Southern Sticky Chicken
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This sweet yet savory sticky chicken recipe is delectable and the perfect easy weeknight dinner the whole family will enjoy.
This sweet and sticky chicken is an old-fashioned Southern recipe that has been around for about as long as folks have been cooking. The recipe has evolved and been tweaked over the years but the flavorful sticky marinade that clings to the chicken is still every bit as good as folks remember from the days when Granny used to make it for Sunday dinner.
Some of the things I love about this sticky chicken recipe is that it’s:
- Easy to make, which means it makes a great weeknight dinner.
- Versatile. Serve your meal with rice, vegetables, or a slew of Southern sides.
- Easy to double the recipe and make leftovers for weekday lunches.
Fortunately, this recipe for sticky chicken is pretty simple. All you have to do is mix up the sticky chicken marinade, which has equal parts sweet and savory ingredients to make a sauce that’s irresistible. Plus, they’re all pantry staples you probably have sitting in your cupboard right now. Then you bring the sauce ingredients to a boil, pour them over the chicken pieces, and bake. The end result is tender and juicy chicken soaked in a deliciously caramelized and sweet Asian-style sauce. It’s a home run with kids as well as adults.
Other Asian-inspired meals I recommend include crockpot cashew chicken, Asian-inspired pot roast, chicken fried rice, and Chinese chicken salad.
Recipe Ingredients
- Brown sugar (dark or light brown sugar, whatever you have)
- Garlic powder
- Ketchup
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- You’re also going to need about 3-5 pounds of bone-in chicken with the skin still on it. For my boneless sticky chicken recipe click here.
Traditionally, folks use legs or chicken thighs for this but my Kroger had bone-in split chicken breasts for buy one get one free – so I have two HUGE chicken breast halves that cost me a few dollars and that is what we’re using!
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Sticky Chicken
Put everything (except the chicken) in a saucepot and stir it up really well. Place over medium-high heat.
You can do medium heat but I like to get things rolling.
See how that’s boiling? Bring the sticky chicken sauce to a boil like this. Then remove from heat.
Place your chicken pieces in a 9×13 baking dish and pour all of the sticky sauce over.
Place this in a 350-degree oven and bake, uncovered, for 90 minutes total.
After 45 minutes, flip all of the chicken over in the dish.
An hour and 15 minutes into cooking, flip pieces again and baste with some of the glaze in the pan. Bake for another 15 minutes.
NOTE: cooking time is the same if you use legs and thighs.
Booyah! Easy sticky chicken!
Storage
This recipe will last up to five days in an airtight container in the fridge. It will also keep in the freezer for up to four months. When it’s time to reheat your leftovers, simply warm them up in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- If you want your marinade to have a bit of a spicy kick, add in a couple of tablespoons of chili garlic sauce, a tablespoon of sriracha hot sauce, or a sprinkle of paprika, , or cayenne pepper. Basically, whatever heat you have on hand!
- If you have a soy allergy, use tamari instead.
- Substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar, maple syrup, or an extra two tablespoons of honey.
Recipe FAQs
What chicken do I use for sticky chicken?
You can use any bone-in chicken, whether that’s chicken legs, chicken wings, drumsticks, chicken thighs, or chicken breasts.
What can I serve the sticky chicken with?
Whatever you like! You can go for an Asian takeout-style meal and serve it with rice, sliced green onion, broccoli, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Otherwise, here are some Southern side suggestions:
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole
Broccoli with Homemade Cheese Sauce
Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad
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Ingredients
- 3 -5 pounds bone-in chicken with skin folks usually use legs and/or thighs
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a saucepot, combine ketchup, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic powder over medium to medium-high heat.1 cup ketchup, 1 cup honey, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Bring it just to a boil while stirring. Remove from heat.
- Arrange chicken pieces in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the entire amount of sauce over the chicken, turning pieces with tongs to coat.3 -5 pounds bone-in chicken with skin
- Place in oven, uncovered, for 90 minutes, turning after 45 minutes.
- 15 minutes before cooking time is up, flip pieces once more and baste with sauce.
Video
Nutrition
You may also like these chicken recipes:
Best Barbecue Sauce and Boneless Sticky Chicken
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds you plant.
~Robert Louis Stevenson
Submitted by Diane. Submit your quote by clicking here.
Christy, we grew up on country music and American Band stand,and GOOD country cooking, I love to cook and enjoy your recipes so much, most of them take me back to my growing up years, Christy did you ever have butter rolls? This is where you make your pastry and spread butter and sugar on it and drop them in boiling milk with butter and sugar in it and vanilla, I have my own version now that I bake in the oven, Keep up the good work Girl !!!!!!!!!!!
This looks scrumptious. And I love the video. My daddy was a Buddy Holly fan and used to sing this to me when I was very small. A wonderful memory of a wonderful man! Thanks!
I hope you get to try it soon Ally!! Keep those memories close…and sing often!
Made this tonight with thighs and legs and it was great! Didn’t cook it as long was the only change. A new favorite 🙂
I am so glad to hear you liked it Brandi!!!
I made the chicken tonight and it was delicious!! Thanks for this and all the other wonderful recipes that you share!
I am glad it was a hit Cindy!!!
I grew up listening to 50’s music, nothing like it to this day. Elvis was my idol and I got to go see him 3 months before he died. That is something I will never forget. The chicken sounds yummy Christy, can’t wait to try it, and I just love your website.
I hope you get to try it soon Kathy!! I can’t wait to hear what you think!!
Christy, just wanted to let you know how much I loved your book. I collect cookbooks (I have over 1000) and just recently bought yours on my IPad to use with a Kindle app. I have been reading it while on vacation on Hilton Head Island, which is a perfect place to learn about Southern Cooking. I almost can’t wait to get home so I can bake! I love all your family stories behind your recipes. I think I am going to have to buy a ” real” copy to have too! can’t wait for your next book. I am also just signing up for your newsletters. Loving your website too.
Oh my goodness, thank you so much Margaret!!! I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying the book and I can’t wait to hear what you decide to make first!!
Christy, I arrived home from HHI, SC this week. The first thing I did was buy a hardback of your cookbook to add to my collection. I made your Banana Pudding recipe for my family for a Father’s Day weekend dessert and it was a huge hit! My husband loved it. I wanted to make something extra special for him. This is his first Father’s Day since he had a brain hemorrhage a few months ago. I wanted to show him extra love and appreciation since I am so blessed that he is here and all okay! I love how you tie in special meals to show love to your family and friends. That is the whole reason I started collecting cookbooks and cooking. It was a hobby for me that helped me care for my family too, Thanks for your book and family stories and it is so great that you spend so much time responding to these messages. You must be an incredibly busy woman-you make me feel lazy 🙂 Counting down until the next book! YEA!
I grew up listening to John Denver and Peter Paul and Mary…good ol’ folk music!! I still love folk and bluegrass also! This recipe looks delicious! can’t wait to try it!
I hope you get the opportunity to try it soon Laura…can’t wait to hear how you like it!!