Air Fryer Honey Sesame Chicken (2024)

You will love this air fryer honey sesame chicken recipe. It’s made with lean chicken breast and a yummy honey sesame sauce and then air-fried to make the chicken super crispy without deep frying.

Best Honey Sesame Chicken!

It’s true, I am a takeout snob. We order Chinese food at least once a week at my house and we often get a combination of stir-fried meals such as beef and broccoli or chicken stir fry and fried meals like sesame chicken.

What I LOVE about this honey sesame chicken is that the sauce is made from scratch using a combination of soy sauce, honey, fish sauce, and white vinegar. And, that it’s air fried instead of deep-fried.

You still get that deep-fried texture with air frying, but without the mess of oil. This is truly the most delicious air fryer chicken you’ll ever eat. Enjoy!

Featured Ingredients

The Chicken

• Chicken breast: this sesame chicken recipe calls for chicken bresat. However, you’re more than welcome to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
• Seasonings: you need salt, garlic powder, ground ginger, and sesame seeds.
• Cornstarch: cornstarch helps make the chicken nice and crunchy– just like when it’s deep-fried.
• Eggs: egg is used to help the cornstarch and seasonings stick to the chicken.

The Sauce

I am a sucker for a yummy sauce and you’re going to swoon over this honey sesame sauce! Here’s what you need:

• Sesame oil
• Garlic
• Soy sauce
• Fish sauce
• White vinegar
• Grated white onion
• Gochujang
• Green onion

What is Gochujang? Gochujang is a thick paste that is sweet, sour, and spicy. It’s a fermented Korean chili paste. Here are some great options for substitutions.

How to Make Honey Sesame Chicken in Air Fryer

1. Prep chicken: slice chicken into 1.5-inch pieces.
2. Dip chicken: whisk eggs in a large bowl and add cornstarch and spices another bowl an whisk. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture and then into the cornstarch mixture. Repeat.
3. Air Fry chicken: spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray and place the chicken pieces on the pan. Make sure not to overcrowd the chicken. You’ll likely cook this in batches. Drizzle chicken with sesame seeds and air fry at 400ºF for 10 minutes. Flip and air fry for 6 more minutes.
4. Make sauce: Cook garlic in sesame oil. Then, add soy sauce, water, honey, fish sauce, vinegar, grated onion, and Gochuchang and whisk.
5. Thicken sauce: remove some sauce and whisk it with cornstarch. Add the cornstarch slurry back into the sauce and whisk over low heat until thick.
6. Toss chicken: toss the air fried chicken in the honey sesame sauce.
7. Serve: serve with sesame seeds and green onion over your favorite grain.

Serving Suggestions

While this sesame chicken recipe is delicious on its own, you can complete the meal by serving it with any of the following:

White Sticky Rice: Sticky rice is a very versatile recipe to pair with many Asian-inspired dishes. Make sticky rice in your own kitchen with our step-by-step instructions. Enjoy!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps: These homemade PF Changs Chicken Lettuce Wraps are the perfect way to start a meal or, because why not, to be the main meal.

Chicken Fried Rice: This easychicken fried rice recipemakes takeout a breeze in your own kitchen. In this post, we’ll teach youhow to make chicken fried riceand share some alternate variations as well.

Brown Rice: MakingInstant Pot Brown Riceis as easy as 1-2-3. All you need is andInstant Pot, water, and your favorite brown rice and you’re ready to make a big batch of rice. It turns out perfect and fluffy every time.

Storage

While we suggest eating this Air Fryer Honey Sesame Chicken as fresh as possible, you can definitely store the leftovers for later.

Transfer leftovers into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To reheat: reheat in the microwave for 90 seconds or on the stovetop over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until hot.