Today I have a super simple and tasty baked firecracker chicken recipe for you! that is so nice and easy to make and just packed with flavour! This recipe starts with boneless and skinless chicken that is seared in a pan to lightly brown it, which adds flavour, before being roasted in the oven, all basted up in a sweet, spicy and tangy firecracker sauce! The firecracker sauce is a simple mixture of hot sauce (or chili sauce) and brown sugar (or honey) along with a touch of cider vinegar and garlic! Once the chicken is transferred to the oven to roast it is basted with the sauce a few times before being served smothered in the remaining sauce! This baked firecracker chicken is great by itself or served over rice, pasta, quinoa, etc!
Baked Firecracker Chicken
Sweet and spicy baked chicken that is both packed with flavour and nice and light!
ingredients
- 1/2 cup hot/chili sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot or Sriracha)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Heat the hot sauce, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and chili pepper flakes in a small sauce pan until the sugar has melted into the sauce.
- Heat the oil in a large oven safe skillet over medium-high heat, season the chicken with the salt and pepper, add to the pan and brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.
- Transfer to a preheated 400F/200C oven and bake until the chicken is cooked, about 10-15 minutes, basting with the sauce every 5 minutes.
- Enjoy with the remaining sauce!
Sticky Honey Sriracha Chicken Bites
Baked Chicken Santa Fe
Firecracker Shrimp
Creamy Salsa Verde Skillet Chicken
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Chicken
Creamy Bacon Honey Dijon Skillet Chicken
Balsamic Maple Dijon Chicken with Bacon Sauce
Caprese Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Thai Peanut Chicken Saute
Spinach and Artichoke Skillet Chicken with Sundried Tomatoes
Baked Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Skillet Sweet Chili Chicken
Thai Sweet Chili Chicken Buddha Bowls
Skillet Chicken Verde
Pan Seared Balsamic Strawberry Chicken and Brie
Spinach and Artichoke Baked Chicken
We Are Not Martha says
May 17, 2017 at 9:26 pmThis is the perfect way to kick up an otherwise boring chicken breast. It looks so flavorful!
Sues
Unknown says
May 17, 2017 at 11:38 pmYour sodium count is wrong it's way higher then what you have listed, not only that but if you think 1100mg in one meal is good when a person's whole daily Intake is 1200mg is crazy
baltisraul says
January 24, 2019 at 12:46 pmThanks for looking out for us grandma! I believe we can take it from here.
Pat Cody says
February 21, 2019 at 11:19 amMy thoughts exactly. 🙂
Sue/the view from great island says
May 18, 2017 at 2:50 amI'm drawn to any recipe with the word firecracker in the title ~ this looks amazing!
marla {Family Fresh Cooking} says
May 18, 2017 at 9:04 pmLove the sauce on this chicken!
Maria Lichty says
May 19, 2017 at 9:57 pmJosh will love the heat from this sauce!
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE says
May 22, 2017 at 12:16 pmThis looks fantastic!!
THE IslandGirl and Makijo says
May 29, 2017 at 8:20 pmMaking this NOW! This has been saved in my Pinterest for awhile and I thought it would be a great night to have it!
Mary Barbot says
June 4, 2017 at 8:30 pmHoping to try this on the grill.
Anonymous says
June 6, 2017 at 9:37 pmany ideas for low calorie substitutes to the honey/sugar?
Anonymous says
June 8, 2017 at 4:38 pmIf its too much sodium for you then dont make it! Your negativity is what's crazy!!!
Terry Gourley says
July 7, 2017 at 10:07 pmI made this chicken tonight, and it was awful! The Frank's made it so vinegary that I found it completely inedible. I wish I had gone with my instinct, and used sriracha, instead. What a waste of my time and ingredients.
Katherine Spaude says
August 3, 2017 at 11:50 amHi Kevin! I made this recipe last night. I was worried about the amount of chili sauce (I used Sriracha) so I cut back to 1/4 cup. I will make again but I think I'll cut the Sriracha back to 1/8 cup. We enjoyed it. I will make again but will try it on rice and broccoli (like your photo). The flavors will compliment those foods. Also, I think it would be great on shrimp too. Thanks for the recipe.
Helena says
September 26, 2017 at 7:08 pmSuch a great recipe and amazing pictures of the steps! Definitely on my to-do list now Kevin!
Spitzer says
December 5, 2017 at 5:22 pmGreetings from Germany. I tried your recipe and i was amazed by how easy you can make such a delicious meal with so few ingredients.
Anonymous says
December 6, 2017 at 2:07 amMy family loved this. I used sambal chile paste. This would be great on shrimp, fish and pork.
Anonymous says
February 5, 2018 at 3:52 amMade this for dinner tonight. It was quick and easy and tasted great.
Dr Martin Huang says
February 21, 2018 at 1:59 amNice! Amazing photos and a power pack name for your dish!
I guess I will double up the spice level as I am a big fan of spicyness!
cris says
February 23, 2018 at 5:24 amDelicious chicken! I used a sweet chili sauce with just a couple teaspoons of Sriracha and brown sugar plus the other ingredients. I cut my breasts in half lengthwise so they didn't need to go in the oven. Can't wait to make again, I served with brown rice and broccoli!
Terrilynn says
February 27, 2018 at 9:38 pmI modified the recipe a pinch, I use 1/4 cup of sweet chili sauce & 1/4 cup of Frank's i put 1 Tablespoon of cayenne in the chicken cubes I only had 2 boneless skinless chicken breast so I added some shrimp. It turned out great.
Katrena Hale says
April 19, 2018 at 7:28 pmI made this the other night. Fabulous recipe. Very easy and yummy
Alicia says
July 26, 2018 at 7:14 pmSo good! I use chili garlic sauce instead of the hot sauce for extra spiciness. I’m gonna make it again today with half the chili garlic and half hot sauce, can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Gus says
October 2, 2018 at 5:31 pmI also just made this. Like some others I cut the sriracha to 1/4 cup and I’m glad I did. For us it was the perfect amount of bite blended beautifully with sweet.( I used honey). Served with sticky rice, it was a great meal.
Felicity says
November 12, 2018 at 5:45 amI used chicken Maryland’s for this and it was delicious. Maybe a tad spicy for us so I’ll add a bit less chilli sauce next time but will definitely make again!
Tonyette Dixon says
November 27, 2018 at 8:31 pmI am going to try this Recipe, I have a question about what type of. Cider vinegar to use? Are we talking about Apple Cider?
kevin says
November 28, 2018 at 9:32 amYes, that is apple cider vinegar, enjoy!
baltisraul says
January 28, 2019 at 5:02 pmOver the holiday I made a lot of Mulled, Hard Apple Cider. Do you believe that adding a few tbl would ruin the consistency or hurt the flavor in any way? I have so much I’m looking for ways to use it.
kevin says
January 29, 2019 at 11:39 amThat would definitely be worth testing! 🙂
Beth says
January 21, 2019 at 3:14 pmIf you say that something is gluten free, make sure people know that they must use all gluten free items. Example: Many brands of oy sauce are not gluten free. THe normal person would not know this. Thanks.
baltisraul says
January 26, 2019 at 2:39 pmSince less than 1% of the population is gluten intolerant, they must already have it down to a science. If you eat gluten free and don’t need to, you are robbing yourself of vital minerals and vitamins . Not to mention the loss of flavor. Madison Ave propaganda at it’s finest!
Milinda says
March 5, 2019 at 8:20 pmI made this the other night for my boyfriend and myself, I used Frank’s hot sauce and brown sugar but omitted the vinigar because I didn’t have any and the sauce was AMAZING, we both thought it was restuarant quality. Will definitely be making this again but also going to make the same and try on chicken wings, the boyfriend’s idea 🙂
Eve says
March 18, 2019 at 6:00 pmThanks so much for your recipes, Kevin. This recipe was fabulous. My partner wants me to incorporate it in a Hunan Beef recipe. If you have any ideas, for this dish, I would love to hear about them. Keep them coming, loving the fresh ideas.
Victoria says
April 9, 2019 at 5:42 pmThis is seriously my favorite meal. It’s the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten, so I’m particularly fond of it during the winter months when my sinuses are blocked up. Clears me right out. I make this recipe at least twice a month. Thanks for sharing it!
Mark P says
April 21, 2019 at 11:54 pmThis chicken was wonderful. I did take a few liberties. I used bone-in thighs with the skin, and I used half sriracha and half garlic crunch chili sauce (because I can’t get enough of the stuff). Loved it, and so did the hubby!