Oven-Baked Caramel-Glazed Chicken with a Golden Crust
Incredibly tasty, appetizing, original, bright, and festive! Caramel-roasted chicken with a golden crust looks so beautiful it will decorate any table. And it’s wonderfully fragrant and delicious! Serve it surrounded by juicy fruits and berries - turn a family meal into a celebration!
Updated : 23 December, 2025
Easy
More than 1 hour.
Ingredients
2 kilograms
Chicken
Marinade
100 grams
Brown sugar
2 tablespoon
Honey
1 tablespoon
Soy sauce
1 tablespoon
White wine vinegar
1 tablespoon
Dry spices
to taste
Ground black pepper
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How to bake caramel chicken with a golden crust in the oven? You’ll need a minimal set of ingredients. You can replace chicken with turkey, but keep in mind the cooking time and calories will change.
Step 2
Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. There should be no moisture left on the skin - otherwise the marinade will slide off instead of sticking.
Step 3
Now make the marinade. The honey should be runny, not crystallized. If it has crystallized, melt it on the stove or in the microwave. Any honey works, but it’s best if it’s thicker and darker (I used buckwheat). In a bowl, mix runny honey, soy sauce, wine vinegar, brown sugar, and spices. You can use a ready-made poultry spice blend or make your own from khmeli-suneli, mixed ground peppers, paprika, curry, and dried garlic.
Step 4
Whisk with a fork until smooth and the sugar dissolves completely. If you like, simmer the marinade briefly over low heat to make it thicker. Vegetable oil is often added to such marinades, but because of its fat content it doesn’t combine well with the other ingredients and tends to run off the chicken. Here we want the marinade to cling to the skin.
Step 5
Using a brush, coat the chicken with the marinade inside and out. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and brush again. Reserve a little marinade for basting during roasting. To prevent the wings from burning, wrap them in foil.
Step 6
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C / 356°F for about 1.5 hours. Adjust to your oven. From time to time, baste the bird with the reserved marinade from the bowl or from the bottom of the baking dish. The secret to an even caramel crust is frequent basting and turning the bird to different sides.
Step 7
On the hot bird, the marinade holds much better; it gradually turns the chicken a golden-brown color, and the sugar and honey form a beautiful caramel crust. Exact roasting time depends on the bird’s weight and your oven. Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving platter. Garnish with grapes, halved mandarins, and mint. Enjoy!
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