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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
Just made this again!! We love it! We started a “make a half baked harvest meal” once a week. It’s been delicious!!
Hi Kelly,
Thanks so very much for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Love this recipe! Simple and is a great leftover for lunch.
Hey Monique,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xTieghan
I really loved this, but any suggestions how to make the sauce less salty? I used the exact ingredients called for, including the low-sodium soy sauce. Is there something else I could substitute for part of the soy sauce?
Thanks for great recipes!
Hey Linda,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! You could use coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce. Have the best day! xTieghan
What do you do with the other half of the sauce? Can you just make half quantity to start?
Hi Cynthia! I usually like to have extra sauce to drizzle over the top of the chicken and brussel sprouts! But you could half it if you’d like 🙂 xTieghan
So once you reduce oven temp to 400 do you leave the chicken in the oven while you are making the sauce?
How long would you cook the chicken and sprouts if you were using cut whole chicken pieces instead of just breasts?
Hi there! I would stick to the original cook time and maybe add a few minutes! xTieghan
This is delicious! My picky 7yo ate it up! Definitely a keeper.
Hey there! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan, first I want to say your work is changing my entire relationship with and experience of food. So, thank you.
Second, do you have any thoughts on serving this with noodles? Should I make a second batch of sauce for the noodles or would that be too sticky? I worry that without any sauce they’ll be too dry, but sometimes I prefer noodles over rice. Thanks!
Hi there! Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that. As far as serving this with noodles, if you like saucy noodles I would definitely make more sauce! xTieghan
We loved this recipe! My son said it was 50/10! Delicious!
Hi there! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! xTieghan
My fam and I are sort of accidental vegetarians right now (long story). Do you think I could do this with extra firm tofu (marinated in sesame oil, soy, ginger, cornstarch, etc.)? The high heat would probably work, I think ?
Hi there! Yes definitely 🙂 xTieghan
This was such a hit with my husband last night! I couldn’t find any of the pomegranate-based ingredients so I used a little bit of cranberry sauce instead. Amaazing!!
Hunnit! My girl ALWAYS with the delectable dishes! Served this over brown rice & quinoa. Make this recipe, y’all!!!
Hi! making this tonight – was just wondering if the rice is included in the calorie count? 🙂 thanks!
This was super easy and delicious! Everything cooked just right in this sheet pan recipe which I find isn’t always the case. I had to sub orange juice this time but can’t wait to try with pomegranate.
I really hoped this would be amazing with all the great reviews. The ingredients for the sauce sounded great but unfortunately the amount of soy sauce was way to overpowering for us. I used aminos next time I’ll try it with less soy sauce and see how it turns out
Loved this, but the sauce was way too salty for us. We also used liquid aminos, and you need to use low sodium soy sauce.
Hi Rita,
So sorry this recipe was not enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try. xTieghan
did you use regular soy sauce or low sodium? recipe calls for low sodium, and i’ll be making this soon. Let me know and i’ll adjust! thanks