Air Fryer Sesame Chicken

bowls / mains / dairy free / air fryer meals / quick meals

Air fryer sesame chicken is what you’ll be craving instead of takeout this weekend!

Sesame chicken is always on my to-go order at my local Chinese takeout restaurant. I feel like it’s one of everyone’s favorites! I love making it at home and using the air fryer makes it just a little healthier and lighter.

Its sticky, sweet, and has just a hint of heat from the red peppers flakes. The batter is like a tempura batter, using seltzer to make it super light and fluffy.

Here are the Ingredients for this Air Fryer Sesame Chicken:

Protein - Chicken, Egg Whites
Seasonings - Salt, Garlic, Red Pepper Flakes
Pantry - Flour, Corn Starch, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Brown Sugar, Sesame Oil, Sesame Seeds, Seltzer

More Delicious Recipes You’ll Love:

Yield 2

Author Casey Cheek

Prep time

15 Min

Cook time

15 Min

Total time

30 Min

Air fryer sesame chicken is what you’ll be craving instead of takeout this weekend!

Ingredients

Sesame Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar (white distilled vinegar is good too)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup water
2 tsp sesame oil + 2 tsp sesame oil
1 heaping tbsp sesame seeds
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Air Fryer Chicken

2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
2 egg whites
1/2 cup seltzer water
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Make the batter for the chicken by whisking together the flour, cornstarch, egg whites, seltzer, and salt together. In a large bowl, toss the chicken chunks into the batter to coat them completely.
Line your air fryer basket or tray and place the pieces of chicken on it, making sure some excess batter drips off and that the chicken is barely touching each other.
Air fry the chicken at 375 F for 10 minutes, flipping halfway. The chicken should be slightly golden brown when done.
To make the sauce, mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, corn starch, water, 2 tsp sesame oil and sesame seeds.
In a large pan, heat the other 2 tsp of sesame oil and cook the garlic and red pepper flakes in it until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the sauce and the chicken in and cook for a couple minutes until the sauce has thickened and has coated all the chicken.
Serve over rice with your favorite stir fried veggies (I used bell peppers) and top with more sesame seeds. Enjoy!