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Best Bourbon Chicken is juicy, tender chicken thighs cut into pieces simmered in a sweet, brown sugar glaze that will melt in your mouth. Rich in flavor and served over rice for a complete meal!
Easy to prepare and ready in minutes! For more quick chicken recipes try these Creamy Skillet Chicken Cacciatore, Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken or One Pan Honey Mustard Chicken and Veggies.
Bourbon Chicken
Need a simple dish that is going to be flavorful and demand attention?! This is it!
You will only see clean plates at your table after serving up some bourbon chicken.
My kids go crazy over this sweet, sticky chicken that tastes AMAZING!
With a few simple ingredients you can come up with a deliciously tasting, tried and true recipe that everyone will love.
The chicken is so tender and juicy and the glaze is rich in flavor creating the perfect combination.
You can’t go wrong with this bourbon chicken that your family is going to love!
What is bourbon chicken
Bourbon chicken is a dish named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana and for the bourbon whiskey ingredient.
The dish is commonly found at Cajun-themed and Chinese restaurants.
The recipe includes soy sauce, brown sugar, and bourbon whiskey in the base, and the chicken is marinated in this sauce.
So simple to make and everyone will be asking for more!
What you need to make bourbon chicken
Think of a rich, thick, sauce with a sweet and sticky consistency all covering bites of chicken!
It is a masterpiece in the making. So simple to make and comes together in minutes.
All the ingredients are most you already have in your pantry and they are ready to go with one bowl whisked together.
I love how easy this recipe is and how much my family craves it on a weekly basis.
- Chicken thighs: make this meat extra tender and juicy when simmered in the glaze.
- Olive oil: adding extra flavor when cooking your chicken.
- Bourbon: rich in flavor and cooks out when simmered with the glaze.
- Soy Sauce: brings added flavor and a pinch of salty taste.
- Brown Sugar: adds to the sweetness.
- Garlic Cloves: a hint of
- Cornstarch: coats the chicken living it a little crispy on the outside of the chicken.
- Water: makes it a runny sauce.
- Sliced Green Onions: garnished on top!
How to cook bourbon chicken
Simple ingredients that make a flavorful meal. It is a tried and true recipes that is a favorite!
Only a few items that you need to make this meal fantastic!
One skillet, two bowls and a side dish! So simple and easy to make on a busy weeknight.
When cooking your chicken make sure it reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
The sauce comes together quickly and smoothly. It has a thick, sticky consistency that will cover all of your chicken.
Make sure to watch over your chicken as it is cooking with the sauce that it does not burn.
Just a few minutes of simmering and you have a main meal! Add rice, green beans or asparagus.
- Cook you chicken: In a medium sized skillet over medium high heat add the olive oil and chicken. Cook until brown and no longer pink.
- Whisk together sauce: In a small bowl whisk together bourbon, soy sauce, brown sugar, and garlic. Whisk together cornstarch and water and add to the sauce.
- Combine chicken and sauce in a skillet: Pour the sauce over the chicken and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens up.
- Make it a complete meal: Serve over rice and garnish with chopped green onions if desired.
Tips for making bourbon chicken
This bourbon chicken is all about flavor and tender, juicy chicken.
There is not a lot to change with the recipe and ingredients but you will be thanking me after you make it!
Enjoy your bourbon chicken soon!
- I use chicken thighs but you are welcome to use chicken breast. This will help cut down on the fat content too. Chicken thighs are little more juicer though.
- If you don’t have bourbon, whiskey, brandy or even scotch will work in place of it.
- The alcohol from the bourbon does evaporate completely while cooking. It is safe for children to eat.
- If you prefer not to use alcohol substitute the bourbon for apple cider
- To make a thicker glaze, dip your chicken in a beaten egg and roll into flour. Then deep fry it for a crispier chicken.
- If you love a little heat, add some red pepper flakes, sriracha sauce or paprika to the glaze when whisking.
Is there bourbon in bourbon chicken?
Yes! Bourbon brings out the rich, flavor in the glaze. It adds so much to this chicken and gives it most of its flavor.
As the glaze is simmering, the alcohol from the bourbon will begin to reduce and over a few minutes it does evaporate.
My kids and I eat this quite often and it is safe for all of us.
If you are worried about the alcohol just substitute it for apple cider. You will still have a great taste and flavor over this chicken.
Looking for more chicken recipes? Here are some!
We love chicken in our home!
These are more tried and true recipes that are simple to make and turn out great for busy weeknight meals.
- Jerk Chicken
- Chili Lime Chicken Wings
- Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken
- Glazed Lemon Honey Garlic Chicken
- Sheet Pan Teriyaki Chicken with Vegetables
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Bourbon Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken thighs or breasts cut into one inch pieces
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup bourbon*
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium sized skillet over medium high heat add the olive oil and chicken. Cook until brown and no longer pink.
- In a small bowl whisk together bourbon, soy sauce, brown sugar, and garlic. Whisk together cornstarch and water and add to the sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens up. Serve over rice and garnish with chopped green onions if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My husband made this recipe as written. We don’t both like a recipe often and we both LOVED this! Made with rice the first night. Had leftover sauce and chicken so reheated and put over cooked pasta. Just as delicious as the first night.
The leftovers of this are so good! Thanks for your review!!
As far as technique I would suggest holding the water, putting the cornstarch to the side. Cutting chicken into 1 inch dice and marinating for 2 to 24 hrs. Save your marinade while cooking. Pan medium high heat, oil, sear chicken ( don’t crowd it will steam, do 2 batches if needed). Put your cooked chicken in a bowl to the side. Add desired amount of cornstarch to your remaining marinade. Drop heat add chicken and marinade together into original pan for 5 to 10 min stirring occasionally
Tasty but, like everyone else, toooo salty. I added ginger, syrup, ketchup and white sugar and then it was edible.
It just need’ed ketchup!
This recipe was fantastic! The only changes I made were using a tablespoon of cornstarch instead of only a teaspoon and cutting the soy sauce down to 1/3 a cup instead of 1/2 a cup. I added a little cajun seasoning for heat, and my husband loved it. This is going into our regular rotation for sure!
EXCELLENT! I did use low sodium soy because I don’t like super salty, red pepper flakes and an extra clove of garlic. Served with jasmine rice and broccoli. Thank you for this recipe it will be in the rotation for sure.
This was a huge hit with my family. Even with my son, who is autistic and only has about 3 recipes he’ll touch on a regular basis!
I did make one alteration, and that was actually due to a mistake on my part for not checking what I had in my kitchen close enough.
Instead of soy sauce, I used Worcestershire sauce. I did see a few comments saying that even the low-sodium soy sauce made the glaze too salty, but with the Worcestershire sauce I thought it was perfect! I know 1/2 cup is a lot of the (admittedly expensive) Worcestershire to use, but if you happen to have some extra lying around I’d definitely give it a try because it’s delicious!
Wow! Simple delicious PERFECT! Totally satisfied.
TY😎
So awesome! I did Chicken & next salmon. I started low carb in January so i used brown sugar swerve. Definitely stocking up on Jim Beam one of my new favorite recipes.
Thanks Dolly
Easy to make. Flavorful, a bit salty. Next time I would use low sodium soy and maybe reduce the amount (that is a personal preference, my kids didn’t notice, not a critique). Maybe next time I will add bacon. As hare as taste, it was great. My picky eating kids loved it, there were no leftovers. Thanks for the recipe
Straight forward and easy. There was a really nice amount of sauce for the amount of meat. Sauce was too salty and a little one-dimensional. Also my sauce was more runny than the picture. I made it a second time with low-sodium soy sauce and added some extra cornstarch. I also added a little over 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp black pepper, a generous teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, 1/2 tsp of onion powder, and a Tbsp of rice vinegar (I’m sure cider vinegar would be fine too). That took it to a whole new place. Next time I will cut even the low-sodium soy sauce back just a bit.
There are a lot of other recipes out there which add many of the ingredients you mentioned, and they do make a fairly tasty dish, but it’s simply NOT the Bourbon Chicken you will get at the mall or in New Orleans. This recipe is the closest I’d found, and the sauce is SUPPOSED to be pretty salty and pretty runny – if it’s too salty or one-dimensional, you may be putting TOO MUCH of the sauce on your chicken and rice. Try less sauce next time.
Great meal!Very straightforward and easy to prepare.
Used the bourbon glaze part of the recipe next time thank I will use less soy sauce came out a little salty
This was a hit with my kids! Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious! My whole family loved it! I read the review above. I did not find it too salty, though may try a little less soy sauce the next time I make it and see if it alters the taste too much as I’m always looking to cut sodium intake.
Hi Alyssa,
I am loving your recipes, especially the Asian inspired. Last week I made your easy fried rice and the sweet & sour chicken. Both were amazing! I did use tempura because I didn’t have corn starch… but I’m ready now!
In this recipe you mentioned ginger early on but it’s not in the ingredients… can you clarify for me?
Your newest fan,
Laura in Maine
I liked this but had way too much soy sauce-making it so salty. If I made again prob would do 1/4 cup only.
Absolutely agree Kim! Second time we’ve made this & it’s far too salty!
Coconut Aminos is a great soy sauce sub. that makes this way less salty but still super delicious!
Did you all happen to us low sodium soy sauce and it was too salty?