Lazy Sweet Chili Chicken

Have dinner on the table in under 15 minutes with this quick and easy Lazy Sweet Chili Chicken recipe.

I love to serve it over a bed of steamed rice and some sliced cucumbers on the side to balance out the heat from the sauce.

I’m taking lazy dinners to the next level with this delicious sweet chili chicken.

I almost didn’t want to share this recipe online with you because I thought… it’s just “too easy”. But then I remembered, you’re probably just like me, and easy dinners are what us busy folks need.

Sweet Chili Chicken Recipe

I took lightly breaded chicken breast bites from the freezer section, some simple Asian sauces and whipped up this sweet/spicy and tangy chicken in under 15 minutes!

Ingredients Needed

Here’s the basic list of what you’ll need to make this chicken dinner at home. As always, you can find the full printable recipe card below!

• Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Pieces – this is the “lazy” part of the recipe. We’re skipping the time it takes to prep chicken breast, coat them in a batter and fry them. Instead we’re air frying frozen chicken pieces till they’re nice and crisp.
• Thai Sweet Chili Sauce – you can find this sauce in the Asian section of the grocery store or on Amazon. It’s sweet and spicy and necessary for this recipe to have that “sweet chili” flavor after all.
• Soy Sauce – use a low sodium soy sauce or tamari for a gluten free version. The soy sauce adds the necessary salt to the sauce, boosting it’s overall flavor.
• Rice Vinegar – the addition of rice vinegar adds a nice tangy flavor that pairs well with the spicy and sweet flavors of the chili sauce. All the flavors will explode in your mouth on this one!
• Garlic and Ginger – we’re keeping it extra lazy and using jarred garlic and ginger paste from a tube. Feel free to use the fresh stuff for an extra boost in flavor.

It’s incredible what just a few simple ingredients can create!

How To Make It

Let’s get dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes…

Air Fry Chicken

Start by cooking the chicken pieces in your air fryer, according to the package instructions.

PRO TIP: I will typically cook my chicken pieces a little longer because I like them extra crispy on the outside. I feel like the more crisp they are, the better it holds up in the sauce.

Make Sweet Chili Sauce

Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small dish and heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the sauce ingredients to the hot pan while your chicken is cooking and let it bubble, while stirring often.

The sauce will reduce and thicken as it cooks.

Combine Sauce and Chicken

Once the chicken pieces are crisp, toss them in with the sauce until they’re all coated.

I like to top my chicken off with some thinly sliced green onions and sesame seeds to make me feel fancy, but they’re definitely not mandatory.

Serve over Rice

When I’m feeling extra lazy, I’ll pull out a package of microwave rice and heat that up while the sauce and chicken are cooking.

Spoon the chicken and a little extra sauce over the rice and dinner is ready. Like I mentioned before, serving it with some sliced cucumbers is a nice touch.

You could also pair this sweet chili chicken with my chicken egg rolls, egg drop soup or some shishito peppers (recipe coming soon!).

I’m a big fan of making semi-homemade recipes to streamline busy weeknights. Don’t be afraid to take the lazy route every once in a while. Your sanity will thank you.

Tips and Suggestions

Let’s talk through some common questions I’m sure I’ll get with this recipe…

DO I HAVE TO AIR FRY? Nope, you can definitely bake the chicken in an oven if you don’t own an air fryer. I just prefer the air fryer because it’s quicker to cook all the chicken and I feel like it gets crispier.

CAN I FRY MY OWN CHICKEN PIECES? Of course! You can follow the recipe for breaded chicken pieces in my Orange Chicken Recipe. I use chicken thighs for that recipe, but chicken breast will work great too.

HOW TO GET EXTRA CRISPY CHICKEN? I’ll be fully honest, I rarely use the instructions from the back of the bag when it comes to air frying chicken pieces. For instance, this bag calls for just 8 minutes at 350 degrees – but the chicken will only be heated through and definitely not crispy. I like to cook mine at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes. I’ll shake the basket halfway through to make sure the chicken is getting crispy on all sides.

Make Ahead and Storage

This Sweet Chili Chicken Recipe tastes best when it’s made fresh, so I do not recommend making it ahead of time. You can however, stir together the sauce ingredients and have that ready to go in a jar in the fridge to streamline the process even more.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep in mind that once the chicken is tossed in the sauce, the chicken will lose it’s crispness the longer it sits.

I can’t wait for you to give this quick “lazy” dinner recipe a try. I think you’re really going to enjoy it!