This recipe for sticky orange glazed chicken thighs is a weeknight dinner full of flavor. With a sauce made from simple ingredients turn a family pack of chicken thighs into a meal your family will devour.
Links may be affiliate links.
I am a huge fan of easy weeknight dinners. Who isn’t?? Right! Well here is another easy, tasty, and cheap weeknight dinner to add to your ‘favorite easy recipe’ list. Sticky Orange Chicken Thighs.
The star of this dish is the always delicious and cheap chicken thighs. The thighs are made crispy on the stovetop and then sauced and popped into the oven to finish cooking, easy peasy.
The sauce is easy and made up of simple items, most of which you probably already have at home. Orange juice, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, crushed red pepper, and black pepper are mixed together and thickened to give the chicken thighs the delicious ‘sticky orange’ taste.
Sticky Orange Chicken Thighs are best served over rice. Whatever kind of rice is your favorite, just remember to get the rice cooking right away so you aren’t waiting for the rice to finish once your chicken is done!
How do I make Sticky Orange Glazed Chicken Thighs?
Start by preheating the oven to 400º F. Then prepare the sauce! Add orange juice, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, and black pepper into a small bowl, mix well to combine.
Preheat the oil in a large oven proof skillet (cast iron works best) over medium heat on the stove.
Once skillet is hot add chicken thighs in a single layer skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes.
Flip chicken and cook another 5 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the sauce to each chicken thigh. If you are using whole garlic cloves, add to the skillet around the chicken at this point.
Transfer the skillet into the oven, bake 25-27 minutes until the chicken thighs are done. Use a meat thermometer to ensure they are fully cooked!
While the chicken is cooking, finish making the sauce. Prepare the cornstarch by making a slurry, add 1 tablespoon of water and mixing to combine.
Add the remaining sauce to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it starts to simmer (keep a careful eye on the pot, the honey will make the sauce boil over very easily). Once simmering stir in the cornstarch slurry and lower the heat to medium-low. Let simmer 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
Once the chicken is done cooking add the sauce on top the thighs and garnish with green onions. Best served over rice or other grain! This chicken also goes great with roasted or steamed vegetables.
TIPS & TRICKS:
- Sticky Orange Chicken Thighs are best served over rice, I prefer white rice but brown rice or cauliflower rice would be tasty as well
- This dish goes really well with steamed broccoli
- I recommend using a cast iron skillet for Sticky Orange Chicken Thighs, I love my cast iron so much and use it almost everyday, if you don’t have one yet it is a great kitchen tool and investment (they last literally for forever)
Some other chicken recipes to try:
- Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Easy Skillet Taco Chicken
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake
- Healthy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Bake
- Supreme Pizza Chicken Bake
Sticky Orange Chicken Thighs
an easy sticky orange sauce glazed and baked over chicken thighs
Ingredients
- 6-7 chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon coconut or olive oil
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (plus optional 6-7 whole garlic cloves)
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- green onions to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- Make the sauce, add orange juice, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, and black pepper into a small bowl, mix well to combine.
- Preheat oil in a large oven proof skillet over medium heat on the stove.
- Once skillet is hot add chicken thighs in a single layer skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Flip chicken and cook another 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the sauce to each chicken thigh. If you have the optional whole garlic cloves, add to the skillet around the chicken.
- Place the skillet into the oven, bake 25-27 minutes until the chicken thighs are done.
- While the chicken is baking, finish making the sauce. Prepare the cornstarch by adding 1 tablespoon of water and mixing to combine.
- Add the remaining sauce to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it starts to simmer (keep a careful eye on the pot, the honey will make the sauce boil over very easily). Once simmering add the cornstarch/water and lower the heat to medium-low. Let simmer 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
- Once the chicken is done cooking add the sauce on top the thighs and garnish with green onions. Best served over rice.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 409Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 194mgSodium: 413mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 0gSugar: 14gProtein: 36g
Nutritional data is automated, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
If you enjoyed this Recipe or any of my others let me know by using #theschmidtywife on social media!
And make sure you are following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for all the latest recipes!
Peace & Love
Lauren, The Schmidty Wife
P.S. Looking for other quick dinners? Try my Korean Ground Turkey Bowls, One Pot Southwest Quinoa or my Thai Peanut Chicken & Veggie Bowls.
Susie Whitehead says
We live in FL citrus country so I wanted a good recipe with oranges and this is it. I made this recipe last night for my husband and me. It was delicious, one of the best meals I’ve made. Very quick and easy to put together. I quartered oranges and put them in the pan about halfway thru baking.
I served with coconut ginger rice.
Thank you!
Lauren Schmidt says
Oh I love that you put in extra oranges as it was baking, that sounds wonderful!! I am so glad you enjoyed it Susie! 🙂
Jan Sawicki says
Made tonight – it was amazing! The only thing I changed was that I minced the whole 6 cloves of garlic and added to the orange sauce. Definitely adding to the chicken repitoire!
Lauren Schmidt says
So glad you enjoyed it Jan! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Debbie says
Allergic to orange juice can I use pineapple juice in place of orange juice for this recipe.
Lauren Schmidt says
That is something I cannot say for certain since I haven’t tried to sub out the orange juice before. If you are feeling adventurous you could try.
becky says
I made this without garlic and replaced the honey with maple syrup to make the recipe low fodmap. This is great and soooo super easy. I love stress free but delicious recipes. I added cut yukon gold potatoes and carrots to the baking dish to make a complete meal. Thank you this is definitely going in to my recipe rotation.
Lauren Schmidt says
Oh I love the idea of adding the potatoes and carrots to the dish, so smart!