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This Easy Sesame Chicken Recipe is a super fast dinner and better than takeout!

Sesame chicken garnished with sesame seeds and sliced green onions over white rice, in a white bowl.

This easy homemade sesame chicken is so good – I’ve made it for my family about five times in the last few weeks and we haven’t gotten tired of it yet!

What is sesame chicken?

Sesame Chicken is a crispy, sweet and tangy chicken recipe often found in Chinese restaurants in the United States. Although the chicken is often deep fried to make it crispy, this recipe skips the breading to make it faster, easier and a little healthier.

What are the ingredients for Sesame Chicken?

I like to use chicken thighs in this recipe, but if you prefer, you can also make sesame chicken with chicken breasts.

For the sauce, the ingredients are low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, toasted sesame oil, chili garlic sauce and cornstarch.

Sesame chicken with sticky sauce and sesame seeds in a pan

How to make sesame chicken at home

This sesame chicken recipe is full of flavor but incredibly easy to make. It isn’t deep fried so it is healthier than what you might find at a typical American Chinese restaurant.

To make sesame chicken, cut the chicken into small, bite sized pieces.

Whisk together the ingredients for the sauce – low Sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, corn starch and chili garlic sauce.

Add a tablespoon of oil to a sauté pan and heat pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and brown about 5 minutes per side, until cooked through.

When chicken is cooked, add sauce to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, until sauce had started to thicken and the chicken is coated in sauce.

Close up of sesame chicken with sesame seeds and green onions over a bed of rice

If you like this recipe, you will love my Easy Lemon Chicken Stir Fry, Beef and Broccoli, or Peanut Sauce Chicken and Broccoli Bowls.

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Easy Sesame Chicken Recipe

4.69 from 19 votes
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients 

  • 1.5 pounds chicken thighs boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 tbsp canola oil
  • 2 tsp Sesame seeds

for sauce

Instructions 

  • Whisk together ingredients for sauce, set aside.
  • Heat a oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat.
  • When oil is hot, add the chicken. Sear until browned on one side, then flip and repeat on the second side, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
  • Add sauce, cook for 1-2 minutes, or until sauce has started to thicken and the chicken is coated in sauce.
  • Garnish with sesame seeds and green onion, serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 534kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 730mg | Potassium: 414mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 133IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American, Asian
Did you like this recipe?Please comment, rate and share! And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @foxandbriar AND #foxandbriar so I can see what you made!
Hello! I’m Meghan.

I am so glad that you are here! I am the recipe developer, photographer, and writer here at my blog Fox and Briar. I am a passionate, self-taught home cook and believe that most things are better homemade and that good food doesn’t need to be complicated.

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23 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    As a native NY-er who has consumed 50 yrs of Chinese food and even lived for several years in Chinatown, I have to say that this is hands-down the BEST sesame chicken I have ever eaten! We had run out of rice vinegar, so I used red wine vinegar, and it was great. I will make sure to have rice wine vinegar on hand next time. Instead of canola oil for the chicken cooking, I used organic coconut oil and a bit of organic EVOO, and it gave a little coconut flavor to it, too. Instead of just low sodium soy sauce, I also used organic coconut aminos – half and half. So delicious! I served it with broccoli. The chicken was so yummy and crispy, and the sauce was bananas good! My hubby and I are crazy about this recipe and are planning to use the sauce on other items, like pork chops, any vegetable, salads, etc. Thank you! I will try some of your other recipes now, too!

      1. This was the best sauce that I’ve ever made for chicken. Can I make this sauce ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks?

      2. Hi Val – I haven’t tried that, but it would probably be fine to do a few days ahead of time! I’m glad you loved the sauce!

    1. It’s actually rice vinegar. You can use white or red wine vinegar, but rice vinegar is traditional for this dish. I used coconut oil for cooking the chicken plus a little EVOO, and it was delicious! 🙂

  2. 5 stars
    This is the best Sesame Chicken that I have ever tasted. YAHOO!!
    Now is also my son’s favorite meal.
    I have tried a lot of versions of this dish, and I must say, this is the best ever, and
    I will never try another one, this one tops it all.
    Thank You!
    Karoline

  3. 5 stars
    Easy AND delicious! I substituted apple cider vinegar because I didn’t have rice vinegar, but it still turned out great.

  4. 5 stars
    Made this for my family last night with some coconut rice and sautéed green beans. Everyone LOVED it! Super easy and family pleaser!

  5. 5 stars
    Aha! This is a must-try takeout. I usually have it with egg fried rice whenever I order it. I will try your recipe soon, I’m sure it will taste much better than the ones in Chinese restaurants 🙂