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
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Howdy!! I sure do love your recipes…..They remind me of my mother’s. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Thank you Sue!! Happy New Year to you as well!!!
I made this many times with the recipe as written, and it was great. One night, I needed to get it in the oven quick, and just poured in about a 1/2″ of Yoshida sauce instead of making my own sauce. It tasted just as good and was so easy! That’s the only way I make it now. The original recipe was the inspiration!
I am so glad it inspired you and you found a shortcut!
Thanks for your reply, Christy. I tried the House Autry pork chops, along with your recipe for Candied Baby Carrots, and Cat Head Biscuits tonight, and again, the hubby was a happy camper! I am on a roll, I tell ya! You’re becoming a household name around here since I started reading Southern Plate and your books. I was looking up your blog on Taco Casserole and stumbled on the video of you and your husband in the car, singing Veggie Tales and oh, what memories that brought back! Our family watched Veggie Tales backwards, forwards, you name it, we watched it from the time our girls were toddlers up until just a few years ago. We also had CD’s for my girls, (now 12 and 11) to listen to in the car. One of my favorites was a Christmas CD with ” The Polish Foods of Christmas”. What an absolute hoot! Oh, now you got me started; I’m gonna have to get out the old DVD’s and watch them again. We loved Veggie Tales! They’re just too funny….. “Bob is really angry, I hope he doesn’t catch me, It’s so hard to run with this sombrero on my head….” It was so nice to have some good wholesome, yet hilarious entertainment for the girls to watch. Thanks as always for entertaining posts and great recipes. ” This is a song for your pregnant kitty, she looks uncomfy, and a week past due…. but if I sing… to your pregnant kitty, she will feel better… in a day or two…..” LOL!
Oh my, my, my, was this good! I made Sticky Chicken for supper tonight and we enjoyed the heck out of it. The leftovers are going to work with me. I am planning to make the House Autry pork chops from your new book, for dinner tomorrow. We just came back from a trip to Florida, and I brought your book to read on the plane. I came up with a whole arsenal of recipes to knock my hubby’s socks off! I’ve gotta say Christy, as great as it was to be in Disney and getting the chance to eat at some of their wonderful restaurants, it was so good to have a home-cooked meal. Keep those recipes coming!
Sharon you sure know how to make a girl’s day!! I am so glad to hear that you liked the Sticky Chicken!!!
I can’t wait to make this tonight!
Making this for supper tonight. Whenever I give my daughter a choice between Sticky Chicken or just about anything else, Sticky Chicken is her first choice! It’s also a top choice of my husband – he’s been talking about it all day. 🙂
Well, I should have NEVER made this chicken. It’s all we want to eat now! This is SO delicious it’s just unbelievable!!!!