Description
Easy bourbon chicken brings together tender chicken breasts with a sweet and savory glaze that comes together faster than you’d expect. A few pantry staples – bourbon, brown sugar, and soy sauce – create that rich, caramelized coating that makes your dinner taste like you spent hours in the kitchen.
Ingredients
Scale
Protein:
- 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Sauce and Seasonings:
- 0.25 cup bourbon
- 0.5 cup soy sauce
- 0.25 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 0.25 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
Cooking and Thickening:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons water
- Sliced green onions
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then add your 1 ½ pounds of cubed chicken breasts and cook for 10-15 minutes at 165°F internal temperature until no pink remains.
- While your chicken cooks, whisk together ¼ cup bourbon, ½ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoons ketchup, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and 1 teaspoon grated ginger in a separate bowl.
- Once your chicken is done, pour the entire sauce mixture directly into the skillet with the cooked chicken and reduce your heat to medium-low.
- Let everything simmer together for 3-4 minutes so the flavors meld into your chicken.
- In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons cornstarch with 2 teaspoons water to create your slurry, then add this to your skillet and stir constantly for about 1-2 minutes until your sauce reaches a glossy, thickened consistency.
- Transfer your bourbon chicken to a serving dish over rice and scatter sliced green onions across the top for color and freshness.
Notes
- Cook your chicken cubes all the way through before adding the sauce, since the meat won’t cook further once the liquid goes in and the heat drops to medium-low.
- Mix your sauce ingredients together while the chicken cooks so everything is ready to go the moment the skillet comes off the heat.
- Make your cornstarch slurry with cold water to prevent lumps from forming when it hits the hot sauce.
- If your sauce seems too thin after simmering, add a bit more cornstarch mixed with water, but go slowly since it thickens quickly and can become too thick for your taste.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-19 minutes
- Category: Sautéed Chicken
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 335 kcal
- Sugar: 14 g
- Sodium: 1500 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 36 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg