This quick and easy honey garlic chicken marinade elevates your juicy chicken thighs, breasts, and wings into a sweet and savory masterpiece. It comes together in no more than 10 minutes with a handful of staple ingredients.
Why this recipe works
This honey garlic chicken marinade is sweet, sticky, and savory all bundled into one flavor-packed infusion to use on many different recipes from our honey garlic chicken thighs to honey garlic chicken breasts and honey garlic chicken stir fry. Plus, it doubles down as a lip-smacking sauce to spoon over meats or vegetables with a touch of cornstarch and water!
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
MARINADE – The marinade is made up of soy sauce, white wine vinegar, minced garlic, brown sugar, honey, and garlic salt. You can omit the garlic salt if desired or replace it with garlic powder. The soy sauce lends savory flavors and also works to tenderize and retain moisture. The brown sugar and honey act as sweeteners for a well-rounded flavor profile.
How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken Marinade
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Place all marinade ingredients into an immersion blender, and blend until smooth and no chunks remain.
- Place meat into a gallon-sized zip-top plastic bag. Pour marinade into the bag, seal the bag. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for up to 3 hours.
- If you have leftover marinade, easily transform it into a glaze by whisking 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 3 Tablespoons of water together then combine it with the marinade in a skillet. Heat until thickened and pour over the chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Yes, you can prepare the honey garlic chicken marinade a day in advance and store it sealed, in a jar, zip top bag, or air-tight container kept in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Yes! This marinade would work well on pork, salmon, and shrimp to name a couple. For fish or shrimp, I would suggest halving the marinade time to only 30 minutes. For thicker, tougher cuts of meat, you’ll likely need more time for the marinade to penetrate and do its job.
Serving Suggestions
Not only can you use honey garlic chicken marinade on our specific recipes, but you can use it on grilled or baked chicken as well as chicken wings, shrimp, salmon, and even meatballs as a glaze. To transform it into a glaze, add a little cornstarch and water to make a nice sauce for your finished dish. See the recipe card below for more details.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
Things You’ll Need
- immersion blender
Before You Begin
- This marinade will coat 2 – 2 1/4 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or about 3 pounds of skin on bone-in chicken thighs.
- You can prepare the honey garlic chicken marinade a day in advance and store it sealed, in a jar or air-tight container, kept in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Instructions
- Place all marinade ingredients into an immersion blender and blend until smooth and no chunks remain.
- Place meat into a gallon sized zip top plastic bag. Pour marinade into the bag, seal the bag. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for up to 3 hours.This marinade is perfect for our honey garlic chicken thighs, honey garlic chicken breasts, and honey garlic chicken stir fry
To Make It Into A Sauce
- Whisk 1 1/2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 3 Tablespoons of water together to create a slurry then combine it with the marinade in a skillet. Heat until thickened and pour over the chicken.
