Chinese Sesame Chicken (paleo, whole30, healthy) (2024)

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by ChihYu
February 7, 2018 (updated 5/30/23)
100 comments »

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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!

Chinese Sesame Chicken (paleo, whole30, healthy) (2)

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.

Chinese Sesame Chicken (paleo, whole30, healthy) (3)

Chinese Sesame Chicken (paleo, whole30, healthy) (4)

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.

Chinese Sesame Chicken (paleo, whole30, healthy) (5)

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!

Chinese Sesame Chicken (paleo, whole30, healthy) (6)

This Healthy Sesame Chicken Recipe is –

Paleo Chinese Sesame Chicken (Whole30, gluten-free)

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Author: ChihYu Smith

Paleo Chinese Sesame Chicken, stir-fried in a Whole30 sesame chicken sauce. It's savory, naturally sweet, and healthy delicious. This is a must-have Chinese stir-fry dish for Sesame Chicken lovers!

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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

Make-ahead tips:

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

Serving: 190g, Calories: 281kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 134mg, Sodium: 361mg, Potassium: 513mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 120IU, Vitamin C: 1.3mg, Calcium: 24mg, Iron: 1.4mg

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Keyword: Chinese Sesame Chicken, healthy sesame chicken, Paleo Chinese Sesame Chicken, Paleo Sesame Chicken, sesame chicken recipe, Whole30 Sesame Chicken

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @iheartumami.ny on Instagram and hashtag it #iheartumami.

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.

Chinese American Chinese New Year Christmas/Winter Cooking Method Course Cuisines Dietary Gluten-free Holiday/Season Main Course More than 10 grams No Added Sugar Paleo Spring Stir Fry Summer/BBQ Thanksgiving/Fall Whole30

posted by ChihYu on February 7, 2018

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100 comments on “Chinese Sesame Chicken (paleo, whole30)”

Squeaky — August 18, 2022 @ 7:10 PM Reply

Loved this! I was frustrated because my food processor is not small enough to make the sauce. I finished it off with my stick blender. I would love to try making the sauce in a large batch and freezing. Has anyone tried freezing this sauce? Or maybe I just need a new, tiny, food processor 🙂