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Skip the takeout and make this Honey Sesame Chicken instead! It’s LOADED with veggies and is delicious! Easy to make and made with a sweet and savory sauce. Perfect for lunch or dinner and even better for those that meal prep.
If you love honey sesame chicken from Panda Express but want to cut down on takeout food and make a healthier version at home, then this sweet and savory chicken recipe is perfect for you. You will be enjoying the same great taste with better for you healthier ingredients. Made with lean chicken breasts, low sodium broth, honey, sugar snap peas, and other pantry-staple ingredients. Easy to make and ready in just 30 minutes. Serve with either plain white rice, fried rice, brown rice, cilantro lime white rice or keep it low carb by serving it with Cauliflower rice.
Why you should make this
- Super easy to make: This Asian chicken dish is really simple and easy to make. It doesn’t need crazy ingredients and the sugar snaps can easily be swapped with any of your favorite veggies.
- Healthier than takeout: skip buying honey sesame chicken from Panda or your favorite Chinese restaurant and make a healthier version at home instead.
- So tasty: We can’t even tell you how easy and delicious this honey and sesame Chinese chicken dish is. It is packed with flavor with tender and juicy chicken with each bite.
Ingredients you will need
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts: for a healthier option we recommend you use chicken breast. But if you prefer chicken thighs, use boneless and skinless chicken thighs.
- Vegetable oil: you may swap this with sesame oil.
- Sugar snap peas trimmed: don’t like sugar snaps, use pea pods, green beans, broccoli, or asparagus.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garlic cloves: do use fresh garlic cloves and not garlic powder.
- Honey: can be swapped with maple syrup or agave.
- Broth: low-sodium chicken broth works best, you may also use vegetable broth, or just use water
- Soy sauce: use low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
- Toasted Sesame oil: this oil gives the best flavor, but if you have any nut oil, you may swap it.
- Cornstarch: this will thicken the sauce, but you may use arrowroot powder. Flour will work but it will be a bit on the thin side.
- Sesame seeds: used to garnish, if you don’t have any, skip it.
How to make honey sesame chicken
- Cook the sugar snaps: Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the snap peas and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove the snap peas from the pan; place them on a plate and cover.
- Clean Pan: Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and turn the heat to high. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Season and cook the chicken: Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pan in a single layer – you may need to do this step in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until they turn golden brown and cooked through.
- Combine: Add the snap peas back to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes or until the vegetables are warmed through.
- Make the sauce: In a bowl whisk together the chicken broth, honey, sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water.
- Add sauce over the mix: Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and snap peas; cook for 30 seconds. Add the cornstarch and bring to a boil; cook for 1 more minute or until sauce has just started to thicken.
- Serve immediately, topped with sesame seeds.
How to thicken sesame chicken sauce
If you like the sauce more on the thick side, you can thicken the sesame chicken stir-fry sauce with more cornstarch. Star with 1 teaspoon at a time so you don’t over-thicken the sauce. In a small bowl, add about 1-2 tsp of cornstarch, and then add equal amounts of cold water and mix. Then add over the honey sesame chicken or whatever sauce you are trying to thicken. If the consistency is right you don’t need to add more. You may also use arrowroot powder or flour.
Recipe notes
- If you decide to use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast, we recommend using skinless and boneless chicken thighs and try to trim out as much fat as possible from them.
- Don’t like chicken? Swap it with salmon bites, shrimp, or beef.
- Use any other veggies of your choice. Using sugar snap peas is not a deal breaker.
- You may swap the honey for another sweetener. Brown sugar works just fine too.
- Don’t want to cook on a pan, use your air fryer instead. Set is at 375F and cook for 15 minutes or so. Open it a couple of times to shake and check for doneness.
- Want to add some heat? Garnish with some red pepper flakes.
Frequently asked questions
Honey sesame chicken is an Asian dish typically made with chicken stir-fried with sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey or brown sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, and soy sauce. It is usually combined with some sort of vegetable and you may find slight variations to this recipe based on personal preferences,
If your sesame chicken is more on the chewy side, it is possible that the chicken was overcooked or a bad cut of chicken to begin with. Sometimes, if the chicken has been frozen for a white and not processed right, you end up with chewy chicken no matter what you do.
We find that people find honey sesame chicken so delicious because they tend to like that combination of sweet and savory meals. Plus the toasted sesame oil and fresh garlic used to make sesame chicken gives it a unique appealing flavor.
More stir fry recipes
- Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry with Teriyaki Sauce
- Mongolian Beef Stir Fry
- Sweet and Sour Vegetable Stir Fry
- Easy and Healthy Beef Stir Fry
- Orange Chicken Stir Fry
- Shrimp Stir Fry Noodles
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Chicken and Zucchini Stir Fry
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Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 3 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup honey, brown sugar or agave
- ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth or water
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the snap peas and cook for approximately 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Remove the snap peas from the pan; place them on a plate and cover.
- Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and turn the heat to high. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pan in a single layer – you may need to do this step in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned and cooked through.
- Add the snap peas back to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes or until the vegetables are warmed through.
- In a bowl whisk together the chicken broth, honey, sesame oil, garlic and soy sauce. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water.
- Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and snap peas; cook for 30 seconds. Add the cornstarch and bring to a boil; cook for 1 more minute or until sauce has just started to thicken.
- Serve immediately, topped with sesame seeds.
Notes
- Use fresh garlic
- Swap the sugar snap peas with either broccoli, green beans, asparagus, zucchini, or pea pods
- you may use boneless and skinless chicken thighs or any other protein of your choice
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This meal is amazing! Definitely a keeper recipe!
Really deliciously yummy recipe. Everyone was picking at it while we waited for it to cool down enough for the leftovers to go in the fridge.
Yay! so happy to hear you guys loved this!
This meal is amazing! Definitely a keeper recipe!
Thanks so much