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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
5 stars!!! I second the comment to prep the sauce ingredients beforehand. There was a lot to it but the sauce was ready when the food timer went off and we had the most delicious hot dinner to serve our friends! Thanks T!!!
Thank you Kim!! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you and you friends!! xTieghan
Hey there! Can there not be any molasses in it?? Thanks! Stoked to try love your recipes
Hey Ashya,
Yes you can omit the molasses. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this for dinner last night and was amazing! It was a new way of cooking brussel sprouts for me and we all went back for seconds. Will definitely make this one again 🙂
Thank you so much Bronnie! I am so happy to hear that! xTieghan
This was such an amazing dish! Even better the next day!
Amazing! Thank you so much Amy! xTieghan
I substituted maple syrup for honey and used OJ – sauce was great! I didn’t have Brussels Sprouts, so I roasted squash instead, which also worked well. Thanks for your creative recipes, Tieghan!
Thank you so much Lawrie! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made this with salmon, instead of chicken, and it was outstanding! You’ve done it again! Keep those awesome recipes coming…thank you!
Thank you so much Marci! xTieghan
Not sure if I did something wrong but this turned out very poorly. The sauce did not taste good.
Hi Erin! Did you change anything about the recipe? I would love to help, I just need a bit more information! xTieghan
Made this tonight and my family loved it!!! Thank you!
I am so happy to hear that, Jennifer! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan, made this for dinner tonight. I live in the Pacific northwest and wildfire smoke is really bad so I wasn’t willing to go to the store. I had broccoli but no sprouts. It was delicious with broccoli. I would totally make this again.Thanks! Love your recipes. Per your request, I would love more beef and pork recipes. As a reader said, I can only eat so much chicken. I cook mostly chicken but sometimes, you need something else. Thanks for your love of food and cookingm
Hi Becky! I hope you are staying safe during the fires!! I am really glad you were able to modify this with what you had! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
What can we use to substitute the chicken for a vegetarian friendly option?
Hey,
You could do tofu, you could also do more veggies like cauliflower or broccoli. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
It was pretty easy and looked amazing. Quick and “fancy.” Not my favorite of the recipes I’ve tried but I had to improvise using orange juice and no molasses. It wasn’t as dark or sticky. Those changes probably alter the flavor a bit. Tasted good nonetheless.
I am really glad this still turned out well for you, Tyler! I hope you are able to try it with the molasses next time! xTieghan
Made this last night—it was delicious! Will increase portions next time as we all wanted more!
Wow that is so amazing!! Thank you Tiffany! xTieghan
Hey! this looks delicious I’m looking to cook this, this weekend, I dont have molasses, any possible sub??
thanks!
Hey Carm,
You can omit the molasses. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Can you taste the peanut butter in the sauce? Not a huge pub fan. Can that be omitted? Substitute? Thanks!
Hey Ann Marie,
The peanut butter flavor is subtle, you could always use tahini or another nut butter as a substitute. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this last night….absolutely delicious! I just used regular molasses. I would recommend measuring out all the sauce ingredients first before you start baking because that took longer than I expected and my sauce wasn’t reduced enough yet by the time the chicken and brussel sprouts were done. I just kept the pan warm in the oven while I finished the sauce and it was so, so good. Can’t wait to make it again! Thank you for another great recipe….everything I make of yours is always a hit!!!
Aw so happy to hear that, Whitney!! I am really happy this turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan