Baked Honey Sesame Chicken
Skip the take-out and try this easy homemade version instead – it’s unbelievably crisp-tender and packed with so much flavor!
Forgive me if I have been making too many chicken thigh recipes lately. It’s clearly become an obsession of mine, and this Asian twist has quickly become my favorite one of all.
The chicken turns out to be wonderfully crisp and tender, packed with a sweet-savory goodness to it all – the absolute perfect flavor combination.
And it goes beautifully over a bowl of rice, especially when you mix in that leftover sauce. But you should be warned that with this sauce, you’ll just skip over the chicken and make a meal out of the rice!
Baked Honey Sesame Chicken
Skip the take-out and try this easy homemade version instead - it's unbelievably crisp-tender and packed with so much flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
For the sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- To make the sauce, whisk together honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, ginger, Sriracha, sesame oil, cornstarch and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
- Melt butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Stir in honey mixture.
- Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred.
- Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds and green onions, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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This was so very good. I will definitely put this on my favourites list.
This chicken was absolutely delicious! I used bone in thighs but I remove skin as I do with all my chicken except wings. I served it with vegetable chowmein.
Delicious recipe! Family loved it. Will definitely make again! Thx!!
Made as directed. Damn good. Occasionally I will find myself thinking about this dish. Time to thaw out some thighs!
I used half the soy, using lower-sodium soy, avocado oil instead of butter, and tomato paste instead of ketchup. Lower sodium and lower fat due to dietary restrictions. Still tasted great! Thank you.
SUPER delicious! perfect for drumsticks
So good! Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Had no ginger or ground ginger, so I used a 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and it still was yum! I also had no rice vinegar, so I substituted with apple cider vinegar, it was still delicious! I did not want to ruin any of my pans, so instead of sticking them into the oven, I put a casserole dish into the oven while everything was getting cooked uptop, I think it worked out well, speaking this was the first time using the recipe! I will be enjoying this throughout the week!
Once again, you’ve made a fool-proof, perfectly balanced recipe! My husband said (as other reviewers commented) that he could have the sauce on anything, “even a cardboard plate”. Sticky, sweet and spicy. I used both bone-in skin-on thighs, as well as chicken wings. I wasn’t able to pre-sear on the stovetop, but it still caramelized wonderfully with an extra 10 minutes in the oven. I also marinated the chicken pieces for about 30 minutes beforehand at room temp, then boiled the remaining marinade for an extra dose of glaze at the end of baking. Thank you!
We just made this for dinner and it was delicious! So easy and tasty, everyone from my 18 month old through to husband loved it!
Incredibly flavorful, juicy, and crispy. Everything you want in a chicken dish. This is now in our regular rotation at our home. Both my husband and I love to cook and we fight over who gets to make this one.
I made this last night for couple of friends and everybody loved it.I made it with 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs and 1 5 oz skinless boneless chicken breast since 1 person didn’t like dark meat and it was great. So easy and damn delicious!
OMG! This was so very tasty. Loved the crunchy carmelized topping. The sauce was so incredible that my husband was scooping out every last drop from my skillet. I roasted asparagus and broccoli and served steamed jasmine rice along side the chicken.
This recipe is going in my “keeper” file for sure. Thanks for sharing your delicious recipes with us.
Absolutely amazing. Seriously, it’s ridiculously good.
I don’t like chicken thighs personally but the rest of the family does and when they went on sale for super cheap this week I decided to try this recipe out. I had 9 thighs in the package I got that were pretty large so I 1.5x the sauce recipe but followed directions exactly and these were a huge hit. I made with stir fry veggies and coconut rice. I am bringing leftovers to the grandparents for them to eat for dinner tonight. I have no doubt they will also enjoy it.
Delicious! Turned out tangy & flavorful. Will definitely be making again! Only difference was I added sandal oelek to the sauce since I like it extra spicy! Beautiful to look at too. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious!!!
This recipe is delicious! This is probably the fourth time I’ve made it and I’ve been meaning to leave a review. Served with with rice and sugar snap peas.
I’ve made this recipe at least 12 times– it’s perfect when friends are over for dinner! Typically I use boneless skinless chicken thighs, annnnd I double the sauce because it’s just that good. Thank you!
It’s such a good one!
Made this last night to use up some chicken thighs taking up room in my freezer. Unfortunately, I spaced the ginger. Even with that omission, it was wonderful. Served over Ancient Grains with chopped roasted root vegetables. Next time, I will drain off more of the fat (drained off 2/3, will drain off much more) and will double the sauce (sharing it caused family strife). I didn’t bother broiling since the chicken caramelized nicely during baking.
I made this recipe last week for my husband and myself, and hubby cannot stop talking about how good this tasted. He wants me to add it to my “regular receipe rotation.” Compliments are sometimes hard to come by, so I wanted to let you know. Thank you!!! 🙂
I love your easy to follow, delicious recipes! I especially like the recipes that are completed in one pan/baking sheet. Keep them coming!!
You rock!!!
Thank you so much, Linda!