Honey Sesame Chicken is one of those meals that seems much, much harder than it actually is.
Actually, this paleo honey sesame chicken makes an awesome weeknight dinner option. It's much faster than you'd expect, and these succulent chicken bites are a welcome change of pace from chicken thighs or roast chicken!
I've been tweaking this recipe for months now, working out the ideal measurements for my tastes. But that's just for the blog... One of my favorite features of this recipe is that I can make it from memory. The ingredients don't have to be super exact. You can adjust the honey and coconut aminos as you see fit.
And when you don't need to continually revisit a recipe to make dinner, you instantly shave precious minutes off of your prep time. I know, I know, we're talking minutes. But those minutes add up, and suddenly dinner's ready 10-20 minutes sooner than it would have been.
That's exactly what I love about recipes like this. Honey sesame chicken is now one of my back pocket recipes — a meal that's quick to make, uses ingredients that are pantry staples of mine, and I don't need to dig up the recipe to make it. Arm yourself with 4-5 back pocket recipes, and suddenly the week's meals are entirely more manageable.
My man spouse is thrilled whenever I make honey sesame chicken. He calls it "chicken with the white dots". I think he appreciates that it's a chicken recipe that doesn't quite taste like chicken. I mean, it's slathered in a simple honey-tomato sauce, so it's a bit different from roast chicken or cast iron chicken thighs. We love our chicken, but when you're eating it for 4+ meals a week, this recipe is a nice variation.
When serving, dish this up with cauliflower rice or white rice, if that's your jam. Sprinkle with a generous amount of sesame seeds and sliced green onions. Aw, yeah. This is a meal to remember!
Paleo Honey Sesame Chicken
Paleo Honey Sesame Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: pan-fried
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup arrowroot powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup - ⅓ cup raw honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized, 2-inch chunks and add to a medium bowl. Add the arrowroot flour, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat each piece of chicken in the flour.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the tomato sauce, honey, rice vinegar, coconut aminos, ginger, and garlic until smooth. Taste the sauce to see if it's sweet enough for you - if not, add additional honey a tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired level of sweetness. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet, browning on each side for about 2 minutes. Work in batches if necessary—they won’t brown properly if you pack ‘em in there too tightly.
- Once all the chicken is browned, return to the skillet. Pour the sauce mixture into the skillet and stir to coat the chicken. Bring the sauce to a boil and let it cook until thickened, about 10 minutes or longer based on your preference. Add the sesame seeds and stir to coat.
- Serve over white rice or cauliflower rice. Garnish with extra sesame seeds or sliced green onions, if desired.
Notes
Be sure to taste the sauce before adding it to the chicken and adjust to your tastes! My spouse and I are pretty sensitive to sweetness, so we start off with ¼ cup honey, but others may prefer ⅓ cup honey.
Keywords: Honey Sesame Chicken, paleo honey sesame chicken
