This easy Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken requires only 5 ingredients and is ready in less than an hour! Served with an amazing, sweet and sticky honey lemon glaze, this chicken recipe is the perfect weeknight dinner!
Looking for more quick and easy chicken recipes? Try my Honey Garlic Chicken, Grilled Honey Lime Chicken or my Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken!
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Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken
We all know how much I love easy and delicious recipes — especially when they look and taste like I spent A LOT more time on them. Who said you can’t have holiday-level food on a weeknight in less than an hour, anyway?
I actually adapted this honey garlic chicken with lemon from my Honey Garlic Salmon recipe. The salmon is one of my top recipes on the blog, so I decided to change the proteins and switch it around for chicken! Now, I really believe that one of the reasons my honey garlic salmon is so popular is because of the incredibly easy but absolutely mouthwatering sauce that it is served with — and I’m bringing that delicious glaze back to you today. Loaded with tons of garlic, sweet honey, fresh squeezed lemon juice and a splash of soy sauce, this garlic chicken recipe will not disappoint.
This honey lemon garlic chicken recipe has only 5 ingredients (most of which you probably already have at home) and could not be easier to make. Simply mix together the sauce ingredients, brush onto the chicken, and bake. You really only need 10-15 minutes of prep time to make this dinner — the rest of the time, it’s in the oven!
Pro Tip: Make the sauce ahead of time and marinade the chicken in the sauce overnight for extra flavor (and less prep the next day).
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs: For this recipe, I used 8 whole, bone-in chicken thighs. One of the best parts of this dish is the sweet, crispy, golden brown skin, so make sure you choose your chicken thighs wisely! Full disclosure, this recipe makes A LOT (8 chicken thighs), which means lots of leftovers for lunch. You can also pull the meat off and freeze!
- Garlic cloves: You’re going to need 5 total cloves of garlic, which will be minced before cooking. As much as I love fresh garlic, you can always substitute pre-minced garlic if needed.
- Honey: The star of this chicken recipe! Honestly, your lemon garlic chicken glaze is not complete without sweet, sticky honey. Nothing fancy here, though, for the ingredient — choose your favorite brand of honey and get to cooking.
- Lemons: This recipe calls for both lemon zest and lemon juice — so kill two birds with once stone and opt for fresh lemons. I ended up using 2-3 lemons for this baked chicken dish.
- Low-sodium soy sauce: You can use regular soy sauce from your pantry, but to keep this easy chicken dinner healthy, I opted for the low-sodium version.
How to make Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray, then set aside.
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl combine garlic, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and soy sauce.
- Sear the chicken: Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chicken skin-side down first until golden brown. I usually cook 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Bake: Place the chicken thighs in the prepared baking pan and brush with 3/4 of the sauce — I like to reserve extra to brush on top before serving. Place your chicken in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 175 degrees F.
- Serve: Brush the chicken with the remaining sauce and serve immediately.
What to serve with Honey Lemon Chicken
- Lemon Parmesan Brown Rice
- Spicy Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts
- Mashed Potatoes
- Cauliflower Rice for a low carb option!
- Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges
- Easy BLT Pasta Salad
- Easy 30 Minute Creamy Confetti Corn
Here are more delicious chicken recipes to try!
- Easy Chicken Katsu
- Easy Chicken Marsala
- Baked Teriyaki Chicken
- Grilled Chicken Caprese
- Sticky Asian Chicken Bites
- Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a small bowl combine garlic, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and soy sauce.
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and sear the chicken skin side down first until golden brown, (2-3 minutes on each side)
- Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Add the chicken thighs and brush with 3/4 of the sauce.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 175 degrees.
- Brush the chicken with the remaining sauce and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
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Mary Gartner
Absolutely great recipes! And especially not time-consuming! Delicious!
Kelley
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Mary! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jill Franklin
Delicious! My guests loved it. I salted the chicken before baking.
Jill Franklin
Delicious! My guests loved it. Salted the thighs before putting on the sauce.