Earlier this year a family in our church welcomed their second child.
When the coordinator sent out the email last week for the women of the church to sign up for dinners, there was a note included that threw me for a loop: their 18 month-old daughter was gluten-free.
Now, I’m not completely oblivious to food allergies. I can make an amazing gluten-free yellow cake, mini chocolate chip scones that are SO addicting. I even know which are the best gluten-free foods at ALDI.
But none of that will put dinner on the table for this family, and that means digging into the recipe archives and pulling out something that is lip-smacking delicious.
A hearty and filling dinner that elicits purrs of “mmm’s”, kids asking if they can have more and husbands rubbing their bellies in delight. Friends, meet your new family favorite: sweet and sticky chicken.
Have you ever licked your fingers because a sauce was so good? Ever scooped extra vegetables – especially the ones you don’t like – just because they were coated in that sauce?
That’s this dish. The combination of molasses and honey coats the chicken with a sweet and sticky sauce that you wish was slathered on almost everything, and thankfully, – it is!
Layers of vegetables on the bottom, chicken on top and then SAUCE OVER EVERYTHING means every last green bean or potato or whatever vegetable you decide to use gets covered with sweet and sticky goodness. A bit of onion and garlic deepens the flavor and if you’re really in the mood, try adding some crushed red pepper to the sauce too. OMG! YES!
Sweet and Sticky Chicken
I’m pretty sure the sauce alone will win you over, but just in case you need a better reason: this is an easy dish that pleases the “meat and potato” people that doesn’t cost a lot of money.
Chicken thighs and drumsticks are the most affordable cuts of chicken available, and potatoes are super cheap too. Use any type of potato you have, but sweet potatoes would be exceptionally good.
The recipe serves four people in an 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish, but you can easily double the recipe and use a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish instead.
Better yet, buy your ingredients in bulk to save money and make two extra pans when you’re making this for dinner one night. These disposable aluminum pans are freezer and oven safe, and they come with a lid so you can easily stack them in your freezer and pull it out whenever you need a meal without much work…
Like when you’re coming home from vacation to an empty fridge… or when you’re not feeling well but the family still has to eat… or when a friend welcomes a new baby to the family!
Sweet and Sticky Chicken for the win!
This dish is PERFECT for the freezer. It’s one of the few full meals I like to double and add a pan to the freezer. (These aluminum pans are great for that!)
Typically, I don’t like to freeze full meals and instead freeze meal components. Extra shredded chicken or carnitas are often found in my freezer. Or portions of beans. Use these freezer cooking tips to find out more!
Freezer or batch cooking is one of the main ideas behind my free mini course, 5 Days to Real Food Fast. Go take the challenge now and start feeding your family healthy food EVERY night of the week!
If you’d like full meal plans with meals, grocery lists, and more (basically all the dirty work done for you), check out the Freezer Family here.
This recipe is featured in these FREE meal plans!
Spring Eating Plan // Real Food Dinner Ideas // Whole Food Recipes
Watch How to Make Sweet and Sticky Chicken with Veggies:
- 2 carrots, cut into 1" pieces
- 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 onion, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
- 4 pieces chicken
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- ½ Tbsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- 2 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 3 Tbsp water (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an 8x8 oven-proof dish, layer the vegetables.
- Combine molasses, ketchup, honey, maple syrup and all seasoning in a medium bowl. Place chicken in a separate bowl.
- Add about ¼ cup of liquid mixture to the chicken and stir to coat well. Place chicken and the sauce it was in on top of vegetables. Place butter on top of chicken.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining sauce in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl.
- Add cornstarch slurry to sauce and stirring constantly bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Add this thickened sauce to the top of the chicken and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. You might need to remove the chicken so it doesn't overcook, yet continue to bake the vegetables until they're done.
- Enjoy the sweet and sticky chicken!
I’m like you – eat it, or go hungry. But unfortunately…I have a few good friends I’d rather not make sick when we cook, so occasionally I cook gluten free. Things I’ve learned:
traditional oats have gluten in them. You MUST buy GF oats.
Soy sauce has gluten in it. Who knew?
Some spices actually have gluten in them. Also..who knew?
Frankly, I’m REALLY glad my kids so far are fine. I’m just not the type of mom to putz with recipes and this and that. No patience here for it or other food allergies. Thank goodness so far we’ve been blessed. And I feel for the parents who so have to deal with it…what a pain and inconvenience.
I’m really starting to believe that all of these allergies and intolerances are caused by two things: formula feeding and all of the boxed, processed crap so many people feed themselves and their families. I could be way off base, but it seems entirely logical.
Andrea,
Did you know that Nourishing Traditions has a homemade formula in it?! I don’t know much about store-bought formulas, but given the lack of care that some agencies seem to have for society’s well-being, I wouldn’t be surprise if those were somehow altered. I do agree with the processed food though! Grace is due to those who truly have allergies, but what we eat can certainly help or hurt the cause. ~Tiffany
My daughter was exclusively breast fed and as a naturalista, I do not feed my family off fast food and boxed meals at the grocery store. We have 3 girls and she is the only one with these sensitivities. So, no, it has nothing to do with formula or not breast feeding or being processed food junkies. Probably more to do with everybody is just different and some are born with sensitive constitutions unable to break down our genetically altered wheat and dairy and soy. That’s my guess at least.
Thanks for saying that so nicely, you said what I wanted to say.
I have to say that does sound completely logical. I used to think the same way back in the day. Now I have a son who was mostly formula fed and he has no allergies and have a daughter who was exclusively breast fed and she has allergies serious enough for her Dr. to prescribe her an epi pen, though we have never had to use it (knock on wood). We have never really ate a ton of processed food though we have never ate 100% made from scratch food constantly either. I do however believe that food is part of the reason for allergies, but I think it goes beyond the processed food that people eat.
Oh! And the soy sauce! I thought my daughter was allergic to soybeans for the longest time because her eczema would flare up anytime I ate soy sauce. Cut soybeans out of my diet. Later after we tested her for allergies and found out she was not allergic to soybeans I got to looking at the ingredients and noticed it has wheat in it. Blew my mind, I mean why is there wheat in soy sauce!?! Though there is a gluten free soy sauce that is my favorite soy sauce, though only my daughter gets to use it to save us a little money, called Tamari gluten free soy sauce.
I’m sure the artificial food world we live in contributes to food sensitivities but my children all were exclusively breastfed and only ate natural unprocessed food when it was introduced. But still one of my kids dealt with food sensitivities until recently. She is 26 and did a lot of work to heal her gut and overcome those food problems
Bad diet is not the only reason for food allergies. I’m grateful she now can eat whatever she wants!
Totally not stirring the pot, just adding another outlook…I have 3 littles 5 and under who were all “grown” the same way and breastfed: one has peanut allergy, one has dairy allergy, and one so far is allergy free. The allergy free one has, unfortunately, had the most formula in her short 15 months of life after she refused to breastfeed at 11 months and I stopped producing for the pump. I’m in agreement that a lot of what we put in/on our bodies has huge consequences but everyone is different in how things present. 🙂
Dish turned out great. I will definitely make it again.
Now, as the mom of a kid with food allergies, I just have to speak to your comment on what you think is causing them. I was extremely health-conscious throughout my pregnancy. I never gave my child formula; he was exclusively breastfed. And when he started on solid foods, it was healthy foods only. Yes, life is difficult and much more complicated when you live with food allergies and the last thing parents like me need is someone ignorantly pointing a finger of blame our way.
Thank you for actually posting something about the recipe! Looks good. I am going to try it out.
My 28 year-old daughter has struggled with gluten and dairy allergies. Here is a web site for some wonderful gluten free recipes:
http://www.elanaspantry.com.
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
Thanks Toni!
Ginger Lemon Girl is also a great blog for those of us who can smell a GF food a mile away…you totally cannot tell! And Crockpot365 is a GF site as well. 🙂
As far as homemade formula, I just don’t know…the AAP suggests against it, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s better if you lose your supply. I’m just one of those moms that really loves to encourage BFing when at all possible, but I’d have to take a look at the recipe – the last time I read Nourishing Traditions, I got pretty frustrated with the legalism surrounding food and chucked it at the wall (there’s still a dent…).
😉
Andrea,
Thank you for adding to the resources. LOL – there is a bit of legalism, but still filled with awesome information nonetheless. The formula uses raw milk or stock as a base and adds many oils that are immunity building and packed with nutrition (coconut oil, cod liver oil, butter oil, etc.). I don’t want to copy the exact recipe, but that’s the gist. I’m a BF supporter too, but know several moms who just weren’t able to. Making their own at least gives THEM control over their kids health, instead of the food industry. 🙂 Sorry about that dent! ~Tiffany
My family loved the taste of the Sweet and Sticky Oven-Roasted Chicken! The only problem I had was that it was more of a liquid in the bottom of the cooking dish than a thicker, sticky glaze on the chicken. We had to spoon the liquid on our chicken and rice. Any suggestions for making it thicker?
Melanie,
I’m glad you and your family enjoyed this dish! The juices from the chicken and vegetables will naturally thin the sauce, so if you want it thicker, you can either add cornstarch at the beginning (mixing thoroughly into the sauce before coating dish) or remove the juices at the end and add it (diluted with a bit of water), bring to a boil and it will thicken. My personal preference would be to add it at the beginning. Beginning with 1 Tbsp should be a good start. Let us know how it goes (or I will, depending on who makes it first, lol). ~Tiffany
Have you ever made this chicken with boneless skinless chicken breast? I look forward to trying this
Hi Tracey,
I haven’t yet, but it can be done! I’d put the veggies in first by themselves for a good 30-35 minutes, then add the chicken breasts on top, stir and continue to bake. You could even have the chicken marinating while the veggies cook for extra flavor! 🙂 ~Tiffany
Will be making it today…just defrosted 4 chicken thighs…and have everything but the maple syrup. I’ll put some blue agave syrup in instead…also…just some oregano (don’t have italian seasoning either:)…I think we’re going to love it! Thank you.
Ooh, those sound like great substitutions. Two thumbs up for making it work! I hope you enjoy! 🙂
We make roast chicken all the time. It’s a great way to have a few different good lunches. I’ll give your recipe a try for a change.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do Rachel!
We’ve made this multiple times and recommended it to my mother in-law who didn’t care for it. After talking with her, since we were shocked, we decided the difference was the balsamic vinegar. She used a cheapo one from the grocery store and we were using a high end dipping type. SO, if you wouldn’t dip your bread in it… don’t use it with this recipe because you may just be disappointed.
There isn’t any balsalmic called for! ????
Do you think this meal would freeze well?
I do! Mix it up before hand and freeze. I’d do the veggies fresh though since they lose texture when going from freezer to oven.
If you freeze it should you pour the glaze sauce over it all? Such as prepare coated chicken on top of the fresh veggies and then pour the thickened glaze over all and freeze? Just thaw in fridge and bake about hour?
I am coming this dish as we speak. I did a search on Pinterest for a soy and dairy free chicken dinner recipe and found this. I was surprised to find butter as an ingredient since I was looking for dairy free. I just left out the butter. The sauce tastes great, and the kitchen smells wonderful. I can’t wait to try this dish.
Followed recipe and turned out great ! Thanks for sharing!
do you need to add molasses or what can you substitute with
Mary, you can use a little more honey or maple syrup if needed to substitute for the molasses. The molasses will thicken it up a bit more but it won’t make or break the recipe.
Have any of you tried this with lemon in the sauce? I love lemon-honey chicken, so wondering if this could work.
Can broccoli be used as a vegetable?
I wouldn’t recommend it, as it would probably get mushy. But you can steam broccoli and serve it alongside at dinner. 🙂
I don’t know if my oven is failing me, but I baked this for an hour and neither the chicken or veggies were even close to being done. I upped the temp to 400 and after another 15-20 minutes, it was still questionable. Kind of a bummer…we liked the flavor of the sauce, but we were kind of turned off by the dish by the time we finally ate. 🙁
So strange! I’ve never had any issues with this being done. Do you have an oven thermometer?
I’m actually having the same issue currently. So far I’m at 47 minutes of bake time and it’s still not quite done.
Do you marinate the chicken before? Or will it make the skin mushy?
No marinating!
Does it need to be covered while cooking? Or do I leave it uncovered?
Uncovered.
Making this tonight! Question, it looks like there are red tomatoes in your picture if this dish….did you add tomorrow’s, or am I seeing something else?
That could be a tomato… it was so long ago, I don’t remember! This dish is very flexible, and we tend to use whatever veggies we have at the time. If you don’t have tomatoes, just skip it!
Made this tonight for my boyfriend… omg turned out fantastic! I did a lil substituting thou ..
Since i’m Not a fan of molasses… I did a 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar. I also added 4 tbs of honey mustard, 3 tbs of minced garlic,6 tbs of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbs of teriyaki sauce, and 2 tbs of cider vinegar.
I cooked 6 chicken breasts alone and kept basting the chicken with the sauce.
Veggies were red, golden and purple potatoes with carrots … I cooked them separately in butter and herbs.
I set my oven for 250 degrees and slowed cooked it all for 2 hrs, with aluminum foil over the glass pans.
I then raised the oven to 350 degrees and after and hr poured the rest of the sauce on the chicken , removed the foil and let them cook for 10 mins.
Once plated, I spooned the sauce , from the bottom of the pan, over the veggies and chicken.
All I can say is yummy.
Chicken was moist and tender and sticky sweet… and potatoes and carrots had a light honey taste from that sauce.
Thank you so much for the recipe and inspiring me to play around a bit with it.
You’re so very welcome Lori! Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Thanks for sharing! This looks like a great meal for weeknights or with company!
I love this recipe. The flavors are delicious. I always use sweet potatoes when I make it. This has become my go to dish when I need to take a meal to someone. I always double the sauce recipe when I make it. I want to make sure to have plenty of that yumminess!
I’d love it if someone brought me this dish! I’m so glad you like it Deanna. ♥
I’m using drumsticks and boneless chicken thighs will the cooking time be the same?
The drumsticks might need a few extra minutes, but it will be close.
my only critique is that I would definitely recommend doubling or tripling the sauce! I always make this with 6-8 chicken legs and thighs and extra veggies. The sauce recipe is pure gold!
I’m using chicken breasts instead. How long should I cook them? Thanks!
I’m not sure Laurie – I haven’t tested this recipe with chicken breasts before. On average though, I cook plain chicken breasts for 15-20 min.