Our Sesame Ground Chicken is a #1 recipe for good reason. It’s on the table in 15 minutes, packed with lean protein and has a flavor that everyone loves! Serve with rice or ramen noodles on the side to soak up all of the delicious, sweet sesame sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Sesame Ground Chicken Recipe
Not only is this Sesame Ground Chicken easy to make, I promise you everyone is going to love it. You can keep it mild like we have done here and then spic up your own bowl if you like. Kids love it, adults love, even the pickiest of eaters.
- Easy To Make: This ground chicken recipe is ready to serve in just 15 minutes. That’s it. Steam some rice in the microwave and dinner is done.
- High Protein Meal: If you’re looking for a lean protein recipe for meal prepping or just easy dinners, this is the one.
- Make Ahead Recipe: Make ahead of time and simply warm in the microwave for easy dinners or lunches to go.
Ingredients You’ll Need
By now, we’ve made this recipe so much that we have all of the ingredients on hand. If you’ve never used chili garlic sauce before, it’s a sweet and mildly spicy sauce that adds tons of flavor. For a complete list of ingredients and amounts needed, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Ground Chicken: You can use ground chicken with 8% fat or ground chicken “breast” that is leaner.
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic: Fresh garlic or garlic paste (usually in a tube, found in the produce aisle).
- Chili Garlic Sauce: Usually found where the soy sauce is in your grocery store. If you can find it, there’s an Amazon link above the photo.
- Soy Sauce
- Brown Sugar
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- Chicken Broth
- Cornstarch
How To Make
All you need to do is cook the ground chicken into crumbles along with onions and garlic. Drain any drippings from the skillet and then whisk the sauce together. It’s that simple.
Thicken the sauce with a mixture of cornstarch and water, let it simmer for five minutes and you’re ready to serve. We like to garnish this ground chicken with chopped scallions and sesame seeds and serve it with rice or cauliflower rice.
Variations
For the protein you can swap out ground turkey, ground pork or even lean ground beef. Any protein you like will work fine.
If sugar is an issue for you, try using a stevia based brown sugar instead, or just cut down on the amount here. Tons of vegetables can also be added to this recipe – broccoli, snap peas and shredded carrots are just a few ideas.
Storing, Freezing and Reheating
This is a great recipe to meal prep with for the week, so we often make it in large quantities. Keep this Sesame Ground Chicken covered in your refrigerator, or in a container for up to 4 days. Reheating is as easy as popping a bowl in the microwave.
And yes, you can also freeze this ground chicken too! If you’re really looking to plan a few meals ahead of time, make this chicken and let it cool completely before freezing. A good meal prepping tip is to freeze the chicken in individual portions for an easy lunch or dinner, or something the kids can grab on their own!
Looking For More Easy Chicken Recipes?
- Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Chicken Francese
- Hawaiian Pulled Chicken
- Chipotle Creamy Salsa Chicken
- Sweet Chili Chicken Wings
Sesame Ground Chicken
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeOur Sesame Ground Chicken is a #1 recipe for good reason. It’s on the table in 15 minutes, packed with lean protein and has a flavor that everyone loves! Serve with rice or ramen noodles on the side to soak up all of the delicious, sweet sesame sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 2 pounds ground chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (to taste, start with 1 and add more if desired)
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water (see note)
- Chopped scallions and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for 3-4 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and cook a minute longer.
- Add the ground chicken to the skillet and cook while breaking up into small pieces until the chicken is cooked through. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- Mix the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and chicken broth together in a bowl. Pour over the ground chicken and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and then add the cornstarch mixture while stirring. Simmer the chicken until the sauce is thickened, taste for seasonings and serve with scallions and sesame seeds.
Recipe Notes
Instead of mixing the cornstarch with water and adding after the sauce comes to a simmer, you can add the cornstarch right to the sauce mixture (minus the water) and whisk to combine. Once the sauce comes to a simmer the sauce will thicken.
Store: Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freeze: This ground chicken recipe freezes very well for meal prepping. Store in an air tight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Made this tonight….it’s excellent! So delicious and easy. Kids liked it too. Don’t leave the scallions out….they add such a nice flavor.
Thanks so much Tricia! We’re glad you liked it!
Absolutely loved it! Both my kids. We also added broccoli and cabbage to bulk it up and get extra veggies and ommited garlic and onion due to food sensitivities, but added spring onion. Very easy additions and subs to this and I can’t believe how much the 7 year old loves it!
Were’ so glad they both like it! That’s definitely a dinner time win!
What is Chile garlic sauce? What can substitute for this?
It’s a pretty common sauce found in the asian food aisle at most grocery stores. If you can’t find it sriracha would be a good substitution!
Thank you!
I used 1 TBS hoisin plus 1 tsp red pepper flakes and 2 tsp rice vinegar as a substitute for the chili garlic paste since I didn’t have any. Not as spicy but the recipe came out fantastic! Will definitely make again, next tie with the chili garlic paste.
Great way to imrpovise!
Was goooood!
Thank you. That was tasty. I did not have the chili ssauce on hand.
Hi Cheryl – Try ordering some Sambal Oelek. It’s a fantastic chili sauce – and what I used in this recipe. Not too salty or hot – just perfect to add to dishes like this.
Made this tonight and it’s extremely easy and delicious. I didn’t add the extra salt because there was enough in the soy for me. I also added a couple punches of ground ginger. This hits it out of the park and is going to get included in our regular rotation. Thanks!!!
I made this for a quick dinner and we all loved it! I will definitely make this again!
That’s great, thanks for letting us know!
Super easy to make and it tastes sooooo good. My husband said I can make this anytime. Tastes even better as leftovers. Added a touch more chili sauce because we like the heat, but this recipe is a winner!
We love this recipe. It’s a staple in our house now. Made exactly as directed. Delicious!!!
Can you substitute sugar for brown sugar?
In a pinch, yes.
What can I substitute for the green onions? Chives?
Sure!
So yum! Thanks for a quick option!!!
Love this recipe, thanks!
For preparation from freezer:
– How long can you store in the freezer?
– Do you recommend to thaw in the refrigerator and then reheat on the stovetop?
Preparing for baby #3 and this will be great to have ready to go. Thank you!
Thanks Jennifer! You can store this in the freezer for about 3 months. Little over is fine, but generally 3 months is what I shoot for. We either let this thaw in the refrigerator and then reheat or defrost in the microwave and then reheat either in the microwave or on the stove top. Good luck with baby #3!
Super easy to make & all my kids ages 6-13 loved it. I also added mandarin oranges on the side. Yum
That sounds perfect!
Absolutely delicious and super easy! I doubled the sauce – but I think I would reduce the soy sauce by 1/4 cup after doubling the sauce. Was a wee bit salty. Family loved it – definitely a keeper. This will be another go-to for our family. Thank you!
I made this tonight and I loved it. The green onion and sesame seeds are great additions.
It came out a lot darker than the photo, maybe the soy sauce, although I used half the amount, however the taste was excellent, thank you.
Just made this and I’m honestly really sad I didn’t double the recipe. My kids ate double portions and they’re quite difficult to please. I had to improvise a little without the chili garlic sauce but it still turned out terrific!
There’s always next time! So happy to hear that they liked it!
So easy! We loved it. You ever added carrots or mushrooms to it?
We’ve added almost everything to this! Broccoli and spinach too!
Delicious by itself. A bit of sweet up front followed by savory/salty from the soy sauce. I chopped up water chestnuts and served over Jasmine rice.
Delicious and so easy!! Everyone loved it!
I ended up with some ground chicken and had never ever used it before. I found this recipe, substituted sriracha for the chili garlic sauce and I must say it came out pretty darn good! Let’s just say I know what to do with ground chicken from now on. Thanks!
Loved, loved, loved this recipe!!!!
literally OBSESSED with this recipe. i make it at least once a week. whenever my husband sees ground chicken in the fridge he knows it’s sesame chicken time!
Thank you so much! We just made this again last night our boys love it too!
This was delicious! I used 1 lb. of ground chicken plus a pile of veggies besides the onion and scallions (broccoli florets, chopped zucchini, julienned baby carrots, chopped red/yellow pepper). I also added some minced ginger root because I had a small piece handy. Served with short grain brown rice.
Wow! This is my new favorite quick meal go-to. Confession – I omitted the sesame oil, as it’s something my tummy doesn’t tolerate well. My husband came home from work and inhaled two bowls! This recipe will go in my normal dinner rotation.
So glad I found this recipe!
We’re so glad you love it!
This recipe is an absolute FLAVOUR BOMB of goodness!! I had nooooo idea what I should make with my ground chicken last night. I was so happy I stumbled across this recipe! it looked so delicious and sounded quick and easy! It WAS! I will make this again and again for sure! Like many comments have mentioned, this recipe could be easily tweaked by adding a variety of chopped vegetables for volume, flavour and colour but it’s really fantastic made quite simply as per the recipe! Two of us polished off our Sesame Chicken and Rice in one sitting! We were very hungry 😅😅 LOL Thank you for the fabulous inspiration!!
Thank you so much! We’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Wow! I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I hadn’t ever tried the chili garlic sauce and it’s like the icing on the cake in this dish! I was just looking for a recipe for ground chicken which I grabbed by mistake instead of turkey, and I’m so glad I found this one! I did cut back on the sugar because we watch our sugar intake, but it didn’t need much for us to get a sweet taste. Thanks so much for sharing!
You’re welcome, we’re so happy you liked it!
Awesome dish! So easy and great flavor. The ground chicken seems to cook off and leave a lot of liquid—next time I’ll drain OR cook off juices before adding sauce.
Def making again! Thanks!
Really nice flavor and it only took a short time to develop.
I love this recipe! I add shredded cabbage at the end and let it cook until tender. It is like an egg roll in a bowl!! Yum yum!!
is it really 2pounds of ground chicken? seems like a lot for 6 people
It’s a pretty normal portion size for 6, if you have leftovers they reheat wonderfully!
I’m doing GF and zero to no carbs and this was yummy!!! Ty
I love this recipe!!!! I make it for my son at least 2x a week. I add some minced garlic, ginger and Chinese 5-spice while I’m browning the chicken.
I’ve added zucchini, carrots and asparagus to the mix as well. Thank you for sharing such and awesome recipe!
Urg what’s the 1 lb version?!?
Are you looking to half the recipe?
Yes, half recipe option would be nice because diving 1/3 in half is a pain. Doable but still a pain
I personally used 1lb ground chicken, and kept the measurements for the sauce the same because I wanted to have extra sauce for my rice and it worked out great!
Really delicious! I added brown rice and steamed broccoli to make it a meal. I didn’t have any sesame oil, so I went without it. I also doubled up on the garlic and used a Thai sweet chili sauce and sriracha sauce that I already had in the fridge. I also added some red chili flakes for a little extra heat. The only thing I wish was more apparent are the nutritional facts, otherwise, great recipe!
So easy and delicious! Will definitely make this again.
Supper good
A quick and tasty meal. Easy to prepare. Easily a family favorite.
I just made the recipe. It was good. I added some baby bok choy and used honey (less) instead of brown sugar and stir fried in some organic spelt udon noodles. The noodles were a little gummy, but the flavor of the sauce was so good. I used a little chili powder as I didn’t have the chili garlic sauce. Thank you for sharing!!
I’m a college student and I recently took up cooking. This recipe was easy to make and was AMAZING. Definitely will be making it again. It’s quite literally restaurant quality good.
This makes us SO happy! Our son is a freshman in college now, so he’s still in a dorm and can’t wait to start cooking his own food next year. Thanks so much for the comment, keep cooking!
Very good! The whole family loved it. Thank you for sharing.
First glance at the recipe threw me off. It says chicken breast, but the title of the recipe is ground chicken. These are two different things!
The ingredient is “GROUND chicken breast” not chicken breast, which is a leaner ground chicken product since it is made from all chicken breast, not a mixture of light and dark meat chicken. It’s still ground chicken, just made from all chicken breast. Look at the ground chicken at your grocery store and you’ll see what I’m talking about if you’re confused. You can, of course, use any ground chicken, we just prefer ground chicken breast for this recipe.
So simple, easy and a good base to play with to your own tastes, great just as written. This is one of those recipes you can have fun with, and so quick. Thanx.
You’re absolutely right, thanks so much!
I make this once a week. It’s perfect as it, but to make it bodybuilding-friendly, I add stevia (instead of brown sugar) and only 1 T. toasted sesame oil. Also use oil spray when I brown the chicken to reduce calories. EXCELLENT!!! I love your healthy, tasty recipes. THANKS!!
We’re so glad you like it, thanks for letting us know!
Do you have nutrition infurmation details fir this delucious recipe?
Sure, send me an email and I’ll give you a screenshot of the nutrition information.
Hi, would you mind sending the nutrition information to me too? Mtmanetta24@gmail.com.
Thank you! Can’t wait to make this tomorrow
Can I have nutrition info. Momie2zoey@gmail.com
I added it to the recipe card. Let me know if you have any questions!
SO good! I doubled the sauce and the Chili garlic sauce made it a bit too spicy for me but everyone else definitely loved it. Served it on a bad of half egg noodles and half thinly sliced stir fried cabbage. Better than takeout, quick easy, nutritious and flavourful. Thank you ❤️
I make this recipe at least once almost every week. My 6 year old LOVES it and so does everyone else in my household. I HIGHLY recommend this to any and everyone. It is absolutely delicious and tastes equally as good the next day. This is a holy grail recipe.
Great recipe – exactly as is. Loved it.
I searched “Recipes with ground chicken”. This is the first one that caught my eye and this is what we made. I made Jasmine rice to put it over and added steamed broccoli to the mixture. It’s what’s for dinner. It must be good because I have to keep telling my daughter to stay out of it lol. Thanks for this quick and easy recipe!
Our pleasure!
Loved this inside Romaine lettuce leaves as a wrap!!