This sweet and spicy Grilled Honey Sriracha Chicken is jam-packed with flavor from a simple marinade of honey, soy sauce, lime juice, spicy Sriracha, and garlic. Serve it with some Grilled Cauliflower or Grilled Red Potatoes for a complete grilled meal.
I know you might find this hard to believe, but I often have a hard time thinking of what to make for dinner (or lunch or breakfast). Sometimes there's just zero going on in the ole recipe creator section of my brain.
When this happens, I find if I just mentally stare into the void long enough, my brain eventually will start to work. From there, it inevitably almost always starts to think about something that's both sweet and spicy. I think it's drawn to these flavors since they make almost anything taste amazing.
So when this happened to me recently (I found myself staring at some chicken breasts trying to decide how to cook them), I just started thinking about how delicious honey and Sriracha are together. Then, my brain just started working again and began to conjure the rest of the recipe: some soy sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, and garlic, and there we had it — one delicious marinade.
I think what makes this marinade so good is that first of all the lime juice makes the chicken nice and tender. Secondly, the mixture of different kinds of flavors creates a sweet, spicy, savory marinade that's frankly impossible to resist. The sauce will also work as a delicious glaze if you boil some down in a saucepan and drizzle it on top or serve it on the side as a dipping sauce.
Ways to Serve Honey Sriracha Chicken
I tend to serve chicken over rice or cauliflower rice as my go-to, but there are many other ways to serve this chicken.
- Eat this chicken in a wrap. Try a low-carb or high-fiber brand that has fewer calories and fat. Stuff this chicken in the wrap with some shredded lettuce or cabbage, plus any of your other favorite fixin's.
- Add some steamed veggies like broccoli, snow peas, and mushrooms to the grilled chicken with some of that glaze I was talking about earlier. Great alone or over rice!
- Cut the chicken in cubes instead of strips and skewer it up with slices of pineapple, cherry tomatoes, and whole baby bella mushrooms. Grill some pineapple and whole green onions on the side for an additional burst of flavor.
- Lay the sliced, grilled chicken into the top of an Asian-themed grain bowl. Start with your favorite grain (rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa, or millet are a few that I've tried) and layer on your favorite toppings from there. Finish with a glaze or add more Sriracha and some black sesame seeds.
- Lay the chicken strips over the top of an Asian-themed salad or any salad greens for that matter. A miso dressing would work wonderfully on top of the whole dish.
- Serve this Sriracha Chicken right inside a warm bowl of ramen broth and noodles with shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and soft-boiled eggs. Finger-licking good!
What Makes This Sriracha Honey Chicken Healthy?
Don't let sauces scare you — they aren't all full of loads of calories and fat. In fact, this one is good for you!
- Honey is a wonderful, all-natural sweetener. It's also known to have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. It is also a good source of iron, calcium, sodium chloride, potassium, magnesium, and phosphate. Antioxidants have been shown to reduce heart disease risk.
- Low sodium soy sauce has, a lower amount of sodium in it than the high-test variety. It also contains free amino acids, vitamin B3, iron, phosphorous, and manganese.
- Lime juice is a great citrus juice to cook with for many reasons. It is good for your digestive system, is good for your heart, can lower your risk for certain kinds of cancer, and is great for your hair and skin.
- Sriracha spicy foods are a great way to add tons of flavor without a ton of calories or fat. They can heat up more than your mouth as well — they can help kick your metabolism up a notch. They are also good for your heart and act as a cancer preventative.
- Rice vinegar contains certain acids that add a boost to your digestion. Rice vinegar also has antiseptic properties, is good for your liver, can help pep you up if you're feeling fatigued, and can aid your immune system in keeping you healthy.
- Garlic contains both antibiotic and antibacterial properties. It's helpful in reducing your cholesterol and blood pressure levels and can help stave off Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
- Chicken breast is a lean source of meat protein that is low in calories and fat. Eating foods like chicken breast can help keep you fuller, longer and can help you lose weight.
Can I Substitute Chicken Thighs?
If you prefer or only have chicken thighs on hand, it's perfectly fine to use these instead of boneless, skinless chicken breast. You might want to cut off some of the extra fat from the chicken thighs before slicing into strips and grilling.
Can I make this in the oven?
Absolutely! This dish can be baked in the oven instead of cooked on the grill. Place the marinated chicken in a glass baking dish and pour the extra marinade on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
Can I make this in a skillet?
To make this a quick meal in the skillet, start by cutting the chicken into smaller, bite-size pieces. Add it to a hot skillet with a touch of oil and cook for 6-8 minutes until just cooked through. Add the sauce and simmer for 3-4 minutes to thicken. If needed, add a touch of cornstarch to thicken up the sauce.