If you like take-out style honey sesame chicken, then this recipe is for you. A little bit of sweetness and a little bit of spice makes this dish practically irresistible!
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Homemade Sesame Chicken
Have you ever had really good take-out sesame and honey chicken? It is one of the most popular dishes to order from a Chinese food take-out menu! Now, you have a sweet, spicy, honey chicken recipe that you can make at home. Most importantly, it will taste even better than your favorite restaurant’s version.
In addition, this recipe will cost much less to make than ordering food. You can probably cook it faster than your favorite restaurant could even deliver!
We know that you are going to love this dish because it is fairly easy to make, tastes simply amazing, and can be ready to eat in just thirty minutes, from prep time to plate.
Baked Honey & Sesame Chicken
One big selling point about this recipe is that it shows you how to make this honey and sesame chicken without deep frying. Most recipes for sesame chicken ask you to fry the chicken to cook it. While fried chicken does have a nice golden brown, crispy texture, this is not the healthiest way to cook the meat.
Our recipe bakes the coated chicken in the oven so you will still get a perfectly browned chicken. In addition, your sesame chicken will be much healthier than if you had fried it. When you fry chicken, the exterior will absorb a lot of the oil from frying you are cooking in, making it much higher in calories and fats.
Even if you opt to use vegetable oil or other oils that are low in saturated fat, the calories will still add up. Ditch those other fried sesame chicken recipes and just use our baking method instead!
Healthy Sesame Chicken Recipe
In addition to being healthy thanks to the baked method of cooking, there are a few more nutritionally beneficial aspects to this recipe that are good to mention.
- The breading for the chicken is made with almond flour and egg whites. Almond flour has lots of protein and nutrients as well as a delicious, rich flavor. Egg whites are high in protein, low in calories and also add many vitamins and minerals to the dish. This coating is much healthier and nutritious than any white flour blend that is found in other sesame chicken recipes!
- When you order sesame chicken from a take out restaurant, the sauce is likely made with corn syrup which is quite unhealthy. Our recipe uses real honey which is rich in antioxidants and taste.
- Sesame seeds are high in fiber (maybe you should add an extra tablespoon or two)
All in all, this is a great healthy dinner option that you can feel good about eating. There is no frying, no unhealthy white flour breading and some pretty healthy other ingredients that will taste great while also being nutritious.
How To Make Sesame Chicken Sauce
Not only is making the chicken portion of this recipe easy, but putting together the sauce only takes a few minutes. The process will be even faster if you have a nice sharp chopping knife to dice the ingredients with!
- The 1/3 cup honey, garlic, soy sauce, green onions and Sriracha are mixed together in a small sauce pan and heated
- The cornstarch and water are mixed together in a separate bowl
- Once the mixture in the sauce pan is hot, the cornstarch mixture is whisked in to thicken the sauce
- The sauce is done and ready to be poured over the baked chicken and tossed together in a large bowl.
I have to admit that when I make this recipe, I usually double the sauce. I like a little extra sauce to pour over my white rice and really get a sweet, honey Sriracha flavor!
Having extra sauce is also good for when you reheat leftover honey and sesame chicken the next day. To reheat leftover chicken, place the sauce and chicken in a microwave safe bowl with a microwave splatter cover on top. Heat for about 1 minute, uncover and serve.
The extra sauce will help to keep the chicken moist as it heats up. The microwave cover is also great to prevent the chicken from drying out.
FAQ’s
What is better, sesame chicken or General Tso?
This all depends on your taste! General Tso chicken is typically a little sweeter than sesame chicken but it is also spicier. General Tso also is commonly served with broccoli and carrots in the mix.
Sesame chicken, on the other hand, is a little saltier and also not quite as sweet. You can easily adapt our honey and sesame chicken recipe to be more like General Tso by adding steamed broccoli and carrot slices to the mix. Just stir them in with the chicken and sauce. Add a teaspoon more Sriracha sauce as well and cut back on the salt and pepper.
What to serve with sticky chicken?
Sesame and honey chicken is often referred to as sticky chicken since it is quite sticky thanks to all that honey in the sauce! White or brown rice are the standard pairings for honey chicken but any kind of plain, Asian style noodles are great as well.
Almost any vegetable will be delicious too. Try cooking a few sliced bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas or baby corn in a wok. Stir the vegetables into the chicken and honey sauce mix or simply serve them on the side. You will love this addition!
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Honey Sesame Baked Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
A little sweet and a little spicy makes this chicken recipe the perfect balance! Serve it over rice, noodles or enjoy it on it’s own.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- ½ cup almond meal (or panko crumbs)
- 1/3 cup honey, or more, to taste
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/3 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha (optional)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400(F) degrees. Prepare a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick spray.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add eggs and almond meal and mix into the chicken. Add chicken to prepared baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
- In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine honey, garlic, soy sauce and Sriracha and green onions, if using. In another small bowl, combine cornstarch and water, then stir mixture into the saucepan until thickened (about 1–2 minutes).
- Add baked chicken into the sauce and stir until even combined. Let cook for a few minutes. Garnish with sesame seeds, then serve immediately.
Notes
These tips and tricks will help you make your dish turn out perfect every time. Take a quick look below before you start cooking.
- Use real honey rather than imitation honey. Real honey not only adds and incredible amount of flavor, but it also has beneficial nutrients and antioxidants. Imitation honey may be cheaper but it is primarily made of corn syrup.
- Toast the sesame seeds for about 3-5 minutes before adding them to the sauce. This will add a whole new level of deep flavor to your dish!
- If you want your meal to be a little spicier, add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce as it is heating on the stove top. A few red pepper flakes will go a long way to heat up your sesame chicken and they also look pretty (those red flecks add a lot of eye appeal!)
This looks delicious. This is a must try for me. Thanks for sharing on Tasty Tuesday!
Made this last night– AMAZING! Will be making it again and again. Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!!
Have you tried this in the crockpot like your sweet and sour chicken recipe?
No I never have, would love to know how it goes if you give it a shot though!
They looks so delicious and your photos are beautiful.I would so love to have one of these right now.
Thank you so much!