Loaded with veggies, this Asian Chicken Bowl is sweet, spicy, and the ultimate healthy
Table of Contents
- Are Asian Chicken Bowls Healthy?
- Ingredients You’ll Need for Asian Chicken with Apricot Sauce
- Optional Add-Ins and Variations
- How to Make An Asian Chicken Bowl
- Should I Serve This Chicken Bowl Hot or Cold?
- Serving Suggestions
- How to Store
- Common Questions About This Aisan Chicken Bowl Recipe
- More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Asian Chicken Bowl Recipe Recipe
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, these bowls are bursting with flavor in every bite. They’re a healthy meal you can feel good about!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Asian Chicken with Apricot Sauce
We’re tackling this Asian chicken bowl recipe in two parts. First, we cover the star of the show – the apricot sauce!
Then, we dive into the ingredients that make the chicken bowl shine. The best part? You probably already have most of what you need on hand!
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 Garlic – Use whole garlic cloves, and mince them into tiny pieces to add a pungent, sweet flavor to the dish.
- Rice Wine Vinegar – This is a classic in Asian cooking and is used to brighten fish and seafood dishes, stir-fries, and other sauces.
- Fresh Cilantro – Mince fresh cilantro into pieces to add bright, peppery notes to the mix.
- Sesame Seeds – Use white or black sesame seeds for a nutty flavor and a bit of crunch.
- Sesame Oil – This infuses a bold, nutty taste and lots of depth into the sauce, but be careful! A little goes a long way.
- Ginger – Minced ginger is a unique ingredient. It is both spicy and sweet when finely chopped and adds tons of flavor to this recipe!
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes – Adjust to taste.
For the Chicken
- Chicken – We like to use chicken breasts for lean meat that takes on tons of flavor. However, chicken thighs are great too, if that’s what you prefer!
- Veggies – Shredded carrots, celery, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and red onion combine to add lots of flavor, color, and crunch. Plus, they’re full of vitamins, nutrients, and fiber!
- Olive Oil – This helps sauté the ingredients while infusing a bold, peppery flavor and healthy fats. If preferred, avocado oil can be substituted.
Optional Add-Ins and Variations
This Asian chicken bowl is already bursting with flavor. However, feel free to let your culinary creativity shine with different additions and variations.
Experiment with extra ingredients and substitutions to make it your own. Here are a few of our favorite variations to get your taste buds tingling:
- Serving them over brown rice, quinoa, or couscous.
- Using avocado oil or olive oil instead of sesame seed oil.
- Swapping the chicken for ground turkey, ground beef, shrimp, or tofu.
- Kicking up the spice with a drizzle of hot sauce or Sriracha.
- Enhancing the sweetness by stirring brown sugar into the sauce.
How to Make An Asian Chicken Bowl
Get ready for a speedy flavor infusion because this Asian chicken is all about efficiency! Breaking it down into two parts, we kick things off with the sauce.
With a total time of less than 15 minutes, these bowls are quick, easy, and oh-so-delicious, which is how we roll!
- Prepare the sauce by combining all 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. Scrape up any browned bits as needed.
- Garnish with crushed peanuts, cilantro, and green onions, and enjoy!
Should I Serve This Chicken Bowl Hot or Cold?
Either way works! We prefer to make an Asian chicken rice bowl recipe by serving our meals hot over a steaming bed of rice or cauliflower rice. However, it’s just as tasty when served cold!
Serving Suggestions
This chicken bowl is like a culinary chameleon. You can savor it as it is for a low-carb dish, or unleash its potential as a filling or a topping! Get creative and try adding it to:
- Rice Bowls
- Lettuce Wraps
- Salads
- Noodle Stir-Fry Recipes
- And More!
How to Store
We love to make a batch of Asian chicken bowls to keep on hand and enjoy all week long!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four to five days.
- Freeze cooled bowls in a freezer-safe container for up to two to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheat in the microwave or a skillet on the stove over medium heat.
Common Questions About This Aisan Chicken Bowl Recipe
These Asian chicken bowls are high-protein, full of veggies, and refined sugar-free-friendly! As a result, they’re a healthy, well-rounded recipe in our book.
Feel free to include whatever you like best and have on hand! For instance, mushrooms, peas, green beans, and red cabbage all make great additions.
Sure! Just keep in mind that the flavor will change slightly, and make sure to adjust the cooking time as needed. Chicken thighs typically take a little longer to cook than breasts.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
This sticky sweet chicken bowl will more than satisfy any cravings you may be having. But if you’re up for trying something else new, take a detour and explore these amazing chicken dishes listed below.
- Coconut Chicken Tenders
- Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
- Crispy Baked Chicken Nuggets
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Asian Chicken Bowl Recipe
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.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
- Add chicken breast to a food processor and pulse until ground.3 Chicken breasts, 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.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
- 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.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
Video
Equipment
Would you like to save this? 🔖
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It’s so delicious. I will make it again. However, I will cook the. Chicken first and then add the veggies so the veggies stay crispier. I also added chopped water chestnuts for more crunch.
I love this!!
Thank you for the feedback, Diane! We’re glad you enjoyed it!
Xo,
Alia & Radwa
Why do you talk about flour, egg and oil in the For The Chicken section of the write up? I don’t see a reason when you’re using full breasts in a good processor.
Thanks for catching that, Linda! We’re not sure what happened, but the text has been updated.
We place the chicken in the food processor to grind it up, but you could omit that step and use ground chicken instead!
Xo,
Alia & Radwa
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!