Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken

Published June 24, 2018. Updated August 21, 2019

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Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken has such a bright and delicious blend of sweet, tangy and smokey flavors. Its so easy to make and that glaze will leave everyone craving more! My whole family loved this chicken!

Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken Recipe

A Different Take on Orange Chicken

We are all used to the battered and deep fried, bite size pieces of Asian Orange Chicken but I wanted a grill friendly orange chicken with some unique and exciting flavors and that’s just what you get here.

It may seem like an odd blend of ingredients but it just works. And the Mexican hot sauce is just what I had on hand but use what you like. I did also try this with sriracha and I preferred something less sweet and more tangy, something that was maybe a little less bold.

Ingredients for this Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken

  • Oranges
  • Lemon
  • Olive oil
  • Hot sauce
  • Dijon mustard
  • Garlic
  • Chicken thighs
  • Butter
  • Honey
  • BBQ sauce

Breasts will work too for this recipe, just pound them to an even thickness with the flat side of a meat mallet and adjust grill time if needed (for example, 8 oz breasts may only take 4 minutes per side total, to brush with glaze at about 3 minutes).

ingredients grilled chicken oranges bbq sauce hot sauce olive oil honey dijon mustard lemon butter garlic chicken thighs

How to Make this Marinated Grilled Chicken

First you’ll start by mixing together all of the marinated ingredients, the orange juice and zest, lemon juice, olive oil, hot sauce, dijon mustard and garlic.

Place the trimmed chicken thighs in a gallon size resealable bag then pour marinade over. Seal bag while pressing out excess air then let marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.

Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken

After marinating preheat grill over medium-high heat.

While grill is preheating prepare the glaze. In a small sauce pan melt the butter, whisk in orange juice, orange zest, honey, BBQ sauce, and dijon mustard. Set aside about 1/3 cup of glaze for serving.

Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken

Place chicken on grill then grill until it’s almost cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Brush with glaze and grill about 2 minutes more per side. Serve warm with remaining glaze

Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken

A Blend of Ingredients that Just Works

I’m already planning out the next time I’ll be making this chicken because it was just that good! At first I questioned this combination of ingredients but it just works.

And I loved how I could really taste the fresh orange flavors in the chicken. It wasn’t like using orange marmalade. Here you get fresh zest and fresh squeezed orange juice in marinade and the glaze so everyone will taste that bright and satisfying orange goodness.

Don’t miss out on this recipe, it’s just too tasty to pass up!

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Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken Recipe
4.84 from 6 votes

Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken

A delicious take on orange chicken! Such a bright and delicious blend of sweet, tangy and smokey flavors. Its so easy to make and that glaze will leave everyone craving more. My whole family loved this chicken!
Servings: 7
Prep10 minutes
Cook20 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Glaze

Instructions

  • In a medium mixing bowl whisk together orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice, olive oil, hot sauce, dijon mustard and garlic.
  • Place chicken thighs in a gallon size resealable bag, pour marinade over chicken then seal bag while pressing out excess air.
  • Rub marinade over chicken, transfer to refrigerator and let marinate 1 - 6 hours.
  • Preheat a grill over medium-high heat to about 400 degrees.
  • While grill is preheating prepare glaze - in a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat.
  • Whisk in honey, orange juice, orange zest, BBQ sauce and dijon mustard and remove from heat. Set aside about 1/3 cup for serving.
  • Grill chicken about 4 minutes per side then brush with glaze and grill until cooked through (165 degrees in center) and slightly charred about 2 minutes per side more.
  • Serve warm with reserved glaze, garnished with parsley if desired.
  • Recipe source: adapted slightly from the Neely's
Nutrition Facts
Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 405 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 224mg75%
Sodium 507mg22%
Potassium 635mg18%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 44g88%
Vitamin A 220IU4%
Vitamin C 16mg19%
Calcium 28mg3%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.