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Baked Chicken Thighs in Honey Soy Sauce

Baked honey soy chicken thighs with a caramelized honey-soy glaze that turns lacquered and deeply golden in the oven. This easy chicken marinade bakes to sticky edges while keeping the thighs juicy and savory-sweet.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Marinating 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Asian-American
Calories: 620
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
  • 5 chicken thighs Bone-in, skin-on for best lacquered caramelization.
Honey soy marinade
  • 0.33 cup honey
  • 0.25 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 garlic Minced.
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 0.5 tsp ginger Grated.
  • 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes
Garnish
  • 2 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 green onions Sliced.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Make the honey-soy marinade
  1. Whisk honey, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and red pepper flakes until smooth and combined.
Marinate the chicken
  1. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours, in the refrigerator so the thighs soak up the flavor.
Bake
  1. Preheat oven to 425F and arrange chicken skin-side up in a baking dish, then pour marinade over the chicken.
  2. Bake for 25 minutes, then baste with the pan sauce and bake 10 more minutes until deeply caramelized and glossy.
Finish and garnish
  1. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes to add extra stickiness and deepen the lacquered glaze.
  2. Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions before serving.

Notes

For extra caramelization, keep the chicken skin-side up and baste halfway so the glaze repeatedly coats the surface. Refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days; freeze baked chicken for up to 2 months (reheat until hot). For a lower-sugar swap, use a reduced-sugar honey substitute or half the honey and increase rice vinegar slightly to keep the balance.