We’ve got another Chinese takeout fakeout for you. Our take on Chinese Garlic Chicken will be ready in less time than order and delivery takes at your favorite restaurant.
Chinese Garlic Chicken is such an easy and flavorful stir fry, and it takes barely any time to make. You’ll wonder why you’ve been ordering takeout all these years because it’s just as quick to make it at home and it tastes better too.
Video: How To Make Chinese Garlic Chicken:
The Garlic Sauce
The garlic sauce looks pretty unassuming when you mix it up. But when it hits the hot pan, you’ll see how it starts to get thick and sticky like a real Chinese chicken sauce. What’s the secret? The cornstarch helps thicken it and gives it that classic consistency. Don’t skip it or the sauce definitely won’t thicken as it’s supposed to.
Want a different style of garlicky chicken? Try this Garlic Butter Chicken recipe or our Creamy Garlic Chicken recipe.
Type Of Chicken To Use
We opted for chicken breast in this recipe, but chicken thighs would also work well if you prefer them. The sauce cooks quickly, so be sure to cut the chicken into small, one inch pieces that are fairly uniform so it finishes cooking at the same time as the garlic sauce.
Garnish with some sesame seeds and sliced green onion for a little crunch and color and serve this classic over rice.
Podcast Episode: Making Chinese Garlic Chicken
Listen to our editor-in-chief, Christine Pittman, explain briefly about how to make this tasty Chinese Garlic Chicken recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print Chinese Garlic Chicken Recipe
We’ve got another Chinese takeout fakeout for you. Our take on Chinese Garlic Chicken will be ready in less time than order and delivery takes at your favorite restaurant.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup soy sauce*
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 lb. chicken breast**, cut into 1″ pieces
- 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds (optional, for garnish)
- 1 green onion, sliced (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Whisk together minced garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and cornstarch until smooth.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat.
- Add chicken and garlic mixture to pan and stir fry, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened, about 5-7 minutes.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onion, if desired.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
*I typically use low-sodium soy sauce here. If you are concerned about salt, or if you want to make sure it’s not too salty, use low-sodium soy sauce as well.
**One pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used instead, also cut into 1″ pieces.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
This post originally appeared in March 2019 and was revised and republished in August 2022.
Instantly became a staple dish in our dinner recipe rotation. For just the two of us, I do a double sauce recipe and it ensures the leftovers are just as tasty as the main meal.
If you’re feeling a little extra I have also tossed in fresh ginger to the ingredients and it’s great.
Yum, I love fresh ginger! Thanks for coming back to comment, Jennifer.
I like the ease of this recipe! I will let you know how it goes.
Hope you loved it, Michelle!
So easy and delicious! I did add some Sambal Oelek for spice.
This will be go to from now on!
Thanks for sharing your addition with us, Barbara! Glad you loved it.
A simple recipe perfect for lunch. Simple enough to feed 6-8 people by doubling or tripling the ingredients.
So awesome Emily.
I’m so glad you loved it, Glenn! Thank you.
Terrific receipt for garlic chicken. My grandson also loved it. This receipt is a keeper.
So happy you loved it, Kay! Thanks for commenting.
The family loved this recipe and asked to have it again. Thank you!
Sandi, That’s so great to hear. It’s a favorite in our house too! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and rating. I really appreciate it! 🙂
VERY good,, I added frozen thawed broccoli,
Wonderful, Karen! Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely delicious! I served it over my homemade fried rice. And we topped it with rice noodles.
That sounds fantastic, Janet! Thank you for coming back to comment.
This recipe is the best
I even made it with strips of beef really Yummy.
Going to try it with pork next time .👍😋
Thank you for sharing your recipe .
You’re welcome, Diana! Glad to know you enjoy it even with different kinds of meat.
Follow the recipe step by step and it came out delicious
Thanks so much, Ann!
This recipe is absolutely wonderful! I didn’t have enough soy sauce so I supplemented with some sweet soy sauce. I also added a bit of grated ginger because I love ginger. The optional green onions and toasted sesame seeds were the perfect touch to make the final result better than any restaurant chicken I can get where I live. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again! Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much, Vanessa. I love the addition of fresh ginger, yum!
Great base recipe, exactly what I was looking for — I added chili oil and veggies and let my chicken and vegetables marinate in the sauce by just dumping them in there as I chopped them so they could absorb some flavor before going into the pan. Also threw in some nuts and an extra splash of soy at the end. Also! I found that chopped radishes mimic the texture of water chestnuts ridiculously well! So nice because I often have them on hand. Also added celery and bell pepper cuz I needed to use them up and it was great. Super solid dish.
Thanks for sharing your additions, Joon! So glad you enjoyed.
Looking forward to trying this
Thank you, Jan! I’m sure you’ll love it.
Delicious! So easy and very quick. Much better than takeout!
Thank you so much, Julie! I’m glad you enjoyed.
Oh my yummmm!! This was the best easiest garlic chicken to make & yes it definitely does taste by far better than take out! I followed directions step by step only adding 10 cloves of garlic(I love garlic) & served over garlic rice.. …This is my go to garlic chicken now,Fastest,easiest & better than take out! Thanks 😉
Michelle, I’m so so so happy that you liked it. And the extra garlic in there, I’m going to try that next time too! Thank you for letting me know!
I used all the ingredients and added some water to make more sauce. Turned out great. Thanks for sharing this reciepe.
You’re welcome, Dorcas! So glad you enjoyed.
I used chili sesame oil, and added a little more soy sauce, but it came out great!
Sounds fantastic, M! Thanks for taking the time to rate the recipe.
Excellent
Thanks so much, Marguerite!
Absolutely amazing love it love it
Thank you so much, Denise!
Sesame oil, toasted?
Maryann, in small amounts like this, I prefer to use toasted sesame oil. It has a really nice flavor. But if you don’t have it, you can use regular sesame oil.