Oven-baked honey soy sauce chicken thighs recipe
A delicious chicken dish made in a casserole dish is the perfect family meal. It’s effortless, and that flavorful sticky sauce will inspire you to cook this Asian-inspired chicken more often! What really makes this such a great recipe is that you only need a limited number of ingredients and one dish. Forget about endless dishes and lengthy grocery lists. The meat doesn’t require any marinating beforehand. Still, if you let the chicken marinate for about 30 minutes before baking, it will absorb even more of the garlic, ginger, soy, and honey flavors.
Servings 4
Cost $8
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 5 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ tsp minced ginger
- ½ tsp black pepper ground
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C).
- Grab an 8x8 baking pan and line it with aluminum foil. For extra protection against sticky liquids, add two layers of tin foil.
- Grab a bowl and mix the honey, vegetable oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. Whisk everything together until the sauce has a runny consistency.
- Remove any skin from the chicken thighs, add the salt, and place them in the baking pan.
- Pour the sauce on top of the chicken, then turn each piece around once to ensure the meat is evenly coated with sauce on both sides.
- Bake for 30 minutes uncovered. Flip the chicken halfway through to ensure even baking. In case the top of the chicken is browning too fast, cover with some tin foil and remove it later. The chicken’s internal temperature should be 165 F (70C), and that’s when you know it’s well-cooked and perfect for serving.
- After the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven and take each piece out. Then take the sauce that’s leftover in the pan, and you can add some of it on top of each chicken thigh or use it as “gravy” for mashed potatoes.
Video
Notes
- I recommend using a double layer of tin foil because the sauce is runny, and if it sticks to the edges or bottom of the pan, you’ll have a lot of scrubbing to do afterward.
- If you want extra brown and crispy meat, use the broiler for about 3-5 minutes.
- If you use chicken breast instead of thighs, reduce the cooking time by about 10 minutes, or else the meat is too dry and chewy.
- You have to cook the chicken at a high temperature to get that crispy brown crust. If you cook at lower temperatures, the sauce won’t stick to the chicken, and it’s not quite as tasty.
- Don’t use a larger pan than necessary because you want the sauce to be concentrated around the chicken, not running to the edge of the pan.
- The sauce is not supposed to be thick. Soy sauce and honey are sticky, but they don’t cause any thickening. The sauce will be runny, but once it bakes, it infuses the meat with tons of flavors. Don’t worry if you still have lots of runny liquid in the pan after the meat is cooked. Simply use the chicken sauce to coat the meat again or as a gravy for the side dish.
