Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
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These Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken thighs are your new favorite chicken dish, believe me it’s just that good. Not only are they perfectly cooked and scrumptiously moist, but they’re swimming in a sweet, savory, and slightly spicy sauce that is perfect for spooning over your favorite starches.
Are you looking for something to whip up tonight that is savory, sweet, positively bursting with that aromatic garlic flavor, and swimming in a sauce that is down right drinkable? If you’re nodding your head to all these points then let me just say that this dish is your match made in heaven. It’s easy and relatively quick, and best yet easy to pair with your favorite salad or starch.
The brown sugar in this dish adds some really beautiful caramel notes to our dish that pair well with all that umami soy sauce. I used 8 yes…8 whole cloves of garlic all minced up in this dish to make it truly crave-able. A little hint of sriracha will heat up this dish, but if you don’t have much tolerance for spice feel free to leave it out!
How To Ensure Your Chicken Thighs Are Cooked Through
If you’re used to only really cooking with chicken breast just keep in mind that the color of the cooked meat will be different. Chicken breast cooks from pink to white whereas chicken thigh will cook darker, even a little pinkish even when done. So fear not if your thigh still has some color to it, as long as the internal temperature is 165 F degrees you’re good to go!
Keep in mind that we want a really moist end result with our chicken, so you’ll need to trust me on this one and shelve your fears of not completely stark white cooked chicken. I know it can be hard to say good bye to this age old belief, but for your taste buds sake I recommend letting go and embracing the pinkish hue!
Ingredients
- Chicken – Today we are using boneless and skinless chicken thighs, if you’d prefer to use bone in or skin on feel free! Just keep in mind that bone in will take longer to cook.
- Sugar – When using sugar in savory recipes like this one, I recommend using a sugar like brown that’ll add caramel notes and some dimension to your dish.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Sauce – Sriracha and soy sauce, regular as it’ll provide our dish with the salt needed for this recipe.
- Broth – I recommend using regular chicken broth for this recipe, we want that chicken flavor throughout and this liquid will give us that finger licking sauce.
- Seasoning – Just pepper to taste!
How To Make Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
- Preheat the oven and prep the chicken: Preheat your oven to 425 F degrees. Remove the chicken thighs from their packaging and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Combine the sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients together to a sauce pan and whisk over medium heat until all the sugar dissolves. Pour about half of the sauce in a large casserole dish, arrange the chicken thighs in the dish, then pour the remaining sauce over the chicken.
- Bake the chicken: Transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, basting with sauce every 10 minutes.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro if preferred, and serve.
Can I Use Chicken Breast?
Absolutely! Just keep in mind that chicken breast if boneless and skinless will cook quicker, it should only take about 20 to 25 minutes. Best way to tell when the chicken breast is when the internal temperature is 165 F degrees.
What To Serve With Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
When you try a little bit of this sauce, you’ll fall in love with it as much as I have – believe me on that one. You’ll want to spoon this sweet, savory, and ever so slightly spicy sauce over the carbs of your choice. Here are some of my recommendations below but feel free to whip up whatever strikes your fancy!
Cooking With Bone In Skin On Chicken Thighs?
Now I love chicken thighs any way you slice them, but my thigh recipe today will be slightly different if you choose to use this style of chicken thigh. You want to make sure that the skin still turns out crispy and the chicken is completely cooked through. If you’d like to ensure your chicken is cooked through completely, check out this recipe on my sister site, Craving Home Cooked.
How To Brine Your Chicken
If you’ve got the time, brine your chicken for 2 to 4 hours in a solution made with water, salt and other things you may prefer like soy sauce or beer. Basic brine ratio is 1 tbsp salt to 1 cup of water. This will allow that seasoning to penetrate into the meat and result in juicier, more flavorful, and more tender meat.
Leftovers
Fridge
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Freezer
Absolutely! Freeze this stored in airtight containers for up to 3 months! Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before heating back up in the oven, on the stove, or on the microwave.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try:
- Coq au Vin
- Roast Chicken
- Chicken Rice Pilaf
- Pollo Asado
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
- Garlic and Paprika Chicken
- Chicken Schnitzel
- Smothered Chicken
- Chicken With Garlic Herb Sauce
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Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 8 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prep the chicken: Preheat your oven to 425 F degrees. Remove the chicken thighs from their packaging and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Combine the sauce: Add all the sauce ingredients together to a sauce pan and whisk over medium heat until all the sugar dissolves. Pour about half of the sauce in a large casserole dish, arrange the chicken thighs in the dish, then pour the remaining sauce over the chicken.
- Bake the chicken: Transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, basting with sauce every 10 minutes.
- Garnish and serve: Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro if preferred, and serve.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
- Freeze this stored in airtight containers for up to 3 months! Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before heating back up in the oven, on the stove, or on the microwave.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This was so good and so easy. I did brine the thighs. Removed the skin and browned them in a pan before putting in the oven. A few extra minutes but worth it for the flavor. The heat was just perfect. My son and husband thought it was very tasty! Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
This was super tasty! I didn’t think sriracha was going to be a hit but it actually gave it a good kick!
Can i marinade the chicken, prep, a day before baking?
Yes, for sure!
This was SO easy and tasty! I used chicken breasts, what I had on hand, baked for 30 minutes at 400 and they were pretty tender and moist. Served over orzo to soak up the sauce.
Glad you liked it!
Looks amazing!! Can I use chicken drumsticks instead of chicken thighs? And would it still be the same temperature and time?!
You sure can, same temperature, they might take about 5 minutes more. It’s best to use a instant read thermometer to tell if your drumsticks are done, you’re looking for them to be around 170F.
Can I use this for turkey legs? What adjustments? Longer cooking time?
Yes, you can definitely use turkey legs. You will need to cook them longer at a lower temperature.
Preheat your oven at 350 degrees F and roast the turkey legs uncovered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the legs are golden brown and the internal temperature is 180 degrees F when taken with a meat thermometer. Let us know how it all turns out!
Quick Question: I’ve made this recipe before with chicken thighs and love it. Tonight I’m making it with breast, should I slice the breast to make them more thin like the thighs? I just want to make sure I do it right!
Actually you won’t need to cut them thinner. Just keep in mind that chicken breast if boneless and skinless will cook quicker, it should only take about 20 to 25 minutes. Best way to tell when the chicken breast is when the internal temperature is 165 F degrees.
Let us know how it turns out!
This was amazing!! The entire family loved it! Even my super picky teenager! I drizzled some of the sauce over steamed broccoli and she said it was the best ever!! Thank you!
That’s amazing, we are so glad she enjoyed it too!
This is one of the best recipes I have ever had and I cook it several times a month I love it so much!!
So I’m trying Keto… this looks and sounds amazing. Do you happen to know if I were to replace the soy sauce with liquid aminos, if it would be the same amount? As well as keto friendly brown sugar (truvia). If not it’s okay, I might just have to cheat! 😂😂
Hi Sara! Sorry, I’m not an expert when it comes to Keto so I can’t advise you one way or the other. 🙂
Can I replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar or maple syrup?
Should be fine.
I made this for the 10th time tonight and it is once again rated as the new favorite dish of anyone who tries it!!!
I will note that my family and I are weak with spice so I only use 1 tablespoon of Sriracha, which is amazing because it still gives that sriracha flavor without the heat!
I made this recipe tonight! A absolute hit for my family. Very easy to make a delicious. Thank you for sharing. I will be making this again.
My pleasure!
I absolutely adore your recipes!
Thank you, Kris!
question about chicken with grainy mustard, regular mustard, honey, oil, etc. You said to make in air fryer and bake for 18-20 minutes. I’m new to air fryer…….wouldnt the sauce just pour out of the fryer? I have a Cuisinart air fryer. Do I put baking pan beneath basket? thanks so much
The sauce should be sticky enough to coat the chicken, It shouldn’t pour out! Just make sure you use a brush to coat the chicken before putting it into the air fryer 🙂