My Glazed Pork Chops recipe has been viral for several years because it’s ridiculously easy, super tasty, and the sweet and spicy glaze helps keep the pork chops nice and moist. While I’ve often told people that the glaze works just as well on chicken, I had yet to showcase that particular combo on the blog. Until now. And honestly, I might even like these Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken Thighs better than the pork chops because they’re inherently even more tender and juicy, which means they reheat well and are absolutely perfect for meal prep. ;)
Can I Make the Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken Thighs Less Spicy?
Yep, if you want just a little heat, reduce the cayenne pepper to 1/4 tsp. If you want a completely non-spicy version, leave the cayenne pepper out and swap the regular paprika for smoked paprika to add complexity.
Can I Use Chicken Breast?
Yes, BUT you will need to use boneless breasts and pound the meat out to an even 1/2-inch thickness so they cook quickly. Otherwise the glaze will overcook and burn before your chicken breast cooks through.
Can I Use Bone-In Thighs?
I don’t suggest bone-in thighs for this recipe because they take much longer to cook and a longer cook time will likely cause the glaze to burn. This recipe cooks quick and needs a quick-cooking meat to match.
What to Serve with Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken
These Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken Thighs pair well with: Rosemary Roasted Potatoes (shown), Oven Roasted Frozen Broccoli, steamed green beans (shown), roasted or mashed sweet potatoes, or potato salad.
Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken Thighs
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.12)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp paprika ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4-5 pieces) ($4.49)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill).
- Place the chicken thighs on a cutting board and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the chicken, coating both sides liberally.
- Heat a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add the olive oil and swirl to coat. Add the coated chicken and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through and the brown sugar has turned into a deep brown glaze. Serve hot.
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Nutrition
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This has seriously become one of my go-to weeknight dinners! It goes so good with EVERYTHING.
How to Make Glazed Chicken Thighs – Step by Step Photos
In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill).
Pat 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the chicken, coating both sides liberally.
Heat a large skillet (large enough to fit all the meat in a single layer) over medium. Once hot, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the chicken and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is cooked through and the brown sugar has turned into a deep brown glaze.
Cooking time can vary with the side of your chicken thighs, type of cookware, or even the nuances of your range. So, watch the chicken closely, spin the skillet if your burner has hot spots, and make sure the heat isn’t too high or the glaze will burn before the chicken cooks through.
Sweet and Spicy Glazed Chicken Thighs – making “meat and potatoes” a little more exciting. ;)
I’ve only had bad and Smokey experiences cooking chicken on the stovetop, and I prefer chicken breast, so I used chicken breast and cooked it in the oven for 20 min at 400F. It turned out incredible! With the glaze being so deliciously gooey, the chicken came out very moist. I can’t believe how easy this was to throw together and was perfect for tonight when I had very little other ingredients in my kitchen. The ingredients in this recipe are ones I typically always have on hand. Thanks for the great recipe!
I should also mentioned I doubled the “sauce” for 1.5 # chicken breasts and very happy I did!
Is it possible to do this with wings? Butcherbox delivered nothing but wings in my last order and I need some way to eat through all of them.
I reached out to Beth on Instagram and she said this needs to be done in a boneless application but I was able to make it with chicken wings. Beth’s recipe’s purpose-besides deliciousness-is to be quick-cooking but if you’re like me and have nothing but chicken wings to eat, this can be made using Alton Brown’s method for cooking wings (you can even use your InstantPot to conduct the steaming process). Since the wings were essentially cooked before they hit the pan, I didn’t have to cook them very long and avoided the burning glaze issue. No matter which cut of meat or type of pan you use, the first step of this recipe should be to turn on your vent hood *and* open the closest window. I didn’t have the smoking or burning but caramelizing brown sugar plus cayenne is gonna create some…aroma 😊Let them sit for a second after they’ve been pulled from the pan or you’ll get mouthburn. I’ll definitely make this again and again. I may even make some pork chops with this glaze.
Love this recipe this is my third time making it I just wish there was more sauce.
My husband doesn’t care much for chicken, so I try to find recipes that are different from the norm. This recipe definitely pleased him. Not being huge fans of heat (and I didn’t have any cayenne pepper) I added about 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the seasoning mix. Wonderful! We both liked it very much. I skinned and boned the chicken thighs myself and then went ahead and seasoned them about an hour before cooking them. I was worried about the amount of liquid left on the plate holding the thighs, but went ahead and heated the pan, added the oil, and when hot enough, added the chicken and poured the remaining liquid on the thighs. Fabulous! A real keeper! Thank you.
This is such an easy and fabulous meal. It is in my regular rotation. I also take this when I am delivering a meal to help a friend. I have learned to watch the heat and use my meat thermometer. Thanks for another great recipe.
My sauce always turns into a really sticky goo that instantly solidifies when taken off of the heat. No clue how to fix it.
Yes, that’s how the glaze is supposed to be. :) You might try cooking it at a slightly lower heat and that will keep it from reducing quite so fast, if you prefer it to be more runny.
Taste: 5/5. Delicious, loved them. However, I also ran into the “everything completely burned before fully cooked,” problem. Maaaan, my kitchen was SMOkey! I’d probably start on the stove and end in the oven next time. Or just use tiny thighs bc those did turn out okay.
Made this on Sunday. Had my granddaughter over for dinner. We all loved it. The taste was amazing. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing!
My son said that it was the best chicken I’ve ever made (& he’s pretty much a food critic)!! It was delicious! Thanks for sharing!!!
I’ll take that as a HUGE WIN! Thanks Rachel!
Would this work well with garlic noodles (your recipe) My original plan was sweet potato but the noodles sound good too
Yes I think that would be delicious!
I think this recipe has finally convinced me I should never cook chicken in a skillet with oil ever again! Every single time, I always smoke out the apartment and burn something. Overall, it could have been much worse, though. I burned part of the outside of the chicken, and I didn’t manage to cook the chicken all the way through. To get it to a safe temp, I cut off the burnt bits and used my favorite baked chicken recipe as a template to finish off the cooking. I ended up with pretty much no sauce (burnt), but a little bit of the coating did manage to flavor the meat. Overall, we liked it, but I’m going to bake the chicken when I make this recipe again.
Oh no! Sorry to hear that Tania.
Love the flavor of this dish! It’s quick to make and always a big hit with my young kids.
BUT the last few times I made it, I couldn’t get the thighs to cook through before the glaze burns! What am I suddenly doing wrong? I tried turning down the heat but that just made the chicken take longer and gave more time for the glaze to burn. Should I add some water? Wait to add the sugar until the I flip the chicken? Help! I want this to work again!
Hmmm, do you mean you’ve made it successfully before but just the last few times it has burned? Have you changed cookware? Sometimes thinner cookware can make hot spot and cause it to burn easier. Turning down the heat was going to be my first suggestion, but since you’ve tried that with no success, I would try adding a couple tablespoons of water. That will hopefully help slow down that caramelization.
What I did instead was add some of the seasoning to just the chicken without the brown sugar and a another bowl witht the brown sugar and remaining seasoning w/ brown sugar and mixed in a little water to make a paste. I then gradually added the the paste to the chicken on both sides while it cooked and left it once all the paste was on for about 15-20 minutes on low heat
Winner winner chicken dinner! We eat a lot of chicken but prefer the thighs because they don’t dry out. I try new recipes occasionally and this is by far the best I’ve tried. I had to de-bone some thighs because the grocery store was out of boneless but it was well worth it. The great thing is they cook up so quickly. I made these for a 1300 mile drive camping trip and froze them in an oven tin. Took them out of the freezer around noon and they thawed as were toodling on down the road. Popped them in the oven for 20 ish minutes and turned out perfect! I will have to double the recipe because my husband will hoard them!
PS: I never ever post comments so that should tell you how good these were.
That’s awesome Lori! What an incredible trip. Thanks for sharing.
Just an update for you Kelly. We are very young retirees and I only cook when I feel like it. This is one of 2 chicken recipes I always make. Again, that’s how good they are!
My husband made this exactly as written and even added the baby potatoes and steamed green beans.
It was so delicious.
Thank you for sharing with your blog!
Yay!
This recipe was amazing and so easy to make! I doubled the glaze recipe as I like extra sauciness :) My boyfriend was skeptical at first but was also amazed when he tasted the chicken!