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These tender baked honey garlic chicken thighs are smothered in a finger-licking sauce flavored with peppery Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- What Is in Montreal Steak Seasoning?
- Ingredients
- A Quick Look At How to Make These Chicken Thighs
- What to Serve With Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
- Recipe Tips + Tricks.
- Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
- More Easy Chicken Recipes for Your Weeknights
- Have You Made This Recipe?
- Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs + Montreal Steak Seasoning Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Sweet, salty, garlicky, and peppery. That’s what we’re working with in this chicken recipe. The flavors that smother these tender baked honey garlic chicken thighs aren’t just good, but incredibly unique thanks to the addition of Montreal Steak Seasoning! This seasoning is typically rubbed onto meats before being grilled, but it works wonderfully in this recipe.
What Is in Montreal Steak Seasoning?
This flavorful seasoning brings together garlic, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper flakes, dill seed, and salt. It’s usually pretty course, so it makes for a great rub. It’s also a hit when used as a seasoning. So go ahead, shake it over your meats, dips, or potatoes!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs—If using skin-on or bone-in, give them quick sear skin-side down on a hot pan before placing them in the oven to bake so you end up with a nice crispy skin. It might even be worth giving the thighs a short trip under the broiler before serving. Also note that cooking time will be longer with bone-in thighs.
- 1/2 cup honey
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoons of liquid smoke (optional; adds a subtle smoky flavor & is super yummy!)
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of Montreal Steak Spice
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
A Quick Look At How to Make These Chicken Thighs
Preheat the oven to 400º F. Pop the chicken thighs onto a paper towel covered surface and blot them dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture; set aside.
Make the sauce by whisking together the honey, some water, garlic, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, liquid smoke, olive oil, and Montreal Steak Seasoning until everything is blended.
Transfer the chicken thighs to the mixing bowl and toss them to evenly coat. If you’re making this in advance, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge to marinate.
Using tongs, transfer the chicken thighs to a braiser or large skillet and pour the rest of the sauce over the thighs.
Place the thighs in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.
Whisk some cornstarch and water together in a small bowl, and once the thighs have cooked for 25 minutes, pour the cornstarch mixture over chicken. Using tongs, flip the chicken around and mix the cornstarch into the sauce.
Bake for another 5-7 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and bubbling lightly, and the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165º F with a meat thermometer.
Remove the chicken from the oven. Garnish with fresh parsley (optional), and serve.
What to Serve With Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
- Veggies like grilled asparagus, roasted broccoli, green beans, or hot honey carrots.
- Potato sides are always a hit—whether they’re mashed, oven-roasted mini potatoes or tangy sweet potatoes.
- A simple rice pilaf or pasta salad.
Recipe Tips + Tricks.
- You can make this recipe without the steak seasoning if you prefer.
- Chicken breasts can easily be substituted for thighs. Boneless and skinless chicken breasts can be treated the same as the thighs in this recipe, but the baking time may vary.
- If you’d rather use bone-in and skin-on thighs, or even drumsticks, you can! But sear them in a pan of hot oil prior to baking them so that you get a nice crisp on the skin. Also, baking time will vary. Always ensure the chicken has an internal temperature of 165º F.
Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
- To store leftovers, pop the chicken thighs into an airtight container. They will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- These chicken thighs can be reheated in the microwave in 20 second increments until warmed through.
- You can freeze these in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 6 months, but quality will be best up to 3-4 months. Be sure to leave room in the container for expansion since there is a sauce.
More Easy Chicken Recipes for Your Weeknights
- Easy Chicken Marsala
- Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets
- Spinach Artichoke Chicken Skillet
- Chicken With Creamy Mushroom Sauce
- Easy Chicken Piccata
Have You Made This Recipe?
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You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme
Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs + Montreal Steak Seasoning
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, *If using skin-on or bone-in, see notes.
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 TBSP water
- 6 garlic cloves, grated to a paste or minced
- 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 TBSP Montreal Steak Spice
- 1 TBSP Corn starch
- 2 TBSP cold water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- Place the chicken thighs onto a paper towel covered surface, like a plate or cutting board, and blot them dry with more paper towels to remove excess moisture; set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, some water, garlic, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, liquid smoke, olive oil, and Montreal Steak Spice until well blended.
- Transfer the chicken thighs to the mixing bowl and toss them to evenly coat them. (If you're making this in advance, you can do this earlier, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in the fridge.)
- With tongs, transfer the chicken thighs to a braiser and pour the rest of the sauce over the thighs.
- Place the thighs in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.
- Whisk some cornstarch and water together in a small bowl, and once the thighs have cooked for 25 minutes, pour the cornstarch mixture over chicken. Using tongs, flip the chicken around and mix the cornstarch into the sauce.
- Bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened, is lightly bubbling, and the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165º F.
- Remove the chicken from the oven. Garnish with fresh parsley (optional), and serve.
If I double the marinade, should I double the Cornstarch water mix? Making this tonight and looking forward to this!
Hi Jenna! I’d start with the same amount of cornstarch mix as it might be just fine, but if you find you need more, go ahead and add another mixing of it. I always approach this sort of thing with the idea that you can always add more, but you can’t take it out! Good luck. Let me know how it goes :)
Hi was wondering if I could grill them on the BBQ rather than bake them in the oven??
Hi Nazneen, I’ve never done this myself and the chicken is supposed to bake in the sauce. If you want to grill the chicken and whip the sauce up on the stove on its own, it’s worth a shot! I can’t promise what the outcome will be, but if you try it, keep me posted!
What is a braiser?
May I use a glass Pyrex 9-x-13 or a large cast iron skillet?
A glass pyrex or skillet would be perfectly fine! A braiser is just another cooking vessel you usually use for braising, though I tend to use it for roasting recipes like this as well. I’ll change the instructions to reflect this. Sorry for the confusion!
I only had chicken breasts but cubed them and it turned out really really good!
Sounds like a great alternative!
We had these chicken thighs for dinner tonight and my whole family loved them! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Awesome! Glad they were a hit!
This was everything a gourmet meal should be, and then some! Easily, a new favorite dish; my whole family loved it!
Awesome, Sara! Thank you!
The flavors in this dish are incredible, and the chicken got so tender! I’ll definitely be making this one again!
Very happy to hear this, Nathan!
what a great flavor to put on chicken thighs! I loove Montreal Steak seasoning – thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for introducing me to the world that is Montreal steak spice. Oh my god. I bought some from our local butcher. it came in a huge spice container so I have a lot and I can’t wait to use it on more things. This recipe was really really good!
I’m so excited that YOU’RE excited about Montreal steak spice! I’ve always been a huge fan. It’s also great on chicken wings :)
Looking forward to making this recipe – just wanted to check if the braiser needs to be closed when in the oven and again after the addition of cornstarch.
Hi! You can go ahead and leave them uncovered :) I hope you enjoy, keep me posted!