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!
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!
What people are saying about this Baked Sesame Chicken
“This was AMAZING! I had my guy look through your visual recipe index and pick out something that looked and sounded good. He chose this one, so we tried it first. And as always, he complained… But ONLY that I didn’t make rice. Other that that, he said he loved it and would eat it again — no changes required!! Seriously a miracle! You are a SAINT for saving our homemade dinner dilemmas and we’re probably going to try just about every other Chinese recipe you have. Because I refuse to go out to the sub-par restaurants around here when I can cook your fabulous recipes and make him happy instead. So thank you!!! 
” – Amy
“Unbelievably good and more wholesome than the takeout version as this is baked instead of frying. I skipped 2 tablespoons sugar and added 2 of a little teriyaki sauce. Yummy!” – Regin
“My husband absolutely loves this! He asks for it all the time!” – Stephanie
“This is absolutely delicious! Though slightly too sweet. But I loved it and will definitely make it again.” – Shan
If you liked this, you’ll love my Sticky Sesame Chicken recipe!
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!
I love this dish. I’ve been making it for years now and it’s one of my favorite GO-to dishes. Now I’m making it for a potluck and want to also provide a vegetarian option. Do you think this would work with tofu?
I am not a huge tofu eater so I can’t say for sure, but I bet so! I’d love to hear the outcome if you give it a try.
I messed up! Help. I c 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 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.
Excellent! My son wants the recipe for when he heads back to college this week!
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!