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Just four easy ingredients are required to whip up my sticky-sweet Honey Garlic Sauce! Rich in umami flavor, infused with aromatic garlic, and enhanced by tangy apple cider vinegar, this sauce is ready in minutes, making it perfect for weeknight meals.
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Honey Garlic Sauce Recipe
For as long as I've been cooking, one lesson has always stayed with me: never underestimate the power of a good sauce. Honey soy sauce is exactly the kind of sauce that can totally change a meal! It's sweet, savory, aromatic, and best of all, only takes four ingredients. You most likely already have them all on hand!
The real magic of this honey sauce is, well, the honey! It naturally thickens into a beautiful glaze the longer you let it simmer—no need for cornstarch. A quick simmer gives you the perfect sauce to drizzle over any meat; let it go for 10 minutes or more, and you've got yourself a thick, sticky glaze ready to take your meals to new levels of flavor!
And the fun really starts when you've made this homemade honey garlic sauce. Try it with fried tofu, drizzle it over salmon, toss it with some salad shrimp, or use it to glaze chicken thighs for an unforgettable meal. My favorite way to use it? On honey garlic pork tenderloin that is amazingly flavorful!
Pork Chop Sauces
This is one of my favorite sauces for pork chops. Try my other favorites, too!
Honey Garlic Glaze Ingredients
- Apple Cider Vinegar: You can also use white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or champagne vinegar. I prefer apple cider for the fruity flavor. You can also leave it out entirely for a sweeter, more mellow sauce!
- Soy Sauce: For a gluten-free version, use tamari shoyu. For a soy-free and gluten-free option, try coconut aminos. If you use coconut aminos, add extra vinegar to counter how sweet the aminos are.
- Honey: Use your favorite brand of honey. I personally love to use local honey for the best flavor.
- Garlic: You'll want to use fresh minced garlic for this dish, which is even easier if you have a garlic smasher!
Optional:
- Fresh Ginger: Fresh ginger will add a bright, fragrant flavor to your garlic honey soy sauce.
- Sesame Oil: Sesame oil can be strong if you use too much, so if you add any, only use a small amount. However, it adds a nice toasted and nutty flavor to the sauce.
- Sriracha: If you love spice, feel free to add some sriracha, red pepper flakes, or Korean chili paste to taste.
How to Make Honey Garlic Sauce
- Mince the garlic and set it aside. Combine the apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, and honey in a bowl.
- Mix well, but don't worry if it doesn't combine fully just yet.
- Pour the sauce into a pan over medium heat, then add in the minced garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until bubbly and aromatic, about 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, then bottle or serve immediately!
Soy Honey Garlic Sauce Tips
- For a thicker sauce, let it cook for longer until it turns into a nice glaze. For a thinner sauce, cook for less long or add a splash more liquid.
- Adjust the flavors by adding in extra seasonings! I like adding red pepper flakes for spice, or rosemary and thyme for an herbal twist.
- This sauce makes for a perfect glaze or dipping sauce!
- If you plan to use it for simmering meat in, add the garlic at the end so it doesn't overcook.
What to Serve with Garlic Honey Soy Sauce
- My Sriracha Meatballs, of course!
- Try using it as a glaze for chicken recipes, such as pan-fried chicken breasts, to make an amazing honey garlic chicken recipe!
- Use it as a sauce for your favorite stir fry recipes, like chicken stir fry.
- This is the perfect savory sauce for Instant Pot pork chops.
Easy Honey Garlic Sauce FAQ
Store leftover garlic and honey sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Yes! Frozen, it can last up to 4 months. I recommend freezing it in an ice cube tray and popping the frozen cubes into a bag for later use.
Honey Garlic vs Honey Garlic Sauce
You may have heard of honey garlic before, which is a traditional way of preserving garlic by fermenting it in honey. This simple process mellows out the flavor of the garlic and infuses the honey with it! Using raw honey, it's then drizzled over meals or eaten plain.
In contrast, honey garlic sauce is specifically used as a sauce for meals and doesn't preserve the garlic. It's a cooked sauce intended to be used immediately or stored short-term, and uses either raw or pasteurized honey alongside other ingredients for flavor.
Sauce Recipes
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Honey Garlic Sauce
Equipment
- Sauce pan small
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Soy sauce
- ½ cup Honey
- 3 cloves Garlic
Instructions
- Mince the garlic, and set it aside. Then combine the apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, and honey in a bowl.2 Tablespoons Apple cider vinegar,2 Tablespoons Soy sauce,½ cup Honey,3 cloves Garlic
- Mix well, but don't worry if it doesn't combine fully just yet.
- Add the sauce to a pan over medium heat, and then add in the minced garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until bubbly and aromatic, about 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, then bottle or serve immediately!
Notes
-
- For a thicker sauce, let it cook for longer until it turns into a nice glaze. For a thinner sauce, cook for less long or add a splash more liquid.
-
- Adjust the flavors by adding in extra seasonings! I like adding red pepper flakes for spice, or rosemary and thyme for an herbal twist.
-
- This sauce makes for a perfect glaze or dipping sauce!
-
- If you plan to use it for simmering meat in, add the garlic at the end so it doesn't overcook.
-
- Soy Sauce: You can make this recipe gluten-free by swapping the soy sauce out for tamari, or make it soy-free by replacing it with coconut aminos. If you use coconut aminos, add extra vinegar to counter how sweet the aminos are.
-
- Vinegar: You can use other vinegar types, such as white or rice vinegar. I prefer apple cider for the fruity flavor. You can also leave it out entirely for a sweeter, more mellow sauce!
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- Spicy Honey Garlic: To make this sauce spicy, add in 2 teaspoons of Sriracha or 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes!
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- Sesame Honey Garlic: Add in a tablespoon of sesame oil and a teaspoon of sesame seeds.
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