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Chinese Sesame Chicken recipe made healthy, easy, and delicious with a Whole30 sesame chicken sauce. It’s savory, naturally sweet, healthy delicious. This is a must-have Chinese stir-fry dish for Sesame Chicken lovers!
If you love homemade takeout, you’ll also love my Panda Express honey sesame chicken!
One of my goals this year is to revisit some of my older recipes and make them even more user friendly. This new take on my Paleo Chinese Sesame Chicken has much-simplified ingredients and cooking steps, but is just as delicious as (if not more delicious than) the earlier version.
Simplified Healthy Sesame Chicken (Whole30 friendly!)
Dates are a good replacement for honey if you are on Whole30. They add a hint of sweetness and thicken the sauce naturally. However because dates still pack with higher amount of natural sugar I recommend using them sparingly as the recipe describes below.
I blend all the sesame chicken sauce ingredients in a small food processor until they are very well chopped/blended with almost no fruit chunks. You can prepare the sesame chicken sauce ahead of time during meal prep and store it in a glass container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If the paste gets too thick before using, simply add a tablespoon of water or chicken/veggie broth to thin it a bit.
Your Favorite Chinese Take Out – Chinese Sesame Chicken
I used a combination of boneless skinless chicken thighs and breasts to make my Paleo Chinese Sesame Chicken. In my opinion, all breast meat tends to give drier mouthfeel. You can absolutely use all thigh meat if preferred.
Dice the chicken into smaller bite sizes (cube shape), this will allow the meat to grab the sauce better and therefore be more delicious.
If you are wondering how to bring your stir-fry techniques to the next level (hint: golden brown gorgeous chicken stir-fry), I highly recommend that you check out this article I recently wrote for 7 stir-fry mistakes to avoid!
This Healthy Sesame Chicken Recipe is –
Healthy
Easy
Naturally Sweet
Savory
Family friendly
& Absolutely delicious !
If you give this dish a try, let me know ! Leave a comment and rate the recipe. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #IHeartUmami on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. XOXO !
Paleo Chinese Sesame Chicken (Whole30, gluten-free)
Video
Ingredients
Paleo Chinese Sesame Chicken (Whole30):
- 1.25 lbs chicken thighs and breasts boneless skinless
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp arrowroot powder alt. tapioca
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- White sesame seeds garnish
- Chopped scallions garnish
Aromatics:
- Ginger ,2 to 3 thin slices
- 1 large garlic clove ,thin sliced
Paleo Chinese Sesame Chicken Sauce (Whole30):
- 6 whole medjool dates ,pitted
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tsp fresh ginger
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste ,Whole30 compliant with no added sugar
- 1 tsp chili hot sauce ,optional (Whole30 compliant with no added sugar)
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Sesame Chicken: Dice chicken to small bite-sizes (small cube shape) and season with salt, pepper, ginger, arrowroot powder, and olive oil. Mix well and set aside.
- Sesame Chicken Sauce: Pulse dates, garlic clove, and ginger in a small food processor a few times until finely chopped. Add the rest of ingredients under “sauce”. Toss/blend a few more times until the sauce is smooth and no fruit chunks.
- Pan-fry: Pre-heat a large stainless steel skillet (without oil) over low heat until it’s well heated (about 4-5 mins), add avocado oil and pan fry the chicken in separate batches (not to overcrowd the skillet). Don’t touch or move the chicken pieces until you see the bottom layer is in golden brown then cook the flip side until they are about 90-95% cooked through. Set aside with chicken juice in the skillet.
- Combine: Add a bit more cooking oil to the skillet, saute ‘aromatics’ with a sprinkle of salt until fragrant. Add 3-4 heaping tbsps of sesame chicken sauce*, quickly stir-fry the sauce with aromatics for 8-10 seconds then add the chicken back to the skillet. Coat the sauce over chicken pieces and stri-fry for a few additional minutes until they are cooked through. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped scallions. Serve hot and immediately with steamed broccoli florets or any simple mixed green salad of your choice.
Notes
- Complete Steps 1 and 2. Store the sauce in food glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If it becomes to thick, add 1 tbsp water/broth to thin the paste before using.
- Dice chicken to small bite sizes and add seasonings. Store in food glass container in the fridge if use the next day or store flat in large freezer friendly ziplock bags for later use. In Step 4, feel free to add more sauce if preferred.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Paleo Whole30 Stir-Fry Recipes:
- Paleo sweet and sour chicken
- Paleo Kung Pao Chicken
- Paleo Cashew Chicken
- Paleo Hunan Beef Stir-Fry
- Stir-Fried Beef In Oyster Sauce
- Thai Basil Chicken Recipe
- Paleo Thai Basil Beef Stir-Fry
- Paleo Mongolian Beef
- Chinese Pepper Steak
Also check out my Sesame Noodles recipe, Japanese roasted sesame dressing, Baked crispy sesame egg tofu, Baked or Air Fried Sesame Chicken, and Baby bok choy salad with toasted sesame dressing.
Absolutely delicious! Made it today and enjoyed it so much! Your cooking tips were so great! Thank you for yet another amazing recipe! I’m a fan!
Thanks so much Elena !
I am happy to take tips from the queen of stir-fry because this recipe looks ah-mazing. Love the sprinkle of fresh sesame seeds and how you create that classic flavour without the sugar. This will be on the menu this week!!
i AM so putting this on the menu!! All my favorite flavors, and the dates, swoon!
That sauce sounds incredible! And that chicken looks so perfectly cooked.
Thank you, Jean !
That sauce though!! My goodness I can’t wait to try this! Thank you!
Thank you, Renee !
I don’t have fresh ginger. Can I still make it?
Yes !
We made this last night, the same day we received it. It was a smash hit. Loved it. Thanks again.
Thanks so much, Steve ! I’m so happy to hear that ! :))
ChihYu,
This was so delicious. I am so happy to have learned the trick that makes stainless steel non stick. I am so happy to have found your blog.
I’m so happy to hear that, Kathy !! Thank you so much too !! Love you !
I got this recipe in my inbox this morning and had to try it since I had some dates on hand. Wow! This was amazing! My family absolutely loved it, and it was so quick and easy to make. And as my 12-year-old said, “It has the perfect amount of sweetness.” This recipe is definitely going into our regular rotation 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing it!
That’s so fantastic to hear. Thank you so much, Maisie. I really appreciate it !
This looks so delicious and healthy! My family enjoys sesame chicken, but we had to take a break from eating it on the Whole30 because of the added sugar. Thank you for creating a version that isn’t filled with sugar and preservatives. We are looking forward to trying your recipe. Thank you for sharing it.
That’s so lovely to hear. Thank you, Ann !