Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken that’s better than take out and so easy to make! You’re going to love these crispy chicken pieces coated in a sweet and garlicky sauce and topped with sesame seeds.

Easy Homemade Sesame Chicken
I love takeout Chinese food! But, it can be a hassle to place an order and pick it up on a busy weeknight. So, I decided to start making my favorite takeout recipes at home. It took some experimenting because for the longest time I felt like I just could never get the sauce or texture of the fried chicken pieces just right.ย
Well Iโve got it right now and Iโm sharing it with you. No need to thank me, knowing your family is enjoying this as much as mine is thanks enough. My kids ask for this all the time and I find myself ordering takeout less and less.
So join me as we toss our takeout menus for good!? Ok, for now. ๐
Recipe Ingredients
For this meal, we’ll first make crispy breaded chicken bites. For these chicken bites, youโll need:
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Eggs
- Flour
- cornstarch
- Oil

Once youโve fried your crispy chicken bites, itโs time to make the sweet and tangy sauce youโll be coating them in. Here is everything youโll need for the Honey Sesame sauce:
- honey
- low sodium soy sauce or tamari sauce
- sesame oil
- rice wine vinegar
- brown sugar
- garlic, minced
- sesame seeds
How to Make Sesame Chicken
Prep: Crack your eggs into a bowl and stir them with a fork until theyโre blended.
Combine flour and cornstarch on a plate and stir them together until theyโre incorporated.
Dredge: Heat about 3-inches of oil in a deep frying pan. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture and then dip it into the flour mixture. Add chicken pieces to the hot oil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Allow the grease from the chicken to drain on paper towels.
Mix: In the meantime, prepare the honey sauce. Set a pan over medium heat and add in the honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, and garlic. Whisk everything together to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it begins to slightly thicken.
Serve: Remove the sauce from the heat and pour the sauce over the chicken. Garnish the chicken with sesame seeds and serve.

Tips for the Best Sesame Chicken
These tips will take your crispy honey sesame chicken from average to better than takeout!
- If you want a thicker sauce, combine ยฝ tablespoon cornstarch with ยฝ tablespoon cold water; whisk to combine and then whisk into the sauce. Cook for a minute, or until heated through.
- For even more flavor, you can add scallions or chopped fresh parsley before serving.
- You can use chicken thighs, cut into cubes, in place of the chicken breast. Just add a minute longer for frying.
- If you want to make it a little spicy, add in a bit of sweet chili sauce!
Serving Ideas
I think itโs obvious to say that I love to serve this over long grain white rice, like Basmati or Jasmine, and a side of steamed veggies. I like to toss the steamed veggies right in the sauce with the chicken, too!
Here are a few less traditional options:
- Serve with rice noodle and steamed veggies
- Serve with quinoa and veggies
- Serve over zoodles
- Sub the rice for cauliflower rice
- Serve over or next to a veggie fried rice dish
- Plate and insert a toothpick into each chicken bite. Then, serve them as an appetizer.
- Serve over an Asian inspired salad mix.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
One of the very best things about this crispy honey sesame chicken is how quickly and easily it comes together. This makes it perfect for meal prepping. Whenever I make this, Iโll double the recipe and save half for another night. Simply allow it to come to room temperature, and then store in an airtight, freezer safe container for about 3 months. Just donโt forget to label your container! Then, take it out and defrost when youโre ready to eat it.
If you end up with any leftovers, all you need to do is refrigerate it in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
When youโre ready to reheat, you may need to thin your sauce a bit. Simply add a splash of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Allow it to simmer until the chicken bites are cooked through.
Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 eggs beaten
- ยฝ cup all purpose flour
- ยผ cup cornstarch
- oil for frying
For the Honey Sauce
- โ cup honey
- ยผ cup low sodium soy sauce or Tamari sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ยผ cup sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Place eggs in a bowl and stir with a fork until blended.
- Combine flour and cornstarch in a plate and stir together until incorporated.
- Heat about 3-inches of oil in a deep frying pan.
- Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture and then dip it into flour mixture.
- Add chicken pieces to the hot oil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
- Drain chicken on paper towels.
- In the meantime, prepare the honey sauce.
- Set a pan over medium heat; add in honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, and garlic. Whisk to combine.
- Bring sauce to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and pour sauce over chicken.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.
17 Comments
Cathy
March 27, 2020 at 4:02 amMy family would eat this NIGHTLY if we could!!
Katerina Petrovska
March 27, 2020 at 4:18 pmI am very happy you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! ๐
Catalina
March 27, 2020 at 2:48 pmOh my goodness! I can’t resist to this dish! Yum!
Katerina Petrovska
March 27, 2020 at 4:17 pmThank you, Catalina! ๐
Toni
March 27, 2020 at 5:23 pmThis will quickly become a favorite weeknight meal!
Katerina Petrovska
March 30, 2020 at 12:00 pmThank you, Toni! ๐ I hope you enjoy it!
Carrie Robinson
March 27, 2020 at 7:18 pmThis look so much better than takeout! Definitely making this soon. ๐
Katerina Petrovska
March 30, 2020 at 12:00 pmThank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! ๐
Sara Welch
March 28, 2020 at 2:23 amAdding this to my dinner line up for the week; looks too good to pass up!
Katerina Petrovska
March 30, 2020 at 11:59 amI hope you enjoy it! Thank YOU! ๐
Haley Williams
March 31, 2020 at 7:01 pmLove this way to change up dinner! That sauce sounds amazing!
Katerina Petrovska
April 1, 2020 at 3:44 pmThank YOU! I hope you enjoy it! ๐
Linda J
April 6, 2020 at 11:03 pmI omit the flour and use only cornstarch. Then I dry or the coated chicken for 5 minutes in the freezer. Talk about crispy! Andy it stands up better to the sauce. Add some slivers of ginger, chili paste and toast the sesame seeds then toss with the chicken and sauce. Yum!
KB
May 1, 2020 at 2:52 amJust made this tonight for the first time and OMG. It turned out beautifully and so delicious!!!!! Next time I will double the sauce to have it a bit more saucy, but this recipe is perfect as is and a keeper! Thank you!
Katerina Petrovska
May 2, 2020 at 5:42 pmThat’s wonderful! I am very happy you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! ๐
J
July 15, 2020 at 8:21 pmThis was awesome! I added in some fresh minced ginger and some red pepper flakes. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you!
Katerina Petrovska
July 16, 2020 at 7:42 pmThat’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! ๐