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    🏠Home » Recipes » Chicken Breast Recipes

    Honey Glazed Grilled Chicken Breasts

    Jul 23, 2021 · Modified: Oct 27, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 18 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.21 from 59 votes

    This easy honey glaze produces an exceptionally moist and tasty grilled chicken breast. You can never have too many great chicken recipes. Just follow the easy step-by-step photo instructions.

    Honey glazed chicken breast on a white plate

    Jump To:
    • 👨‍🍳How to make this recipe
    • 🐓The Chicken
    • ♨️Grill setup
    • 📖Chicken Breast Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    This one is easy to do and will become the favorite recipe for many backyard grillers. Fire up the grill and have at it.

    The honey combined with lemon juice, garlic, soy sauce, and a few common ingredients makes a wonderful glaze with an exceptional taste combination.

    👨‍🍳How to make this recipe

    1. Trim skinless boneless chicken breasts of about the same size and thickness.
    2. Brine if you have time and rinse after brining.
    3. Preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°. Clean and oil grill grates well.
    4. Give each breast a little salt (if not brined) and pepper to taste, then brush the glaze on both sides of the chicken.
    5. Place over direct heat. After about 5-6 minutes, flip the chicken and brush with glaze. Continue to flip every 5🐓-6 minutes and brush until an internal temperature of 165°—about 25 minutes.
    6. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

    🐓The Chicken

    The size of the breasts is also important. Try not to use those huge thick breasts. With a sugar-type glaze, you will end up burning the outside before the inside gets to the safe 165° internal temperature.

    raw chicken on red board being hit with meat mallet.

    If the thickness of the breasts is over ¾ inches, get out the meat mallet and get them down to about ¾ inch thick. If you don't have a mallet, then the bottom of a heavy pan will do. It doesn't have to be exact, but close, please.

    🧂Optional Brine

    Like all skinless chicken breasts grilled, there was some dryness,  not much, but a brine would make it a full 5.

    A suggested brine would be two cups of water and one tablespoons table salt for an hour or two. If you brine, then rinse and skip the salt before brushing with the honey mixture.

    1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt

    ♨️Grill setup

    Finally, the grill surface temperature at about 450°, which is medium to medium-high on most gas grills. You must be able to know the temperature you are cooking at to be successful in doing any grilling.

    Get a surface thermometer. Go to Amazon or your local hardware store and spend your $10. You will save many times that in ruined food. While you are there, get an instant-read thermometer, also.

    See A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill for a complete discussion.

    Charcoal grill

    A charcoal grill may be used, but it is even more important to measure the grill's surface temperature since charcoal can get very hot. Don't overdo the coals, and you will need to learn to adjust the vents.

    📖Chicken Breast Recipes

    How to Grill Chicken Breasts on a Gas Grill

    How to Bake Chicken Breasts in a Convection Oven

    Parmesan Mayonnaise Baked Skinless Chicken Breast

    Pan Seared Oven Baked Chicken Breast

    Garlic Lemon Marinaded Grilled Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Chicken Breast Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Grill Recipes
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    raw chicken with honey glaze ingredients.

    Start with skinless boneless chicken breasts. Trim nicely. If you have time, brine in 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt for an hour or two. Be sure to rinse well after brining.

    mixing glaze in a small bowl.

    Mix the glaze of 2 tablespoons each of honey, soy sauce, lemon juice, and olive oil. Add ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Mix well—Reserve ¾ of the mixture for later.

    brushing on glaze on a red board.

    Give each breast a little salt (if not brined) and pepper to taste, then brush the glaze on both sides of the chicken.

    clean and oil grill crates.

    Allow the chicken to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes (maximum) while cleaning, oiling, and preheating the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°-500°—probably medium-high on most grills.

    glazed chicken breasts on the grill.

    Place over direct heat. After about 5-6 minutes, flip the chicken and brush with glaze.

    brushing additional glaze on cooking chicken.

    Continue to flip every 5-6 minutes and brush until an internal temperature of 165°—about 25 minutes. But your time may vary—Cook to the final internal temperature of 165° in the thickest area.

    two honey glazed chicken breasts on a white plate.

    Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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    Recipe

    Honey glazed chicken breast large

    Honey Glazed Grilled Chicken Breast

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    This easy honey glaze produces an exceptionally moist and tasty grilled chicken breast. You can never have too many great chicken recipes. Just follow the easy step-by-step photo instructions.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.21 from 59 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 2 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts

    Honey Glaze

    • 2 tablespoons honey
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • Kosher salt and pepper to taste

    Optional Brine

    • 2 cups water
    • 1 tablespoon salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Start with skinless boneless chicken breasts—trim nicely. If you have time, brine in 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt for an hour or two. Be sure to rinse well after brining.
      raw chicken with honey glaze ingredients.
    • Mix the glaze of 2 tablespoons each of honey, soy sauce, lemon juice, and olive oil. Add ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Mix well. Reserve ¾ of the mixture for later.
      mixing glaze in a small bowl.
    • Give each breast a little salt (if not brined) and pepper to taste, then brush the glaze on both sides of the chicken. Don't forget to reserve ¾ of the glaze for brushing during grilling.
      brushing on glaze on a red board.
    • Allow the chicken to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes (maximum) while cleaning, oiling, and preheating the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°-500°—medium-high on most grills.
      clean and oil grill crates
    • Place over direct heat. Be sure the grates are well oiled.
      glazed chicken breasts on the grill.
    • After about 5-6 minutes, flip the chicken and brush with glaze. Continue to flip every 5-6 minutes and brush until an internal temperature of 165°—about 25 minutes. But your time may vary—cook to the final internal temperature of 165° in the thickest area.
      brushing additional glaze on cooking chicken.
    • Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
      two honey glazed chicken breasts on a white plate.
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    Your Own Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. Brine if you have time. 1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
    2. If you brine, rinse off the brine well and do not add any more salt.
    3. Critical point #1 - Flatten to ¾ inch thick if needed.
    4. Critical Point #2 - Grill surface temperature of about 450°.
    5. Critical Point #3 - Remove at 165°. Lower is not safe. Higher will dry.
    6. Rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
    7. Be sure to oil grill grates well to start to prevent sticking.
    8. To do this right, you should have a grill surface thermometer and an instant-read thermometer.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Honey Glazed Grilled Chicken Breast
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 232 Calories from Fat 90
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 10g15%
    Saturated Fat 2g10%
    Cholesterol 72mg24%
    Sodium 767mg32%
    Potassium 437mg12%
    Carbohydrates 10g3%
    Sugar 9g10%
    Protein 25g50%
    Vitamin A 35IU1%
    Vitamin C 4.3mg5%
    Calcium 13mg1%
    Iron 0.6mg3%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Originally Published July 19, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation. The original recipe was named honey crusted but glazed is more accurate to me.

    Lilly and Molly 6 months 3 weeks running fast in the yard
    Lilly and Molly six months three weeks

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    1. Doug

      February 18, 2023 at 4:01 am

      The glaze was very tasty, but I had trouble getting the glaze to stick to the chicken, although I basted before, and every five minutes before flipping. The final product was good, but lacked a strong taste of the glaze. Any pointers?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        February 18, 2023 at 7:38 am

        Hi Doug,

        Welcome to the blog. Sorry, it didn't work very well for you.

        Pointers: Nothing will stick to wet chicken. Dry with paper towels before starting, then dry again. Second, to oil can be cut in half would help stick (or even eliminate) that would help to stick and concentrate the flavor. Flavor-wise, I have added a pinch of heat with cayenne.

        Hope that helps.

        Dan

    2. Celestine Armstrong Erby

      February 10, 2022 at 5:35 pm

      Hi There, can I substitute with mayonnaise instead of olive oil in the honey sauce?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        February 10, 2022 at 7:58 pm

        Hi Celestine,

        Welcome to the blog. I have some major doubts about how well that will work. I do have a nice mayo breast recipe that is oven based https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/parmesan-mayonnaise-baked-skinless/

        Dan

    3. Scotty

      July 28, 2020 at 1:29 pm

      Can I use chicken legs?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        July 28, 2020 at 5:19 pm

        Hi Scotty,

        Welcome to the blog.

        The answer is probably. I have never done it but I grill drumsticks longer. Please see https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/art-of-drummies-grilling-chicken/ So the legs will need to cook longer so be careful about all the sugar burning.

        Dan

    4. Timothy Enns

      May 08, 2019 at 9:56 am

      5 stars
      Very nice recipe. It was my clear inspiration. I replaced the soy sauce with Coconut Aminos (4 T) and added all of the ingredients into a Sous Vide bag. Cooked at 141 for 1 and 1/2 hours. Then finished on the grill, glazing with the Sous Vide juices. Optionally, you could glaze with a BBQ sauce. Wellbee’s BBQ is great and compliant with our diet restrictions.

      Reply
    5. Nora

      October 14, 2018 at 5:11 pm

      has anyone made it the oven? if so what temp, how long? Out of gas and don't have a grill pan. Recipe sounds really good! Thanks

      Reply
      • Corine Wilber

        May 21, 2019 at 4:41 pm

        Not sure if you figured out the answer, but I'm going to try tonight! I already brined my chicken and it starting POURING outside. I'm going to try 425 and rotating and glazing every five minute as instructed when cooking on the grill. I'll let you know how it turns out!

      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        May 21, 2019 at 6:34 pm

        Hi Corine,
        Welcome to the blog.
        Your plan probably will work. You probably should check out https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/baked-chicken-breasts/ since you have done half that recipe. Maybe just bake per those instructions. Glaze the top then flip halfway and glaze again.
        Dan

    6. Mike Fisher

      May 28, 2018 at 9:18 pm

      Dan, I made this tonight for the wife and myself. It was perfect. I put it in the brine for an hour beforehand. Moist on the inside, sweet and sticky on the outside. Great recipe. Thanks!

      Mike

      Reply
    7. Tim Burke

      April 27, 2018 at 6:37 pm

      Used the recipe on chicken tenderloins, soooooo delicious!!! Currently trying it on some home cut pork chops right this minute, made a nice spicy teriyaki BBQ sauce to go with, idk if it's gonna work out or not, keeping my fingers crossed!!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        May 08, 2018 at 1:15 pm

        Hi Tim,
        First, sorry for the delayed reply.
        Hope that teriyaki worked well for you.
        Thanks for the note.
        Dan

      • Loraine

        July 11, 2018 at 7:30 pm

        This recipe was awesome! The best yet. Hubby just got a Weber grill and followed ur recipe to a tee.. moist inside too for being a chx breast...Thxs!!

    8. Dawn Burke

      November 03, 2015 at 7:16 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe was amazing! I didn't have lemon juice on hand so substituted with orange juice and it was great! This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        November 03, 2015 at 8:39 pm

        Thanks for the note and rating.
        DrDan

    9. Cheryl Barnes

      July 29, 2014 at 10:43 pm

      5 stars
      I made this tonight. YUMMY!!!!! Unfortunately I had to make it on a grill pan on my stove because our outdoor grill wasn't gassed up tonight. lol. This was soooooo delicious and moist and I didn't do the brine first. It was so tasty that my husband volunteered to do the dishes. :-). Thank you so much for this recipe. I will be making this again!
      I have one question/suggestion is nutritional info available? I put everything I eat into the my fitness pal app and it would be super if that was available. Thank you.

      Reply
    10. Suzanne

      July 25, 2014 at 9:35 am

      This recipe looks sooo good. Will be cooking it this week.

      Reply

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