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This is the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner! My recipe for firecracker chicken is easy to make and tastes salty, sweet, and spicy! Serve it over a bed of rice and with lots of firecracker sauce!
?? Firecracker Sauce! ??
You guys! More firecracker sauce! I am completely and utterly obsessed with this dinner recipe. Not just because it’s quick and easy to make. Or because it satisfies the ‘comfort food’ monster that lives inside of me (well it does that too). Or because it’s delicious. It’s because it’s a PARTY for my mouth.
Because i’m ladling my third spoon of firecracker sauce onto my bowl of steaming rice when it hits me, ‘I’m in deep with this one’.
Baked firecracker chicken FTW. After all of the love you guys showed this recipe, I wanted to create something that was a little more weeknight friendly. Sure, those meatballs are great and taste wonderful over a bed of rice or with veggies on the side but sometimes I just wanna get this dinner on the table pronto and into my belly. And for those times baked firecracker chicken filets are probably more up our alley because there’s no meatball making required. It’s as simple as seasoning, searing, and baking.
Low maintenance recipes are kind of my thing right now. Mostly because i’m trying to finally get in there and organize our place. When we first moved back in November the goal was to get things into the right rooms and I figured i’d get around to organizing sooner rather than later. Which didn’t really exactly happen that way. Because what I didn’t expect is the total dilemma and brain freezes that come with buying furniture. I mean, talk about commitment issues. Because if I buy the rug now (which is gorgeous AND on sale), will it match with the console table that I haven’t even thought about? Will the rug get dirty too quickly? Real life truth. Will it give the room the ‘feel’ I’m going for? Hellllllllllllloooooooo! Anyone else out there? ?????? Am I the only one that gets decor anxiety? ????
I’ve got an incomplete living room, semi complete dining room, and a bathroom I haven’t even started on yet. ? In the meantime, I plan on comforting myself with a big bowl of chicken over rice drizzled in firecracker sauce.
The trifecta of hot sauce, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar is what gives the firecracker sauce the zing it’s known for. Also familiar to us, minced garlic, salt, and some red pepper flakes for heat. It’s a quick and easy sauce.
All we’re doing in tossing it in a saucepan and letting it simmer for a good 12-15 minutes. I sometimes make the sauce the night before (in which case, I only simmer for 8-10 minutes) so it has a chance of thickening a little more as it cools.
The best part? You don’t have to marinade the chicken at all. It’s just 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs) with a little salt and pepper and a quick sear on the skillet for just 1-2 minutes per side. The firecracker sauce serves two purposes. First, we’re going to brush the chicken breasts with the sauce before it bakes in the oven. And second, we’re drizzling it on the chicken when it comes out of the oven and onto heaping bowls of white rice or, if you cool the sauce, it can even be used as dressing. It’s a cross between French and Italian dressing, I think, with a spicy kick to it!
Quick, semi-healthy, easy dinners. Firecracker chicken is the best!
Baked Firecracker Chicken
Ingredients
firecracker sauce:
- ½ cup hot sauce I used Franks Original Hot Sauce
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
chicken:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- FIRECRACKER SAUCE: In a saucepan, combine the hot sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic, and red pepper flakes over medium-high heat. Allow to come to a boil, reduce the heat so it simmers. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes (if you plan on making this sauce ahead of time) or for 12-15 minutes if you're serving immediately. Remove from heat and allow the sauce to cool. The sauce will thicken as it cools so don't worry if it looks thin.
- CHICKEN: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat, set aside. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Heat a skillet with the oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts and allow to cook for just 1-2 minute per side. We're just searing the very outside of the chicken, so don't worry about it cooking all the way through. Place the chicken breast on the prepared baking sheet and bake the chicken for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, baste each chicken breast with 1-2 tablespoons of firecracker sauce. You will have additional sauce leftover to serve with the chicken. Place the chicken back into the oven and continue to bake for another 11-15 minutes or until the chicken feels firm to the touch, is cooked through, or registers 165ºF on a thermometer. Serve the firecracker chicken with leftover sauce and steamed rice.
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*Please note: the nutritional facts calculated are an estimate based on the ingredients i’ve used. If you’d like a more accurate count, please calculate them using the ingredients/brands you’ve used to prepare the recipe. The nutritional facts provided is for 1/4th of the recipe and assumes you use an additional 3 tablespoons of sauce for serving.
I make this often since finding your recipe, for those who say it’s a bit too sweet. I suggest trying the Splenda Brown Sugar, which is what we use and it turned out perfect every time. Thanks for such a great-tasting chicken recipe!!
I do sautéed chicken tenders (just flour) and then soak in this sauce and oh man it’s good. Thanks so much for sharing!
I have had this recipe saved forever, and finally got around to trying. My only regret is that I didn’t make it sooner! The sauce is ah-mazing. My fiance loved it, too. Our kids are really young so we haven’t introduced spicy foods yet, but this may be the first one we try with them down the road. Oh well, more for me!! Thanks for the great recipe!!!
I love this recipe! I make it all the time. It’s a huge hit with all my family members. I make the firecracker sauce just by itself and use it as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets or party wings.
Wonderful! Except I cut chicken in pieces so
they would soak up more sauce. Very good!
Rate a 5!!!
This recipe was a big hit made exactly as written. The sauce was also fantastic on roasted cauliflower.
This is so DELICIOUS!!!.. I finally caved in, and made it for my family. I would give it 10 stars if it let me. This is DEFINITELY a keeper!!
This chicken and sauce is so good! My fiance requests this at least once a week! We’ve also shared the recipe with friends, and they’re now making it once a week! We haven’t steered away from the recipe, but are going to attempt grilling the chicken, then adding the sauce! Thank you so so much for the recipe! Will continue to be a family favorite!
We love this sauce!! It’s our favorite for salmon served over quinoa with baked carrots and broccoli. Have you ever tried freezing it in small batches?
We love this chicken! Just the right amount of heat and sweet!
Absolutely delicious! Used a tsp of pepper flakes ’cause we like it HOT! Also used thighs because that’s what we like 🙂
Definitely on our list of meals to repeat!
This came out soooo good! I used chicken thighs cuz that’s what I had. Have enough sauce for leftovers.
Can you use this recipe with chicken drumsticks? What would be the cooking time?
My family LOVES this recipe! It has become part of our rotation. Tonight I’m making extra since my teenage kids often have friends stop by at any given time. Now I have to decide if I’m making steamed or fried rice.
Love this chicken recipe. This is my 2nd time making it. This time we have leftovers and rather than letting it go to waste, I decided to play around. The make awesome chicken croquettes. And instead of the usual gravy, we used taco bell baja sauce (would also be great with each.
Thanks for the recipe!