Bourbon Chicken

This delicious and easy Bourbon Chicken recipe combines tender golden brown chicken breast bites with sweet and savory sticky bourbon sauce with a hint of spice. The simple glaze is whipped up in a bowl and cooked in the same pan the chicken was browned in, making it an easy one-skillet supper and perfect for busy weeknights. 

You may have tried Bourbon chicken at one of your local restaurants or even Applebees. If you have, then you will love this. It is a delicious restaurant entree, but you can easily make it at home. Serve it over rice or, for a low-carb meal, over zucchini noodles.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Vinegar: apple cider vinegar. You can substitute white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar.
• Bourbon or whiskey: either will work, but quality matters
• Ketchup: If you like lots of flavor, consider substituting barbecue sauce for the ketchup.
• Chicken: boneless, skinless, chicken breasts or chicken thighs
• Ginger: freshly grated or ginger paste. Ginger paste is sold in tubes in the refrigerated produce section of most grocery stores. It will keep for weeks stored in the refrigerator.
• Red pepper flakes: can be omitted for sensitive stomachs

How To Make Bourbon Chicken

First, combine the cider vinegar, Bourbon, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set this aside for just a few minutes.

Next, in a large skillet, heat a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces in a single layer with some space between them. Turn the pieces over as they brown. This usually takes several minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. Once browned on both sides, move to a large plate.

Reduce to medium heat and add another tablespoon of oil. At this point, you can change to olive oil. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger, stirring constantly so they do not burn. Cook for a little less than one minute.

Whisk the bourbon/soy mixture and pour it into the skillet. Bring the sauce to a low boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, adding the chicken back to the skillet after about 1-2 minutes. Stir the chicken into the sauce and let it finish simmering. Garnish with green onions and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Serve over rice, Chinese noodles, or spiralized zucchini noodles.

Preparation Tips

• Cut your chicken into small, thin, bite-size pieces so it cooks quickly. Think of what it would look like on the end of a set of chopsticks.
• Mix all your ingredients for your sauce in a bowl as written in the recipe. Do not add the bourbon to the pan on its own. Alcohol vapors are flammable, so play it safe.
• For a lower-carb version of this recipe, reduce brown sugar to 2 tablespoons, use sugar-free ketchup, and serve over zucchini noodles with fresh broccoli.
• You can substitute water or apple juice for the chicken broth if needed.
• My family loves a lot of sauce, so I always double the sauce portion of this recipe.
• The sauce will thicken a little more as it cools.

Store and Reheat

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power. 

To freeze, cool, then spoon it into a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat it in the microwave at reduced power or on the stovetop over low heat.

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Bourbon Chicken

This is a mouthwatering good recipe combining golden brown chicken breast pieces with a sweet and sticky bourbon sauce with a hint of spice.  Serve it over rice, Chinese noodles, or zucchini noodles.

5 from 37 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: main meal chicken

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 381kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

Bourbon Sauce

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ¼-½ cup bourbon or whiskey see notes
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

Chicken

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
• 1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger or ginger paste
• 2 thinly sliced green onions
• 1-2 pinches crushed red pepper

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, combine cider vinegar, bourbon, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch.  Set the bowl aside for just a few minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides in a single layer.  This usually takes several minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces.  Once browned on both sides, move to a plate and cover to keep warm.
• Reduce to medium heat and add more oil if needed.  Add the minced garlic and grated ginger, stirring constantly so it does not burn.  Cook for 1 minute.
• Whisk the bourbon mixture and pour it into the skillet over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a low boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes adding the chicken back to the skillet after 1-2 minutes.  Simmer the sauce and chicken for 2 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
•  Garnish with green onions and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. 

Notes

• Cut your chicken into small, thin, bite-size pieces so it cooks quickly. Think of what it would look like on the end of a set of chopsticks.
• Mix all your ingredients for your sauce in a bowl as written in the recipe. Do not add the bourbon to the pan on its own. Alcohol vapors are flammable, so play it safe.
• For a lower-carb version of this recipe, reduce brown sugar to 2 tablespoons, use sugar-free ketchup, and serve over zucchini noodles with fresh broccoli.
• You can substitute water or apple juice for the chicken broth if needed.
• My family loves a lot of sauce, so I always double the sauce portion of this recipe.
• The sauce will thicken a little more as it cools.

Nutrition

Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 884mg | Potassium: 758mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 116IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

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