Honey Soy Garlic Chicken Rice Bowls

I’ve been loving these Honey Soy Garlic Chicken Rice Bowls for dinner and meal prep lunches! Made with tender chicken breast, warm white rice, steamed broccoli, carrots, and a glossy honey soy garlic sauce, these chicken bowls are flavorful and so easy to pull together in about 40 minutes.

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With about 32 grams of protein, this is the kind of dinner that actually keeps you full without feeling like a whole project. The chicken gets tossed with cornstarch first, which helps it stay juicy and gives that sauce something to cling to. And that sauce? Sweet, savory, garlicky, a little gingery, and so good over rice.

I just love recipes like this, practical and full of flavor at the same time.

You can keep the bowls simple with broccoli and carrots, add extra veggies if your fridge is asking for help (mine does this every Thursday, haha), or pack the leftovers into containers for lunch the next day.

If you’ve been looking for an easy high protein chicken bowl that works for busy nights, you’re going to love this one!

Why You’ll Love These Chicken Rice Bowls

High in protein: Each bowl has about 32 grams of protein, so it is filling enough for dinner or meal prep lunch.

Ready in about 40 minutes: You get a full chicken rice bowl with sauce, rice, and vegetables without making the night harder.

Great for meal prep: The chicken, rice, broccoli, and carrots hold up well in the fridge, and the sauce gets even better after resting.

Easy to customize: Keep the broccoli and carrots, or add whatever vegetables are already waiting in your fridge.

Honey Soy Garlic Chicken Rice Bowls

5 from 1 vote

Sweet, savory, glossy chicken bites coated in a rich honey soy garlic sauce and served over warm rice with broccoli and carrots. These high protein chicken rice bowls are easy and perfect for meal prep.

Print Recipe

PREP: 20 minutes mins

COOK: 20 minutes mins

TOTAL: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: Dinner

Calories: 473

Ingredients

  

Chicken:

• 2 fillet chicken breast
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine optional
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp ginger minced
• 120 ml water
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp water

Bowls:

• 4 cups cooked white rice
• 1 carrot julienned
• 1 small broccoli steamed
• Sesame seeds for garnish
• Green onion optional

Instructions

 

1. Add the diced chicken to a bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. Toss with cornstarch until evenly coated.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until lightly golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Lower the heat to medium. In the same pan, cook the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
4. Add the soy sauce, honey, Shaoxing wine if using, and water. Stir well and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly reduced.
5. Return the chicken to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce.
6. Stir in the cornstarch slurry a little at a time until the sauce thickens into a glossy glaze that coats the chicken.
7. Serve the honey soy garlic chicken over warm rice with steamed broccoli and carrots.
8. Finish with sesame seeds and sliced green onion if desired.

Notes

• Add the slurry gradually. You may not need all of it. Add a little at a time until the sauce reaches your preferred thickness.
• Steam broccoli briefly. Keep it vibrant green and slightly crisp for better texture and presentation.
• Meal prep tip: Divide rice, vegetables, and chicken into airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave for 1½ to 2 minutes, adding a small splash of water if the sauce thickens too much in the fridge.

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How to Make Honey Soy Garlic Chicken Rice Bowls

Velvet the chicken. Place the diced chicken in a bowl and season lightly with salt and pepper. Toss with the cornstarch until every piece is evenly coated. This quick step helps the chicken stay juicy while giving the honey soy garlic sauce something to grab onto later. It is a small step, but it makes a big difference!

Pan-fry the chicken. Heat the neutral oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until lightly golden.

The chicken does not need to be fully cooked yet, so don’t stress. It will finish cooking in the sauce, which is where all the good glossy things happen.

Make the sauce. Lower the heat to medium. In the same pan, sauté the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.

Add the soy sauce, honey, Shaoxing wine if using, and water. Stir everything together and let the sauce simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly reduced.

Coat the chicken. Return the chicken to the pan and toss until coated in the sauce. Pour in the cornstarch slurry and stir continuously until the sauce thickens into a glossy glaze that clings to the chicken. Once the sauce looks silky and coats the chicken well, turn off the heat.

Assemble the bowls. Spoon the warm white rice into bowls, then add the honey soy garlic chicken, steamed broccoli, and julienned carrot. Finish with sesame seeds and green onion, if using. Then grab a fork and enjoy that sweet-savory little victory bowl.

What Is Velveting?

Velveting is a simple cooking technique often used in Chinese-style cooking to help meat stay tender and juicy. For this recipe, the chicken is tossed with cornstarch before it hits the pan, which creates a light coating around each piece. That little coating does two helpful things:

• First, it helps protect the chicken from drying out while it cooks.
• Second, it helps the honey soy garlic sauce cling to every bite, so you get that glossy, saucy finish instead of plain chicken with sauce sitting at the bottom of the bowl.

And don’t worry, it is not complicated. You’re just tossing chicken with cornstarch, then pan-frying it. Easy enough for a weeknight, but it makes the final bowl taste like you put in a little extra effort.

Tips for Best Results

• Serve it while the rice is warm: Warm rice soaks up that honey soy garlic sauce beautifully, which is basically the whole point.
• Don’t overcrowd the pan: Cook the chicken in batches if needed so it browns instead of steaming.
• Use medium heat for the sauce: Honey can burn quickly over high heat, and nobody wants a bitter sauce after doing all that chopping (been there, not fun).
• Add the slurry gradually: Pour it in little by little and stir as you go. You may not need all of it, depending on how thick you like your sauce.
• Cut the chicken evenly: Similar-sized pieces cook more evenly and make the final bowl look prettier too.
• Steam the broccoli briefly: Keep it bright green and slightly crisp so the bowl has a nice fresh bite next to the glossy chicken.
• More protein: For an extra protein boost use a little less rice and add more chicken, shelled edamame, or a soft-boiled egg on top. It keeps the bowl filling while still working with the honey soy garlic flavor.

Meal Prep and Storage

These bowls are GREAT for meal prep! The flavor gets even better after the chicken sits in that glossy sauce for a little while, so leftovers are definitely not a sad situation here.

To meal prep, divide the cooked white rice, honey soy garlic chicken, steamed broccoli, and carrots into airtight containers. Let everything cool before sealing, then store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

When you’re ready to eat, microwave for 1½ to 2 minutes. If the sauce has thickened too much in the fridge, add a small splash of water before reheating to loosen it back up. I like adding the sesame seeds and green onion after reheating so they stay fresh. And if you’re packing this for lunch, a little extra sauce spooned over the rice is never a bad idea.