One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken (Printable)

Tender chicken, fluffy rice, and crisp broccoli simmered in sweet honey garlic sauce. An easy Asian-inspired one-pan dinner.

# Required Ingredients:

→ Protein & Grains

01 - 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
02 - 1 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed

→ Vegetables

03 - 2 cups broccoli florets
04 - 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
05 - 3 green onions, sliced

→ Sauce

06 - 3 tablespoons honey
07 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
09 - 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
10 - 1 tablespoon sesame oil
11 - 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

→ Liquids

12 - 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

→ Garnish

13 - 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
14 - Sliced green onions

# Directions:

01 - In a small bowl, whisk together honey, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and black pepper. Set aside.
02 - Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil. Add chicken pieces and sear for 2-3 minutes per side until lightly golden.
03 - Add rinsed rice, carrots, and most of the green onions to the pan. Stir to combine.
04 - Pour the sauce and chicken broth into the pan, mixing well. Bring to a gentle boil.
05 - Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
06 - Lift the lid and scatter broccoli florets evenly over the rice without stirring. Replace the lid and cook for 8-10 minutes until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
07 - Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff rice gently with a fork.
08 - Serve hot, garnished with sesame seeds and reserved green onions.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Everything happens in one pan, which means minimal cleanup and maximum time doing literally anything else.
  • The honey-garlic sauce is so addictively balanced that even people who claim they don't like cooking at home ask for seconds.
  • It genuinely tastes like takeout, except it costs a fraction of the price and you know exactly what went into it.
02 -
  • If you stir the rice while it's cooking you'll end up with starch-released mush instead of separate fluffy grains—I learned this the hard way and it changed everything once I stopped fiddling.
  • The broccoli goes in at the very end because it only needs 8-10 minutes to cook, and if you add it earlier it becomes mushy and loses that slight snap that makes it worth eating.
03 -
  • Don't skip the searing step on the chicken—those few minutes of browning are what keep this from tasting like cafeteria food and turn it into something actually worth eating.
  • Buy good honey and good sesame oil because they're doing heavy lifting in a small amount of liquid, and cheap versions taste noticeably flat and lifeless.
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