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This Honey Garlic Chicken is a one skillet kind of meal! Five ingredients in the sauce, plus cauliflower rice as a side makes this a healthy dinner or make-ahead lunch.
*This post originally appeared in 2016, but photos have since been updated. It’s still the same great recipe as before!
HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN RECIPE
True story: this honey garlic chicken has become a regular in our household. I’ve probably made it four times in the past month, for instance. It’s easy and Miguel craves it WITH the cauliflower rice, which is an easy way to fit in a vegetable. Likewise, the entire dish is guilt-free and PALEO, if you use tamari instead of soy sauce and gluten free flour.
Speaking of cauliflower rice, why has it taken me so long to try it?! I knew what it was, but I’d never made it. Allow me to let you in on a little secret: cauliflower rice is just cauliflower that’s been broken down in the food processor to form “rice”—THAT’S ALL IT IS. Talk about a sneaky/tricky/genius way to get a vegetable hater to eat their vegetables, especially if it’s paired with this chicken. MMMMmmmmMMMMMM.
Meanwhile, I’m constantly searching for quick weeknight meals. For example, these tofu enchiladas are something I can make ahead and they typically result in leftovers, which are the best because the week can be long and sometimes stressful, so having meals prepped ahead of time is so important.
Along with quick meals, asian-flavored dishes are some of the most popular. This honey soy salmon, for example, is loaded with flavor yet also paired with a vegetable base.
HOW TO MAKE PALEO CHICKEN
First, let’s talk about this chicken. Aside from the cauliflower rice, the chicken is a one pan kind of dish. You cook the chicken, add the sauce and let it simmer so consequently, the whole thing is ready in under 30 minutes! That’s what I’m talking about. The sauce is thick and sticky in the best possible way; however, do NOT add more than 1 tablespoon of flour. I did it once because I was being impatient waiting for the sauce to thicken, and consequently, the flour caused the chicken to absorb some of the sauce—not good! The sauce is made with simple ingredients that you hopefully already have on hand, like garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, and honey, for instance.
Meanwhile, the cauliflower rice comes together in the food processor. Then, it goes into a bowl and the chicken goes on top of that, which adds flavor to the “rice” thanks to the chicken marinade. Above all, this is a good-for-you meal that you’ll want to make again and again.
To sum it up, say hello to this honey garlic chicken, aka your new favorite dinner or make-ahead lunch!
OTHER FAVORITE PALEO DINNERS
Honey Garlic Chicken with Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 1/2 head of cauliflower or 4 cups cauliflower rice
- 2 chicken breasts
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbsp soy sauce*
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 4 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp flour**
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Break cauliflower up into bite-size pieces; place in a saucepan on the stovetop and cook until soft.
- Cut up chicken into bite-size pieces and place in skillet with olive oil, cooking on medium-high heat and stirring occasionally so chicken cooks thoroughly.
- While chicken is cooking, mince garlic and set aside.
- Once chicken is cooked, add garlic to the skillet and stir, flavoring the chicken.
- Once garlic starts turning golden in color, pour the soy sauce, sesame oil and honey overtop of the chicken, stirring to evenly coat the chicken.
- Add flour to thicken up the sauce and simmer chicken on low for 3-5 minutes, ideally placing a lid overtop of skillet.
- By now, the cauliflower should be done, so drain cauliflower and place it in a food processor; pulse for 5-10 seconds, until it resembles "rice" in size. Pour cauliflower rice into a bowl.
- Once chicken has absorbed most of the sauce, pour it overtop of rice; drizzling any additional sauce from the skillet overtop.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!
Notes
