We’re already over halfway through August (what?!) so I have just a few more absolutely delicious, must-make summer recipes for you before we start diving head first into pumpkin season.
Starting with this incredible grilled sesame chicken made with an easy, super flavorful ginger sesame marinade that you’ll want to use for all of your meals. I’ve included instructions for how to bake or grill this chicken so yes, you can make it all year round!
We love adding this juicy sesame chicken to all types of recipes: fresh, crunchy salads (hint: coming soon), rice or noodle bowls, or serving as-is with a side of veggies and coconut rice. I mean, just look at that rich color and those beautiful grill marks! It’s seriously so delicious on its own, and the team and I fell in love when we tested it earlier this summer. This one is a MUST for your dinner plans this month.
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Everything you’ll need to make a chicken marinade
Every chicken marinade needs 3 components to give you perfectly juicy, flavorful chicken every time:
- Fat: from oil or even full fat yogurt or buttermilk
- Acid: from vinegar or citrus fruit
- Plenty of seasonings: like spices and fresh or dried herbs
This grilled sesame chicken checks all of the boxes — you’re going to LOVE the flavors. Get even more tips & marinades here!
Ingredients in this grilled sesame chicken recipe
The sweet and savory sesame chicken marinade gives the chicken such an incredible flavor and makes it tender and juicy when cooked. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Chicken: you’ll be marinating and cooking one pound of boneless skinless chicken breast. Feel free to use the marinade for thighs or drumsticks, too!
- Oil: the “fat” portion of the marinade comes from sesame oil. I recommend using toasted sesame oil for an even bolder flavor.
- Vinegar: gotta have the “acid,” part, too, which makes the chicken tender. We’ll be using rice vinegar in this marinade.
- Flavor & seasonings: the marinade gets plenty of sweet and savory flavor from low sodium soy sauce, fresh garlic and ginger, brown sugar or coconut sugar, and red pepper flakes.
- Sesame add-ins: because this is a sesame chicken marinade, we’re also adding sesame seeds and tahini for a little creaminess.
- To garnish: I like to garnish the grilled sesame chicken with more sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
How to make delicious grilled sesame chicken
This recipe couldn’t be easier to make. Start by whisking together all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl, adding your chicken, and then marinating it in the fridge for at least 3o minutes or up to one hour. When you’re ready to cook:
- To bake: you’ll want to bake your chicken on a parchment-lined baking sheet or in a baking dish at 400 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until the internal temp reads 165 degrees F. Get all of my tips for baking perfect chicken here!
- To grill: we love grilled sesame chicken because it’s super quick & easy. You’ll grill your chicken at 400 degrees F for about 6-8 minutes on each side. Check out this guide to grilling perfectly juicy chicken every time.
Our fav ways to use this grilled sesame chicken
- Top a veggie-packed salad like this Cashew Crunch Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad, or this Spicy Cashew Chickpea Broccoli Salad
- Add it to a sandwich or an easy wrap like this Crunchy Rainbow Thai-Inspired Peanut Chicken Wrap
- Serve it with grilled vegetables and my coconut rice
- Cut it into strips, place it on skewers, and dip it in this creamy peanut dressing
- Add it to a flavorful bowl of noodles for the perfect boost of protein
Storing tips
Feel free to store the sesame chicken in the marinade before cooking, or store the fully cooked chicken:
- Before cooking: store the chicken and the marinade together in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator one day ahead of time. Then cook as directed the next day.
- After cooking: make sure the cooked chicken has cooled completely, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
More chicken recipes you’ll love
- Sazon Grilled Chicken Thighs
- Baked or Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken (with the best honey mustard marinade!)
- Grilled Jalapeño Cilantro Chicken
- Grilled Tahini Chicken Caesar Sandwiches
- Thai-Inspired Chicken Quinoa Salad in a Jar
Get all of my chicken recipes here!
I hope you love this grilled sesame chicken recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Grilled Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil (preferably toasted sesame oil)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- To garnish:
- Sliced green onion
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, tahini, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes. Add chicken, then cover and place in the fridge for roughly 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. Then bake or grill your chicken however you like. Garnish with sliced green onion and additional sesame seeds.
- To grill: Preheat the grill to 400 degrees F. Grill chicken for about 6-8 minutes per side; chicken is done when a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F. Time will vary depending on the size of your chicken breast. Get all of my tips for grilling chicken here!If you'd like to bake the chicken, follow the instructions in this guide.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
if i cut the chicken into tenders and bake it what temperature and hoe long should i bake it so it should be good?
You can bake the tenders at the same temperature for about 15-20 minutes!
This is delicious! I made it last night for dinner alongside some simple cold sides. I marinaded for about 3 hours and I was amazed at how tender the chicken was. The only change I made was to add a little gochujang instead of red pepper flakes because I have a sensitivity to the flakes (but not the paste, explain that one to me!).
I think the marinade could make a delicious sauce too- boil it then maybe add a corn starch slurry? I may try that next time.
This is definitely going into the weekly rotation!
Perfect! Great idea to add gochujang – YUM. Let me know how it goes with the sauce! I also have a Sesame Ginger Dressing that’s delicious 🙂
This is delicious! Can you freeze the marinade?
Yes, absolutely!
This chicken was so easy to make and I had almost all of the ingredients for the marinade on hand already. So good on top of the sesame chicken salad!
I used this marinade with chunked up chicken tenderloin that I baked in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. We had rice and then a sauce from a favorite sesame chicken recipe.
The flavor is phenomenal! I was eating it right off the pan and contemplated using the sauce I made, but I did because the flavors meshed perfectly.
I pinned to use again and again!
Perfect! So delicious 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
Can I leave out the Tahini? How will it affect the end result?
This chicken was delicious! We dont like a lot of the ingredients that are in the sauce, but together they are perfect!!
So glad you gave this a try!
I just wanted to let you know that something is wrong with this recipe on Pinterest. I saved the recipe there, but when I click on the saved pin, the only thing that shows is a brief description of the recipe. No ingredient list or instructions. I’m not sure if there’s a way to fix that or not? Thanks!
Hi! So strange — do you mind linking the pin for me so that I can investigate?
I made this along with the sesame roasted vegetable recipe and it turned out amazing. Just so good. All I want to do is eat it again!
Amazing! The perfect meal!
My husband is a picky eater. He loved the Grilled Sesame Chicken. East to make, lots of delicious flavor. A keeper !
So happy to hear that!
Very tasty chicken. Will he great in my salad for lunch this week!
Perfect! So glad you’re loving this recipe, Stephanie!
I’ve made this recipe several times! So good paired with some rice and stir fried veggies!
YUM! Glad to hear you’re loving this recipe, Brianna ❤️
We made this tonight- so delicious. I marinated the chicken all day then we grilled it on the Blackstone and was super happy with taste, char, and succulence of the chicken breasts. Thank you!! Will repeat and repeat!
Sounds absolutely delicious! So glad you’re enjoying this recipe and it turned out great for you 🙂
What can i sub for tahini?
Peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter should work!
This is a delicious recipe!! Thanks!
This tasted fantastic! One of the best marinades for grilled chicken I have come across – tasty and quick to make. I’ve made it with ground dried ginger and garlic powder when I was missing fresh and it still tasted great. A real triumph!
Thank you SO MUCH! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
Ummmm WOW…! This is the first recipe I’ve made from here and am officially a fan girl, it was sooo so good. The kick of the chilli (if you want to add it in!) was delicious with the other ingredients, and it is so fast to prep for the next day. Will def become a regular in our house! I made the coleslaw to go with it and that deserves its own review as it was also a 10/10 and went perfectly with this chicken!
Woohoooo! Just saw your coleslaw comment, too — THANK YOU ❤️
Made this tonight. It was simple to put together and turned out delicious! I was worried that the chicken breast would be dry, but it stayed tender and juicy and was so flavorful. Thank you!
Love that! One of my fav marinades I’ve used 🙂
I really loved this recipe!! I had some chicken tenderloin strips and after marinating, they only took about 2 minutes per side on the grill. So fast and SO yummy! Definitely a repeater! Next time I will save some marinade and cook it down for a bit of a glaze or dipping sauce. Will try the salad, too…looks SO good. Thank you for easy, flavorful and trustable recipes Monique!
Yay!! So glad it came out amazing. Can’t wait for you to try the salad soon, too!
This is SO good! Made it tonight in the oven, and it was so flavorful and tender. I marinated it overnight, so it was super quick to make in time for dinner. Added squash because I had some to use up and that paired well with it. Thanks for another winner!
Yay!! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
This chicken was absolutely amazing! I made it along with the Sesame Chicken Cabbage Crunch Salad which was also delicious! But that chicken…. The marinade was so ridiculously good. This is my new go to chicken and can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Isn’t it so delish?! I’m so happy you loved it!!
This chicken was absolutely amazing. My husband said he was intentionally eating it slowly because it was so good he didn’t want it to be over. I cut my chicken into tenders for maximum marinade to chicken ratio!
Hahaha I love that!! SO happy you both enjoyed it 🙂
Hi Monique! Recipe looks delish! Could I make this with bone-in, skin on chicken thighs? What cooking method would you suggest? Thanks!
Hi, Kaitlyn! Yes, absolutely. That would be delicious. You could grill or bake them, but baking might be a little easier to ensure they’re fully cooked in the middle (since bone-in meat takes longer) 🙂