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!
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
remove
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.
oh and what I grew up listening to??? well, I grew up listening to Kasey Kasem and the top 40 every week in the 70s, moved to classic rock in the 80s, and in between those I was raised country. As Barbara Mandell says, “I was country when country wasn’t cool.” And we all know that Reba is the QUEEN of country..of course the first ladies count too……Tammy, Loretta,and the rest…..
honey =MAYBE a 1/4 cup
brown sugar = only have white sugar
soy sauce = don’t have that either…
dang it…wonder what white sugar, the dab of honey I have and worchestershire sauce would end up like????
Cherry
Do you have any molasses? Add a bit in with your white sugar to get the brown sugar flavor. I don’t always have a bottle of soy sauce, but can usually find a couple of takeout packets laying around. LOL
I dislike soy sauce. And use teriyaki sauce instead.
This recipe sounds really good. I will definately try this one soon! And you cant go wrong with Mahatma Yellow Rice!! I’ll wait for your green bean recipe; It looks really good too!
I grew up in the 90’s, so I listened mostly to country music, however The New Kids on the Block were my absolute favorite boy band!! I had all of their dolls, comforter sets, posters, cassette tapes, and clothes!
This looks easy and awesome! I will be trying it today or tomorrow.
I’m #5 of 6 girls in my family so my older sisters formed my musical tastes. They were big into folk music, The Kingston Trio, The Lettermen, Christy Minstrels. Toss those in a bowl and add in a little Marty Robbin Gunfighter Ballads and Bill Cosby comedy albums and mix well. I still love all this music.
Thanks, Christy!
Denise in Dallas
Our family was crazy over all of the Bill Cosby comedy albums. Thanks for the reminder.
This looks so yummy! You reliably fill our unending need for chicken versatility! 😉
For sure…YUM! Howdy & thanks for these recipes! :p slurp! Good stuff!!!!
Hey, my late husband resembled Buddy Holly in his younger years, just couldn’t sing like him, but he tried! ;D
We listened to Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, whispering Bill Anderson… ahhh, the memories : )