Baked Sesame Ginger Chicken
This DELICIOUS baked Sesame Ginger Chicken is making a comeback. With only 5 minutes of prep time, you'll have a healthy dinner in the oven. What are you waiting for?
I firmly believe that if you are going to eat chicken, it needs to still have its skin on. There should be bones in it, too. I just don't understand the whole boneless, skinless chicken breast thing. That just sounds boring and bland. Food should never be boring or bland.
Too much fat in it you say? Just eat less of it. A little bit of wicked tasting food seems like a better idea than a lot of tasteless food, in my opinion.
Or how about just not worry about it. It's not 1992, and we now know that saturated fats aren't bad for us. Open a new tab and Google “saturated fats sugar industry” if you're not sure what I'm talking about. You'll be happy you did.
It'll be like getting permission to dig into another piece of this crazy delish Sesame Ginger Chicken.
They've got that sweet and salty thing going on that is so common in Asian-style recipes. They're also crazy easy to make. With about 5 mins of prep, you can pop them into your oven and let them cook themselves. So easy!
What to serve with sesame ginger chicken
- Smoky Parmesan Corn on the Cob
- Garlic Butter Asparagus
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Perfect Basmati Rice
- Quick Garlic Roasted Carrots
You'll want to lick your fingers after you eat this chicken. You'll also want to suck every last sweet, delicious morsel from the bones. This sesame ginger chicken can be made spicy if you want it to be (I always want it spicy) or mild if that's the way you roll. Either way, it is a little bit sweet with nutty sesame and fragrant ginger, lots of crispiness on the outside and tender chicken in the middle.
Have I mentioned that it is also:
- Incredibly easy to make
- Perfect for an Asian themed dinner party
- A hit with even the pickiest kids
- Makes the best leftovers
- And, eaten cold, is the perfect picnic fare
- Oh ya, it's wickedly awesome delicious, too!
Popular baked chicken recipes
- Juicy Baked Chicken Thighs
- Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts
- Baked BBQ Chicken
- Baked Sesame Orange Chicken
- Honey Garlic Chicken
Baked Sesame Ginger Chicken Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 8 chicken drumsticks or thighs
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 heaping teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar, sub coconut sugar for paleo, omit for Whole30
- 1 heaping teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- Optional: 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Place the chicken in a medium-sized bowl and toss with the sesame oil. In a small bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over the chicken and toss to coat.8 chicken drumsticks or thighs, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 3 heaping teaspoons toasted sesame seeds, 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar, 1 heaping teaspoon powdered ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 cloves garlic, Optional: 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Place chicken on the prepared baking sheet, skin-side up, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is brown and crispy, and the chicken is no longer pink inside.
- Get ready to lick your fingers!
I have been pretty much making all of your recipes this week! I got in a rut of making the same things every week and your blog has spiced up our menu! These are currently in the oven and smell phenomenal! Making your Lemon Lime Loaf next! Thank you for the inspo!
You totally made my day! Thank you so much!!
Those wings look so delectable!
Thank you! They are pretty crazy delicious. š
This was really good and super easy to make. I did not have brown sugar so I just mixed the oil with teriyaki sauce. If anyone does with this substitution, add less to no salt.
My husband and I loved it!
Thank you!
What a great idea for the substitution. Thank you for sharing that!
My grandma bought way too much chicken and that was the only meat in tgr freezer. My mom had sesame oil so I googled sesame oil chicken recipe and this popped up. Like many others, I wish I had the seeds for garnish and crunch but it was awesome without it! The chicken legs were very plump and juicy! The temperate and time were perfect! Everybody was happy and there wasn’t a leg left. Only my mom is a baby when it comes to the slightest bit of heat and I did do the optional cayenne pepper. But she still ate a lot of it so I know it was a success. So easy and cheap to make. We will be eating this again. Oh I also added more sesame oil to my legs while I ate them.
Thanks for the feedback, Alexandria. So happy you and your family enjoyed it!
Score! I was so wanting to make something like this, and yours was the first recipe that didn’t call for honey or soya sauce. Soya sauce would have made this too wet, and honey is expensive and I didn’t have any. Using brown sugar, salt and sesame oil instead is brilliant. The sesame seeds were nice and chewy, with a slight crunch, and the meat texture (small drumsticks) was perfect. Yummy yummy. My guy loved it too and asked for the recipe š
Thank you for the awesome feedback! I haven’t actually made this dish in a while so your comment made me think of it again. Think I’ll be making it this week. Thank you for remaining me about it š
Will try it today. Expecting standing ovations from my family š
Thanks and best wishes from Germany
Let’s make that “an edition.” I’m so hungry that I cannot type.
I’m making and ‘edition of this as I write. While I AGREE with your skin and bone comment, thigh meat was all I had available today and I WANTED a sesame/ginger (garlic) chicken dish tonight. Period! I don’t have any ginger powder, but I’ll bet that the grated fresh ginger used will be just fine. Exactly what I was looking for, it is not quite ready, but smells wonderful. Thank you!
This was AMAZING! I wasn’t paying attention to the fact that the seasoning should be dry and used spicy chili garlic sauce (2 scoops) instead of fresh garlic and cayenne. It made more of a paste to spread on the chicken instead of a dry seasoning mix to sprinkle on and made a huge mess in the pan (luckily I had covered the pan in foil!), but it tasted wonderful. Not too sweet, not too spicy. Thanks so much for sharing!
This would make a great treatment for chicken wings as well.
Oh I love chicken wings! This would definitely be great on them too š
These were delicious! And you’re right… they were fantastic all week long as leftovers! I used black sesame seeds instead of normal, white ones because that’s what I had on hand. But they added a nice earthy taste to the chicken! YUM
Hey Liz,
Thank you for the great feedback! So happy you loved them š
I made these tonight, after stumbling upon this recipe on tastespotting.com, they looked easy enough for me, as I am terrible w/ chicken and don’t have a grill. I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome! They were delicious, crispy, sweet, tangy and slightly spicy from the ginger and garlic, plus they were extremely juicy.
I couldn’t find powdered ginger, so I had to substitute ginger paste and mixed it with the sesame oil in the first step. But, the overall taste was delicious! I will definitely make it again…for friends and not just hog it for myself! Super easy and tasty! Love it!
Hey Anouk,
I’m so happy to hear that it turned out so well for you!!
Having a dinner party on Friday and am going to try this on the grill…hopefully that won’t ruin it somehow because the recipe looking amazing!
Hey Heather,
I think they would be awesome on the grill. Just watch them a little closer as sugar has a tendency to burn on the grill. Have an awesome dinner party!!
I love roast chicken – have since I been a small child. (as my mother will tell anyone willing to listen). Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hope you love it as much as I did!
that looks amazing! great recipe!
Thanks, Jenn and Seth!!
Is this what we eat in heaven? Gorgeous photos.
LOL I think it definitely is! This and fresh mint chocolate chip ice cream š
That looks amazing. Coming over from TasteSpotting… back to your site again š Nice recipes and nice resources for bloggers š
Thanks, Ashish!!
These were deelish – I had a bunch of black sesame seeds I was wondering what to do with, and it turned out perfectly!
Hey Rod,
I had actually wanted to make these with black sesame seeds but didn’t have any in my pantry. Will definitely have to try using them next time!
I agree – great chicken has skin and bones. This recipe looks finger-licking good! I recently added ginger and lemon to some chicken thighs and it was quite tasty, but adding sesame seeds sounds like a delicious twist.
Hey Sarah,
I love the idea of adding lemon! I’ll be trying that next time for sure š
Oh my goodness! This looks mouthwatering!
I just bought some sesame seeds yesterday, and I was wondering what to use them for (I’m one of those people who see stuff and impulse buy. I don’t know why, It wasn’t even on sale or anything) I have found my solution! Such great timing š
That’s so funny, I do the exact same thing. I actually made this recipe again last night but added some spice mixture that I also bought on impulse š
Love your recipes! My husband is Arabic and loves sesame! We are avid rabid home cooks and always on the lookout for new fun things to try. And thanks for a being a food blogger with easily printable recipes!! So many don’t…
Thank you so much!! I really love Arabic food after travelling around the Middle East a few years ago. Does your husband cook his traditional food for you? If he does you are so lucky!!!
This looks finger-looking delicious! I love the combination of flavors in this! Well done!
Thanks, Chung-Ah!
These look so good! I’ll have to try them, I’ve been craving wings.
Thanks, Jen!
Yum! I love making roasted chicken and experimenting with different flavors. Definitely going to try this next!
Hey Brittany,
I’ve only just started eating chicken again after being vegetarian for many many years. Roast chicken is my favourite! I love how crispy it gets on the outside and how many different flavours you can make. š