Sweet & Spicy Chicken Strips
with broccoli, bacon, cashew salad
This sweet & spicy (don't worry - it's not that spicy) sauce is so good, we're using it for both our chicken strips and our broccoli salad, creating a lot of flavor with very few ingredients.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts, boneless & skinless - 1 1/2 lbs
- Sweet & spicy marinade, homemade - 1/4 cup ((ingredients listed separately))
- Hot sauce - 3 to 5 tsp ((adjust based on spice level))
- Honey - 4 tsp
- Rice vinegar - 2 1/2 Tbsp
- Bragg's / coconut aminos - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Cooking oil - 1/4 cup
- Broccoli - 1 1/4 lbs, chopped
- Cilantro - 2 Tbsp, chopped
- Bacon - 6 slices, baked and chopped
- Sweet & spicy marinade, homemade - 1/4 cup ((ingredients listed separately))
- Cashews - 1/2 cup
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make sweet & spicy marinade / dressing - Whisk together hot sauce, honey, rice vinegar, aminos, and cooking oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper or any of the other ingredients. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Chicken - Slice against the grain into strips (i.e., look for the grain of the meat and slice perpendicular to it), transfer to a baking pan, and season with its portion of the marinade. Tenderize with a fork and let marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to a day. (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
- Broccoli / Cilantro - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 4 days ahead)
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Make
- Heat oven to 400F (204C).
- Nest wire rack into a sheet pan and lay out bacon on rack. Bake in the oven from 15 to 20 minutes until bacon is crispy on the edges. This is a great low-effort way to cook bacon and have all the fat drip off (with little clean up!). Chop into bite-sized pieces when done.
- Bake chicken uncovered for 10 to 16 minutes (it’ll take longer if it’s coming out of the fridge) or until it reaches 165F.
- Place broccoli in a microwave-safe pan. Cover with a damp paper towel and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, until tender and crunchy. Toss broccoli with the broccoli salad’s portion of dressing, cashews, bacon, and cilantro.
- Enjoy chicken strips with remainder of sweet & spicy marinade (there should be a little left!) and broccoli and bacon salad on the side.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
59 reviews
These would make great bowls for lunches. I doubled the sauce and roasted the veggies on a sheet pan while the chicken baked. I kept the hot sauce minimal for the kids and the adults added sriracha at the end.
Good! Easy to keep the components separate for those who don’t want spice or like their food mixed. For others, it tastes best to eat it all together.
Received multiple compliments throughout the meal from the hubby. After reading comments, i doubled the sauce, started marinating the chicken early and baked veggies for last 7 minutes of chicken. I also didn't bake cashews but crushed them uncooked over the meal. End result was one of my favorites!!