This honey garlic chicken is exceptionally juicy and flavorful. The tasty sauce is made with honey, butter, garlic, and Dijon mustard. It's phenomenal!
While I tend to make chicken drumsticks mostly to please my kids, this is one recipe that we, the grownups, enjoy just as much as they do.
This is one of my favorite chicken recipes. I make it often because everyone loves it - adults and kids. It's so juicy and flavorful!
I usually use chicken drumsticks, but this recipe also works with bone-in chicken thighs or chicken leg quarters, adding about 10-15 minutes to the cooking time and loosely covering the tops with foil to prevent them from burning.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Chicken: I use skin-on chicken in this recipe. You can remove the skin if you wish, but the crispy skin greatly enhances this dish. I typically use chicken drumsticks, but you can use other parts and adjust the cooking time. If using bone-in chicken thighs or chicken leg quarters, add 10-15 minutes to the cooking time. Always aim for an internal temperature of 165°F when cooking chicken, and check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer not touching the bone.
- Melted butter: I love using creamy European butter, but any butter will be great. Salted or unsalted are both fine.
- Honey: It has two roles in this recipe. It adds great flavor and promotes caramelizing.
- Mustard: I use Dijon mustard. This traditional French mustard is creamier, thicker, and less vinegary than yellow mustard.
- To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. I prefer garlic powder to fresh garlic because it coats the chicken pieces uniformly.
Variations
- Olive oil can replace the butter in this recipe. I prefer butter, but olive oil is very good, too.
- You can use real maple syrup instead of honey. Sugar-free syrups work, too, if you're on a low-carb diet.
- It's fine to use two teaspoons of minced fresh garlic instead of garlic powder.
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making honey garlic chicken:
Prepare the sauce. Make a quick sauce of melted butter, honey, Dijon mustard, and garlic powder.
Coat the chicken. Brush the chicken pieces with the sauce. I use a pastry brush.
Bake until cooked through. Bake the chicken for 60 minutes in a 350°F oven, basting it with a clean brush every 15 minutes.
If the tops are darkening too much, loosely cover the chicken with foil and continue baking until it's cooked through. Its internal temperature should reach 165°F.
Expert Tip
Basting the chicken is important. Not just to help keep it juicy, but also because the sauce tends to stick to the bottom of the pan, so mixing it up every 15 minutes prevents it from burning.
Recipe FAQs
I normally cook chicken at a relatively high temperature, at least 400°F (this jerk chicken recipe is a good example), and for a relatively short time. This method produces juicy chicken.
But in this recipe, if the temperature is too high, the honey will burn. So I keep the temperature at 350°F and bake for a little longer.
I highly recommend using Dijon mustard in this recipe. However, other mustards should work, too, although many are too vinegary.
That depends on how hot your oven is. In my old oven, I cooked the chicken for 75 minutes. In my new oven, which I believe is more accurate, I only bake it for 60 minutes.
The best way to make sure the chicken is done is to use an instant-read thermometer not touching the bone. Aim for an internal temperature of 165°F.
You can coat the chicken in the sauce and then marinate it in the fridge for up to four hours before baking, but it's unnecessary. I never do.
Serving Suggestions
Honey garlic chicken is a versatile main dish that pairs well with many side dishes. Since I use a 350°F oven, I like to serve it with a side dish that I can cook in the same oven, such as butternut squash souffle or roasted whole cauliflower.
Alternatively, I serve it with a stovetop side such as spaghetti squash fritters, steamed cabbage, or sauteed broccolini.
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power, or in a 350°F oven for about ten minutes or until heated through. You can also enjoy them cold.
The leftovers can be frozen in freezer bags for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and then reheat them in the microwave or oven.
More Chicken Recipes
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Recipe Card
Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 10 chicken drumsticks - 4 ounces each, skin-on
- 2 tablespoons butter - melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ½ teaspoon of any other salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil (to save you some serious cleanup later as the honey caramelizes) and grease the foil.
- Arrange the drumsticks in the pan. Whisk together the melted butter, honey, mustard, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Evenly pour the mixture over the chicken, brushing all over to coat.
- Bake, basting with a clean pastry brush every 15 minutes, until the chicken is browned and cooked through and the juices run clear. In my old oven, it took 75 minutes. In the new one, which I believe is more accurate, it takes 60 minutes. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165°F as measured by an instant-read thermometer not touching the bone.
- Baste the chicken one last time and serve.
Video
Notes
- I use skin-on chicken in this recipe. You can remove the skin if you wish, but the crispy skin greatly enhances this dish.
- I typically use chicken drumsticks, but you can use other parts and adjust the cooking time. If using bone-in chicken thighs or chicken leg quarters, add 10-15 minutes to the cooking time and cover the chicken with foil if it gets too dark on top. Always aim for an internal temperature of 165°F when cooking chicken, and check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer not touching the bone.
- Basting the chicken is important. Not just to help keep it juicy, but also because the sauce tends to stick to the bottom of the pan, so mixing it up every 15 minutes prevents it from burning.
- If the tops are getting too dark before the chicken is done, loosely cover the pan with foil and keep baking. Sometimes, just a few of them are browning too fast - if this happens, I move those to one side of the pan and cover just them with foil.
- You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power, or in a 350°F oven for about ten minutes or until heated through. You can also enjoy them cold.
- The leftovers can be frozen in freezer bags for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge and then reheat them in the microwave or oven.
Nutrition per Serving
Disclaimers
Cup measurements refer to the standard American cup, which is 240 milliliters. Most of my recipes are low-carb (or keto) and gluten-free, but some are not. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate, and the carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them. Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using any of my recipes.
Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 
Gina
Delicious and easy!!! This recipe is a keeper! Thanks, Vered! I'm a new fan!
Vered DeLeeuw
Yay! I'm so glad this recipe was a success, Gina! Thank you for taking the time to write a review.
Mary Gottesman
It was a very easy recipe and I followed it with no changes at all. I thought it was too bland. If I make it again, I would add more salt and an Asian spicy sauce such as Sambal Oelek, sweet chili garlic sauce, or gochuchang.
Vered DeLeeuw
Thanks for the feedback, Mary!
Bud
Can this recipe be made in a air fryer
Vered DeLeeuw
Hi Bud,
I only tested this recipe in an oven - sorry - I don't own an air fryer.
Kami
really delicious and easy recipe. I am just wondering can I freeze it and what would be the instructions?
Vered DeLeeuw
Glad you liked it, Kami! You can place the leftovers in a single layer in freezer bags and freeze them for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge.
Seth
Thank you, delicious!
I especially loved that it did not include soy sauce. So many honey/garlic recipes include soy, but there was so much flavor in these without it. I did top with sesame seeds when I took it out of the oven. Yum!
Vered DeLeeuw
I'm so glad you liked this recipe, Seth! I love the idea of sesame seeds.
alia nassar
Marinating with this sauce can give it a blast!
Vered DeLeeuw
Hi Alia,
Indeed, if you have the time, you can coat the chicken in the sauce and marinate it for a couple of hours in the fridge before baking.
Lauren
This looks amazing! Do you think it could be made with boneless breasts instead? How would you alter the cooking time and would you cook the sauce separately a bit first? Thank you so much!
Vered DeLeeuw
Hi Lauren,
You can follow the same instructions for boneless chicken breasts, basting them every ten minutes. They will need to spend a shorter time in the oven, probably 30-40 minutes. Start checking with a thermometer after 30 minutes.
Jessica
Delish! I will definitely make them again. We had none left!
Vered DeLeeuw
Yay! I'm so glad you liked this recipe, Jessica!