Sticky and sweet, this Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken Recipe is a great dinner recipe to fulfill your weekly meal plan list! Baked in the oven, this healthy and delicious meal is the perfect boneless, skinless chicken dish. See below for an easy to follow picture recipe with printable version at the bottom.
I’m guessing you probably have all of the ingredients in your fridge right now.
My kids love the sweet flavors of this Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken Recipe, and the grownups get a kick out of the warmth from the garlic. Don’t worry about that bitter cooked garlic flavor – in this recipe, it’s treated so lovingly that all you get is a bit of garlic perfume to make your taste buds take notice.
When we’re craving Chinese takeout, but we can’t spend the cash, I whip this up, and everyone is satisfied. It’s full of healthy fats and protein, and my kids will eat it, which is really all I can ask out of dinner these days.
Because this recipe is so easy (but doesn’t taste simple), I also like to use it when feeding a crowd. With chicken cut into bite-sized pieces, this can simmer in a crockpot for a football party or is a fantastic option on the buffet table for a summer picnic.
Sometimes I even do this one on the grill, although I let the chicken cook on each side before basting it with the sauce.
This chicken is fantastic with so many different sides! At my house, we like to pair it with rice, so I experiment with basmati, brown, jasmine, and more. If you have extra time, this goes so well with a steaming dish of risotto… My current favorite is to offer it with pearled barley. Something about the texture makes my tongue so happy.
Since I’m roasting this chicken at high heat, I also try to add some veggies to the oven in a separate pan to use all that firepower efficiently. Green beans, broccoli, potatoes, and even cauliflower get so lovely in the oven, and when tossed with a bit of olive oil and salt, they are perfect with the chicken.
Finally, one of my kids’ favorite ways to each this chicken is as a sandwich.
We choose some great looking rolls or buns, add a dab of mayo, and they scarf it down. Sometimes I can even coax a slice of onion or lettuce into the mix as well.
It makes fantastic leftovers and often finds itself in my lunch the next day in the form of a salad, wrap, or just scarfed cold at my desk (shhhh…). Now this one isn’t on anyone’s diet so if you are looking for some low carb chicken, you might have to look elsewhere.
If you like to make ahead and freeze, this goes perfectly in a freezer bag and can easily be cooked off after you thaw it. Just let the sauce cool slightly before you add it and the chicken to the bag.
This keeps the chicken from semi-cooking and the bag from, well, melting.
Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken Recipe
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
How to make Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken
Preheat oven to 450°F
Lightly grease a casserole or other baking dish. At this high temperature, the brown sugar will GLUE itself to the pan. Save yourself a cleaning headache by adding some lube.
Place your chicken breasts in a casserole dish and set aside.
In small saucepan, heat the oil and then add in the garlic.
Sauté until fragrant and then stir in the brown sugar.
Pro-tip: Never walk away (or turn away) from garlic in the pan. It can go from golden to black in mere seconds. If you do accidentally over-caramelize (i.e. BURN) your garlic, dump it out. You can’t rescue it. Wipe the oil from the pan, take a deep breath, and start again.
Let bubble away for 1 minute and then remove from heat.
This too should be closely supervised. Like a toddler, it can turn on you in mere seconds. It will also burn like crazy if you get it on your skin so please, be careful!
Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar.
Pour the brown sugar-garlic mixture over the chicken to thoroughly coat it. I like to use a spoon and sort of drizzle it so that all the chicken is well covered.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Bake uncovered for 15-30 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F and serve.
Pro-tip: The time will vary depending on the size of your pieces, how close they are in the pan, and their temperature when you put them in.
We’re cooking at a pretty high temperature here, so things get done pretty quickly, but if you want to speed the process up a bit, let your chicken sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to come to room temperature while you make the sauce.
No matter how you serve it up, I think you’ll find yourself coming back to this recipe again and again!
Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken Recipe
Sticky and sweet Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken Recipe is a great dinner recipe to fulfill your weekly meal plan list!
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Preheat oven to 450°F
- Place your chicken breasts in a casserole dish and set aside.
- In small saucepan, heat the oil and then add in the garlic. Sauté until fragrant and then stir in the brown sugar. Let bubble away for 1 minute and then remove from heat.
- Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar.
- Pour the brown sugar-garlic mixture over the chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake uncovered for 15-30 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F
Other quick chicken dinner recipes
Just click on the image or link below to be given some other fantastic kid and family approved recipes for your meal planning schedule this week. All recipes have a printable version!
Terikaki Chicken Fingers Recipe
Simple 21 day Fix Approved Fajitas
Baked Parmesan Encrusted Chicken Fingers
