Easy Honey Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

This delicious honey teriyaki chicken recipe is naturally sweetened with fresh orange and honey, and comes together in under 30 minutes!

I’m always looking for quick chicken recipes bursting with flavor, and this recipe delivers! We’ve already shared our homemade teriyaki sauce and this sticky teriyaki chicken, so if you liked those recipes, you are sure to love this spin. The sauce does double duty as a quick marinade and requires only 6 simple ingredients.

I love serving this dish over plain white rice or, my personal favorite, coconut rice. It’s also fantastic paired with veggies like our sautéed bok choy, roasted green beans, or roasted broccoli.

Key Ingredients

• Chicken: I love boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. They cook quickly and turn out so juicy and tender. Feel free to substitute chicken breasts.
• Honey: I usually use plain sugar for my homemade teriyaki sauce, but in this recipe, I swap the sugar for honey, adding a floral, sweet flavor.
• Soy Sauce: Use light soy sauce or light tamari. Dark soy sauce or tamari will make the sauce taste too rich.
• Orange: Another change from authentic teriyaki is using fresh orange juice to add an extra layer of flavor. Fresh squeeze is best as it usually has more of a tart flavor profile, while store-bought is typically a bit more sweet.
• Ginger: Honey, orange, and ginger work so well that I add a tablespoon of finely grated ginger to this recipe. It makes the dish smell and taste incredible.
• Mirin: This sweet Japanese rice wine adds flavor and gives the teriyaki sauce a beautiful luster. You can usually find it in the international aisle of larger grocery stores or Asian markets. If you can’t find it, substitutes include dry sherry, sweet marsala wine, dry white wine, or rice vinegar. You may need to add a touch more honey to the sauce when using a substitute.
• Sesame Oil: I use toasted sesame oil, which adds a lovely, nutty aroma to the sauce.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Teriyaki Chicken

Tip 1: Start by marinating. Whisk the marinade ingredients in a bowl (soy sauce, honey, orange juice, ginger, mirin, and sesame oil). Then, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and toss them into the marinade. Let the chicken soak up all that flavor for 10 to 15 minutes, then move to the stove to cook it.

Tip 2: Our marinade doubles as sauce. Our marinade doubles as our sauce as it cooks down, thickens, and sticks to the chicken. Use a slotted spoon to add the marinated chicken to hot oil in a pan, then cook until browned on all sides. Pour in the marinade and let everything simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the marinade thickens and clings to the chicken. Serve your chicken however you like. I especially love it over rice!

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