In trying out this honey butter chicken recipe, we experienced a spring in our steps. The incredible aroma of melted honey and butter alone is worth lifting three fingers in salute.
Get ready and hop in with us!
Is Honey Butter Chicken Healthy?
Providing 424 calories per serving, we can say this honey butter chicken is pretty light as a main dish. In addition to that, you’ll also get 9 grams of fat, 30.6 grams of protein, and 11.4 grams of carbohydrates.
With such a low amount of carbohydrates, honey butter chicken is an ideal choice to add to your Keto diet.
It’s actually quite easy to control the carbohydrate content. All you need to do is cut back on the honey that goes into the dish.
However, please note that by doing so, there will be changes in the final result.
What Chicken Cuts Should You Use?
When it comes to chicken dishes, people differ on whether to use white meat or dark meat.
1. Chicken Thighs
For this honey butter chicken recipe, we purposely go for chicken thighs. Thighs produce the exact kind of caramelization you need for this dish.
Even when cut into bite-sized pieces, chicken thighs are still juicy and tender, not too lean or mushy.
2. Chicken Breast
We can reassure you that both chicken thighs and chicken breasts work well in this honey butter chicken recipe. No matter what you choose to cook, your meal will still taste wonderful.
However, we get that sometimes it’s troublesome having to get back to the grocery store for that exact ingredient you’re missing. So, if you’re in the middle of the cooking process and chicken breasts are all you have, go for it!
Here’s another suggestion in case you want to make the best use of your on-hand chicken breasts: lemon chicken recipe. It’s the recipe we always recommend for chicken breast lovers.
The method of bathing chicken in a creamy lemon sauce is a brilliant way to incorporate chicken breasts into your meals. Check it out and give us your thoughts!
How to Make Honey Butter Chicken
Step 1: Sear the chicken
In a cast-iron skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of butter over medium heat, then place the chicken thighs skin side down. Sear the first side (skin side) for 6 minutes and the second side for 3 minutes.
Step 2: Bake the chicken
Bake the seared chicken thighs for 20 minutes in the oven at 400℉. When finished, transfer them to a clean plate.
Step 3: Make the honey butter sauce
In the same skillet, turn on high heat and add minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of butter, honey, lemon juice, and chicken broth.
Step 4: Add chicken to the sauce
Transfer the chicken cutlets back into the skillet. After 1 minute, reduce the heat to medium. After 5 minutes, flip the chicken cutlets to the other side, let sit for a minute, and turn off the heat.
Step 5: Serve
Honey Butter Chicken Sauce
This golden-brown sauce is a true burst of flavor that calls for many ingredients to caramelize together over heat. It makes a perfect pairing with the chicken.
In fact, you only need five ingredients to make this honey butter chicken sauce: garlic, butter, honey, lemon juice, and chicken broth.
While honey and butter are important ingredients, the sautéed garlic is what gives the sauce its marvelous flavor. It slices through the sweetness of the honey with its notably pungent aroma, especially when sautéed with the browned butter.
Our Tips for Cooking Perfect Chicken Thighs
One of our tried-and-true tips for preparing honey butter chicken thighs is to combine searing with baking. Searing the chicken beforehand helps bring out its best flavor while baking helps cook the chicken thoroughly from the inside out.
The next thing you have to keep in mind is always to act quickly. Keep an eye on what’s on the heat, because good timing is everything.
Swirl continuously once the butter and honey start to melt, then stop when the foam quiets down. As long as the sauce turns glossy and golden, you’re good to go.
It’s important not to keep cooking the sauce for too long since sucrose burns easily. No one wants a blackened, bitter-tasting glaze.
We recommend letting both the honey and the butter melt completely before adding the lemon juice and chicken broth. Otherwise, the sauce could taste a little strange.
How Long Does Honey Butter Chicken Last in the Fridge?
Honey butter chicken will last in the fridge up to 3 days. Remember to let the chicken cool down completely before transferring it to an airtight container.
Honey butter chicken can be rewarmed easily on the stove over medium heat. It will be ready to serve again in a few minutes.
Can You Freeze Honey Butter Chicken?
Yes, you can.
When stored in the freezer, honey butter chicken can last 1-2 months. Frozen honey butter should be defrosted in the refrigerator one day before being reheated (refried).
What to Serve with Honey Butter Chicken
This pan-roasted dish is juicy and savory. Therefore, finding an applicable pairing for it should not be too trying— the choice is yours after all.
1. Rice
In regards to the most basic and convenient side dish, we’d like to put forward steamed rice.
No matter what cuisine the main dish belongs to, rice can always compliment it excellently. You can either get yourself a hot bowl of rice or serve it alone.
Additionally, green salad can be added to neutralize the sweet and buttery aroma of the chicken.
2. Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are one of the most common go-to dishes to side with honey butter chicken. The juicy chicken and the sticky, glossy sauce taste heavenly when piled over mushy, cloud-like mashed potatoes.
3. Mustard Potato Salad
We believe mustard potato salad with crunchy carrots and tangy mustard is a wonderful side for this honey butter chicken.
This salad is versatile, quick to make, and only calls for common pantry ingredients. It’s nutty, sweet, and pungent at the same time— absolutely befitting the smoky and buttery honey butter chicken.
4. Carrot Orange Pineapple Juice
This three-ingredient carrot orange pineapple juice is an excellent source of vitamin A, fiber, and antioxidants.
Aside from being an antioxidant boost, it’s also versatile and pairs super well with any entrée you’re having. This is a good chance for you to experiment with your favorite fruits and veggies!
Related: Healthy Chicken Piccata Recipe – Easy Italian Chicken and Capers Recipe
Honey Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 25.5 oz skin-on bone-in chicken thigh 4 cutlets
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp parsley
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Instructions
Prep
- Season the chicken thighs with salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
Cook
- In a cast-iron skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of butter over medium heat, place the chicken thighs skin side down. Sear the first side (skin side) for 6 minutes and the second side for 3 minutes. Remove from the skillet.
- Bake the seared chicken thighs for 20 minutes in the oven at 400℉.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the oven and transfer them to a clean plate.
- Make the honey butter sauce. In the same skillet used for the chicken, turn on high heat and add these ingredients successively: minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of butter, honey, lemon juice, and chicken broth.
- Transfer the chicken cutlets back into the skillet. After 1 minute, reduce the heat to medium. After 5 minutes, flip the chicken cutlets to the other side, let sit for a minute, and turn off the heat.
- Serve immediately.
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Somehow I am misreading this. It sounds delicious, however it is unclear to me whether in the Searing Phase, Step 2, you are searing the chicken in the oven or on the stove. Then, in Step 3, when do you use this pan again with the remaining oil? Do you pour the honey butter mixture into it?
In the Roasting Phase, Step 2 seems to indicate that you are doing this on top of the stove, but then in Step 3 it says to remove the chicken from the oven.
What am I missing? Also, the total cooking time listed in the recipe is 20 minutes, 10 of which is recommended for searing. This doesn’t quite seem like enough for chicken thighs. .
Thank you Drob for dropping by and leaving us comment 😀
Here’s for your confuse:
– In phase 2, step 2, the chicken is seared on pan and on the stove. My bad – I should have stated it with detail.
– In phase 2, step 3, I think you might have some misunderstanding, I didn’t leave the remanining oil for later use. What I meant was to not drain the oil from the meat completely, just so the thighs are covered with a little bit of oil left.
– In phase 3, I did roast the chicken meat on the stove – my bad again, I checked through and edited it. I was having trial with many baked chicken dishes at the same time, that must be why I was in the jumble with ‘anything-oven’.
– And for the cooking time, step 2 of phase 3 should be “cook and flip every 5 minutes”. I truly acknowledge how reckless this was.
So in short, I seared the chicken in 5 minutes, and leave the remaining 25 minutes for pan roasting on the top of the stove. And you were right, it should be 30 minutes in total, not 25 minutes. I must have miscalculated at some point in between.
Drob, we sincerely apologize for all these inconvenients you’ve had with the recipe and truly appreciate your comment, from which we can take a look back at the instructions and make changes so it appears clearer to readers.
Did my reply answer you somehow? Hope you’ll let us know if this recipe works for you 😀
Have a very nice day!
I made it the first time for my family gathering last weekend and everyone loved it! It was actually much easier to make than I thought. Thank you for the great recipe, Luna.
Thanks for a nice recipe, I’ll definitely make this chicken butter again. I love how easy and quick this recipe is, yet the taste is so gooood!
Just made it today for my picky husband Steve and he liked it. Though he said it was not really as great as the honey butter chicken he usually has at his favorite restaurant, but still very amazing.
I’ve tried both skinless and skin-on chicken thighs and highly recommend everyone to leave the skin on because it keeps the chicken juicy and moist. Anyway, it’s another great recipe from you, Luna. It simply works.
I brought this to the table yesterday and my children loved it. Guess this’ll be one of my family staples for a long time.