Asian Chicken Bowls
Sweet, spicy, and loaded with veggies, this Asian Chicken Bowl is a healthy
Are Asian Chicken Bowls Healthy?
If you’re ordering takeout, Asian chicken bowls aren’t exactly the most healthy. However, this recipe is different! Made with lean chicken, fresh veggies, and healthy fats, it’s bursting with flavor in every bite for a recipe you can feel good about serving!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Asian Chicken with Apricot Sauce.
For this Asian chicken recipe, we broke the ingredient list down into two parts. First, we’ll start with what you’ll need for the apricot sauce. Then, we’ll move on to the ingredients for the chicken bowl. Don’t worry, though! You likely already have most of what you need.
For the Apricot Sauce
- Apricot Preserves – Use your favorite brand of preserves. This is going to add a sweet element to your Asian chicken.
- Soy Sauce – This versatile, flavorful sauce can be used to flavor everything from marinades to stir-fries, and more.
- Minced Ginger – Minced ginger is a unique ingredient in several Oriental dishes. It is both spicy and sweet when finely chopped and adds tons of flavor to this recipe.
- Rice Wine Vinegar – This is a classic in Asian cooking, and is used to brighten fish and seafood dishes, stir-fries, and other sauces.
For the Chicken
- Chicken Breasts – We like to use chicken breasts for a lean meat that takes on tons of flavor. However, chicken thighs are great too, if that’s what you prefer!
- Oil – For a robust flavor that’s slightly nutty and just a little sweet, we love to use sesame oil.
- Flour – This will give your chicken a nice crunchy exterior without the need to throw it in a deep fryer.
- Egg – Used to help the flour stick to your chicken; just beat the egg in a bowl to make a dipping station for your chicken.
Optional Add-Ins and Variations
This Asian chicken bowl is super flavorful on its own. However, if you want to take it up a notch or try something new, feel free to experiment with extra ingredients and substitutions. Some of our favorite variations include:
Using a Different Protein. You can never go wrong with chicken, but this recipe also pairs wonderfully with ground turkey, shrimp, and tofu.
Switching Up the Veggies. This meal is the perfect excuse to clean out your fridge! Feel free to include whatever vegetables you have on hand for extra vitamins and nutrients.
Spice It Up. Try drizzling your favorite hot sauce or Sriracha on top for a kick of heat.
How to Make An Asian Chicken Bowl
To make this Asian chicken, we break the recipe down into two parts, starting with the sauce. However, from start to finish, it all comes together in less than 15 minutes!
- Prepare the sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl.
- Pulse the chicken in a food processor.
- Sauté the veggies in oil over medium heat. Then, add in the chicken.
- Add the sauce, and let it simmer to thicken. Be sure to scrape up any brown bits!
- Garnish with peanuts and cilantro, and enjoy!
Should I Serve This Chicken Bowl Hot or Cold?
Either way works! Personally, we prefer to serve it hot over a steaming bed of rice or cauliflower rice, because it’s perfect for soaking up the sauce. However, it’s just as tasty served cold!
How to Store
We highly recommend making a big batch for easy meals all week long! Leftovers reheat well in the microwave or on the stove and can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or, place them in the freezer for 2-3 months!
Serving Suggestions
You can eat this chicken bowl as it is for a low-carb option. However, it can also be used as a filling! Try adding it to:
- Rice Bowls
- Lettuce Wraps
- Salads
- Noodle Stir-Fry Recipes
- And More!
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
This sticky sweet chicken bowl will more than satisfy any cravings you may be having. But if you feel like trying something else, check out these amazing chicken dishes.
- The perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors, these Coconut Chicken Tenders are guaranteed to knock your socks off!
- Even better than your favorite restaurant’s version and so easy to make, Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas are easy to make and always a crowd-pleasing dish.
- A healthier version of everyone’s favorite meal, Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets are a better-for-you recipe you’ll be excited to make.
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup is a hearty and nourishing meal that will give you a warm, full feeling on even the coldest winter days.
Asian Chicken Bowl
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken breasts, ground (or 1.5 lbs ground chicken)
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 celery rib, diced
- 3/4 cup green pepper, diced
- 3/4 cup red onion
- 3/4 cup red pepper, diced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Apricot Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons apricot preserves
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced cilantro
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon minced peeled ginger
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Stir again right before using.
- Add chicken breast to a food processor and pulse until ground.
- In a pan on medium high heat add olive oil. Add the carrot, celery, bell pepper, and red onion and stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
- Add ground chicken and break apart with the back of a wooden spatula.
- Sauté until no longer pink.
- Pour in the prepared sauce and cook until thickened, about 30 seconds-1 minute, scraping up any browned bits.
- Serve over a bed or rice, or cauliflower rice and garnish with peanuts and cilantro.
This turned out really flavorful and yummy. I only did a couple of things differently. I used peach preserves because they didn’t have apricot preserves at our store which I think turned out fine. I also added a couple tablespoons of cornstarch because the sauce didn’t thicken.
Everything else was great and I’m sure we’ll make it again!
Thanks!
Ohh peach preserves sound delish too!
This was fantastic! Even my husband went in for a second helping. I love your recipes that make adding a lot of vegetables so delicious and easy to make. Thank you for sharing this with us 🙂
Amazing So glad it was a hit! xo, Alia and Radwa
This was very tasty! Even my Japanese husband and two teenage daughters liked it! I added a decent amount of slurry so it wouldn’t be watery. I used Trader Joes cole slaw mix, frozen edamame and mushrooms. Will definitely make again!
My family does not like apricots. Could you recommend a different flavor of preserves that would work well with this recipe?
Trust us, they won’t even know that it is there! You can’t taste the apricot flavor at all. If you really don’t want to try, we recommend orange jam/marmalade. Let us know how it turns out!
I agree with your comment. When I told my husband this is the recipe I bought the apricot preserves for, and he said he couldn’t even taste the apricots. It just adds a nice sweetness to the flavor.
I have one question. In two places you list Minced ginger, do you use all 4 tablespoons or do you garnish with some. That is a bit confusing to me. Thank you!
Good catch! One is garlic and one is ginger, just made the change! xo, Alia & Radwa
I made this recipe tonight and it was perfect! I used ground turkey instead of chicken, just because it’s what I had on hand. I topped it with a few peanuts and it was delicious. Thanks for another great recipe!