This Brown Sugar Soy Chicken has a simple marinade of brown sugar, soy sauce, butter, water, and seasoning. Part of the marinade is reserved as a glaze for the chicken after it bakes. Whether you marinate it for two or twenty-four hours, the chicken has tremendous flavor. This baked chicken is easy to prepare and is a perfect weeknight meal.
What we love about this Marinated Soy Chicken
We love this marinade so much that we have used it with chicken wings, with grilled chicken breasts, and boneless chicken thighs as well. It really imparts so much flavor in the chicken, and we love that that it makes an ample amount to reserve some of the marinade for a delicious glaze on the chicken after it cooks. We love the flavor of the chicken. You can marinate for 2-24 hours. I prefer to marinate it overnight, but in a pinch for time, I have done it for just a few hours, and it always tastes so good.
I love that the preparation time is so minimal. You just heat up the marinade to melt the butter and dissolve the sugar, and once it is done, pour it over the chicken to marinate (reserving some for the sauce later). This is an easy weeknight meal. You can start the chicken marinating the night before, the morning of, or at lunchtime. You bake the chicken with the marinade and dinner is ready. We love this with a side of rice and broccoli.
Looking for another easy weeknight meal? Try our Chili and Cornbread Casserole or our Italian Sausage and Broccoli Pasta!
What you need to make Soy Sauce Chicken Thighs
You will need the following ingredients:
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)
- Butter
- Soy sauce
- Brown sugar
- Water
- Dry mustard
- Garlic powder
- Ginger
- Gornstarch
- Optional garnish: Sesame seeds
- Optional garnish: Scallions
Soy Chicken Thighs Substitutions
I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:
- We have used various chicken pieces with this marinade. You can use boneless chicken thighs easily and cook for less time. We cooked chicken wings as well. I have also tried grilling this with chicken breasts, but the baking in the marinade really does have more flavor.
- The marinade is so good, I wouldn’t change a thing. If you want to try different seasonings or use real garlic instead of garlic powder, those are options for substitutions.
- If you don’t want to make additional sauce, you may not need it. You can forgo reserving some of the marinade and just use all of the marinade for baking. You can spoon a little sauce on the chicken from the pan after it bakes. The thickened reserved marinade is nice because it doesn’t run all over the plate and lightly coats the chicken after baking.
Step-by-step Instructions for Brown Sugar Soy Chicken
Step 1. In a small pot, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, butter, dry mustard, garlic powder, and ginger over low heat and heat until the brown sugar and the butter dissolve. Set aside to cool.
Step 2. Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag (a bowl or pan will work as well). Measure out ¾ cup of the cooled marinade, cover, and refrigerate. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and marinate, covered, for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, turning the chicken halfway through the marinating time.
Step 3. Pour the chicken and marinade into a shallow baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through. While the chicken bakes, whisk together the set aside marinade. Put the cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk together with 2 tablespoons of the marinade. Add the remaining refrigerated marinade and cornstarch slurry to a small pot. Heat over medium heat to boiling and slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
Step 4. Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon sauce from the pan over the top of the chicken. Transfer chicken to a serving platter or to individual plates. Pour the additional glaze over the chicken or serve with the chicken if desired. Garnish the chicken with sesame seeds and scallions if using.
Tips
- Usually, I don’t use a marinade to cook meat in that has had raw meat in it, but since the chicken bakes in the oven for 50 minutes at 350, it is safe to eat from what I understand. From what I read, it is safe if it has been baked for a long amount of time to get the chicken to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This article states that 45 minutes with the marinade at 140 degrees is sufficient https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13683564/. If in doubt, you can boil the marinade before adding it to the chicken to cook, but I have never done this and have never had a problem.
- I love the jumbo-sized resealable plastic bags for marinating meat. I buy mine at my local supermarket and get the 2.5 gallon bags. You can also buy the Hefty 2.5 gallon bags on Amazon.
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Frequently Asked Questions
| How to store Brown Sugar Soy Sauce Chicken? |
| The chicken can be safely stored in the fridge, covered, for 3-4 days, or kept in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for about 3-4 months for best quality. Thaw the chicken completely in the fridge before warming it to eat. |
| How to reheat chicken thighs? |
| The best way to reheat bone-in chicken thighs without drying them out is to heat them in the oven, covered with foil at 325 with any additional sauce for 10-15 minutes, and uncover for the last 5 minutes or so until at the desired temperature. You can also reheat gently in the microwave in 30-second intervals until warm or on the stove top with additional sauce or a little water until warm. |
| What should I serve with Brown Sugar Soy Chicken? |
| Dishes to serve with soy-glazed chicken include rice, cauliflower rice, rice noodles, low-mein, Udon or ramen noodles, zucchini noodles, or roasted vegetables. I love sides like sauteed green beans, broccoli, zucchini, or asparagus that pair well with the chicken, and we usually serve it with rice as well. |
Brown Sugar Soy Chicken
4
servings10
minutes50
minutes2-24
hours3-25
hoursThis Brown Sugar Soy Chicken has a simple marinade of brown sugar, soy sauce, butter, water, and seasoning. Part of the marinade is reserved as a sauce for the chicken after it bakes. Whether you marinate for two or twenty-four hours, the chicken has tremendous flavor. This baked chicken is easy to prepare and is a perfect weeknight meal.
Ingredients
8 -10 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)
½ cup butter
1 cup soy sauce (low sodium if desired)
1 cup brown sugar
⅔ cup water
1 teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
Optional garnish: 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Optional garnish: 2-3 scallions, chopped
Directions
- In a small pot, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, butter, dry mustard, garlic powder, and ginger over low heat and heat until the brown sugar and the butter dissolve. Set aside to cool.
- Place chicken in a large Ziploc bag (a bowl or pan will work as well). Measure out ¾ cup of the cooled marinade, cover, and refrigerate. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and marinate, covered, for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, turning the chicken halfway through the marinating time.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pour the chicken and marinade into a shallow baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While the chicken bakes, whisk together the set aside marinade. Put the cornstarch in a small bowl and whisk together with 2 tablespoons of the marinade. Add the remaining refrigerated marinade and cornstarch slurry to a small pot. Heat over medium heat to boiling and slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the chicken from the oven. Spoon sauce from the pan over the top of the chicken. Transfer chicken to a serving platter or to individual plates. Pour the additional glaze over the chicken or serve with the chicken if desired. Garnish the chicken with sesame seeds and scallions if using. Rice and broccoli are great sides with this dish. Additional sesame seeds or scallions can be added when serving, if desired.
Notes
- I use a baking sheet, like a cookie sheet with rimmed sides, to bake the chicken. The baking sheet gives plenty of room so the chicken isn’t crowded. A 9×13 could work, but the chicken would be crowded.
- This chicken is so flavorful. The longer you can marinate it, the better. I prefer the flavor when I marinate it overnight, but it is delicious after a few hours as well.
- There is plenty of marinade to set aside for the sauce, and the sauce is nice to have. I usually spoon a little of the pan sauce over the chicken after it bakes before serving and then serve the additional thickened sauce on the side with the chicken. If you prefer, you can use the entire amount of the marinade and spoon some of the pan sauce from the marinade on to the chicken after it has baked, but it’s very thin and spreads all over the plate, so I like reserving some of the marinade, thickening it, and serving that with the cooked chicken instead.
- Please read in my “Tips” section about cooking the chicken in the marinade.
Big of chicken thigh recipes, I think I should try this amazing recipe soon!
Thank you for your positive review! We love the easy prep for this chicken and how much flavor the chicken has from the marinade. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you try it!
Saving this brown sugar soy chicken recipe to try. Sounds so flavorful and easy for a weeknight meal.
It really is a great weeknight meal, thanks for the great feedback! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
This looks delish! Can’t wait to try it.
Thank you! This chicken is so easy and has great flavor, let me know if you try it! Thanks for the great feedback!
Gimme all the chicken thighs! These are perfect for a busy weeknight meal! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for the great feedback! These are a great, flavorful weeknight meal. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
This was incredible. So much flavor – the whole family loved it (an my little guy is picky). Thank you for the great recipe.
That makes me so happy to hear! I love that your little one enjoyed it too. The chicken really absorbs the flavor from the marinade and is so flavorful, we love it to. Thanks for the great review and for taking the time to stop by!