Honey Chicken serves up crispy fried chicken morsels in a lip-smacking, sweet honey sauce! Perfect for an easy and delicious weeknight dinner.
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What’s in this Honey Chicken Recipe?
It really is so easy to whip up this PF Chang’s favorite in your own kitchen! Tender chunks of chicken in a crispy batter, slathered in a sweet and savory honey sauce. This easy chicken recipe rivals take-out any day of the week, it’s a new favorite in our house!
- Vegetable Oil: The perfect high smoke point neutral oil for frying.
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks are the perfect meat for this recipe.
- Salt + Pepper: Seasons the chicken and batter.
- All-Purpose Flour: Helps the batter to adhere to the chicken chunks.
- Cornstarch: Helps the chicken to get an extra-crispy golden brown coating when it is fried.
- Baking Powder: Helps draw moisture to the surface to create a crispy, craggy coating.
- Cold Water: Helps to dissolve the cornstarch without making it clumpy.
- Honey: Gives this chicken its sweet floral flavor.
- Rice Vinegar: Adds a bit of acidity to balance the sweetness.
- Soy Sauce: Adds a salty, savory, umami flavor to the sauce.
- Sesame Oil: Adds a nutty flavor to the sauce.
- Garlic: Adds an earthy flavor to the sauce.
- Ginger: Adds brightness, freshness, and spice to the sauce.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: While totally optional, red pepper flakes add a bit of a kick to this dish if you like spicy!
- Cooked White Rice: The perfect neutral base to serve this flavorful chicken over.
Pro Tip: If you like dark meat, you can use chicken thighs instead of breasts!
Variations on Honey Glazed Chicken
This sweet, savory, crunchy chicken is so delicious all by itself. But you can certainly make some modifications to change up the flavor!
- Sesame: Add sesame seeds for an added nutty flavor and texture.
- Orange: Use orange juice instead of rice vinegar in the honey sauce for a tangy twist on the classic recipe.
- Mustard: Mix Dijon mustard into the honey sauce for a tangy and slightly spicy flavor.
- Sriracha: Add Sriracha hot sauce to the honey sauce for a spicy twist on the classic recipe.
- Chipotle: Add chipotle powder to the honey sauce for a smoky, spicy flavor.
- Lime: Squeeze fresh lime juice over the crispy chicken for a bright, citrusy flavor that complements the sweetness of the honey.
This recipe is based on PF Chang’s Crispy Honey Chicken, which is a dish of battered and fried chicken pieces in a sweet honey sauce.
No, it is not the same thing as orange chicken. Honey chicken is sweet with notes of soy sauce and ginger, while orange chicken is a bit spicier with a strong citrus flavor.
Yes, you can! I recommend using boneless, skinless thighs and cutting them into bite-sized pieces.
If you can’t find fresh ginger, use 1¼ teaspoons of ground ginger in its place.
To make this chicken spicier, add the optional ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second increments until warmed through.
How to Freeze
I recommend freezing the chicken and the sauce separately for the best results. Freeze the cooked chicken in an airtight container for up to 3 months, and freeze the sauce in a Ziplock bag. Allow the chicken and sauce to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating and tossing together.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this chicken with your favorite Asian sides. I love white rice, ham fried rice, cauliflower fried rice, or vegetable lo mein. Start off your meal with an Asian cucumber salad, egg rolls, and crab rangoon. The easy homemade honey sauce is so delicious, you’ll want to use it on everything and anything
Honey Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Batter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup cold water
For the Honey Sauce
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (see note)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (1-inch piece) fresh ginger minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional, for spice
For Serving
- 3 cups cooked white rice
Instructions
- Add the oil to a cast iron skillet and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set both aside.1 cup vegetable oil
- Season the chicken with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, Salt and pepper
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and water.½ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup cold water
- Add in the chicken pieces and stir to coat in the batter.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey sauce ingredients and set aside.⅓ cup honey, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 3 cloves garlic, 1 (1-inch piece) fresh ginger, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Once heated, add in the chicken pieces, one-by-one, and fry on each side until crispy and golden brown. Do this in 2 batches.
- Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking sheet.
- When frying is complete, carefully transfer the hot oil to a jar or bowl. See notes.
- Add the honey sauce mixture to the skillet.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring, until it thickens. This should take no more than a minute.
- Add the chicken back to the pan and stir until coated in the sauce.
- Serve over rice.3 cups cooked white rice
Video
Becky’s Tips
- Soy Sauce: Use an equal amount of tamari or coconut aminos for a gluten free alternative.
- Oil: If unable to safely transfer the oil, heat the honey sauce ingredients in a separate small saucepan. Once thickened, combine the chicken and sauce in a separate bowl.
- You can use chicken thighs instead of breasts in this recipe.
- You can use apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar.
- If you can’t find fresh ginger, use 1¼ teaspoons of ground ginger.
- To make this dish spicier, use more crushed red pepper flakes.
- Make sure to thoroughly preheat your pan before cooking the chicken. This will allow the chicken to crisp on the outside, and it will prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan.
- If the chicken is sticking to the pan, don’t force it. Wait for the chicken to naturally release.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
I made this tonight it was good however I would deep fry the chicken because of the splatter I ended up getting grease burns and oil all over my stove I even had my cast iron pan on low will make again but not your way
Hi Theresa, you may want to invest in a splatter screen for shallow frying!