Skinny 15-Minute Sesame Chicken and Broccoli

15-Minute Healthier Sesame Chicken  — 🍗🥦🎉 Skip takeout and make this Asian favorite at home in just minutes! So EASY and HEALTHIER than what you’d get in a restaurant but tastes just as AWESOME!

Healthier Sesame Chicken Recipe

The next time you’re in the mood for a sesame chicken stir-fry from your local Asian restaurant, forget about the restaurant and make this skinny version yourself in 15 minutes!

This Chinese sesame chicken and broccoli is so easy, ready in a flash, and tastes every bit as good as from a restaurant. But being that you’re making it at home, you’re in charge of the ingredients and the process.

The sesame chicken is tender, juicy, and the sauce coats every piece of chicken and seeps into the nooks and crannies of the crisp-tender broccoli. 

Ingredients in Healthier Sesame Chicken  

To make the honey sesame chicken, you’ll need: 

• Olive oil
• Sesame oil 
• Boneless skinless chicken
• Broccoli florets
• Salt and pepper

And to make the homemade sesame chicken sauce, you’ll need: 

• Cornstarch
• Cold water
• Light brown sugar
• Low-sodium soy sauce
• Honey
• Hoisin sauce
• Chili garlic sauce
• Ground ginger

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make Sesame Chicken

Chinese sesame chicken isn’t traditionally served with broccoli, but since this is meant to be a healthier spin on the classic dish (no deep frying here!) I figured I’d add it to the pan. You may omit the broccoli if you wish.

Here’s how the healthy sesame chicken recipe is made:

1. Dice the chicken and cook it in an oiled skillet until it’s nearly cooked through.
2. While the chicken cooks, stir together the sesame chicken sauce ingredients in a separate saucepan and cook until thickened. 
3. Push the chicken to one side of the skillet and pile the broccoli onto the other side. Pour the sesame chicken sauce over top and stir to combine. 
4. Pop the lid onto the skillet and let the chicken and broccoli cook until the broccoli is crisp tender.
5. Garnish with sesame seeds and enjoy! You may wish to garnish with green onions and to serve this with rice, cauliflower rice, noodles, other veggies, or just as-is!

Tips for Making Honey Sesame Chicken

Broccoli was made for soaking up sauce, and I recommend not overcooking it. Mushy broccoli is just not appetizing and keep in mind that the broccoli will continue to soften as it sits in the sauce, even off the heat.

If you’ve never used chili garlic sauce and are sensitive to heat, you may want to start with one tablespoon and you can always add more later if you want to amp up the heat level.

Serve it with rice and if you’re feeling like going that route, although in an effort to keep carbs down we ate it just like this.

Recipe Video

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4.52 from 192 votes

Skinny 15-Minute Sesame Chicken and Broccoli

By Averie Sunshine

🍗🥦🎉 Skip takeout and make this Asian favorite at home in just minutes! So EASY and HEALTHIER than what you’d get in a restaurant but tastes just as AWESOME!

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

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Ingredients  

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• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons cold water
• ▢ ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce, or to taste
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ▢ 5 cups broccoli florets
• ▢ salt and pepper, optional and to taste
• ▢ sesame seeds, for garnishing

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• To a large skillet, add the oils, chicken, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is nearly cooked through; stir and flip intermittently to ensure even cooking.
• While chicken cooks, to a small bowl, add the cornstarch, water, and stir to dissolve; set slurry aside.
• To a separate medium saucepan, add the brown sugar, soy sauce, honey, hoisin sauce, chili garlic sauce, ginger, stir to combine, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Allow mixture to bubble gently for 1 minute.
• After the mixture is boiling, add the cornstarch slurry, whisk to combine, and allow the sauce to boil and thicken for 2 to 3 minutes; whisking nearly constantly.
• Push the chicken to one side of the skillet, add the broccoli to the other side, evenly pour the sauce over the chicken and broccoli, and gently stir to combine and coat evenly.
• Cover skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, or until broccoli is as crisp-tender as desired.
• Optionally add salt and pepper, evenly sprinkle with the sesame seeds, and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

• Recipe is best fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 384kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 35g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 91mg, Sodium: 1119mg, Potassium: 987mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 27g, Vitamin A: 752IU, Vitamin C: 103mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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