You know that feeling when you’re staring into your fridge at 5 PM wondering what on earth you’re going to throw together for dinner? I get it. That’s exactly why I’m obsessed with these honey garlic chicken bites. They’ve become my go-to when I need something that tastes like I actually tried, but took practically zero effort. These golden, glossy bites come together in under 22 minutes. The honey gives you that sweet-savory magic that makes people think you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen, while the garlic and soy sauce add enough umami to make you forget you’re eating something this ridiculously simple. I started making these for quick lunches and weekday dinners, and now they’re basically a permanent fixture in my rotation. The real kicker? They’re perfect for meal prep too, so you can spend your Sunday afternoon making a double batch and thank yourself all week. What I love most is how versatile they are. Serve them over fluffy white rice, pile them on a salad, or honestly, just eat them straight from the skillet when nobody’s looking. The cornstarch coating gives each bite this beautiful crispness on the outside while keeping the chicken juicy inside. Once you master this technique, you’ll find yourself making variations of honey glazed chicken constantly.
Easy Lunch Recipes: Honey Garlic Chicken Bites That’ll Change Your Weeknight Game
I want to tell you about the recipe that saved my sanity during those crazy months when I couldn’t figure out what to cook for dinner every single night. You know that moment when you’re standing in front of the pantry at 5 PM with no plan and even less energy? That’s exactly where these honey garlic chicken bites came in. They’re not just any easy lunch recipes, they’re the kind that make you feel like you actually knew what you were doing in the kitchen.
Here’s the thing about easy lunch recipes that actually work. They need to be quick, they need to taste like you put in effort, and they need to use stuff you already have lying around. These easy lunch recipes tick every single box. In about 22 minutes flat, you’ll have a dinner that looks fancy, tastes incredible, and requires basically zero cooking skills. I’ve made these honey garlic chicken bites probably a hundred times now, and I’ve never had anyone ask for seconds and mean it in a polite way. They genuinely want more.
What makes these easy lunch recipes different from the usual weeknight fare is the balance. The honey brings sweetness, the garlic brings depth, and the soy sauce brings that salty umami punch that makes your taste buds sit up and pay attention. When you plate them over rice with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, you’ve got restaurant quality food made in your own kitchen. That’s the magic of these easy lunch recipes. They deliver on flavor without asking you to spend hours cooking.
Table of Contents
- 1) Key Takeaways
- 2) Easy Honey Garlic Chicken Bites Recipe
- 3) Ingredients for Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
- 4) How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
- 5) Tips for Making Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
- 6) Making Honey Garlic Chicken Bites Ahead of Time
- 7) Storing Leftover Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
- 8) Try these Main Course recipes next!
- 9) Honey Garlic Chicken Bites Recipe
- 10) Nutrition
1) Key Takeaways
- What’s the secret to crispy chicken bites with a glossy glaze?
- Can you really make honey glazed chicken in under 22 minutes?
- What are the common mistakes people make with tasty bites like these?
- How do you keep chicken tender while getting that golden exterior?
2) Easy Honey Garlic Chicken Bites Recipe
Let me be straight with you. These honey garlic chicken bites are one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a lot of recipes. When I started cooking for my family regularly, I knew I needed recipes that wouldn’t take up my entire evening. I needed easy lunch recipes that could get on the table fast but still taste like something worth eating. That’s when I started experimenting with different glazes, and this honey garlic combination became an instant favorite.
The beauty of this recipe is in the simplicity. You’re working with ingredients that probably exist in your kitchen right now. Chicken breast, honey, soy sauce, and garlic. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, nothing that requires a trip to some specialty store. What makes these easy lunch recipes special is that you’re applying techniques that totally change the game. The cornstarch coating creates this beautiful crispy exterior, and the glaze turns thick and glossy as it reduces.
I love this recipe because it works for so many different situations. Need an easy lunch recipes option for meal prep? Make a double batch on Sunday and you’re set for the week. Want something quick for dinner after a long day? Thirty minutes including cooking time. Planning a casual dinner with friends? Serve it over rice with some steamed vegetables and everyone thinks you’re a genius. That’s the kind of recipe that earns its place in your regular rotation.
One of the best parts about these honey glazed chicken bites is how forgiving they are. If your sauce isn’t quite thick enough, add a bit more cornstarch slurry. If it’s too thick, add a splash of water. The honey glazed chicken won’t judge you for small adjustments. That’s why I keep recommending these easy lunch recipes to everyone who asks me what they should cook this week.
3) Ingredients for Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
Olive Oil for Cooking We’re using about three tablespoons of olive oil because you want enough to help those chicken bites get golden and crispy on all sides. The oil heats up to create that perfect sear. I prefer using olive oil because it has a nice flavor, but you can use avocado oil or grapeseed oil if that’s what works for your pantry. The key is choosing something that won’t smoke at medium heat and won’t overpower the delicate honey garlic flavors we’re building.
Chicken Breast Cut into Cubes One pound of chicken breast gets cut into roughly one-inch cubes. This size matters because it cooks evenly and gives you those perfect bite-sized pieces. I always buy my chicken and cube it myself rather than buying pre-cut because I like controlling the size and quality. When you cut the chicken into uniform pieces, everything cooks at the same rate, which means no dry outside with a raw inside situation. That’s just basic cooking sense.
Garlic Powder and Paprika These two seasonings do the heavy lifting before your sauce even shows up. The garlic powder gives you that concentrated garlic flavor that coats every piece of chicken. The paprika adds a subtle warmth and a tiny hint of sweetness. Together they create a coating that tastes good even before the glaze happens. This is why your chicken actually tastes like something instead of just being a vehicle for sauce.
Cornstarch for Texture This ingredient is crucial for getting that crispy exterior. One tablespoon of cornstarch gets mixed with your chicken, garlic powder, and paprika. It creates a light coating that fries up beautifully. You’ll also use a cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken your sauce. Cornstarch is also gluten-free, so if that matters to you, this recipe works perfectly.
Honey for Sweetness A quarter cup of honey brings sweetness and helps create that beautiful glaze. I use whatever honey I have on hand, whether it’s raw honey from a local beekeeper or regular honey from the store. The honey caramelizes slightly as it cooks, which gives you those complex flavors. If you don’t have honey, you can substitute maple syrup or agave, though the flavor will shift slightly.
Low-Sodium Soy Sauce Quarter cup of low-sodium soy sauce provides the salty, umami backbone. If you use regular soy sauce, the dish gets quite salty and overly sweet. Low-sodium lets the honey shine without becoming cloying. The soy sauce also helps the glaze come together and gives you that glossy appearance.
Rice Vinegar for Balance Just one tablespoon adds brightness and cuts through the sweetness beautifully. Rice vinegar is milder than regular vinegar, so it doesn’t overpower anything. It keeps the glaze from becoming one-dimensional and gives you that complexity that makes people wonder what ingredient they’re tasting.
Sriracha or Chili Sauce for Heat One tablespoon gives you a gentle kick of heat. The sriracha adds warmth without making this a spicy dish. If you don’t have sriracha, any chili sauce works, or you can leave it out and add red chili flakes instead. This ingredient is totally optional depending on your heat preference.
Butter for the Sauce Base One tablespoon of butter helps carry flavors and makes the sauce richer. It also helps everything emulsify together nicely. The butter rounds out the sharp notes and creates something more luxurious than if you just mixed everything together cold.
Minced Garlic for Depth Four cloves of fresh minced garlic are where the real garlic flavor comes from. The garlic powder in the coating provides baseline flavor, but fresh garlic in the sauce gives you those sweet, caramelized notes. Don’t skip this because the difference between good and great honey garlic chicken is fresh garlic in that glaze.
4) How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
Step One: Heat Your Oil and Prepare Your Chicken Put three tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-sized skillet and turn the heat to medium. Let it warm up for a couple of minutes until it’s shimmering around the edges. While that’s happening, get your chicken cubes into a large mixing bowl and add half a teaspoon each of garlic powder and paprika, plus one tablespoon of cornstarch. Toss everything together really well so every piece of chicken gets coated. This coating is what’s going to give you that crispy exterior.
Step Two: Cook the Chicken Until Golden Once your oil is hot, carefully add your coated chicken to the skillet. If everything doesn’t fit in a single layer, work in batches. You want the chicken to sizzle when it hits the oil, but you don’t want it crowded or you’ll steam it instead of searing it. Let each side cook for about three to four minutes until it’s golden brown and cooked all the way through. Remove the chicken and set it on a clean plate.
Step Three: Create the Honey Garlic Sauce In that same skillet, add one tablespoon of butter and let it melt. Add your four cloves of minced garlic and let them get fragrant for about thirty seconds. Then pour in your glaze ingredients, a quarter cup each of honey and low-sodium soy sauce, one tablespoon of rice vinegar, and one tablespoon of sriracha. Stir everything together and let it bubble slightly. This should take about a minute or two.
Step Four: Coat the Chicken in Sauce Add your cooked chicken back to the skillet and stir everything together until every piece is coated in that gorgeous glossy sauce. Let it cook together for about a minute or two so the flavors meld. You’ll notice the sauce starting to cling to the chicken pieces.
Step Five: Make and Add Your Cornstarch Slurry In a small bowl, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with one tablespoon of water. Pour this slurry into the skillet and stir everything together really well. This is what thickens your sauce from a thin liquid into something glossy and clingy.
Step Six: Achieve the Perfect Consistency Keep cooking until the sauce reaches the right thickness. You’ll know it’s ready when you can run a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan and the sauce doesn’t immediately rush back to fill in the trail. This usually takes about two to three minutes.
Step Seven: Plate and Serve Transfer your honey garlic chicken bites to a serving dish, preferably over white rice. If you want to get fancy, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and add some thinly sliced green onions. The heat from the chicken will slightly warm the rice, and you’ll have a complete meal that looks like you spent way more time cooking than you actually did.
5) Tips for Making Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
The absolute most important tip I can give you is to cut your chicken into uniform pieces. If you’re making honey glazed chicken for the first time, this is where people mess up most often. If your pieces are different sizes, the small ones will be done before the big ones. You’ll end up with some pieces that are dry and overcooked and others that are still kind of raw. Spend an extra two minutes cutting everything to roughly the same size. Your chicken will thank you.
Don’t overcook your chicken. I know this sounds obvious, but seriously, people mess this up constantly. Chicken continues cooking even after you remove it from the pan because of carryover cooking. When you take it out, it should be cooked through but still tender. If you cook it until it’s fully cooked in the pan, it’ll end up rubbery. The internal temperature should hit about 165 degrees Fahrenheit, but take it out just before it fully reaches that temperature in the pan.
Make sure your skillet is actually hot before you add the chicken. If your oil isn’t hot enough, the chicken will stick and steam instead of sear. A good way to test is to carefully add one cube and see if it sizzles immediately. If it does, you’re ready to go. If it just sits there, wait another thirty seconds and try again. This one step is the difference between crispy chicken and mushy chicken.
Taste your sauce before you serve it. Different brands of honey and soy sauce have different levels of sweetness and saltiness. Your batch might need a tiny bit more vinegar to balance it out, or maybe a pinch more salt. Cooking is about adjusting as you go, not just following instructions blindly. Trust your taste buds.
Don’t skip the sesame seeds and green onions if you can help it. I know they seem optional, but they add freshness and texture that completely elevates the dish. Sesame seeds add a toasty flavor and crunch, while green onions add brightness. Together they make your honey glazed chicken look and taste professionally made.
If you want extra heat, add red chili flakes or increase the sriracha. Some families love spicy food and want a bigger kick. Starting with one tablespoon of sriracha lets you adjust from there. You can always add more heat, but you can’t take it back out once it’s in there.
6) Making Honey Garlic Chicken Bites Ahead of Time
I absolutely love making these honey glazed chicken bites ahead of time because they’re perfect for meal prep. You can actually prepare everything up to the point of cooking the chicken the night before. Cube your chicken, mix your seasonings, and store it all in a container in the fridge. Have your sauce ingredients measured out and ready to go. When you’re actually ready to cook, everything comes together in about fifteen minutes instead of twenty-two.
You can cook the entire recipe and store the finished honey garlic chicken bites in the fridge for up to three days. I recommend storing the sauce separately from the rice if you’re meal prepping, just to keep the rice from getting soggy. When you’re ready to eat, reheat the chicken and sauce together on the stove or in the microwave, then serve over fresh rice. The flavors actually get better as they sit because everything melds together.
These easy lunch recipes are great for batch cooking. You can easily double or triple this recipe if your skillet is big enough. If it’s not big enough, just work in batches. Make a big batch on Sunday afternoon and you’ve got lunch ready for three or four days of the week. That’s the kind of practical meal planning that actually works for real people with real jobs and real lives.
Don’t add the sesame seeds and green onions until you’re ready to eat. Those should be fresh when you serve them. They get soggy if they sit in the fridge with the sauce. Keep them separate and add them right before you eat, and your meal will taste fresh instead of sad and wilted.
7) Storing Leftover Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
Leftover honey garlic chicken bites store beautifully in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, maybe even four if you’re lucky. The sauce keeps everything moist and prevents the chicken from drying out as it sits. I always store my leftovers in a glass container because it doesn’t stain and you can actually see what’s in there without opening it.
When you’re ready to eat your leftovers, you’ve got options. You can reheat them on the stovetop over medium heat for about five to seven minutes, stirring occasionally. You can microwave single servings on a microwave-safe plate for about one to two minutes. The stovetop method gives you better texture because the sauce gets a chance to warm through evenly without the risk of drying anything out.
If your sauce has gotten thick after sitting in the fridge, add just a splash of water and stir it in as you reheat. This loosens up the sauce and makes it coat the chicken nicely again. Don’t add too much water though, or you’ll end up with something that looks more like soup than a glaze. Start with a tablespoon and add more if you need it.
You can get creative with leftover honey glazed chicken. Shred it and put it in a salad. Pile it onto rice bowls with vegetables. Use it as a protein in fried rice. Wrap it in lettuce cups for a low-carb option. The honey garlic flavor works with so many different meal ideas, so you’re not stuck eating the exact same thing four days in a row.
8) Try these Main Course recipes next!
Honey Garlic Chicken Bites: Easy Lunch Recipes Ready in 22 Minutes
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Honey Garlic Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha or chili sauce
For the Cornstarch Slurry
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Heat your olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat for a few minutes until it’s nice and hot, shimmering around the edges.
- While that’s happening, toss your chicken cubes with garlic powder, paprika, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Make sure every piece gets coated.
- Once your skillet is ready, carefully add the chicken to the hot oil. If it’s crowded, work in batches. You want a little sizzle, not a steam situation.
- Let the chicken cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until it gets those beautiful golden edges and is cooked all the way through. Transfer it to a plate.
- In the same skillet, melt your butter and add the minced garlic. Let it get fragrant for about 30 seconds.
- Pour in your honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha. Stir everything together until it starts bubbling slightly.
- Add your cooked chicken back to the skillet and stir until it’s totally coated in that glossy sauce. Cook for a minute or two to warm everything through.
- In a small bowl, mix your cornstarch with water to make a slurry. Pour it into the skillet and stir well.
- Keep cooking until the sauce thickens up. You know it’s ready when you can run a wooden spoon across the bottom and it leaves a trail without the sauce rushing back in.
- Serve warm over rice. Top with sesame seeds and sliced green onions if you’re feeling fancy.
9) Honey Garlic Chicken Bites Recipe
10) Nutrition
Serving Size: 1 serving (approximately 1 of 4 servings) | Calories: 343 | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 816mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 250 IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
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