This sweet chilli chicken is a 30-minute stir fry served with rice and made with chicken breast, capsicum, zucchini and a sticky sweet chilli soy sauce. Unlike many sweet chilli chicken recipes, this version does not automatically add sugar to an already sweetened bottle sauce, and keeps the chicken moist when storing making it suitable for your meal prepped lunches.
I have said before that I am trying to improve my spice tolerance, and I have now developed a few recipes that sit comfortably within my white girl spice tolerance, including my lemongrass chicken bowls. This sweet chilli chicken follows the same approach: enough chilli to add flavour and a little warmth, but not so much that lunch feels like a personal challenge (although, chilli flakes are easy to increase if your spice tolerance is closer to Zak's than mine!)
I personally do not think a meal prep recipe needs to be overwhelmingly spicy, especially when you plan to eat it several days in a row. Zak would probably disagree, given how much he loves his spicy beef and pork meatballs, but this recipe is easy to adjust at the table so everyone can choose their own level of heat.
TL;DR
- Servings: 4
- Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes
- Meal prep: The chicken, rice and vegetables provide an easy base for four weekday meals. The cornflour and soy coating helps protect the chicken breast from drying out, while the sauce loosens again when reheated.
- Fridge storage: 3-4 days (recommend glass containers and keeping chicken and rice on opposite sides)
- Freezer storage: 3 months for best texture (freeze separate or rice on top for best texture)
- Reheating: 1 minute intervals for 3 minutes (add drizzle of water before reheating)
- Customise: Swap the chicken breast for chicken thigh, tofu, prawns or another quick-cooking protein. Change the vegetables based on what you have available and adjust the chilli flakes to suit your spice tolerance.
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Why you'll love this recipe
30-minute cook. Asian-inspired meal preps typically have a short cook time, meaning your four serves will be done and dusted before your favourite TV show finishes.
Versatile. Mix-and-match the protein and vegetables based on what you have available; I highly recommend trying the tofu with the sweet chilli sauce.
Sweet chilli. It has enough kick to add flavour without putting your mouth on fire, and the chilli flakes can be adjusted to suit you.
Ingredients
Chicken breast. I prefer meal prepping chicken breast because it is lean, quick to cook and portions neatly into rice bowls, although chicken thigh can be used for a juicier result. The breast does not dry out as readily as it normally might because the cornflour and soy coating helps retain moisture while it cooks and reheats.
Cornflour. Cornflour forms a light coating around the chicken, helping it brown while also thickening any marinade that moves into the pan.
Paprika. Paprika adds colour and a mild savoury warmth without substantially increasing the heat. This is added to the chicken breast marinade rather than the sauce as I found it improved flavour more this way.
Sweet chilli sauce. Choose a sweet chilli sauce you already enjoy, preferably one with a higher percentage of chilli because this usually provides more flavour. Very watery sauces can take longer to reduce and may not cling to the chicken as well.
Many sweet chilli chicken recipes include additional sugar, but the brands I use are already sweet enough. Mix and taste the sauce before cooking; depending on your particular bottle, you can then add a small amount of sugar or honey when extra sweetness is genuinely needed.
White wine vinegar. The vinegar cuts through the sugar in the sweet chilli sauce and prevents the finished dish from tasting one-dimensional. I use white wine vinegar because it is the vinegar I most commonly keep in my cupboard, but rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can also work.
Soy sauce. Regular soy sauce adds salt and savoury depth, giving the chicken and chilli sauce a more balanced Asian-inspired flavour. The sauce is based on my sweet chilli soy sauce, adjusted here so it can coat a full stir fry without becoming overwhelmingly sweet.
Garlic and ginger. Fresh garlic and ginger provide the strongest flavour, but jarred versions are practical substitutes when saving preparation time is the priority.
Chilli flakes. Measure these with your heart. Add more for a genuinely spicy chicken dish, reduce them or leave them out for a milder result; the recommended amount provides sweet chilli flavour rather than the type of heat that leaves your mouth numb.
Substitutions and Variations
Chicken thighs. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can replace the chicken breast if you prefer a richer and juicier cut. They may require an extra few minutes of cooking depending on the size of the pieces.
Tofu. Press extra-firm tofu, cut it into cubes and coat it lightly in cornflour before frying until golden. Remove it from the pan while cooking the vegetables, then return it with the sauce so the outside retains some texture.
Vegetables. Broccoli, carrots, green beans, snow peas, mushrooms, baby corn and bok choy can replace or supplement the onion, zucchini and capsicum. Start firm vegetables such as carrots and broccoli earlier, then add quicker-cooking vegetables toward the end.
You can even use a frozen stir-fry mix - just note that this can add extra moisture so you may need to cook the sauce off for longer once added.
Spicier chicken. Increase the chilli flakes, add sliced fresh chilli or finish individual servings with chilli oil. Adjusting servings individually is useful when preparing the same batch for people with different tolerances.
How to make sweet chilli chicken
Step 1: Cut the chicken breast into similar bite-sized pieces. Add it to a bowl with 1 tablespoon soy sauce, cornflour and paprika, mixing until every piece is lightly coated, then leave it to marinate for 10 minutes.
Step 2: While the chicken marinates, combine the sweet chilli sauce, white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Taste the mixture and adjust the heat, acidity or sweetness before it reaches the pan.
Step 3: Heat a large wok or frying pan over medium-high heat with a small amount of cooking oil. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until it begins to soften and develop a little colour, then remove it from the pan.
Step 4: Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the chicken in a single layer. Cook for approximately 4-6 minutes, turning occasionally, until the outside is lightly golden and the pieces are mostly white but not yet completely cooked through.
Note - Cook the chicken in two batches when your pan is not large enough to hold it in a single uncrowded layer. Overcrowding traps steam and prevents the chicken bites from browning.
Step 5: Return the onion to the pan and add the zucchini and capsicum. Stir fry for a minute (if meal prepping) or approx 3 minutes if eating immediately after cooking.
Step 6: Pour in the sweet chilli sauce mixture and toss everything together. Let the sauce come to a gentle bubble, then reduce the heat to low and cook for another 2-4 minutes until it becomes glossy, thickens around the chicken and no longer looks watery.
Meal prep note - A sauce that looks slightly looser than your preferred final consistency is usually ideal for meal prep. It thickens in the fridge and will return to a saucier consistency once a little water is added during reheating.
Step 7: Check the largest chicken piece has reached an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F) and is completely opaque through the centre. Remove the pan from the heat promptly so the chicken breast does not overcook. Serve with some rice.
Lauren's Top Tips
Use a large pan. The chicken needs enough contact with the hot surface to brown; a crowded pan creates steam and leaves the coating soft.
Taste the sauce first. Sweet chilli sauces differ significantly in sweetness, chilli flavour and consistency, so adjust yours before it goes into the pan.
Do not fully cook the chicken initially. Brown it until mostly white, then allow it to finish cooking gently in the sauce so the chicken breast stays tender.
Recommended Equipment
Use a large wok or wide frying pan so the chicken can sit in one layer and brown instead of steaming. When using a smaller pan, cook the chicken in batches and return it all to the pan before adding the vegetables and sauce.
A digital meat thermometer removes the guesswork from cooking chicken breast and confirms that the largest piece has reached 74°C (165°F) without requiring the entire batch to be overcooked.
For meal prep and leftovers, I recommend glass meal-prep containers rather than plastic. The red colour from the sweet chilli sauce and paprika can stain plastic, whereas glass is easier to clean and does not retain the colour.
Meal prepping sweet chilli chicken
This sweet chilli chicken is a practical meal-prep option because it combines protein from the chicken breast, carbohydrates from the rice and colour from the onion, zucchini and capsicum. The sauce has enough acidity and savoury flavour to remain interesting over several days, while the cornflour coating helps the chicken breast retain moisture when reheated.
Storing
Allow the dish to cool at room temperature for no more than 2 hours and avoid sealing the containers while everything is still steaming because trapped condensation can soften the vegetables and rice.
Store the cooked sweet chilli chicken and rice in airtight containers in the fridge for 3-4 days. Glass containers are my preference because they maintain freshness, do not absorb odours and are less likely to stain from the red sauce.
Once chilled, the sauce will look thicker and may appear less glossy; this is expected and will reverse during reheating.
Bulk prepping
I have made this sweet chilli chicken stir fry in larger quantities for gym meal preps. Like my chicken and cashew nut stir fry, it received excellent feedback, including from people who do not usually enjoy many vegetables. I think it's because the sauce is reaaaaaally moorish and coats the vegetables instead of leaving them feel like a separate side to the main dish.
Bulk prepping this sweet chilli chicken requires a little more multitasking than a slow cooker recipe. You cannot add a large quantity of chicken to one pan and leave it to cook because overcrowding traps moisture, causing the chicken to steam rather than brown and taking away the stir fry texture.
The good news is that once the chicken, vegetables and sauce are prepared, each batch takes only around 10-15 minutes to cook. I usually cook 4-5 servings at a time and run two pans at once, allowing me to work through two batches quickly without overcrowding either pan.
Lauren's bulk prep tip: Do not double all the ingredients in one pan unless your cooking surface is genuinely large enough. Cooking smaller batches back-to-back is faster than trying to evaporate the excess liquid produced by an overcrowded wok.
Reheating
Add a small drizzle of water to both the chicken and the rice before reheating. The water creates steam to soften the rice while loosening the sauce that has thickened during storage.
Reheat the meal in the microwave in 1-minute intervals, stirring the chicken after each interval, for approximately 3 minutes in total. The exact time will depend on the depth of the container, portion size and microwave wattage, so continue until the chicken is steaming hot throughout.
Cover the container loosely with a microwave-safe lid or plate to retain moisture, but leave a gap for steam to escape. Mix the rice through the sweet chilli chicken only once both components are hot.
Freezing
Freeze the cooled sweet chilli chicken for up to 3 months in airtight freezer-safe containers. For the best texture, freeze the chicken and vegetables separately from the rice. This prevents the rice from absorbing the sauce as the meal freezes and defrosts, while also giving you the flexibility to pair the chicken with noodles, quinoa, fresh rice or another side.
I portion the chicken and vegetables into 1-cup Souper Cubes when freezing them separately. But, when you want the entire meal sorted in advance-which I understand because I, too, am lazy and sometimes want dinner to require no further decisions-use a 2-cup Souper Cube. Place the chicken mixture in the bottom of the cube and add the rice on top before freezing.
To reheat this complete block, place the rice on the bottom of the reheating container and the chicken mixture on top. As the chicken heats, the sweet chilli sauce gradually moves down through the rice and helps steam it rather than leaving it dry.
If you want more meal prep information, check out my Meal Prep for Beginners post and my Meal Prep Basics E-Book.
FAQs
Sweet chilli chicken is usually mild because bottled sweet chilli sauce contains considerable sweetness alongside the chilli. This version includes chilli flakes for a little warmth, but they can be reduced, omitted or increased without changing the rest of the recipe.
The sauce may be watery because the bottled sweet chilli sauce is thin, the pan is overcrowded or the vegetables have released excess moisture. Use a wide pan, stir fry over sufficiently high heat and let the sauce reach a steady bubble before reducing the temperature.
Add water one tablespoon at a time while the pan is over low heat, stirring until the sauce loosens and evenly coats the chicken. Be cautious with extra soy sauce because it will thin the sauce but can also make the sweet chilli chicken too salty.
Other Asian inspired meal prep recipes
Or, you can have a browse through my Asian meal preps for more delicious eats.
Recipe
Sweet Chilli Chicken
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Equipment
- wok, or large pan
- Rice Cooker, optional
- meat thermometer
Ingredients
Stir fry
- 500 g (1 lb) chicken breast, see note 1, approx. 2 large breasts
- 1 onion
- 1 zucchini
- 2 capsicum
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 ½ cup rice, yields approx.4 cups cooked
Sweet chilli soy sauce
- ⅓ cup sweet chilli, see note 2
- 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar, subs note 3
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, fresh recommended
- 1 teaspoon ginger, fresh recommended
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes, adjust to spice preferences
Instructions
Preparing
- Cut the 500 g (1 lb) chicken breast into evenly sized, bite-sized pieces.
- Add the chicken to a bowl with 1 tbsp cornflour, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tbsp soy sauce. Mix until every piece is evenly coated, then marinate for 10 minutes.
- Thinly slice or dice the 1 onion, 1 zucchini, 2 capsicum.
- Finely dice or grate the 2 cloves garlic and 1 tsp ginger, then mix together with ⅓ cup sweet chilli, 3 tbsp white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chilli flakes (see note 4 for tasting notes)
- Rinse and cook the 1 ½ cup rice according to the packet instructions or using your preferred method or you can follow my tips and tricks.
Cooking
- Heat a small amount of cooking oil in a large wok or frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, until it begins to soften and develop a little colour. Remove it from the pan and set aside.
- Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the chicken in a single layer. Cook for 4-6 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly golden and mostly white on the outside but not completely cooked through (it finishes cooking in the sauce). Note - Cook the chicken in two batches if it does not fit comfortably in one layer. Overcrowding the pan traps steam and prevents the chicken from browning.
- Return the onion to the pan and add the zucchini and capsicum. Stir fry for 1 minute when meal prepping, or approximately 3 minutes when serving immediately, until the vegetables are brightly coloured and just tender.
- Pour the prepared sweet chilli sauce into the pan and toss until the chicken and vegetables are evenly coated.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle bubble, then reduce the heat to low. Cook for 2-4 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce becomes glossy and thickens around the chicken.
- Check that the largest piece of chicken has reached an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F) and is completely opaque through the centre. Remove the pan from the heat promptly to prevent the chicken breast from overcooking.
- Divide the cooked rice between four bowls or containers and top with the sweet chilli chicken.
Notes
Chicken thigh can be substituted for chicken breast if you prefer a juicier cut, although it may need slightly longer to cook. Note 2 – Sweet chilli
Choose a thicker sweet chilli sauce with a higher chilli percentage for more flavour and a sauce that clings to the chicken without requiring lengthy reduction. Note 3 – White wine vinegar
White wine vinegar balances the sweetness of the sauce; rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be used instead. Note 4 - Sauce tasting I purposely don't add extra sugar as most sweet chilli sauces already contain a lot. Taste and adjust according to your preferred sweet chilli sauce. Taste and adjust: If it needs more sweetness, add ½ teaspoon of white or brown sugar at a time. If it's too sweet, add an extra drizzle of vinegar, ¼ teaspoon at a time. Storage
Store the sweet chilli chicken and rice on opposite sides of an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 3–4 days. Reheating
Add a small drizzle of water to the chicken and rice, then microwave in 1-minute intervals for approximately 3 minutes, stirring between each interval until steaming hot. Freezing
Freeze the chicken and vegetables separately from the rice for up to 3 months, or place the chicken underneath the rice in a complete freezer portion to help prevent sogginess.
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