I have been insanely excited to share this recipe with you! This sticky honey chicken recipe is what cravings were made for. And it comes together so fast using just a few staple ingredients.
A few weeks ago I was craving Asian food in a big way. Generally my Thai Basil Stir-fry is the perfect answer. But this time I wanted something sweeter. Something sticky and packed with umami flavors.
And this was the birth of this sticky honey chicken recipe.
Watch the me bring this dish together in this video 👇
Sticky Honey Chicken Recipe
First, we brown some chicken thighs. Or you can use chicken breasts.
Then shred with a stand mixer or in a bowl using two forks.
Next we make the sauce. I need you all to trust me on the sauce ingredients. On their own, they might sound a little strange, but, together, they make the most divine sauce for our chicken.
I use honey, tomato sauce (you can use ketchup), coconut aminos or soy sauce, garlic, a little sriracha (I like the Yellow Bird brand which is Paleo and 100% delicious), and juice from a fresh lime.
You can omit the sriracha if you don’t like heat, but I use a very little bit and let people add more once it is plated!
Toss the chicken in the sauce, add some sugar snap peas (or broccoli if you have it on hand)!
Let’s talk about rice. I make my rice in the Instant Pot and it is a dream. It comes out perfect every time. I generally use stock or water as the liquid for the rice, but, the other day, one of my best friends told me she uses canned coconut milk.
GAME. CHANGER.
You can add a can of full fat coconut milk to the Instant Pot instead of water or stock. That’s it. It is so creamy with a hint of coconut and I will now make rice like this for all my Asian dishes. (Full instructions on the rice below.)
We like to serve this dish with sliced avocado, topped with toasted sesame seeds.
I hope this meal brings you as much happiness as it has brought Jeremy and me. I have made it 5 times in the past two weeks and we’re still super into it. In fact, going to go reheat a plate right now. Byeeeeeeeee.
PrintSticky Honey Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 2 TBS butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 TBS soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 TBS tomato sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sriracha (optional)
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- 1 cup fresh sugar snap peas (optional)
- Sesame seeds (for garnish, optional)
For Coconut Rice
- 1 and 1/4 cups Basmati rice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 can (about 14 oz) full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
Very important note about the ingredients for the IP Coconut rice, this recipe uses Basmati rice which is the rice you need for the Instant Pot. Jasmine rice and Quick Minute White Rice all cook for much less time and it will burn in the Instant Pot. If you do not have Basmati rice, please cook using the stove top instructions below with the rice you have.
Instructions
- Trim excess fat off chicken thighs and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper.
- In a sauté pan over medium high heat add oil and butter.
- Once butter is melted, add chicken thighs. Brown chicken until cooked. About 4-5 minutes on each side.
- Remove chicken from pan to a bowl. Cover.
- In the same pan the chicken cooked in, over medium heat, add the soy sauce, honey, tomato sauce, garlic and sriracha. Mix and let simmer for 2 minutes while it thickens.
- Add lime juice and sugar snap peas. Simmer for an additional minute.
- Meanwhile, shred chicken with two forks or a in a stand mixer. Add shredded chicken to the sauce in the sauté pan. Mix to combine.
Serve over Basmati rice, cauliflower rice, or steamed veggies. Serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, slices of avocado and a wedge of lime.
Instant Pot Coconut Basmati Rice:
- Mix canned coconut milk so the fat and the milk are incorporated, add to IP. Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup water, and rice. Stir to combine.
- Lock the lid and move valve to “Sealing.” Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes. Allow for a natural pressure release for 7 minutes. Move valve to “Venting.”
- Give the rice and good stir and serve!
Stovetop Method for Coconut Milk Rice:
- Add 1 can coconut milk and 1/2 cup water to the pot. Add 1 and 1/4 cup rice and 1/2 tsp salt.
- Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Serve!
This recipe was amazing that pleased the entire family and it’s no easy task making three teens and a tween happy. I used chicken breasts and it was delicious. We will try thighs next time as I’m sure it will be even tastier. The rice was the best we ever had. This meal will be a staple in our house. Thank you so much for another tasty recipe Bri!!
Oh, this was so delicious! 10 thumbs up around my table. My husband nearly fell out of his chair, exclaiming “Where has this been all my life?!” (And psst: he already loves my cooking!) Thank you, Bri!! This is going in the rotation!
This was a huge hit with my family. Everyone said they were full but wanted to keep eating because it tasted so good.
Grocery shopping is a bit of a hit or miss these days with what we can find, so I used what I had on hand/could buy at the store.
I swapped out maple syrup for the honey. Shredded rotisserie chicken for the chicken breasts/thighs. And I didn’t have sesame seeds or siracha.
I warmed up the chicken in the butter and oil and then just followed the rest of the recipe as directed
When I saw this new recipe drop and I had almost every ingredient already in my kitchen, I knew I had to try it! My husbands words were, and I quote, “Seriously, I really really like it! I’m not even just saying that. Most things I just eat and don’t like it. But this is awesome! I want to say thank you for making this! Can you make this again?? That was dang good!” ????????????
Oh my word. So tasty! Such a surprise because it was so easy! The coconut rice was a great addition… This combo will make it onto our regular rotation! Thanks Bri.
Made this last night as I was in a pinch for time and happened to have all of the ingredients (or subs) on hand. Was a hit from my children (3,5,7) and my husband! The coconut rice really set it off and added a beautiful complexity to the flavor.
I shelf cooked some as I had some vegetables starting to look a little sad. The things I added or subbed:
I added green beans, onion, peas, and red pepper. I always add chia seeds (easy and boosts nutritional value.)
Doubled, maybe tripled the garlic (always do…especially during cold and flu season.)
I used ACV even though I had lime. I liked the idea of it and would like to use it more in recipes. Tasted before and after I added it and wow, definitely stepped it up!
I was trying to cook everything while my husband took my kids to play so I even did my chicken breasts in the instant pot, before I did the rice.
Will definitely start keeping coconut milk on hand! Found some in the back of the pantry and it was a game changer.
I have loved all of Bri’s recipes that is have tried, but this one was definitely a favorite in my house! My husband went back for 3 bowls of it! I already had some cooked chicken on hand so I just made the sauce and added to my chicken. It was super easy!!! I also tried making my rice in the Instant Pot with the coconut milk, and it was amazing! No time at all and easy to do. This will be a recipe I add to our rotation for when I want something simple but delicious!
Yalllllll!!! I cooked this and my husband said it tasted like his favorite restaurants Sesame Chicken. And so that’s all you need to know. My husband liked it. A+++. So good, Bri!
P.S. I used ketchup in the sauce, chicken breasts and no lime juice on hand. Still good!
This is so tasty! I love recipes that come together this quickly and are so full of flavor. My husband LOVED it and so did I. We will definitely make this one again!
Just made this tonight! So delicious & so easy!! All 3 boys and my husband loved it- and they’re picky eaters! So it’s a winner- thank you!!
Bri never steers me wrong. And this recipe is no exception. So flavorful. So easy. And so fast. It’s adaptable – we threw in some red bell pepper that needed to be cooked. And I for sure will be making my rice like this all the time now. All the thumbs up from my family!
Made this the other night and it was so good! Easy to make and a hit with the rest of the family. We added some sriracha for some spice, but that was our only change ???? Thanks for the recipe!
I made this recipe last night and my husband and I loved it! I switched up a few ingredients based on what we had on hand- chicken breast instead of thighs, brown rice, and broccoli instead of snap peas – and it was delicious! We also added some La Choy chow mein noodles on top for some crunch! Will definitely be making again! Thanks for the recipe, Bri!
My kitchen smelled like a restaurant and my whole family (picky 3-year-old included) LOVED it! I can’t wait to make it again…it was so easy! We didn’t have snap peas or rice, so we had roasted broccoli and cauliflower rice on the side and it was still delicious! Thanks Bri for making me feel like a fancy home chef! 🙂
This was super easy to prep and clean up afterwards. Bri gives easy-to-follow directions. She offers substitutions and optional ingredients so you can make it work for your family. My whole family loved it. My son said he wants it every night for dinner!
This recipe is fantastic! I love all the options for substitutes and my only issue is that I didn’t make enough for leftovers. My husband lost his mind over the depth of flavor and freshness, especially paired with the coconut milk rice (which is pretty far outside my comfort zone for rice but was DELICIOUS). After we ate, he proclaimed ‘this definitely needs to stay in the rotation!’ I couldn’t agree more. YUM.
This was such a simple and delicious dinner that the whole family loved! It was still great the next day as leftovers! We subbed the snow peas with broccoli and green beans because that’s what we had on hand! Will definitely be making this again!
This might be my favorite recipe from Bri yet – it was exactly how I was hoping it would taste. Must stock up on coconut milk to make rice this way again. And an instant hit with my husband. I wish I had bought ingredients to double it – going in our rotation for sure! Also, snap peas were perfect, though any greens you have on-hand will add a good contrast.
DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS!!! It was AMAZING! I knew it would be good because #BRI but y’all… my kindergartener asked if we could have it again tomorrow, and our daughter asked if we could instead “have it EVERY night.” Everyone loved it. Made it just as posted, using ketchup, no sriracha, and unfortunately, regular rice… no coconut milk because #quarantinelife. That will be rectified for the next time! Tomorrow night! This will be in the weekly rotation. Thanks, Bri!
This was delicious! Simple and quick to throw together with things I had on hand. The rice was a game changer. It was creamy and rich but not huge coconut flavor. My kids devoured it all and I barely have enough left over for one serving tomorrow.
Absolute game changer!! I’m going to make this every week now!
We had this for dinner tonight…so incredibly yummy and flavorful! Will definitely be going in our recipe box!
Can I use brown basmati rice and of so, how does that change the recipe/ratios? Thanks!!
Hi Sarah, I have never tried with brown basmati rice but I assume, if it is like other brown rice, it needs longer to cook. I would do 20 minutes on high pressure and then allow for an 8 minute natural pressure release.
I made mine in the crockpot just adding a cornstarch slurry to it with some stir fry veggies. Soooo good!
I made this sauce last night to put over TJ’s frozen turkey meatballs and they turned out so good! The sauce was so quick and easy to put together and then I just tossed the meatballs to get them coated. The coconut rice is also GAME CHANGER. So unbelievably comforting and delicious!
Made this last night and OMG IT WAS AMAZING. The coconut rice really puts it over the edge. Also, I used non-basmati rice in the instant pot, but just added about an extra cup of water and it worked great! So great that the texture even reminded me of arroz con Leche that my grandma used to make for me growing up so I sat some of the rice to the side and added a little sugar and cinnamon and it was PERFECT for a little dessert ☺️
This was remarkably easy to make and a crowd pleaser! It’s going in our rotation!
I’ve been trying a ton of new recipes during quarantine. 9 months in and this is hands down my favorite! This will be a repeat for sure. Planning to try the Basil Thai next. Thanks Bri!
I am so thrilled to hear this!! It is one of our favorites too. If you love this one you will devour the Thai Basil Str Fry! Enjoy!
OHMYGOSH I am so happy I tried this tonight! My entire family loved it (and that just never happens). My kids are 9, 11, and 13 and they went back for seconds. Even the touch of serving it with avocado slices and lime just made the whole meal sing. Thank you for an approachable and flavorful recipe that will be a regular in our house now!
So yummy!
I’ve made this twice for my family and it’s been a big hit. I love that the sauce is made with ingredients I always have in the house. Thank you Bri for sharing this recipe!
Hi Bri! My family loves this recipe. Do you know how we could double the amount of rice in the instant pot? Thank you for sharing!
Again, 4/4 people in our family love this! I love it with the snap peas, but we rotate veggies based on what we have on hand – it’s great with roasted broccoli or kale, or a rice-vinegar marinated cucumber salad on the side.
I have now made this 3 or 4 times and it never ceases to amaze me how DELICIOUS it is. Not only do my husband and I love it, my (rather picky when it comes to dinner) kiddos both gobble it up. More often then not, we eat it with Bri’s coconut rice (which is flawless – the perfect ratio of everything) and roasted broccoli or some cucumber drizzled in seasoned rice vinegar. A winner that is now in our normal rotation.
A friend made this for me when I had a baby and now it’s my go to any time we have company or I need to make a meal for someone. Always so YUM. And the coconut rice is 🤌🏾😘 and I use it for so many other recipes !