Bourbon Chicken is one of our favorite easy Chinese Takeout meals to make at home on busy nights. Tender, moist chicken bites slathered in sweet and spicy homemade bourbon sauce is totally irresistible! I guarantee, you’ll simply love this one-pan comforting meal that you can enjoy with the whole family!
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5-Star Review
Made this for dinner tonight. They all loved it! Thanks for a great, easy, timesaving recipe.” Kim
Better-than-Takeout Sweet and Spicy Bourbon Chicken
I never thought cooking Asian-inspired foods would be easier to cook at home than picking up takeout. Homemade bourbon chicken is healthier (you know the ingredients), freshly made, minimal preparation and so tastes so much better!
This mildly spicy, one-pot meal makes a perfect family dinner on busy nights. Asian inspired meals are my go-to weeknight dinners whenever I need something fast. My kids drool over this recipe as well as my other Asian-inspired dishes: Honey Chicken, Cashew Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken, Orange Chicken, and Sweet and Sour Chicken.
Tips for Beginners
- The bourbon sauce is the star of this recipe. The alcohol cooks down and evaporates as the cooking progress. If you want, you can swap it out with vegetable or chicken broth or apple juice.
- I’m using ginger and garlic. But colorful bell peppers, bok choy, broccoli, zucchini or cauliflower will also taste amazing.
- Boneless skinless chicken breast is my preferred cut (lean protein). But boneless skinless chicken thighs also work, they just need to cook a bit longer.
Sweet and Spicy Bourbon Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove crushed or 1 tsp. pre-minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup apple juice or apple sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup soy sauce or Yoshida’s Gourmet Sauce
- 2 tbsp Bourbon optional
- Cooked White Rice I use Minute Rice – prepared per instructions
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned.2 tbsp olive oil, 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
- Once cooked remove chicken.
- Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium Heat until well mixed and dissolved.1 garlic clove, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 cup apple juice or apple sauce, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp cider vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1/3 cup soy sauce or Yoshida’s Gourmet Sauce, 2 tbsp Bourbon
- Add chicken and bring to a hard boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened to the desired consistency.
- Serve over hot rice.
Video
Becky’s Tips
- Chicken broth or vegetable broth will do the trick if apple juice is not handy.
- Swap chicken with Paneer or Tofu for vegetarian option. Pork and shrimp are other great options.
- If you like thicker sauce, use cornflour. Mix 1 tablespoon cornflour in 1 cup of water, and slowly add in the sauce. Keep stirring while cooking.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
How to Make Bourbon Chicken Step by Step
Prepare the chicken and cook: Cut 2 lbs of boneless chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Pat them well. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned.
Once cooked remove chicken. Chicken will change to white color, that’s when you need to remove them from the skillet.
Make the bourbon sauce: Add 1 minced garlic clove, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 cup apple juice (or apple sauce), 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp cider vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1/3 cup soy sauce and 2 tbsp Bourbon in the same skillet. Heat over medium until well mixed and dissolved.
Combine, cook and serve: Place the chicken back into the skillet, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and let it simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce thickens.
When the chicken is ready, serve it over rice. Enjoy!
How to Store and Reheat
Refrigerate: Transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-5 days. To reheat, use a saucepan over medium-low heat or microwave in 30 second intervals.
Freeze after cooking: Due to the simplicity of bourbon chicken, you can make it ahead of time and freeze it in freezer-friendly storage bags. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in a saucepan or microwave.
Freeze before cooking: If you love those fresh flavors from the sauce then feel free to freeze them before combining. Once the chicken is cooked, let it cool and come to room temperature. Prepare the sauce separately, and let that cool as well. Transfer them in separate containers and freeze. Thaw overnight and cook per the instructions.
Serving Suggestions
Asian recipes usually pair well plain steamed rice and stir fry vegetables. Start your meals with crab rangoon bites or egg rolls as an appetizer, then indulge in this delicious chicken!
I tried out your recipe tonight and I had the same issue with the sauce as Ashley did, it never cooked down to become a glaze it just remained soupy.
Not sure what went wrong as the only ingredient that I did not add was the burboun.
I am sorry it didn’t work out for you, Vanessa!
Delicious and easy to make. Followed as written including the bourbon. Next time will garnish with some scallions and perhaps a few red peppers (chopped).
That sounds like a fantastic idea! I’ll have to try that myself!
This is one of my favorite chicken recipes. This one looks really good.
Let me know if you like it!! Thanks for stopping by :)
Made this for dinner tonight…They all loved it…thanks for a great, ease, time saving recipe…
I tried making this for my boyfriend and we had almost no ketchup at all, the sauce came out very soupy. Could that be because of the lack of ketchup or did I do something else incorrectly?
Hey Ashley, Susie here. I’m not sure what went wrong. I think the lack of ketchup shouldn’t make a huge difference, but the sauce would be thinner without the ketchup. I would suggest substituting tomato paste and upping the brown sugar to 1/2 cup next time if you don’t have ketchup. The only other thing I wonder is if you simmered the sauce for the whole 20 minutes. If the 20 minutes wasn’t enough, it won’t hurt to cook the sauce longer until reduced to the desired consistency. I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you and encourage you to please try it again. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns. Thanks so much for visiting our blog.