Honey Garlic Grilled Chicken (Printable)

Juicy grilled chicken thighs with a sticky honey garlic glaze, perfect for easy summer dining.

# What You Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, approximately 2 pounds
02 - 1 teaspoon salt
03 - ½ teaspoon black pepper

→ Marinade

04 - ⅓ cup honey
05 - ¼ cup soy sauce, low-sodium preferred
06 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
07 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
08 - 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
09 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, optional
10 - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional

→ Garnish

11 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
12 - Lemon wedges for serving

# How to Make It:

01 - Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season both sides evenly with salt and black pepper.
02 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together honey, soy sauce, minced garlic, olive oil, vinegar, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes until well combined.
03 - Place chicken thighs in a large zip-top bag or shallow dish. Pour marinade over chicken, ensuring all pieces are thoroughly coated. Seal and refrigerate for minimum 30 minutes, up to 4 hours for enhanced flavor development.
04 - Preheat grill to medium-high heat, approximately 400°F. Lightly oil the grill grates to prevent sticking.
05 - Remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess marinade to drip off. Reserve the remaining marinade for finishing glaze.
06 - Place chicken skin-side down on preheated grill. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes per side until deeply browned and internal temperature reaches 175°F. Use meat thermometer to verify doneness.
07 - While chicken grills, pour reserved marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes to thicken and ensure food safety from raw egg exposure.
08 - During the final 2 to 3 minutes of grilling, brush the cooked marinade over chicken using a basting brush to create a sticky, caramelized coating.
09 - Transfer chicken to serving platter and rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or cilantro. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Chicken thighs stay impossibly juicy even if you accidentally overcook them, which honestly happens sometimes when you're distracted.
  • The sticky glaze tastes like you spent hours perfecting it, but the whole thing comes together in under an hour.
  • Your kitchen and clothes will smell like grilled honey garlic for the rest of the day in the best possible way.
02 -
  • Never brush raw marinade on the chicken at the end, which I did once and spent the whole meal worrying about food safety, so boil it first and you're golden.
  • Bone-in, skin-on thighs are forgiving with timing in ways that boneless chicken never is, which is why I stopped buying the convenient version.
03 -
  • Oil your grill grates right before the chicken goes on because cold oiled grates don't prevent sticking the way hot ones do.
  • Use a meat thermometer because it removes all the guessing and anxiety that comes with grilling chicken.
Go back