Healthy Sesame Chicken
I know what you’re thinking… sesame chicken… healthy? Ohhh yesss my friends… it tis!
I’ve had sesame chicken a bunch of times from tons of places and I kinda consider myself somewhat of an expert. I’ve had it sweet and savory, ginger-y and I reeeeally like it spicy but unfortunately most of the time the chicken is fried… which {obviously} is probably the reason why I love it so much. Anyways that’s when I started thinking about how could I make it a bit healthier and let’s face it… save on gas by not driving 50 minutes to the nearest Pei Wei.
This is sooo easy and in all honestly once the prep is out of the way this whole thing just takes a few minutes to whip up! Oh and feel free to play with ingredients. You could always add a little fresh ginger {I didn’t have any on hand or I so would have} add a teaspoon of chili paste for a little kick if you wanted to. I made this non-spicy since my youngest wouldn’t have eaten it if it was…but issss good with the spice lemme tell ya. Thank you Kristin for the inspiration!
Start by adding a half cup of honey into a medium bowl, I eyeball it.
Then measure and pour in 5 tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce if you have that {only soy sauce is NOT gluten free}.
Then press in two cloves of fresh garlic. You know how I love this press!
This is what 4 tablespoons of sesame seeds look like…
Now add these to the bowl.
Again, I eyeball the sesame oil which is somewhere around a half to a full teaspoon. I knowwww but if you’re unsure start with a half a teaspoon and if it tastes good to you, you can totally stop there.
Give it a good whisk until the honey is dissolved into the tamari and then set that off to the side.
Dice up a half a green and red pepper and a medium yellow onion and scootch those off to the side.
Take each chicken breast and slice thin strips…
And then cut the strips into 1 inch pieces.
Season the chicken with kosher salt and black pepper.
Then simply whisk the egg whites and corn starch together in a large bowl. Throw in the chicken and toss it around to coat evenly.
Add a tablespoon of the coconut oil into a hot pan over medium-high heat. I really wasn’t thinking when I reached for my cast iron pan because it’s simply not big enough. But I didn’t realize that until the chicken was added… you’ll see.
Cook those until softened yet still a bit firm. Remove them to a plate and set aside for just a sec.
See what I mean? Too much chicken in one pan. So I really couldn’t do much at this point until the chicken had formed a good enough crust to scrape out into a larger pan.
Ahhh much better! Cook for 5-8 minutes until golden and the chicken is fully cooked through.
Add in the peppers and onions…
The sauce…
Stir and let bubble for a minute or two before serving over prepared rice.
Chopsticks are optional. Oh gosh is this good!
Healthy Sesame Chicken
The lighter side to sesame chicken.
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Honey
5 tablespoons Tamari
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
4 tablespoons Sesame Seeds
2 Garlic Cloves, pressed in a garlic press
2 Egg Whites
4 tablespoons Corn Starch
3 medium sized Chicken Breasts, cubed into 1 inch pieces
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
4 Green Onion, sliced
3 tablespoons Coconut Oil
4 servings of Prepared White or Brown Rice
Consider adding a tablespoon of minced fresh ginger and/or a teaspoon of chili paste to the sesame sauce for a boost of flavor!
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine honey, tamari, sesame oil, garlic and sesame seeds. Whisk until combined and set aside.
Season cubed chicken with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl whisk together the egg whites and corn starch. Add in the seasoned chicken and toss.
In a large 10 to 12 inch non-stick skillet add a tablespoon of coconut oil and heat over medium-high heat. Once hot add in the peppers and onions and cook for 4-5 minutes until slightly softened. Remove to a plate.
In the same skillet heat up 2 more tablespoons of coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add in the chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes until golden and fully cooked. Add the peppers and onions back in along with the sliced green onions and the sesame sauce.
Stir and serve over prepared white or brown rice.
Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (
Just perfect Laurie!
I am always in love with any Asian inspired recipe that keeps me from ordering takeout! This looks amazing.
Hmmmmmm healthy Sesame Chicken its sound is so yummy.
Nutrition clinic
Thank you so much for sharing this healthy version of Sesame Chicken! My son will love it! Blessings from Bama!
YUM! I do love healthier version of my restaurant favorites. I’m going to have to try this with tofu!
Pretty! Can’t wait to try this one!
This is my favorite kind of weeknight meal. It looks amazing!
this looks delicious. my family would love this recipe. trying very soon!
Sesame chicken is one of my faves! Love this!!! I am so trying this recipe, thank you!
this dinner looks so good! I can’t wait to try it! and I think I have all those ingredients handy too!
YES OH YES OH YES! This is on the menu next week – only because I already went shopping for this week
i was gonna make a stir fry later this week, but this might just have to replace it! yum!!
Oh my word!!
omg laurie. for this, i love you even more. saving this recipe. ahh!! I love sesame chicken!
Sesame chicken is one of my favorite take-out dishes! Love that you added so many veggies – I really need more healthy recipes – my clothes are on the verge of not fitting anymore!
Looks delicious – one of my faves!
This looks absolutely, perfectly delicious! I also make a honey sesame chicken that I bake
I’m totally in love with asian flavours at the moment so this sounds absolutely right up my street. Can’t wait to try!
What’s not to love about Pei Wei, it’s cheap & good!
This sauce…I could drink this sauce! Yummo Laurie!
I definitely love this version! It looks ten times better than any kind you’d order out. Putting this on my menu plan soon.
I love that you made this take-out dish into a healthy at-home dish! looks wonderful!!
You know what I was thinking about all weekend? Sesame chicken! I’ve been craving Chinese takeout like no other and thought to myself I needed to figure out a way to make it at home so that it’s less fatty and bad for you. I’m all over this recipe like white on rice (teehee!)
This looks so good – what gorgeous photos!
http://scratchingcanvas.blogspot.in/
I love the manner you have represented the recipe and must tell you great illustration. It made me so easy for me. Thanks.
assorted cheese
Looks really, really good. Oh, and I always love your ingredient pics.
This was incredible! I made this for dinner last night and my husband asked me to add it to the rotation! My son ate it, and I haven’t been able to get him to eat chicken in months! Thank you!
Look at all those sesame seeds. Love! Always enjoy healthier spins on Chinese favorites.
One of our favorites – love this healthier version, definitely will be trying it soon!
I only need you to come make this for me! ha, looks delish and so bright.
I made this last night and it was fantastic. My husband loved it and my picky 2 year old took a few bites (I’ll take what I can get!). Thanks for the recipe.
I made my own version of this tonight for my family, too funny! They had chicken and I made tofu for myself. It is so easy and delicious!
This use to be my favorite thing to order at a Chinese restaurant. Haven’t had in years …. inspired to make it. Your recipe looks and sounds so easy.
I looooooove sesame chicken! And this looks so good!
Love that you lightened up sesame chicken! I might have to change my plans for dinner tonight!
This looks and sounds delicious. I love sesame chicken, but I don’t like how thickly fried it always is. Yours sounds much better! Can’t wait to try it.
This looks both beautiful and delicious. You’re supposed to eat a rainbow to be healthy, right?!
This looks amazing, and I’ll totally be making it this week. Miss you! -Ashley D-A
I made this last night. It was AMAZING! The boyfriend and I ate the entire thing. Ha, we were hoping for leftovers for lunch. This is definitely something that I will make again soon. New to your blog and I love it!
I am way too excited to make this! I went out and bought all the ingredients today. Looks so delicious!!! I LOVE all your recipes!!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it out!
I made this last night and it was delicious! Sticky and sweet and a little spicy (I added Sriracha to the mix). An awesome and quick dish I will sure make again. Thanks
simplyscratch replied: — February 4th, 2013 @ 10:08 pm
Oooh I like the Sriracha addition… strong work!
I’ve made this twice now, and it’s SO amazing. It’s easy and the sauce is such a balance of sweet & salty. And the best part is that it’s made with honey instead of sugar – really happy to see that. THANKS!!
simplyscratch replied: — February 4th, 2013 @ 10:08 pm
So glad Julia! It’s a big hit at our house too my husband is always requesting it {like ALWAYS}:)
Made this tonight it was delicious…my husband and I loved it. In fact we ate at 5:30 EST and I am still gloating about dinner 2 hours later. Thank you…yummy!
Another winner!!!! not only did we enjoy it the first time but, the leftovers were AMAZING. I enjoy the tastes and health benefits that stir fry meals afford…and usually my wok is loaded with a ton more veggies (bok choy, ect) but this meal was made after a day of work and I appreciated the simpleness of the ingredients and decrease in workload of all the chopping. Once again, you have “knocked it out of the park” !!!!
Love, love, love this Laurie! I loved it so much that I just had to post about it and I totally linked back to you 582 times. Okay, it was twice, but I wanted to link back that many times because this recipe was DE-lish! Thanks so much and cheers!
We don’t order out Chinese foods because of food allergies, so I was really happy to find this recipe and also that it’s healthy! I know this is just a small thing, but I was impressed with the egg and cornstarch coating on the chicken. When cooked, each piece had a nice coating. I guess I really liked the texture! Before starting the cooking process, I cut up a head of cauliflower and started roasting it so it’d be done at the same time. Since my family wouldn’t go out of their way to eat that, I tossed it in with the chicken. Everyone ate happily!
simplyscratch replied: — April 26th, 2013 @ 10:10 am
Hi Sandra! I don’t think it’s a small thing at all! Texture is everything… it’s why I prefer chunky pb as to smooth:) So glad to hear you and your family enjoyed it… happy Friday!
I”m so happy when I find a recipe that is usually fried, but actually seems yummier not be fried.
Teresa