Baked Sesame Chicken
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A quick and saucy Baked Sesame Chicken dish you can whip up in a hurry. The flavor is excellent and the sauce is simple, this sesame chicken can’t be beat!
Want more tasty sesame recipes? Enjoy Sticky Sesame Chicken, Baked Sesame Glazed Salmon and Asparagus, and Slow Cooker Sesame Beef next!
I love a good sesame chicken. I worked at a Chinese restaurant all through high school and had my fair share of all of the “traditional” Chinese dishes. Orange chicken, kung pao chicken, general tso’s chicken (try it in the crockpot with my Slow Cooker General Tso’s Chicken recipe!), and yes – sesame chicken. To be honest, I have some pretty high expectations for sesame chicken. I guess you could call me a sesame chicken snob. We’re friends, you can call me a snob.
The thing about a lot of sesame chicken recipes I’ve tasted, is that they just don’t have enough sauce. I’m a sauce person, I need a bucket of sauce with every meal, especially ones of the Asian variety. I eat rice the way most people eat pasta and I needs lots and lots of sauce on my Chinese dishes to seep down into the spaces between the rice. Weird? No way! I just know what I like, and I like a mother load of sauce on my sesame chicken.
This chicken is perfect for me, it has plenty of sauce, lots of flavor, and comes together so easily. It’s just lightly braised on the stove before being tossed into the over for a good 25 minutes. I think that letting it cook like that in the oven helps to get the chicken to absorb the flavors of the sauce, without getting soggy – I love it. If you don’t have a go-to sesame chicken recipe, this is the answer to your prayers. And if you do have one, try this one anyway, there’s a good chance it’ll steal your heart!
More Recipes to Try
- Honey Sriracha Chicken – sweet, spicy, and guaranteed to steal the show.
- Pineapple Chicken – fresh pineapple and tender chicken make the perfect pair.
- Easy Chinese Cashew Chicken – better than take out and so satisfying!
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Baked Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup corn starch
Sauce
- 6 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cold water
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- sesame seeds, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients, set aside.
- Add chicken and 1 cup corn starch to a large ziplock bag. Seal and shake to coat chicken. Transfer chicken to a large pan or skillet drizzled with oil. Saute chicken over medium high heat until browned (2-4 minutes).
- Toss chicken in the prepared sauce. Transfer to baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve with sesame seeds and green onions for garnish if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you put the chicken and sauce back into the original cast iron to bake?
I’m sure you can as long as it’s oven safe like a cast iron as you mentioned 🙂
Delicious! Easy to prep sauce ahead of time! Will definitely make this again.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!
Have made it a few times now and its a favourite in the family
So thrilled to hear that!! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
THis is delish. I used 2 breasts and could have used just a little moRe sauce but the flavor and texture was there.
Thanks for your feedback, Julie!
Excellent! My son wants the recipe for when he heads back to college this week!
I messed up! Help. I cut the chicken and put it in the sauce but forgot the whole breading the chicken with corn starch and frying it in the frying pan before putting it in the saucE. how will it come out if I just bake the raw chicken in the sauce? Will that worK? I mI made it previously and follow the directions exactly and it was delicious
It will be different for sure, but you’ll probably be fine this time. It will just have a different consistency and texture.