Crunchy Honey Garlic Baked Chicken

     My husband is one of those people that could eat the same four meals his entire life and he'd be totally content never eating anything else. One of the meals I would guess he'd choose is chicken and rice. Super basic and simple chicken and rice. Now, in this instance my husband and I are TOTAL opposites. I can. barely eat the same meal twice in a week much less the same four for the rest of my life! So, as a compromise, I have figured out many ways to make chicken and even have figured out a few other sides to occasionally substitute for rice. One of our favorite chicken recipes right now is crunchy honey garlic baked chicken. This recipe can be deep fried too but in an effort to cut down on the oil, I figured out a way to bake it and keep it plenty crunchy.

    I started this recipe by prepping my breading. This consists of a flour and spice mixture and a separate egg and water mixture. My husband and I love asian inspired flavors, so with my flour I mixed in salt, pepper, ginger, cayenne, and paprika. I beat my egg with a little water to make it thin out and cling to my chicken a little more and moved on to preparing my chicken. You can either tenderize it until it's nice and thin but I prefer to just cut my breasts in half or butterfly them. For some reason this means more meat in my head than tenderizing. Once I have sliced my chicken, I coat each half in flour mixture, then egg, then flour again. Each time I coat the breasts I make sure to press them into the mixture and coat it well. The flour mixture is especially important because it will be the part that gets crispy in the oven.     

    Once my chicken is coated, I put them on a baking sheet, making sure they're not touching, drizzle a generous amount of olive oil (or any oil of your choice), and bake them for 15 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If you choose you can also use an oil spray instead for a more even distribution on your chicken. After baking for 15 minutes, I carefully flip my chicken, making sure to not remove any of the breading, and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes. 

    While my chicken is baking I prepare the honey garlic sauce. It is super easy and all I do is dump soy sauce, minced garlic, honey, and a little water into a saucepan and simmer it until the honey is well dissolved and it has thickened up slightly. If you want to thicken it more and turn it to more of a dipping sauce instead of a "glaze" then you can whisk in up to a tablespoon of cornstarch.

     When my chicken is done baking, I use a fork to carefully transfer the breasts one at a time to my saucepan, coat each side of my chicken, and then serve. If you want you can pour your sauce on your chicken instead or serve it on the side to dip your chicken in as you eat. I find it easiest to just coat the chicken individually before serving. 

    You can serve your chicken on a bed of lettuce, with rice, or (my favorite) with a side of sautéed veggies. All in all this recipe only takes 45 minutes -1 hour with very little actual hands on time making it a super easy last minute meal that can satisfy the whole family! One of my favorite things about this recipe is it offers that crispy fried chicken texture that my pregnant self is very often craving without the crazy greasiness of actual fried chicken. The honey garlic glaze also is a perfect balance of sweet and savory that is super hard to resist!

    What did you think of this recipe Use the comment section below!