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Chicken Lunch Dinner
4.6 from 165 votes

Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

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By: Joanna Cismaru •Last Updated: 10/14/22 81 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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.

Table of Contents

Toggle
  • How To Ensure Your Chicken Thighs Are Cooked Through
  • Ingredients
  • How To Make Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
  • Can I Use Chicken Breast?
  • What To Serve With Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
  • Cooking With Bone In Skin On Chicken Thighs?
  • How To Brine Your Chicken
  • Leftovers
  • More Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try:
  • Recipe: Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken thighs garnished with parlsey

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

overhead shot of ingredients needed to make Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
  • 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

process shots showing how to make Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Bake the chicken: Transfer the casserole dish to the oven and bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, basting with sauce every 10 minutes.
  4. Garnish and serve: Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro if preferred, and serve.
pouring brown sugar garlic sauce over chicken thighs

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!

  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Potato Salad
  • Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
  • Macaroni Salad
  • Roasted Potatoes
  • Coleslaw Salad

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.

overhead shots of Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken thighs in a casserole dish garnished with parsley

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.

overhead shot of baked chicken thighs and coleslaw in a black dish

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

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.

overhead shot of brown sugar garlic chicken thighs
4.60 from 165 votes

Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken

Prep 5 minutes minutes
Cook 40 minutes minutes
Total 45 minutes minutes
8
Rate Recipe Print Recipe
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.

Video

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℉. 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

  • 9×13-inch Casserole Dish

Notes

  1. Store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
  2. 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.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1servingCalories: 435kcal (22%)Carbohydrates: 16g (5%)Protein: 28g (56%)Fat: 28g (43%)Saturated Fat: 8g (50%)Cholesterol: 167mg (56%)Sodium: 489mg (21%)Potassium: 404mg (12%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 14g (16%)Vitamin A: 133IU (3%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 32mg (3%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
© Author Joanna Cismaru

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

overhead shot of brown sugar garlic chicken thighs

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Joanna Cismaru

Joanna Cismaru

I'm Joanna Cismaru, home cook, recipe developer, and the person behind JoCooks since 2011. I test every recipe in my own kitchen, multiple times, until it's actually worth making. My goal is simple: recipes that work, written the way a real person cooks.

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Hey there!

I’m Joanna Cismaru, home cook, recipe developer, and the person behind JoCooks since 2011. I test every recipe in my own kitchen, multiple times, until it’s actually worth making. My goal is simple: recipes that work, written the way a real person cooks.

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