Tender and juicy Honey Soy Baked Chicken Thighs are quick to throw together with only a few ingredients.
An easy dinner ready in less than 30 minutes with a mouthwatering honey soy sauce. Boneless and skinless baked chicken thighs are easy to make in one pan. The perfect weeknight or weekend recipe!
BAKED CHICKEN THIGHS
Most people prefer juicy thigh meat because they are full of flavour, but may not be familiar on how to bake them in the oven. Searing thighs in a skillet is normally the easiest and most popular option, however, thighs are just as easy roasting or baking.
Chicken thighs produce delicious natural pan juices that blend into the sauce while baking. You only need a few minutes of prep time to have juicy tender baked chicken thighs.
Let the oven do the work for you!
Should I use boneless skinless chicken thighs or bone in with skin? I use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe because they yield the best results. However, you can use bone-in skin-on thighs if you have those on hand. They work just as well with this recipe, but will take about 10 minutes more to cook. Keep an eye on them.
CHICKEN MARINADE
Grab a large, shallow bowl to get your marinade together. You only need:
- Soy sauce (use a low sodium soy to control the amount of sodium going in)
- Honey
- Green onions (or shallots)
- Cooking oil (use a vegetable oil or canola oil)
- Fresh minced garlic
- White vinegar (apple cider or rice wine vinegar can be used instead)
- Sesame oil (completely optional)
- Fresh minced ginger
As always, you can substitute any ingredient you dislike to make these baked chicken thighs suitable to your taste.
(FOR THE FULL LIST OF INGREDIENTS, SEE RECIPE BELOW)
Mix the marinade ingredients together before adding your chicken, and marinate for 30 minutes or overnight. If you don’t have time to marinate, don’t worry too much. The sauce has so much flavour, you can get away with baking them right away
CAN YOU COOK CHICKEN IN ITS MARINADE? Yes you can in this recipe because the marinade cooks together with the baked chicken thighs!
HOW TO BAKE CHICKEN THIGHS
You won’t want to stand at your stove after trying our baked chicken thighs recipe!
Rinse thighs off first, then pat dry with paper towels before seasoning. Using a cast iron skillet or baking dish to cook them in, arrange chicken thighs in a single layer and pour over the marinade.
HOW LONG DO I COOK CHICKEN THIGHS IN THE OVEN AND WHAT TEMPERATURE?
Bake boneless skinless thighs at 425°F (or 220°C) for 20-25 minutes, turning them twice while baking to ensure they stay juicy while baking. Lastly, broil under high heat to get charred edges for 5 minutes.
Baked chicken thighs should have an internal reading of 165°F (or 70°C).
Be sure to check out our Facebook page to see our delicious food videos!
MORE CHICKEN THIGH RECIPES
Chicken Thighs With Creamy Mushroom Garlic Sauce
Garlic Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Oven Baked Chicken And Rice
Chicken Cacciatore
Honey Mustard Chicken
Honey Soy Baked Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic minced (or 4 large cloves garlic, minced)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar (apple cider or rice wine vinegar -- OPTIONAL)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil OPTIONAL
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
- 2 1/2 pounds (1.2 kg) chicken thighs (skinless, boneless)
- Salt and pepper to season
- Fresh chopped parsley to garnish
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, green onions, cooking oil, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil and ginger. Mix well and set aside.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towel. Trim off any excess fat. Season with salt and pepper then transfer chicken to the bowl with the marinade. Cover and marinade chicken for at least 30 minutes if time allows (or overnight).
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Transfer chicken along with the marinade to a cast iron skillet or baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping twice while baking to ensure the chicken doesn't dry out on top.
- Broil for 5 minutes at high heat until golden browned and slightly charred on the edges. Chicken should have an internal temp of 165°F (or 70°C).
- Garnish with parsley and optional sesame seeds.
- Serve chicken with pan juices over steamed rice, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, regular noodles or mashed potatoes.
Lindsey says
Oh man, I have never commented on a recipe on a website before, despite making hundreds and hundreds of recipes that I’ve found online, but this one I just had to. This recipe comes out perfect every sing time! I’ve made it for myself and my fiancé dozens of times and it’s our favourite meal! So good!
Sonja says
So delicious. I used sweet chili sauce instead of honey. Be careful with the broil it can burn easy. I’d say 3 min vrs 5min. Keep an eye on it. I will make this again and again and again.
Alana says
I’ve made this atleast 10 times now and it’s one of the few meals that all 4 of my kids and my husband love. I make this with a simple fried rice and a side of edamame. Thank you for the recipe!!
Chris says
Very good. The thighs were tender and moist. This is another keeper. Next time I think I will increase the sauce and put it aside to heat up with a cornstarch slurry and pour it over the cooked chicken.
Jane doner says
This is absolutely perfect!
Ahm says
Amazing!! Did mine with nine in, marinated for 5h and they Turned out nice and brown, charred In the corners.
Got all the praise, my 2yr old loves it as well.
Todd says
This was great! Family loved it even the one who does not eat chicken thighs. Sauce was very tasty. If I had planned better, I could have easily made this in less than 45 minutes.
VikkiRo10 says
I’ve made this recipe at least half a dozen times. The first time I followed everything to a “T” and it came out beautifully. More recently, I use equal parts soy sauce and honey (instead of 1/4 c and 1/3 c, I use 1/4 c of both)and began cutting the amount of chicken to about 1.5 lbs, make the same amount of marinade ,and add a couple of cups of chopped broccoli that I simply season with oil, salt, and pepper. Cooking it in the same pan as the chicken, it gets some additional flavor from the extra marinade. Serve it over steamed rice with some of the pan juices and it’s perfection. Thank you truly for this recipe my kids (2 and 4), as well as my husband, LOVE it.
Note: for little kiddos make sure you chop the ginger finely! I got lazy on one of my attempts and my 2-year-old got a big chunk of spicy ginger and was not happy–he survived though lol
Elsi says
I am so in love with your blog and all the recipes I’ve tried so far have been roaring successes, this one included. I have prepared this twice now, last night I had had the chicken marinated overnight and it turned out even better. I used walnut oil (and shallots) and can highly recommend that in the marinade. My partner can’t get enough of this dish.
Kirsty lee gillis says
Made this minus the green onion because I didn’t have them on hand but still came out really yummy!
Susan Steven says
My family loved it!!!l All disappeared.
Lynette aka breezermom says
These chicken thighs are delicious. Mine did not get that beautiful color like in the photos on the site, but still tasted fabulous. I let my chicken marinate for about 6 hours. I imagine these would be great on the grill as well.
Lana P says
Absolutely delicious and super easy. The only change I made was to use more sesame oil and less canola, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Will definitely be making this again!
Maureen Tranter says
I made this about 6 weeks ago and am doing it again today. We are An English couple in our 80s and have quite small appetites so I had some left over which froze very well. I used shallots as didn’t understand ‘green onions” and not sure what is meant by “broil” so just added a bit longer in the oven.
Thank you for this delicious dish
Bryce Holland says
I believe in England green onions are scallions or spring onions. Grilling in your oven is what we call broil in the US. I hope that helps!
Lesley says
Absolutely delicious! Loved, loved, loved the sauce. Even better than our regular go to. Marinated all day and grilled the chicken. I can’t wait to have this again!!
Icebear says
Excellent! The whole family loved it. I especially liked the nice quick lite marinade/sauce. We will absolutely add it to our rotation and make it again soon. I served it with fresh basil and brocolli. Thanks for sharing!
Julia says
Really excellent dish! Everyone in my family loved it. Chicken has a lot of flavor even though I marinated it for only 30 minutes.
Marie says
Just made this and the family loved it. Made a couple of adjustments….added some red pepper flakes to the marinade. We cooked on it the grill on a mat which worked out great for flavor. When it came off the grill, we tossed with more fresh chopped green onion and lots of fresh cilantro.
Kelly says
Made this tonight — it was great! I cut the boneless/skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces after trimming the fat, and marinated for a few hours. Just before baking, I stirred in thinly sliced white onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Stirred every 15 minutes while cooking. I skipped the broil step, but might do that next time. Before serving over Jasmine brown rice, I topped with fresh chopped chives and Thai basil from my garden. SO YUMMY!!
Mary Ellen says
OMG! this was awesome!! it looked EXACTLY like the picture! EXACTLY! And the taste was perfection! I will make this a million more times! P.S. I didn’t have green onions (scallions) but used regular onions instead and it didn’t seem to matter at all. YAH for cast iron frying pan!!!
Michelle Reynolds says
This was delicious! My husband and daughter loved it. I let it marinate overnight and the chicken was juicy and full of flavor.
Rick says
Delicious. Boys gobbled up two pieces in silence. No talking at table means they
love it. Wife ate 2 pieces and she does not like chicken thighs. After reading comments
I mixed in 1 TBS of cornstarch to tighten sauce up. Tonight I’m going to add 2TBS-2.5TBS
and see how it comes out. I subbed in scallions because that is what I had on hand. And
added 5-spice to enhance the warm flavors.
Bob Standen says
Hi, well I purchased a 5 pack of skin on bone in thighs. I made the marinade and tweaked it, put in 1/2 cup of honey and 1/3 cup dark cooking soy, 1/2 cup chopped shallots and white pepper. Marinaded it for 48 hours in the fridge. Placed them skin up and cooked for 25 minutes then turned them for another 10 minutes cooking. Let then cool and removed the excess fat/oil with kitchen paper towels then packed them with the excess marinade in the fridge. For my dinner that night I placed 1 thigh and the jellied marinade with buttered noodles and mixed steamed veges into a closed oven tray, reheated at 160 C for 30 minutes. The meat was tender, moist and super tasty. Will do this again, thanks.
Rick says
Beautiful flavors! I did add 5 spice in addition to add another layer of warmth. Also added in a tablespoon of corn starch to tighten sauce a bit. Next time I’ll try 2 tbsp of corn starch to get that crazy good glaze. My wife hates chicken thigh. But she loved it so much she ate 3. Kids also devoured it.
Denis M says
Excellent recipe, marinated for 4 hours had to run errands so I put in small roaster with lid on roaster and in bbq for 35 minutes @ 325f then I put the chicken on a bbq cook mat at 350f for another 30 and put the remaining Leftover marinade on pieces of chicken It was excellent do it again super easy my daughter was over for supper and commented on me not asking any directions for cooking from her… also made pineapple rice as a side dish.
Keith says
The recipe is excellent! Had all of the ingredients and the flavor was awesome. I didn’t make any changes. I used a large iron skillet and didn’t crowd the chicken. The cooked marinade worked well not only as a basting sauce, but was delicious over steamed rice.
Sandy says
I just made this today and it was so delicious, thank you for sharing! I’ll definitely be making this again <3
Susanne says
Mine didn’t turn out quite right which I think was due to using skin on chicken thighs – they released too much fat making for a runny sauce and the skin charred when I started the broil. It didn’t matter through because the taste was amazing! Still a 10/10 even if it didn’t produce a perfect sauce. I did add umami to the marinade.
Kimmy says
DELICIOUS! Made these and they are absolutely amazing!
Susan Foster says
Delicious and attractive. Put it over basil lime rice
Elizabeth Bessette says
This recipe will be forever added to my cookbook! It is absolutely delicious. We made it the first time with thighs and it turned out great! The second time we cubes breasts and when removed from the oven tossed it around in the sauce right away and a few more times as it cooled a bit. They had a lovely layer of sauce coated all over! We thought about making skewers as well.
Ruby Beauchamp says
I have made this twice and it comes out perfectly as written. It’s delicious and the leftovers are just as good as the first time. We love this over rice. Great recipe!
Joanna says
Loved this recipe! Made it this evening and it was delicious. I noticed in the comments someone mentioned the color was pale however I didn’t have that problem. I did baste the chicken when I flipped it and then broiled it as instructed. The color wasn’t as vibrant as the picture but it wasn’t pale. With the liquid left from cooking I opted to reduce it in a small saucepan until it thickened and added more honey for sweetness. Once I got the consistency and taste I liked I sprinkled sesame seeds and green onions!
Carey S. says
Fool-proof recipe with excellent results. My sauce came out thick and dark, like in the author’s photos, and it was a nice thick glaze for the chicken. (I used a dark local honey.) I did not pat the chicken dry – I just dumped it in a zip lock bag with the marinade and left it in the fridge overnight and then transferred it all to an enameled cast iron brassier. After cooking at 425 for 25 minutes, I took the pan out of the oven, removed the chicken to a plate, and then reduced the sauce for about 5-7 minutes on the stove to thicken it up. My only recommendation would be to double the amount of marinade, so you’ll end up with more sauce. I served this with coconut rice and chopped fresh scallions on top. Did not have a single bite left. My boyfriend, 2 guests, and myself loved it.
Jill says
I have the chicken marinating and plan to put it on the outside gril. Wish me luck. I will boil the marinade to pour over to finish
Alfredo says
Tasted bu the chicken was not dark and saucy as shown in the I’m pic . The marinade was watery but either way it tasted good
Ana says
Mine was the same- chicken was pale and marinade watery after baking for 20 mins – but then I broiled the chicken as suggested in the recipe, and this gave the chicken a beautiful golden color/charred edges and thickened the sauce – success! I only broiled for 3 mins. since chicken was cooked after baking.
Natasha says
After it’s done baking take the chicken out and set aside. Put the pan with the sauce on the stovetop and add a corn starch slurry mixture and thicken it up. And the chicken back to the sauce and spoon sauce over the chicken. Broil it for a few minutes and you will get the same chicken she has pictured with the recipe. I figured it out making it my first time. I do a lot of Karinas recipes and this is One I will be making regularly. My whole family loved it!
Olga says
Absolute success!!! I made small changes (just didn’t have the ingredients in my pantry) instead of white vinegar used balsamic, use white onions finely chopped and replaced honey with pure maple syrup. It was great! Super! Really important to keep turning them every so often.
Nancy says
Thank you – this is delicious! My dinner did not look as good as the pictures – mine was pale in color and there was something solidified in the marinade which I couldn’t make out. Any ideas? Thanks
Kristine says
Maybe the ginger or garlic?
David says
Just made this for my family and everyone loved it, including my incredibly picky son. I used black molasses instead of honey.
Michelle says
I’m looking to try this tonight, but it doesn’t say how many chicken thighs to use? I will do maybe 6-8 and see what happens.
Alexis says
Next time you make the meal, at the store if you buy the chicken thighs in a pack, on the pack should have the weight in pounds(lbs) and it will have the number of chicken thighs there. If you’re buying fresh meat, they should have a scale to weigh the number of chicken thighs to equal that many pounds.
Alisabeth says
Love this! I noticed the sauce was a little thin so I added some cornstarch before putting it under the broiler. Served over a brown rice/quinoa blend with a side of green beans and my husband loved it!!! This will get added to the rotation for sure
Ryan Boulton says
Very good! Husband and all 4 kids(11-17) loved! Simple, yummy
Neil says
Wow, this recipe was amazing. I did not have sesame oil or green onions on hand, but the recipe came out great. I sliced my garlic and julienned my ginger and they were candied.
Will definitely make this a lot.
Eva Lippi says
I’ve tried this once and it was fabulous. Although the second and third time I’ve done this recipe, it turned out really watery although I think I’ve done step by step the same … any suggestions please? What am I doing wrong?
Rachel says
Are you pat drying the chicken with paper towels before u season with salt and pepper? Hope this helps. Love this recipie!!
Nicole says
This is one of my boyfriend’s favourite meals, and he’s not a big chicken fan. I love cooking Asian food, and this is SUPER easy to make. If I’m thinking ahead, I try to let the chicken marinate for at least a day. SO much more flavour, but if you don’t have that much time it still tastes good. I make this at least once a month, if not twice. Thanks!
Tal says
Hello, can I freeze the cooked chicken?
Thanks!
Kelley says
This turned out excellent. It was such a great meal and was the perfect balance of salty and sweet.
Laura says
Made this dish this afternoon. It was very delicious. It will be a repeat for summer get togethers.
Camille Hobbs says
Hi, Karina
I have tried your roast turkey recipe last week. That was an awsome dinner dish for our family my husband and son like that very much. Today I come to your website and found this another yummy honey soy baked chicken thighs recipe I will try this very soon. Your step by step instruction makes my cooking very easier. Thanks a lot.
Ayan says
Will be trying this tonight! Needed something fast to make in a few hours but still flavorful
Tracey says
OMG! This was soooo good!!! I had to substitute shallot for the green onions and powdered ginger for fresh but I did use the optional ingredients in the recipe! 5 stars for sure! I made sure to flip the chicken after a couple minutes during the broil section as well and it made the sticky sauce get on every side…yum! Thank you for a great recipe!
Terry Grafenstine says
Delicious! The marinade was great. I was out of garlic so I added a Chinese five spice powder. After baking/broiling, my sauce was still very thin, so I transferred everything into a frying pan (not cast iron because I don’t have one). I added a roux made with corn starch, and it did the trick. End result looked just like the picture on the website. I served with rice and a beets and sweets casserole.
Sarah says
Soooo good! My kids and I really enjoyed it. I followed the recipe pretty closely. Used bone in thighs. It was perfect.
Charles Rhodes says
Did this tonight for first time. Simple and delicious. Added fish sauce because we like the umami punch it adds. It is a keeper and I’m thinking of variations, like Korean chilis and others, and wonder what adaptations for pork. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
Rebecca says
Excellent recipe. I used bone in thighs and because I was out of green onion, I substituted with onion powder. Was still very good, though I will eventually try it with the green onion. I expect it will be even better. I also used dried ginger powder instead of fresh. Definitely use the liquid as a sauce.
Kate says
Excellent. Made it for dinner tonight. My son had 4. I had one. ? Will make more next time
Janna says
Excellent! I followed all of your directions exactly and made no changes. The chicken was moist, tasty, and delicious. Plus it was super easy to throw together and cook. Really good recipe.
John G. says
This recipe is a keeper! I made this last night with boneless/skinless chicken breasts, and it turned out great, and produced some of the most tender chicken I’ve had in a long time. While it was cooking, I turned the meat at 7 minutes, 15 minutes, and 22 minutes – just before putting under the broiler. The sauce turned out a little more liquidy than the pictures show, but the flavor was delicious! I also had some powerded Korean bbq seasoning (from WalMart) in the house already, so I added a few dashes of that the chicken while it was marinating. The chicken came out just a little charred on the top (from broiling) and moist and tender throughout. Great recipe!!
W Veery says
I made this tonight exactly as directed. I had too much chicken so I divided the pieces in both a cast iron skillet and a baking dish, with equal spacing among pieces. The result in the cast iron skillet was spectacular. The result in the baking dish was different and created a watery boiled liquid with no caramelization and chicken that looked boiled. I rescued the ‘boiled’ dish by finishing it off in the cast iron pan and, though I cooked it a bit too long it came out just as juicy as the first batch. Now I realize the recipe called for a ‘cast iron skillet or baking dish’ and the baking dish was likely intended to be cast iron. The overall result looked exactly like the final cooked dish. My family loved this!!
yeahno says
Great recipe, I didn’t have honey on hand so substituted 3tbsps of brown sugar and one tbsp on ketchup but was a touch sweet for my taste. I also added a table spoon of rice vinegar, 1/2 tsp of crushed red chili flakes and extra garlic and ginger and some vegetable broth i had on hand. Easy peasy!
Sergio says
I made this dish despite the low rating and I was so happy I did! I dressed it up a little spicier than suggested, but it cooked my chicken thighs perfectly and made for a happy house!
I paied it with egg noodles in a herb butter sauce and threw broccoli and onion onto the pan with the chicken. Best!
Kevazz says
Delish… One of my family favourites
Gregory Paul Woodard says
I substituted some Chinese vinegar and it added a nice touch. Great recipe!
Luz says
I have never been a fan of chicken thighs. After making this specifically for my husband, I decided to have a little taste. I wound up having a thigh all to myself! Thank you for coming up with this delicious recipe. I did add a couple of teaspoons of fresh orange juice to the marinade to give it a citrusy tang.
Sulva says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made this recipe exactly as stated for my husband and I (including all the optional ingredients) and it was amazing!!!! Loved it!
Mia says
This was heavenly. Used chicken thighs with bone and skin. Only used low sodium soy sauce, honey and minced garlic in water. Flavor was still fantastic.
Tried some new rice that was extremely bland but once I poured this sauce over it… it became heavenly as well!!!
Laurel says
Taste Awesome! Turned out real juicy. Don’t do what I did!!! I don’t have a cast iron skillet as directed so I lined a cookie sheet with foil. Unfortunately the juices ran under the foil and killed my cookie sheet, so I didn’t have all the extra juice to go with my rice. Don’t know why I didn’t put it in a casserole dish. Will make again and bake it in a dish.
Phyllis Callahan says
Absolutely the best chicken I have ever made or eaten!! The sauce is incredible!!! Easy and quick to make! Will make it many more times!!?
Christina says
Very delicious! My husband loved it!
carol ricardo says
Used this for lunch prep and was soooo happy. Assembled it in the morning and left in to marinate until the evening. Just finished eating it, and it was DELICIOUS. Will definitely be making it for next week! Thank you 🙂
Maria says
Followed the recipe exact. Fabulous. Tasty and delicious! Thank you for another winning recipe.
Dar says
Thank you for this quick and yummy recipe! Gave it a whirl this evening with oven-baked Russet potatoes and a side of steamed cauli-broc mix. Simple, tasty, not overly-filling – perfect! Used a couple of shallots in lieu of the green onion, and only had dried garlic on hand. Did not pre-season the chicken (soy sauce being salty enough for us); did not garnish with parsley nor sesame seeds – the menfolk at my table are not interested in “fancy” meals. Ha! All in all, your directions were spot on and the whole thing came out very nicely! Will put into our “favorites” rotation. 🙂
Maria says
My family loved this chicken thank you!
Anne says
Made enough for two serves but so delicious ate the lot. Will make for my grandsons when they visit next week, so easy. Many thanks Anne
Janet R. says
Delicious! I had to use jarred garlic and dry ginger powder, but it was still very good. I will make it again soon.
Joy McClintock says
Can you substitute chicken breasts instead of thighs? My family prefers white meat and this recipe sounds sooooo good I would like to try it with chicken breasts. What changes would have to be made if using chicken breasts?
Monika says
Thank you so much for another mouth watering recipe! I don’t usually comment but I follow your website as well as the FB page for daily inspiration!
What prompted me to comment this time is the part where you mention rinsing the chicken thighs, is there any particular reason why that is suggested? In the UK we have pretty strict guidelines advising to never wash poultry, I’ll attach the link so you can have a look at your leisure.
Once again thank you for all the wonderful recipes, take care!
Bakerman says
It rinses off the grainy bone residue that’s left over from cutting the chicken. Just make sure you clean your sink out good after doing it.
Lynda says
Could I put this receipe in a crock pot and cook it?
Pam says
Is is possible to substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts and, if so, how should the cooking time be adjusted? Thank you!
Luke says
Yea why not? This probably works for most meats just need to adjust cooking time accordind to the meat..