Air Fryer Sesame Chicken with chicken thighs is to die for! With our homemade sauce that is sweet and tangy you can make this healthy Asian meal year round. If you loved our air fryer teriyaki chicken but you want a thicker sauce on your meat, this is fabulous.
If you love Asian recipes but didn’t know you could make it in your hot air machine, you’re wrong! Air fryer sesame chicken thighs are out of this world delicious and a super duper easy air fryer recipe we make often.
Many have made our Instant Pot sesame chicken recipe and that is fabulous as well. The biggest and really only difference between the two is that this one has crispy bits on the outside, while the other does not. Take your pick, you can’t go wrong with either one though.
There are a few basic ingredients you always have to have on hand with asian chicken recipes. Honey and garlic are a must. We used to make Crockpot sesame chicken thighs all the time but that doesn’t get crispy at all, then we transitioned to this.
Tips: My Favorite models are the Cosori or making Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that is attached.
It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. This is how to preheat air fryer first before adding your food so it becomes as crispy as possible. For best results, here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Ninja Foodi Sesame Chicken
If you use a Foodi to make this in this case the lid that is attached. It will cook and crisp the meat on the outsides at the same time. Other than that the directions remain the same as stated in the recipe card below.
Sesame Chicken with Bottled Sauce
Yes you could use a bottled sauce similar to our air fryer teriyaki chicken (and add a bit of thickener at the end) if you’d rather but homemade really doesn’t take that long to whisk together. I have made this with the sauce already added, and then cooked inside the air fryer basket. As you can imagine, about half of the sauce will drain to the basket underneath.
It still soaks up a lot of it and we still enjoyed it quite a bit but then we combined it all into this pot with a handle. That way it was all cooked together and soaked up more. It did take a bit longer since there was more contents to heat but it was great.
Homemade Sesame Chicken Sauce
Making your own sauce is probably the best and will be explained below in the printable recipe card. You just need honey, garlic, soy sauce, broth and rice vinegar whisked together until smooth and then tossed with the meat once done to coat and serve.
Ingredient Notes
You can use bite size boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, either way works great. The latter will be a bit more tender though in my opinion.
Honey is a must to bring a sweetness to the sauce. Agave nectar is a good alternative, or use maple syrup.
We used minced garlic like it is going out of style so this dish is no different. You can dice from fresh cloves or if you are like me you have a huge container already prepped and ready for you to scoop out.
- Soy sauce or aminos work for a gluten free option
- Chicken broth is used to thin it out a bit.
- Rice vinegar gives it a bang of flavor to the sauce.
Then if you take 5 minutes to heat and whisk the homemade sesame chicken sauce together and then add the cooked poultry in at the end it is perfection. The bit of cornstarch thickens it nicely and it gets sticky and FULL of flavor using this method.
Can you substitute chicken breasts instead of thighs?
That depends on the recipe but in this case you can. As long as the cubed meat is cut in bite sizes then dark meat or white won’t make much of a difference as far as cook time is concerned.
Diced green onions or chives gives it some color when it is served, and of course sesame seeds as a garnish are a must. Served over some Ninja Foodi rice and you have the perfect meal. Quinoa is higher in protein if you’d rather.
How Long to Cook Sesame Chicken in Air Fryer
Once you have it preheated and prepped you will want to lay inside the basket in a single layer to get crisped. You will cook for approximately 8 minutes flipping after 4 or until largest piece of chicken is cooked and no longer pink inside.
When done, then pour cooked chicken inside pot. Stir to coat nicely and allow to thicken and bubble for about 2 minutes. Serve over rice with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and/or chives/green onions on top.With prep time this probably takes about 20 minutes start to finish.
Air Fryer Sesame Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lb chicken, breasts or thighs cut into bite size pieces
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp soy sauce
Sesame Chicken Sauce
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 5 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 tbsp sesame seeds, for topping, optional
- 2 tbsp green onions, diced, optional
Instructions
- In a bowl mix together diced chicken, cornstarch, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and 1 tsp soy sauce. Stir together so all meat is nicely coated.
- Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Spray basket with non stick spray and pour coated chicken inside. Cook for approximately 8 minutes flipping after 4 or until largest piece is no longer pink inside.
- In a small saucepan combine remaining ingredients listed under sauce above.
- Whisk sauce together and heat until bubbling, then pour cooked chicken inside pot. Stir to coat nicely and allow to thicken and bubble for about 2 minutes. (You can whisk it together and warm in microwave if you'd rather but sauce won't be quite as thick).
- Serve over rice with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and/or chives/green onions on top.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you reheat sesame chicken in air fryer?
If you have gone out to eat and have leftovers you can surely throw that in and warm it up nicely. 380 degrees F for about 5 – 6 minutes shaking halfway thru usually does the trick. You will once again get that nice crispness on the corners even if it is a day or two old. Remember to let it come to room temp. first for best results.
To reheat chicken in air fryer read this article, nothing is off limits my friend! All cuts are better heated in this baby. Even our firecracker chicken is as good next day.
