has to be super tasty!
Garlic and honey go so well together on chicken. This is how we make ours too!
Mmm, I love chicken thighs! These sound so savory yet sweet. Love the combo of ingredients here!
we use thighs alot here and this is a keeper I really love the flavors you chose and the kids will love these too
Love chicken thighs!! So much more flavor! These flavors sound amazing. Will be using honey from my parents farm to try out your recipe!