Southern Sticky Chicken

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

• Medium Saucepot
• 9×13 Baking Dish
• Tongs

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, red pepper flakes, 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:

Green Bean Recipe

Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole

Broccoli with Homemade Cheese Sauce

Broccoli Salad With Bacon

Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad

remove

Sticky Chicken

This sweet yet savory Southern sticky chicken recipe is delectable and the perfect easy weeknight dinner the whole family will enjoy.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken

Servings: 4

Calories: 232kcal

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

Calories: 232kcal

Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

You may also like these chicken recipes:

Best Barbecue Sauce and Boneless Sticky Chicken

Fuss Free Fried Chicken

Creamy Chicken Skillet

Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

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.