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This simple Sheet Pan Sticky Ginger Sesame Chicken and Crispy Brussels Sprouts dinner is about to become your new go-to meal. Easy homemade Asian inspired chicken, tossed in a gingery, sweet, spicy, and extra sticky soy pomegranate sauce. Serve this meal with roasted brussels sprouts, cooked right alongside the chicken, for the easiest sheet pan dinner. Then add a side of steamed rice topped with plenty of sesame seeds. And the best part…this sticky chicken is made quicker than any take-out meal and much healthier too. A delicious, fun, and healthy dinner any night of the week!
I love a good Asian inspired recipe more than you know. Anything that semi resembles take-out style meals seem to end up as a family favorite. Well, we love pizza and pasta too. That’s why I try to provide a variety of recipes here on HBH for whatever food mood you’re in.
Anyway, tonight we’re going the take-out at home route and I’m excited. It’s been a while since I’ve shared a “take-out” style recipe.
I originally had the idea to make this chicken last week, but then we had snow. The cold swayed me towards creating a cozier rosemary chicken and rice pilaf. But this week, the sun is shining and we’re back to normal fall weather around here. Enter this chicken, it’s the perfect fall dinner that highlights in-season brussels sprouts and sweet pomegranates.
Making this sheet pan sticky ginger chicken is easy…
Here are all the details. I wasn’t planning on breading the chicken, but as I was testing, a light went off in my head. Sure, I wanted a sticky sauce, but how would the sauce really stick to the chicken without any coating?
So I quickly decided to toss the chicken with a beaten egg and dredge it through some flour. This is a very, very light coating, but it’s just enough to help all that sticky sauce actually stick to the chicken. Once you’ve coated the chicken in flour, arrange it to one side of a large greased baking sheet. Then drizzle generously with sesame oil (or olive oil) to help the chicken crisp up a bit.
Now that you’ve got the chicken ready, let’s talk about those sprouts.
First off, sure you can use broccoli if you hate brussels sprouts. But I LOVE a well-roasted sprout and also find them delicious when paired with a salty Asian recipe.
I kept the sprouts basic, just sesame oil, salt, and pepper. But the real secret? Getting them extra crispy in the oven. Since the chicken cooks at such a high temperature, the sprouts have time to roast, soften, turn crisp, and lightly char on the outside. Delicious.
While everything is roasting, make the sticky sauce.
The truth? The sauce is truly why you should make this recipe. The sauce + the sprouts, because I really do love brussels sprouts the most.
Oh, and the sauce? It’s honestly so addicting. Sweet, tangy, a touch spicy and once boiled down, super sticky. The secret ingredient is one of my autumn favorites, pomegranate juice. I know it might sound odd, but please, don’t doubt me here. The pomegranate juice adds sweetness, tanginess, and deep dark color too. It’s one of my favorite ingredients to use in Asian inspired recipes. Plus, I always love the added pop of color, especially this time of year when the pomegranates are coming into season.
The sauce takes only a few minutes to thicken up on the stove. It’s usually ready by the time the chicken has finished cooking.
Then just toss the sauce with the chicken, return to the oven for a few more minutes, and you’re done. I was shocked at how well the timing of everything ended up working out.
Nothing fancy here, just simple cooking, but very delicious.
Serving suggestions?
Steamed rice, plenty of green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and pomegranate arils – if you can find them. Sadly ours have yet to show up for the season, but they’ll be here soon! Then drizzle with a generous amount of the leftover sauce…because saucy sticky chicken is the only way to go.
Tip…double the recipe and save the leftovers for quick and easy lunches. The chicken would also be great atop a chopped salad or served with rice noodles.
If you’re looking for something fresh and healthy…ish for dinner this week, make this sticky chicken!
Looking for other Asian style recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Thai Basil Sesame Cashew Chicken with Coconut Rice
Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice
Ginger Sesame Chicken Potstickers with Sweet Chili Pomegranate Sauce
Lastly, if you make this sheet pan sticky ginger sesame chicken and crispy brussels sprouts, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sheet Pan Sticky Ginger Sesame Chicken and Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 454 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup all-purpose or gluten free all-purpose flour
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3/4 pound brussels sprouts, halved
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil
- 2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup pomegranate juice (equal amounts of apple cider or orange juice are great substitutes)
- 1/4 cups honey
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon molasses or pomegranate molasses
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, use more or less to taste
- rice, sesame seeds, and green onions, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with oil.2. Add the chicken, egg, and a pinch of pepper to a bowl. Toss to combine. Add the flour to another bowl. Dredge the chicken in batches through the flour, tossing to coat. Place the chicken on one side of the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Add the brussels sprouts to the other side of the pan and toss with 2 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange cut side down. Bake for 12 minutes. Toss the sprouts, flip the chicken and return to the oven another 3-5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Reduce the oven temp to 400 degrees F.3. Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, pomegranate juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, molasses, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes in a medium saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and bring the sauce to a boil. Boil 5-8 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces by about 1/3. Remove from the heat.4. Pour half the sauce over the chicken, tossing to combine. Toss the sprouts with 1 tablespoon oil. Return everything to the oven for 3 minutes, until the sauce coats the chicken, watch close the sauce can burn. 5. Serve the chicken and sauce over bowls of rice topped with additional green onions, pomegranate arils, and sesame seeds. Serve the brussels sprouts on the side.
This post was originally published on September 16, 2020
It’s delicious, the only thing is that it took me like 2 hours to cook, instead of 35 min!!
Hey there,
Awesome! It is so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a go! xTieghan
I love all of her recipes I have tried so far but this one misses the mark. I didn’t have the issue with the sauce thickening but it was a little too salty. Maybe if you added some pineapple in the last few minutes of cooking the chicken in the sauce or squeeze some orange it would balance it out. If you’re craving Asian, I would instead recommend her other Asian dish with the red peppers and ginger rice—it’s life changing. Still grateful for the recipe and the chance to try something new—loved the stickiness just may tweak the sauce a bit! Thank you!!!
Hey Sami,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry this didn’t workout for you. xTieghan
Have made this recipe multiple times now… it’s amazing and quick!!!!
Hey Sara,
Awesome! I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed and truly appreciate you giving it a try! xTieghan
Just made this and it’s so delicious! I doubled the recipe for a friend who just had a baby. I subbed maple syrup for the molasses and OJ for the pomegranate juice, and it still tasted BOMB. Highly recommend!
Hey Suz,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed!! Have a great Tuesday. xxTieghan
Is there a substitute for the brussels sprouts? My husband does not like them. Thanks and love your recipes.
Hey Greta,
Broccoli or cauliflower would also be delicious! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
This was so delicious! I used chicken tenders cut into bite sized pieces and they cooked really well in the recommended time. I also used less soy sauce (I ran out) and it actually worked out better! The sauce thickened right up. As well as it turned out I wouldn’t say this was a super quick meal though. Overall super yummy!
Hey Christina,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! ☀️xTieghan
Chef Tieghan,
The flavorful sauce and its complement to the chicken earned the five stars! However, I was frustrated with the cooking time for both the chicken and the sauce which I found to be short of what was needed for results as you describe. Resolved both issues easily.
My husband asked that I make this dish again some time, and I surely will! We’ve enjoyed many of your sheet pan dinner recipes, and I LOVE your photography. Look forward to your Instagram posts every day. :). Thank you, Barbara, San Diego, CA
Hey Barbara,
Awesome!! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it. Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
Can this recipe be made without the molasses? Could I forego or would I need to substitute?
Hey Kate,
I would recommend using brown sugar in place of the molasses. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
The recipe was pretty good. A little too salty for my taste, might add some orange zest/orange juice to the sauce next time to add a little dynamic variation to it. Like others, I also struggled in getting the sauce to reduce with that amount of liquid. I reduced it to 1/2 to see if it would thicken and still didn’t thicken much. A bit of a bummer. Next time, I could reduce the amount of soy/tamari and vinegar and try again, maybe reducing it to 2/3 the original volume? Admittedly came to this recipe for the ‘sticky’ aspect but unfortunately didn’t get it. I’m sure I can take this recipe as a baseline and finagle something.
Hey Sarah,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am sorry it did not turn out as you had expected. Next time, you could try adding some cornstarch to the sauce to help thicken it up and achieve the “stickiness”. I hope this helps! xTieghan
I made this tonight and my sauce didn’t thicken, but it was delicious!
It was quick, easy and had great flavor!
Hey Lisa,
Happy Friday! I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xxTieghan
Hi! We absolutely love this recipe! I’ve made this dish 4 times so far and every time I make it I struggle with the sauce. It does not condes for me! It does not thicken. The first time I made it I made the sauce twice thinking I made a mistake, but the second sauce turned out the same, very watery. Please advise! Maybe I just need to be unafraid to let it boil longer.
Hey Marcela,
Happy Friday! I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! I find my cast iron skillet helps with the thickening of the sauce, you can also add some corn starch! xxTieghan
I loved it I make all your chicken dishes with half chicken for my family and half tofu for me delish!
Hey Jennifer,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
I just did a post, but there were some autocorrect that were just not appropriate. I didn’t use the word freaky, by my iPad typed that word to describe the speed of cooking to table service. What I meant to say is the actual cooking it about 30, but adding the prep it is at least an hour from prep to eating. It’s delicious!
Thanks again Karen!
This was easy and delicious, when I make it again, would do the sauce a day ahead. I used maple syrup for the molasses and orange juice instead of pomegranate. I also used broccoli as this is what I had on have. My general opinion is this was a recipe that was freaky on the table in 30 minutes, but if I included cutting the chicken and prepping the sauce the time would be about an hour to do all Oreo and cooking. I look forward to making it again and the chicken was very tender and tasty. Thank you!
Hey Karen,
I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it! xxTieghan
made this the other night and it was delish! love that sauce & love how easy to make this was!!
Hey Katie,
So great to hear! Love that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great week? xTieghan