Honey Garlic Chicken
This easy Honey Garlic Chicken is ready in only 15 minutes and is super flavorful! Crispy popcorn chicken smothered in a homemade honey garlic sauce.
A FAST, EASY DINNER RECIPE
This Honey Garlic Chicken is the perfect dinner for busy weeknights. It has all of the flavor of a home-cooked meal without any of the fuss and hassle. The delicious sweet and savory sauce, made with fresh garlic, honey, and a few other ingredients, is what gives this dish its amazing flavor. Plus, it’s easy to make – just some pantry staples and you’re good to go! Serve it over rice for an easy meal your whole family will love!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I don’t recommend using the jarred stuff. The garlic is one of the stars of the show of this sweet honey garlic sauce, so you really need the fresh stuff if possible.
Sure thing! Kick up the heat by adding in more chili flakes, your favorite hot sauce, or some sriracha sauce.
Try adding some sesame seeds or fried shallots to the dish to finish it off.
Absolutely! Instead of frozen popcorn chicken, feel free to make your own popcorn chicken or try a different breaded chicken, like fresh fried chicken. Cut some chicken in to bite-sized pieces and season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste. Then toss seasoned chicken in cornstarch until well coated. Next, fry in a ½ inch of oil in a deep skillet over medium heat and fry chicken until they’re lightly browned and the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Drain fried chicken pieces on paper towels as you finish off the rest of the chicken and move on with the rest of the recipe.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or you can freeze them for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container.
Use a skillet to reheat leftovers. Add a splash of water or chicken stock to loosen up the honey garlic sauce as it reheats. You can also reheat your chicken in the microwave if needed. The microwave may make it a little soggy in comparison to the stove.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- popcorn chicken – I just used the store brand here.I really like the Bare brand chicken nuggets. They have really great flavor but I can’t always find them near me. They are in a green and white bag.
- green onions – you’re gonna use the whole onion; green and white parts. Slice them up and separate the green parts from the white parts.
- garlic – as I said above, using fresh garlic cloves here really makes a big different in taste. I tried it with jarred garlic and with fresh and we all agreed the fresh tasted way better. Now, you do what you want and if jarred garlic is how you want to go, then do it!
- red chili flakes – this adds a tiny kick of heat but it is optional. Some people like no heat and some like lots of heat. So add or take away based on your tastebuds.
- unsalted chicken stock – I’m using unsalted chicken stock because of there is a lot of salt already in the soy sauce.
- honey – this is going to give it that sweet taste but also make it a bit more like a thick glaze.
- soy sauce – if you are trying to watch your sodium, you can use unsalted soy sauce.
- rice wine vinegar – rice wine vinegar is pretty unique in flavor. It is also seasoned. However, the next best thing if you don’t have that is probably apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- cornstarch slurry – make a cornstarch slurry by combining 1 Tablespoon of water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch and whisk until smooth. this is going to thicken up the glaze.
HOW TO MAKE HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
Begin by preparing the popcorn chicken in the oven (or air fryer) as per the instructions on the back of the packaging. Once done, set it aside. Over medium heat, in a large wok or skillet, add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the white part of the green onion, minced garlic, and chili flakes. Stir continuously and cook for about 30 seconds until you can smell the garlic. Next, add the chicken stock, honey, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar to the skillet. Give it a good stir to mix everything together.
Allow the mixture to come to a gentle simmer. Once it’s simmering, slowly pour in the cornstarch slurry while whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens. Add the popcorn chicken to the sauce and toss it together until the chicken is well coated and heated through.
To serve, garnish with the remaining green onion and enjoy!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds cooked popcorn chicken
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
- ¾ cup unsalted chicken stock
- ¾ cup honey
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- cornstarch slurry (1 Tablespoon water + 1 Tablespoon cornstarch)
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the popcorn chicken in the oven (or air fryer) as per the instructions on the back of the packaging. Once done, set it aside.
- Over medium heat, in a large wok or skillet, add the oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the white part of the green onion, minced garlic, and chili flakes. Stir continuously and cook for about 30 seconds until you can smell the garlic.
- Next, add the chicken stock, honey, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar to the skillet. Give it a good stir to mix everything together.
- Allow the mixture to come to a gentle simmer. Once it’s simmering, slowly pour in the cornstarch slurry while whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens.
- Add the popcorn chicken to the sauce and toss it together until the chicken is well coated and heated through.
- To serve, garnish with the remaining green onion and enjoy!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- I used Tyson’s Any’tizers popcorn chicken.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I MADE THIS AND ITS DELISSSSSS
Before adding chicken in slurry sauce, it looks like a pale yellow, how did it turn that bright orange?
The color is there but the wok is black so doesn’t show up well.