Here's the only sesame chicken recipe you will ever need! Juicy chicken with honey and sesame sauce makes the perfect easy weeknight meal.
You can toss that Chinese takeout menu you've been hanging onto, you won't be needing it! This Sesame Chicken is my family's newest obsession. Since moving to a rural area we can't just grab takeout on the way home from work or call in a Door Dash. I've been making some of our favorite copycats (like the Starbucks' Egg White Breakfast Sandwich or that juicy Chipotle Chicken), but this one really takes the cake.
Don't worry, I know most of your favorites (ike PF Chang's Sesame Chicken or Panda Express Sesame Chicken) include veggies, and my recipe doesn't. I was catering to some picky eaters, but I've got lots of tips for making it match your preferences, too! You're going to love tweaking this one to get it exactly how your family likes it.
Sesame Chicken Sauce Ingredients
- Honey, Soy Sauce, Ketchup, Rice Vinegar, and Sesame Oil - This gives you a salty-sweet-umami flavor that keeps a great balance of flavor. Swap honey for maple syrup and coconut aminos for soy sauce if you prefer. Toasted sesame oil adds nice depth if you've got it.
- Minced Garlic and a Cornstarch-Water Slurry - The garlic adds flavor while the cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce.
- Chicken Thighs - Boneless, skinless, chopped into 2-inch pieces. You can use chicken breasts if you like, but thighs will stay juicier.
- Flour - This is mixed with more cornstarch and used to coat the chicken for the perfect light breading. Gluten-free flour works great as well.
- Frying Oil - Any neutral oil will work (peanut oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, etc.)
- Sesame Seeds - Great garnish that adds to the star of the show... Sesame!
How to Make Sesame Chicken
For this recipe, you'll need a small saucepan, a large, deep pot, a whisk, and a meat thermometer.
- Make the sesame sauce - Pour the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and minced garlic into the saucepan. Warm over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until simmering. Stir in cornstarch-water slurry and whisk for another 4-5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Coat the chicken - Pat your chicken dry, then coat in the flour and cornstarch using either a ziplock bag or a pie plate. While you're doing this, have the oil heating up (½ inch of oil in your deep pot over medium-high heat).
- Fry the chicken - Once the oil is hot and the excess flour has been shaken off the chicken pieces, fry them in batches. Fry just enough chicken that each piece has some room, cooking them for 3-4 minutes or until the pieces register 165 degrees F. Place cooked pieces on a plate lined with paper towels while you finish the rest of the chicken.
- Coat chicken in honey sesame sauce - Once all chicken is cooked, toss the pieces in your cooled honey sesame sauce, stirring in the sesame seeds to coat. Serve immediately for best taste and texture.
What to Serve with Honey Sesame Chicken
This makes the perfect dinner bowls with rice (any kind) and your favorite veggie!
- Rice: Jasmine, Sushi, Basmati, Brown, or Cauliflower Rice
- Veggies: Sugar Snap Peas, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Asparagus, Sauteed Green Beans, Mushrooms, or Slaw
Storage and Reheating
- Fridge: Allow chicken to cool completely, then store up to 3 days in airtight container.
- Freezer: Store cooled chicken in freezer-safe container up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Microwave leftovers at 50% power in 1-minute increments, stirring until warmed throughout. For whole recipe reheating, bake at 350 covered for 6 minutes and uncovered another 5-10 or until warmed through.
Honey Sesame Chicken FAQs
Sesame chicken is a common dish at American-Chinese restaurants, known for its crispy breading and a sweet-salty-sticky sauce. It's not usually spicy, it leans more towards sweet, nutty, and umami flavors.
These two American-Chinese takeout classics are often confused. The battered and fried chicken is the same in both dishes, but the sauces are different. Sesame chicken sauce is sweeter with a nutty flavor while General Tso sauce is more tangy and spicier.
1. These two restaurants use a thicker batter, so you can do this by coating your chicken in the flour+cornstarch mix, then dredging the chicken in whisked egg, then coat again in the flour mixture.
2. For a Panda Express copycat: Stir fry string beans and strips of bell pepper, then add those in with the cooked chicken, sesame seeds, and sauce in the last step.
3. For a PF Chang copycat: Blanch broccoli florets for 45 seconds, place in an ice bath, then dry. Stir fry with large diced red bell peppers and onions, and minced garlic and ginger.
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Easy Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
Sesame Chicken Sauce:
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water
For the Chicken:
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 2-inch pieces
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ⅓ cup flour gluten-free flour works great
- oil for frying peanut, vegetable oil, whatever you prefer.
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix all sauce ingredients except the cornstarch-water slurry into a small saucepan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Once the sauce has come to a simmer, whisk the sauce while slowly pouring in the cornstarch slurry, continuously stirring until well combined. Let this sauce continue to cook for 4-5 minutes. Once thickened, remove from the heat and set it aside for now.
- Pat your chicken pieces dry, then toss to coat in the flour and cornstarch. You can use a pie plate or a ziplock bag to toss, then shake the excess flour from the coated pieces, leaving them on a plate for now.
- Warm a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add in your frying oil, using enough to cover the bottom of your pot in ½-inch of oil. Once it is nice and hot, cook your chicken in batches, cooking 3-4 minutes or until cooked through to 165-degrees F. Once cooked, remove them from the oil and let drain on a paper towel lined plate. Continue this until all chicken is cooked through.
- Toss the cooked chicken with the sauce and sesame seeds, then serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
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Hi, I'm Annie. With a Bachelor of Science degree, a minor in nutrition and nearly 20 year of both classical training, and self-taught experience, I've spent my career proving that home cooking can be practical, delicious and inspiring. What started in 2013 as one food blog has grown into a full-time business. Today, my husband Clayton and I run five food websites that connect with millions of home cooks every month.
When I'm not in the kitchen or behind the camera, I'm using fueling my love of travel, or chasing down new ideas that keep food fun and fresh.
