Honey Garlic Sauce
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This homemade honey garlic sauce is sticky, garlicky, and finger-licking good. Serve it over salmon, pork chops, chicken, tofu, veggies, or use it as a dip. It will make any meal more delicious and it's ready in just 10 minutes!
For more delicious homemade sauce recipes, also try our bourbon bbq sauce, fish taco sauce, or tomato cream sauce.
Get your napkins ready because this honey garlic sauce is sticky, in the best kind of way! It's super simple to make and takes only five ingredients. We use butter as the base (instead of oil) then we add garlic, honey, apple cider vinegar, and soy sauce for a rich, full-flavor sauce.
It's great over everything from chicken to fish, meatballs to stir-fries, and more. Use it as a sauce or boil it down to a thicker consistency and use it as a dip. It's the familiar taste of take-out that everyone loves, made healthier!
Ingredients
Making honey garlic sauce at home means there are no unwanted ingredients. Here's everything you'll need to make it:
- Butter ā as the base of the sauce and to give it a rich, full body taste.
- Garlic ā a generous amount (six cloves!) for a bold garlicky sauce.
- Honey ā to add sweetness and make things sticky.
- Apple cider vinegar ā adds acidity to balance things out.
- Soy sauce ā for its salty and rich umami flavor.
How to make honey garlic sauce
It's easy to make homemade honey garlic sauce. Here's how it comes together in a few simple steps:
- Start by melting the butter in a small pot, then add the garlic.
- Next add the honey, apple cider vinegar, and soy sauce and bring it to a boil.
- This is where you have options depending on what you're using it for. If you're making baked or pan-fried chicken, fish, or pork, boil the sauce for another couple of minutes until it's slightly thickened.
- If you're using it as a dip, boil it for another few minutes so it thickens more. It will thicken considerably as it cools, too.
Recipe FAQs
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Using butter gives this sauce its rich taste. But if you're strictly avoiding dairy, you can use oil instead.
Can I use white vinegar instead?
In a pinch! Apple cider vinegar is a bit milder, and less acidic than white vinegar so you may need to adjust your recipe accordingly.
How to serve honey garlic sauce
We're all familiar with the irresistible taste of honey garlic sauce on chicken wings, but there are so many other ways to enjoy it! Here are some ideas for putting this honey garlic sauce to use:
Use it in place of the sauce on one of these recipes:
As a dip for:
Used as a stir fry sauce on one of these recipes:
Brushed on for added flavor to:
Favorite honey garlic recipes
Honey Garlic Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 6 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- Ā½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (can be gluten free)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.2 tablespoons butter, 6 cloves garlic
- Add the honey, apple cider vinegar, and soy sauce and bring the pot to a boil.2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, Ā½ cup honey
- If you're using the sauce to make baked or pan-fried chicken, fish, or pork, boil the sauce for 2 minutes, until it's slightly thickened.
- If you're using the sauce as a dip, boil it for 4-5 minutes (total), so that it is thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Remember, it will thicken considerably as it cools.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out all of our homemade sauce recipes!
If making this as a dip, and possibly doubling the recipe, can I make it ahead of time, how do I store it if so and how long is it good?
Thx
You can store this in the fridge for up to 10 days!
could you freez this sauce..looks and sound so good..or maybe 1/2 the crecip tfs
I’d recommend making Ā½ of the recipe if you don’t think you’ll use all if it. Freezing it will change the texture.
This sauce turned out perfect, we will be making this again!
Being disabled and unable to stand and work in the kitchen for long means it can be quite hard to make home cooked food with flavour. I make rice in my mini rice cooker, boil some frozen shrimp and pour this sauce on top. I buy pre-minced garlic in the jar so everything basically goes in a pot and I sit in a chair by the stove so I can get up to stir and check. Quick and easy meal good for a lunch or small dinner. I love this sauce so much I’m thinking of using a day to pre-prepare ingredients for a yaki udon dish. To most people, that would be the easy meal, but it would take me a full day to wash and cut ingredients. I think this sauce is worth it, though š
Great recipe. Just watch it when is boiling – the honey could boil over Jim
Amazing recipe! I absolutely loved it! Keeper for sure. Question: how long can you store it in the refrigerator? It makes a generous amount and I have a lot of leftovers. Ideally, I’d like to use it up and not waste it but it’s been approximately 2 weeks since I made it. It’s stored in an air tight mason jar. Thanks in advance!
Most likely it will be just fine. The only ingredient that you need to be concerned with is the garlic, but since it was cooked it shouldn’t be an issue to eat it after 2 weeks. But to be on the safe side, you can bring it to a rolling boil before you eat it.
Simple and delicious.Ā
Quick and savory, this recipe will definitely be my go-to.Nothing like home-made sauce.
My favorite honey garlic recipe so far. First time it turned out great! Second time I overcooked it and made honey garlic caramel.
OMG! First time I tried it was on pan fried pork chops and my taste buds had a party š„³š. I’m going to try it out on chicken quarters tonight, and put some of the sauce under the skin -I’m sure it will taste out of this world. Thank you so much for this quick, wonderful addition to just about everything..lol