This Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken is marinated in honey, lemon, and garlic, pan-fried to get a crispy skin, then finished off in the oven and served with reserved honey lemon garlic sauce for a chicken dinner that will be a family favorite!
Honey, lemon and garlic are three of my favorite flavors to cook with. Add in some balsamic and that is pure bliss for this girl. But, no balsamic this round. I am usually a boneless, skinless chicken cooker, but every so often, I call in the bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for a knock-your-socks-off-with-flavor kinda dinner.
I actually had a different meal planned, only to find out that I was out of key ingredient for it. So, I start looking around, seeing what I have that I can substitute in and still have an awesome dinner. And wouldn’t you know that I always have honey, garlic, and lemons in the house.
Just look at that crispy skin. It’s kinda gorgeous, isn’t it? And that sauce. That sauce is spectacular, my friends. A little sweet and sticky, but offset a bit by the lemon so it isn’t too sweet. And garlic…I’m not sure I ever cook without garlic. It’s just one of those ingredients you gotta have around all the time!
Now, you’ll need to allow yourself more time for this recipe than my more typical 30 minute meals. This, for me, is a good Sunday dinner. I give myself an hour to do prep, cook the chicken and make side dishes. If you have an hour during the week, that’s great! I do not. Ever. Ha.
This honey lemon garlic chicken was a big hit in our house. Baby girl gobbled it up just as much as we did. And in the land of toddlerhood and the ever-changing eating habits, that’s a big win. I think she asked for more two or three times. So, not only did she finish what I intially gave her – she asked for more. Twice. Mark that one down in the record books, and put this recipe on rotation folks.
Roasted Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (or juice of 2 lemons)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp minced garlic
- 8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- Lemon slices and/or zest for garnish
- Sliced green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360°F
- Place chicken thighs in a large shallow dish, season with salt and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the honey, lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar and minced garlic. Pour about 1/3 cup of the sauce over the chicken (or just enough to lightly coat each thigh) and turn to coat evenly in the sauce.
- Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat; sear the chicken, skin side down first, until golden for about 5 minutes. Turn and repeat on the other side. Drain most of the excess oil from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
- Arrange chicken skin-side up in the pan; add the whole garlic cloves between the chicken; pour half of the remaining sauce over each thigh (about 1-2 tablespoons per thigh) and bake for 40-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear. If the skin isn't crispy, you can put it under the broiler for a minute or two to crisp it up.
- While the chicken is baking, pour the remaining sauce into a small pot (or saucepan), and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat down to low and allow to simmer while occasionally stirring, until the sauce has sightly reduced and thickened (about 6 minutes).
- Serve chicken with the remaining sauce, lemon zest and/or slices, and sliced green onions if you like!
Notes
This is one I have made over and over again. The flavors are SO good, and the whole family loves it!
If I can’t have YOU cook for me, I’ll take your recipe, any day!!
You are too sweet, thank you!