Crispy Air Fryer Chicken with a sticky honey garlic sauce is an easy dinner your family will love.
Delectable crispy chicken with my favorite honey garlic sauce is a family-favorite recipe you must try. Juicy seasoned chicken thighs are cooked in the air fryer so they are nice and crispy but without all of the oil. This sauce is the perfect balance of salty and sweet and takes just minutes to make.
My Favorite Kitchen Tools To Make This Recipe
From trusty pots and pans to handy gadgets, I’ve curated a list of products I use and love.
I first made honey garlic sauce with chicken years ago, and it quickly became a family favorite. I’ve done many variations over the years with this most recent creation that cooks in the air fryer.
I love the air fryer! You get all the crispy texture from frying but with just a small amount of oil and much less of a mess. No hot splattering oil on the stove!
Not to mention, it’s healthier to air fry. So, I am so excited to share this air fryer crispy honey chicken with you. The honey garlic chicken inspires me I made it years ago.
Ingredients
I like to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe because they’re juicy and flavorful from a higher fat content.
You can substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. If you do, the only change you need to make is with the cooking time. They won’t take as long to cook.
It’s coated in cornstarch along with spices to give the coating tons of flavor. The cornstarch is the key to achieving a perfectly crispy coating!
How to Make Easy Honey Garlic Sauce
How to Make This Recipe
Combine all of the ingredients for the coating in a large bowl. Cut the chicken into cubes and then place them in the bowl with the cornstarch mixture.
Toss the two together until the chicken is evenly coated. It might seem like a lot, but you need them completely coated. When you cook it the cornstarch will create the most delicious crispy chicken.
Place the pieces in the air fryer. It’s best to keep them in an even layer so that they cook evenly.
Cook the chicken following your air fryer’s manufacturer guidelines. For mine, I cooked it at 390°F 24 minutes, flipping the pieces halfway through the cooking time.
Once it’s done the chicken will be golden, crispy, and delicious! It’s tempting to serve it as is, but adding the honey garlic sauce takes it to a new level.
How to Make the Sauce
Heat the minced garlic in the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook it for just a few minutes so that the garlic is softened but not browned.
Add the honey, soy sauce, and pepper and stir to combine. Simmer the sauce until it thickens. Keep an eye on it because if it boils too fast, it might bubble over the saucepan.
Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes.
Place the cooked chicken in a bowl and pour the sauce over the top. Toss so it’s evenly coated.
Combining the shiny, sticky sauce with the crispy chicken is amazing!
Pair this With…
More Easy Dinner Recipes
Pin To Your Favorite Pinterest Board!
Air Fryer Crispy Honey Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 6 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (see note)
- 1 cup cornstarch (or potato starch)
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon ground sage
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
Honey Garlic Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup honey
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
Chicken
- Cut the chicken into cubed chunks, then toss it in a bowl with cornstarch & seasonings. Use enough to coat the chickenevenly.
- Place in the Air Fryer and cook according to your Air Fryer Manual for chicken. (Note – I cooked ours on 390°F for 12 minutes on each side for a total of 24 minutes).
Honey Garlic Sauce
- In a medium saucepan add 2 tablespoons olive oil and minced garlic. Cookover medium heat to soften the garlic but do not let it brown.
- Add the honey, soy sauce, and black pepper.
- Simmer together for 5-10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool fora few minutes. Watch this carefully as it simmers because it can foam up over the pot very easily.
- Once the sauce is made and the chicken is finished cooking, combine in a serving dish and toss to coat the chicken completely. Serve with rice and garnish with chopped green onions if desired!
Notes
I haven’t used my air fryer yet, but I think I need to try this recipe!
It’s definitely worth trying! Enjoy!
When do I pour the sauce
Once the sauce is made and the chicken is finished cooking, combine in a serving dish and toss to coat the chicken completely. The recipe has been updated with this instruction, I hope you enjoy it!
This looks like an amazing dinner!
Thank you!
This is such a delicious recipe! Quickly became a favorite meal at my house!
Thank you!
This looks like absolute perfection, can’t wait to try this honey chicken!
Enjoy!
So delicious. Your method is simple and easy to do. I followed your instructions and I was successful. Great. Thank you for your helpful sharing. Hope you will have more good articles like this one.
Thank you!
Thank you, I’m glad you like the recipe!
This chicken was absolutely perfect for dinner! Thank you for the easy recipe!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it!
I’m so glad to hear that!
My nephew loves honey chicken and this dish was definitely given a million thumbs up by him! The chicken turned out so crispy and juicy. The honey was just the perfect touch to throw this chicken over the top!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you!
What air fryer do you use?
I love ours – here is the link https://amzn.to/2LLoa31
How do I thicken the sauce
The sauce should thicken from cooking it on the stove, and it will thicken more after pouring it over the chicken as it cools. If you want it thicker, I’d suggest whisking a couple teaspoons of corn starch to the soy sauce before adding it to the rest of the sauce ingredients.
In the process of cooking now, and it smells so good! But how do I keep the chicken from coming out of the air fryer white? I used the amount of cornstarch in the recipe, but the chicken looks white and powdery even after cooking! Should I have maybe adding some liquid? Thanks so much!
Oh so sorry you are having this issue! So is the temperature correct, are they all the way cooked through, you could add a drizzle of oil and toss this, I have done that with other things and it worked well, but never this recipe. If you do this, just remember to wipe out your air fryer after.
This came out amazing! I cannot wait to have it again!
So crispy and delicious! This is my new favorite chicken
Oozing with flavors! I would love to ty this very soon!
Everyone at my house really loved it! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This chicken looks incredible! Crispy and delicious!
This is one of our favorite chicken recipes! So delicious and I love being able to use my air fryer! Everyone loved this recipe and I’ll definitely make this again!
I love this recipe! It’s easy but so delicious!
This is so delicious, a new staple in my house.
Can I freeze this once cooked?
Yes, you can – make sure to separate the chicken on parchment paper and then wrap up to freeze.
I don’t know what I did wrong or if you all have different air fryers to mine. I followed the recipe exactly. The chicken did not go golden, it was dry and powdery. How can flour (cornstarch) cook with no oil/moisture? It was awful and inedible. So disappointed.
Oh, Shirley, that is so sad. It really does work and I am sorry it didn’t for you. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the chicken was over coated? Or the temperature was wrong.
Can I use golden/maple syrup instead of honey?
Yes, you could. Great substitute.