Southern Sticky Chicken
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This sweet yet savory sticky chicken recipe is delectable and the perfect easy weeknight dinner the whole family will enjoy.
This sweet and sticky chicken is an old-fashioned Southern recipe that has been around for about as long as folks have been cooking. The recipe has evolved and been tweaked over the years but the flavorful sticky marinade that clings to the chicken is still every bit as good as folks remember from the days when Granny used to make it for Sunday dinner.
Some of the things I love about this sticky chicken recipe is that it’s:
- Easy to make, which means it makes a great weeknight dinner.
- Versatile. Serve your meal with rice, vegetables, or a slew of Southern sides.
- Easy to double the recipe and make leftovers for weekday lunches.
Fortunately, this recipe for sticky chicken is pretty simple. All you have to do is mix up the sticky chicken marinade, which has equal parts sweet and savory ingredients to make a sauce that’s irresistible. Plus, they’re all pantry staples you probably have sitting in your cupboard right now. Then you bring the sauce ingredients to a boil, pour them over the chicken pieces, and bake. The end result is tender and juicy chicken soaked in a deliciously caramelized and sweet Asian-style sauce. It’s a home run with kids as well as adults.
Other Asian-inspired meals I recommend include crockpot cashew chicken, Asian-inspired pot roast, chicken fried rice, and Chinese chicken salad.
Recipe Ingredients
- Brown sugar (dark or light brown sugar, whatever you have)
- Garlic powder
- Ketchup
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- You’re also going to need about 3-5 pounds of bone-in chicken with the skin still on it. For my boneless sticky chicken recipe click here.
Traditionally, folks use legs or chicken thighs for this but my Kroger had bone-in split chicken breasts for buy one get one free – so I have two HUGE chicken breast halves that cost me a few dollars and that is what we’re using!
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Sticky Chicken
Put everything (except the chicken) in a saucepot and stir it up really well. Place over medium-high heat.
You can do medium heat but I like to get things rolling.
See how that’s boiling? Bring the sticky chicken sauce to a boil like this. Then remove from heat.
Place your chicken pieces in a 9×13 baking dish and pour all of the sticky sauce over.
Place this in a 350-degree oven and bake, uncovered, for 90 minutes total.
After 45 minutes, flip all of the chicken over in the dish.
An hour and 15 minutes into cooking, flip pieces again and baste with some of the glaze in the pan. Bake for another 15 minutes.
NOTE: cooking time is the same if you use legs and thighs.
Booyah! Easy sticky chicken!
Storage
This recipe will last up to five days in an airtight container in the fridge. It will also keep in the freezer for up to four months. When it’s time to reheat your leftovers, simply warm them up in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- If you want your marinade to have a bit of a spicy kick, add in a couple of tablespoons of chili garlic sauce, a tablespoon of sriracha hot sauce, or a sprinkle of paprika, , or cayenne pepper. Basically, whatever heat you have on hand!
- If you have a soy allergy, use tamari instead.
- Substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar, maple syrup, or an extra two tablespoons of honey.
Recipe FAQs
What chicken do I use for sticky chicken?
You can use any bone-in chicken, whether that’s chicken legs, chicken wings, drumsticks, chicken thighs, or chicken breasts.
What can I serve the sticky chicken with?
Whatever you like! You can go for an Asian takeout-style meal and serve it with rice, sliced green onion, broccoli, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Otherwise, here are some Southern side suggestions:
Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole
Broccoli with Homemade Cheese Sauce
Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad
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Ingredients
- 3 -5 pounds bone-in chicken with skin folks usually use legs and/or thighs
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a saucepot, combine ketchup, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic powder over medium to medium-high heat.1 cup ketchup, 1 cup honey, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Bring it just to a boil while stirring. Remove from heat.
- Arrange chicken pieces in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the entire amount of sauce over the chicken, turning pieces with tongs to coat.3 -5 pounds bone-in chicken with skin
- Place in oven, uncovered, for 90 minutes, turning after 45 minutes.
- 15 minutes before cooking time is up, flip pieces once more and baste with sauce.
Video
Nutrition
You may also like these chicken recipes:
Best Barbecue Sauce and Boneless Sticky Chicken
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds you plant.
~Robert Louis Stevenson
Submitted by Diane. Submit your quote by clicking here.
GREAT recipe and great conversation on your website!! – the music of the 50’s & 60’s is still the best!!! do wop, rock n roll, soul – incredible
Incredible indeed Al!!!
This sounds wonderful – and easy – so I’m all over it! The recipe for Sticky Chicken we’ve been using for over 35 yrs is: 1 pkg dry onion soup mix, 8 oz. apricot preserves, and 8 oz. bottle Catalina (or any French) Dressing. Mix in a bowl, pour over chicken pieces and bake at 350, basting with sauce, until chicken is browned – @ 1 hr. The sauce is just as good on baked pork chops, also.
I didn’t bring have dressing,;(( what else could I use??
Christy, this is one of my all time favorites which I got from you some time ago. Thanks again!
Me again 😀 not a food question though. Ive looked all over your site and cant find a way to get notifications if anyone replies to my posts here. I do get your email letter though. 😉
Hey again John! Always good to hear from you. Twice in a day is a double bonus! I honestly have no idea if there is a way to sign up for notifications. I think there used to be at some point but it may have gotten lost in the site redesign a few months back.
Ok thanks. Guess Im going to have to keep coming back then. 😉 LOL
It Really looks and sounds good Christy. Im ready to try it. I have a couple of questions though. Many times when eating chicken (with the skin) I get disappointed that the delicious flavor i get on the skin isnt in the chicken itself. Do you know what i mean? IF I can take a bite and have the seasoned skin in each bite thats good. But it rarely happens that way. i always want to eat all the skin. LOL Any suggestions how to get the meat to taste like the skin?
Also speaking of boneless breasts, If I soaked the breasts in the sauce over night or even longer would it soak into the chicken? Thanks 😀
Hey! Marinating does help but I wouldn’t recommend boneless breasts with this recipe. You really need that skin because the marinade sticks to that and there is where your flavor is going to be. I know exactly what you mean about the inside not tasting the same as the outside. The outside is made up of tissues that clings to that flavor and develops even more on its own as it cooks and roasts in the juices and the only way to bring that into every single bite is to use more sauce for drizzling and dipping. Fortunately, this dish gives you lots of extra sauce for just that! Another thing you can do is add a bit of salt to the marinade and that will help draw a wee bit more flavor into the chicken itself.
Thank You Christy, I was thinking about using the left over sauce for dippin. 😀
I am a little late to the table, pardon the pun, but I just wanted to put my two cents worth in about using boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
I put the breasts in my 9 x 13″ pan, poured about a third of the sauce over, covered with foil and baked at 350° for approx. 30 mins. I removed the foil, poured another third of the sauce over, baked uncovered for an additional 15 mins., then poured the remaining sauce over, and broiled between 5-7 mins., watching it while it broiled.
By covering it, the chicken does not dry out, uncovering it thickens the sauce, and broiling actually does make the sauce on the pieces a little stickier. My husband, son and I really enjoyed it!
I have yet to try it with thighs, waiting for them to go on sale.
Thank You for a lovely recipe Christy.
I am SO GLAD you came back and shared your findings!!! This will be so helpful to many people, including myself!
Thank you!!!
Gratefully,
C J
I grew up in the fifties with the original rock n roll and it was great!!
Oh Evelyn…Sock hops, poodle skirts, crisp white socks folded over, jeans cuffed. I can see it all…One of the many era’s I think I should have been born in!!
I am so pleased that I found Southernplate.com.
I made Sticky Chicken drumsticks for my family last week and they were such a hit that I am making them again tomorrow. Boiling the sauce first is genius because it sticks to the chicken so much better.
Sending you all Seasons Greetings from The Netherlands
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Betsy!!!