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Honey Sesame Chicken is sweet, savory, and perfect for any night of the week. This is so good, it is even better than take out!
Serve this restaurant worthy meal on a bed of rice and with sides such as Wontons, Egg Rolls or Fried Rice for the complete take out from home.
Homemade Honey Sesame Chicken
There are recipes that I make that I hope that everyone tries. This is one of those recipes. It all began with my sweet and sour chicken that changed my life. It is actually possible to make the same quality Chinese food as P.F. Chang’s at home. Then came a spicy version of this delicious chicken, my firecracker chicken. I had died and gone to Chinese food heaven with these recipes. I didn’t think that it could get any better than this. Since I love Chinese food so much my life was complete. But then I created honey sesame chicken. Let me tell you this. This is the best of them all!
It first starts with the breading. The cornstarch and egg combo makes it taste straight from a restaurant. Then there is something about baking this chicken that makes the sauce thicken, the chicken brown and absolutely blow your mind. Seriously I could hardly believe how amazing this was while I was eating it. The sauce has a sweet honey flavor to it and is absolute honey sesame perfection. If you love Chinese and make one thing from my blog, make this!
Sesame Chicken Ingredients
These simple ingredients are probably sitting in your pantry right now. I love that this comes together so easily. You are going to love the luscious sauce.
- Chicken Breasts: About 4 chicken breasts
- Cornstarch: Needed for the breading
- Eggs: The binder
- Salt and Pepper: To taste
- Canola: Just enough to fry in
Honey Sesame Sauce
- Honey: The queen of the sauce
- Soy Sauce: Adds a bit of salty and flavor to the sweet
- Ketchup: Adds a good balance to the sweet
- Brown Sugar: Helps bring out the sweetness of the honey
- Rice Wine Vinegar: The zing to the sweet, you’ll want the tang to balance it
- Sesame Oil: Adds perfect sesame flavor
- Garlic: A necessity in asian food
- Cornstarch: This is the thickener for the sauce
How to Make Easy Honey Sesame Chicken
This could not be any easier. Remember you are just flash frying the chicken, it will finish cooking in the oven.
- Cut: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper
- Bowls: In one bowl place the cornstarch. In the other bowl place the eggs and beat them slightly. Dip the chicken into the cornstarch first, then into the egg mixture.
- Flash Fry: In a skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. Cook the chicken till just golden brown on all sides. Place in a greased 9×13 pan.
- Mix: In a medium bowl mix all of the sauce ingredients till thoroughly combined. Pour over the chicken.
- Bake: Bake the chicken for 45 min stirring every 15 min to evenly coat the chicken.
Trust Me on these Pro Tips!
This is the same method as my Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken so it shares my same tips.
- Method to the Madness: Make sure you first coat your chicken in the cornstarch and then the egg. This method makes the perfect breading for the chicken. You can also use a large gallon ziplock bag to coat the chicken in the cornstarch.
- Fast: Do not cook the chicken all the way through before baking. You just want to get the chicken lightly brown on the outside, and then it bakes to perfection.
- Low and Slow: Baking the chicken at a low temperature will not over cook the chicken. This helps to cook the chicken all the way through and thicken up the sauce.
Tips for the Best Honey Sesame Chicken
Besides taking time to cook in the oven this baked honey chicken comes together really quickly. Cut your chicken when it is still partially frozen to make it easier to cut. But wait to bread and cook them till thawed.
- Chicken: You can use chicken thighs if you like. Just make sure your pieces of chicken are cut evenly so they cook at the same rate.
- Vinegar: If you don’t have rice wine vinegar you can easily substitute apple cider vinegar without ruining the taste.
- Vegetables: You can add in broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini or other vegetables to round out the meal a bit more.
- Serve: This is definitely delicious on its own but we love to serve it over rice. You can also try quinoa, brown rice or ramen noodles.
- Side Dishes: Serve this luscious dish alongside Air Fryer Egg Rolls, Grilled Pineapple, and Vegetable Stir Fry.
- Sauce: If you want more sauce, make a double batch of the sauce. Pour half over the chicken to bake and heat the other half in a small saucepan over medium heat till thickened. Pour the extra sauce over the chicken once done, or over individual portions. This will help it not get soggy while it cooks, but gives you extra sauce.
Storing Leftovers
Leftovers are some of the best. The sauce really melds into the chicken. The breaded chicken will lose a bit of its crispy tender outside, but the taste is still amazing.
- Fridge: Place leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezer: This can be frozen too. Just place in a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Sweet and Sour Chicken is best reheated on the stove. Reheating it in the microwave can make the chicken rubbery and overcooked. Place leftovers in pan on the stove top and heat on medium heat, stirring often, till heated through.
More Asian Inspiration for Dinner
Asian food is a staple around here at our house. We love to make our favorites at home, instead of getting take out. It always tastes ten times better and when making it at home you can customize it to your tastes. Cooking these take out favorites is actually easier than you think too. I have plenty of tried and true favorites here on the blog, but these favorites are a good place to start.
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
- Skillet Sesame Chicken and Broccoli
- Sesame Orange Chicken
- Honey Lemon Ginger Chicken
- Slow Cooker Honey Teriyaki Chicken
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Baked Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 3 large eggs
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup canola oil
Sauce:
- 3/4 cup honey
- 3/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoons cornstarch
- additional sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- In separate bowls, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip chicken into cornstarch then coat in egg mixture then back into the cornstarch. I have also found that you can put the chicken pieces in a gallon size bag and shake to coat.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned. Place the chicken in a 9 x 13 greased baking dish.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, minced garlic, and 1 T cornstarch. Pour over chicken and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- I stirred the chicken every 15 minutes so that it coated them in the sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What can you use instead of the rice wine vinegar? Or does it make a huge difference in the taste?
You could use white vinegar instead. 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight – cut the recipe in half as there are only two of us. Amazing!! Tastes just like the sesame chicken from the local Chinese resteraunt from my youth. love this!!! Thank you.
My daughter is allergic to eggs. Do you think I could use milk instead of eggs for the batter?
I think eggs help to give it the puffy texture but milk should work great as a substitute. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
MAKING THIS! Made the firecracker chicken and it absolutely rocked. Thanks for sharing 🙂 can’t wait to make it…!
It’s only 7 a.m., and I’m drooling! Can not wait to eat this tonight! 🙂
Just tried this tonight and yes, it was great and we will be having it again for sure!
I hate the smell and taste of ketchup.. can I leave this out or do you think the smell and taste are strong? I will leave it in if it is really necessary for the recipe to turn out right.
It will probably be ok?? But the ketchup does help it to thicken up but does not have a strong flavor in the sauce. 🙂
How did yours turn out without the ketchup?
We enjoyed this. Thanks!
I see sesame seeds in the photo but none in the recipe. How many do you usually add in and do you just sprinkle them on top at the end?
Yes. Sorry I will have to add that. Just garnish with sesame seeds at the end. 🙂
I was going to ask the same thing. I don’t see the quantity for the sesame seeds! I’m making it today and because it wasn’t on the list didn’t buy that ingredient!
The sesame seeds are just for garnish at the end. 🙂
Don’t you mean to dip into the egg before the cornstarch?
Yes. You dip the chicken in cornstarch first and then the egg.
Your recipe looks amazing – but I am still confused about the breading (sorry). Did you do egg then cornstarch, cornstarch then egg, or cornstarch, egg, cornstarch?
Thanks!
You dip the chicken first in the cornstarch and then the egg. I know it seems weird but whatever gives it the amazing breading on the outside works for me. 🙂
I have made your firecracker chicken, sweet and sour chicken and fried rice and they were all AMAZING!!! Can’t wait to give this one a try. Thanks for sharing!
I have a question, why do you have to bake the chicken? if you fried it, isn`t cooked?
It doesn’t cook all the way through. Then when you bake it it allows the chicken to brown and the sauce to thicken. It is amazing!!
Thanks a lot! Sounds amazing, I”ll try it tonight
what type of ketchup
Any type will work great!
This is my favorite take-out dish! Can’t wait to make it right at home and not overpaying for the greasiness!
What is rice wine vinegar?
And is there a substiture…just vinegar?
You can buy it in the International Foods Isle at the grocery store 🙂 It has to be rice wine vinegar or it wont taste the same. Hope this helps!
I was not able to find rice wine vinegar in the International isle but I did get rice vinegar. Will that taste somewhat similar?
Rice Wine Vinegar is just another name for Rice Vinegar. You can find it on the same aisle as all the other vinegars. It’s a fairly common ingredient that has been on supermarket shelves in the U.S. for about the last 20 years.
It is just a sweeter vinegar. It is found right next to all of the types of vinegar in the grocery store. 🙂
Hi Alyssa
Great recipe, along with the firecracker chicken. Just wondering if you cover the chicken when cooking the the oven?
Danny
it is a vinegar that is stronger than the regular vinegar
I have been waiting for this recipe! Can’t wait to try it – it really does look amazing!
I’ve made your sweet and sour chicken many times and it’s a huge hit in our house. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with this recipe since it’s similar. It was really good, but next time I think I’ll cook it for an hour like you do with the S&S chicken just to make sure it’s good and sticky! As it sat out after dinner, it thickened up as well, so I’ll be having leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for another great recipe! Oh and by the way, we haven’t ordered Chinese food since I started making the S&S chicken. 🙂
baked honey chicken was ok way to much soy sause if anyone is making this i would suggest oly putting in liike a 1/4 cup