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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
What veggies could we use instead of Brussel sprouts?
Hey Jackie,
Broccoli would work well here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Just made this for dinner and it was delicious! We will definitely be making this again!
I am so happy to hear that, Heather! Thank you! xTieghan
could only get pomegranate blueberry juice…think that will work? Dish looks yummy…
Hey Sue,
I haven’t tried that, but it should be fine! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Tried recipe as directed. It was soo good and relatively easy. I’m not the greatest cook so producing a pan dish is ideal. I will suggest including *making rice* as a step for direction followers like myself. It wasn’t until the end of that I reliazed I still had to make rice and thus had to wait 20 more minutes before consuming. Worth the wait though and now I know. Also the serving I used was for 6 since that was the pre set number, but it actually makes 3. Super delicious. The sauce is amazing. The brussel sprouts roasted so nicely l, which is my favorite. I will make this again, especially knowing how easy and quick it was to make
Hi Sabrina! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Excellent flavors, easy to make and loved by all!
I am so happy to hear that, Donna! Thank you! xTieghan
This was very good. I used 1/4 cup of tamari in place of soy sauce. Thanks for another great recipe ?
Thank you Victoria! I am so happy this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This looks very tasty but I would really like it if you – and pretty much every other chef – would be realistic about prep times. The average home cook would need a lot more than 15 min to peel and grate garlic and ginger, wash and cut the brussel sprouts, cut the chicken, measure out over a dozen other ingredients, and make some rice if we don’t happen to have some cooked or crack open a pomegranate if we haven’t pre-separated the arils. I have your super simple cookbook and, while every recipe I have tried is delicious, it always takes me AT LEAST three times longer than stated.
Thank you Sonia! I am sorry if the prep time seems inaccurate, I will work on that! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan
Oh my word this is so amazing! Substituted 1 tbsp cornstarch/water mixture for Molasses and it was perfection. This will be on dinner rotation for sure!
Thank you so much Hannah! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
My sauce wouldn’t thicken. After 15 minutes rolling boil it was still like water. I noticed the ingredients said “1/4 cups honey”, cupS with an “s” – could you have meant 1 and 1/4 cups honey? Thanks!
Hey Megan,
So sorry your sauce didn’t thicken, the recipe is correct, it is 1/4 cup of honey. Next time try adding some cornstarch to help thicken it up. I hope this helps! xTieghan
Made this tonight- sooooo delicious and not difficult to make!
I am really glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you Christine! xTieghan
This looks delicious! Question- when I reduce heat to 400 how long does the chicken stay at that temp before adding the sauce and cooking another 3 minutes?
Thanks!
Hey Rachel,
Once you reduce the heat, you are going to immediately pour the sauce over the chicken. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Do you think this would work well with unbreaded chicken? Any recipe adjustments you would recommend? I have it on the menu for next week but want to avoid the breading if possible. Thanks so much! Huge fan!
Hey Jordan,
Yes that will still work, you may need to add some cornstarch to the sauce to help thicken it up since you will not be using the flour. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
What should I do if the maximum temperature in my oven is 450-455 degrees Fahrenheit?
Hey Daria,
You will be fine with it set at 455. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
SO GOOD! We will definitely make over and over again. Love that it tastes like take out but I know exactly what’s in it…. Double win!
Two notes:
1) it took my husband and I a solid hour to make and we read through the recipe a few times before starting. Just FYI for those who might need to carve out a little more time!
2) If you (or your family) eat a lot, you might want to double the recipe! I would say it serves 2-4 if you’re super hungry!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! 🙂
Thank you for trying this one, Whitney! I am really glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I’m so excited to make this! Absolutely love reading the comments and all the kind words that people are putting out there! Love all your recipes and am sure this one will be a fav!
Thank you Aimee! xTieghan