Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken: A Fantastic Home Version You’ll Love!
I absolutely love this chicken dish at Panda Express! It’s sweet, tangy, slightly spicy and darn delicious. Here’s an easy homemade version that tastes amazingly good! Each serving has 268 calories and 7 grams of fat. I'm excited for you to make it!
Why You’ll Love Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken (Copy-Cat)
Imagine this: You crave that sweet and spicy kick of Panda Express' Sweet Fire Chicken, but you're trying to be good to yourself. This recipe is your total game-changer! It's like having your favorite takeout, but without all the guilt. You get that same addictive flavor, but with a healthier twist. Plus, making it at home means you can control exactly what goes into it, so you know it's good for you. It's like a little cheat day without the cheat!Ingredients for Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken (Copy-Cat)
This recipe aims to recreate the popular Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken dish with a focus on healthier options. Here's a breakdown of the ingredients:Chicken and Breading:- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks: Provides the main protein source.
- 1 large egg: Acts as a binder for the breading.
- ½ cup all-purpose flour: Helps create a crispy coating for the chicken.
- ¼ cup cornstarch: Provides a lighter and crispier coating than flour alone.
- A little salt and pepper: Enhances the flavor of the chicken.
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped: Adds color, sweetness, and crunch to the dish.
- 1 cup pineapple chunks (from a 20 oz can, in 100% pineapple juice): Provides sweetness and tropical flavor. The reserved pineapple juice is used in the sauce.
- 2-3 tablespoons green onions, thinly sliced: Adds freshness and a mild onion flavor.
- ½ cup Panda Express Sweet Chili Sauce: Provides the base for the signature sweet and spicy flavor.
- ¼ cup pineapple juice (reserved from the can above): Adds natural sweetness and helps to balance the flavors.
How to Make Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken (Copy-Cat)
Preparing the Chicken- Prepare the breading: In a shallow bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. In another shallow bowl, whisk together the egg and egg white.
- Coat the chicken: Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, then in the flour mixture, ensuring it's evenly coated. Set aside on a plate.
- Preheat the pan: Coat a large nonstick pan with cooking spray and heat 1½ tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Cook the chicken: Add the coated chicken pieces to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Cook the vegetables: In the same pan, heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil and cook the red bell pepper and pineapple chunks for about 4 minutes, or until tender.
- Combine ingredients: Add the cooked chicken back to the pan along with the sweet chili sauce. Stir to coat the chicken evenly.
- Serve: Serve the chicken and vegetable mixture over your desired base, such as steamed cabbage, cauliflower rice, or brown rice.
- For a crispier coating, you can double-dip the chicken in the egg and flour mixture.
- To add more vegetables, consider adding broccoli or snow peas to the dish.
- Adjust the amount of sweet chili sauce to your desired level of spiciness.
Helpful Tips About this Recipe
Makes 6 servings. Each serving, about ¾ cup including sauce.
Food Facts
Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken is made of crispy, white-meat chicken, red bell peppers, onions, and pineapples in a sweet chili sauce. Each serving has 380 calories 16g fat, 3g sat. fat, 13g prot, 47g carbs, 1g fiber, 320mg sod, 27g sugar
Shopping Tips
You can find Panda Express Sweet Chili Sauce in most supermarkets in the Asian or international section or at one of the Panda Express locations. If you can’t find it, use a Thai sweet chili sauce. There are many brands available, including Trader Joe’s.
Serving Tips
Serve with my recipe: PANDA’S FRIED RICE WITH CAULIFLOWER RICE (COPY-CAT) Or, I also like to serve this dish over steamed cabbage and red bell peppers.
Quick recipe:
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 6-Blue
WW SmartPoints 9-Green
WW Points Plus 7
Food Facts
Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken is made of crispy, white-meat chicken, red bell peppers, onions, and pineapples in a sweet chili sauce. Each serving has 380 calories 16g fat, 3g sat. fat, 13g prot, 47g carbs, 1g fiber, 320mg sod, 27g sugar
Shopping Tips
You can find Panda Express Sweet Chili Sauce in most supermarkets in the Asian or international section or at one of the Panda Express locations. If you can’t find it, use a Thai sweet chili sauce. There are many brands available, including Trader Joe’s.
Serving Tips
Serve with my recipe: PANDA’S FRIED RICE WITH CAULIFLOWER RICE (COPY-CAT) Or, I also like to serve this dish over steamed cabbage and red bell peppers.
Quick recipe:
- 1 bag cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup red bell peppers, chopped
- Place shredded cabbage and bell peppers in a bowl. Steam in microwave for 2-3 minutes.
- Add to a large, nonstick pan. Add 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and 1 tablespoon chili sauce. Stir-fry a few minutes.
- Sprinkle in 1-2 tablespoons diced green onions.
WW Freestyle SmartPoints 6-Blue
WW SmartPoints 9-Green
WW Points Plus 7
| SKINNY FACTS: for ¾ cup serving including sauce 268 calories, 7g fat, 2g sat. fat, 68mg chol, 21g prot, 32g carbs, 1g fiber, 21g sugar |
| FACTS: for Freestyle SmartPoints 132 calories, 1g sat. fat, 1g protein, 13g sugar |
Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken: A Fantastic Home Version You'll Love!
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- A little salt and pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 1 pound chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 1½ cups pineapple chunks (from a 20 oz can, in 100% pineapple juice) drain all juice except reserve ¼ cup, see shopping tips
- ¼ cup pineapple juice (reserved from the can above)
- ½ cup Panda Express Sweet Chili Sauce or Thai sweet chili sauce, see shopping tips
- 2-3 tablespoons green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small shallow bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, and a little salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, beat together the egg and egg white.
- Working in batches, dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture, dip into eggs, then dredge in flour again, pressing to coat. Place on a plate until all the chicken is dipped and coated.
- Coat a large nonstick pan with cooking spray. Heat 1½ tablespoons olive oil in the pan. Add chicken to the pan and cook until evenly cooked, golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes on each side. If your pan isn’t large enough, cook chicken in 2 batches. Once cooked, remove to a clean plate. Wipe pan clean.
- To the cleaned pan, heat ½ tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add red bell pepper, pineapple chunks, ¼ cup reserved pineapple juice, and cook stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes. Mix in cooked chicken and sweet chili sauce until well combined and hot, about 1-2 minutes. Garnish with green onions.
- Serving suggestions: Serve over steamed cabbage, cauliflower rice, or brown rice. Top with ¾ cup Sweet Fire Chicken with Pineapple and sauce.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.75cupCalories: 268kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 21gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 68mgFiber: 1gSugar: 21gBlue Smart Points: 6Green Smart Points: 9Plus Points: 7
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
Is there anyway to save these recipes to like a favorite file or some other way of doing it.
Hey, Just wanted to say that I tried this recipe today and it turned out really great. The kids loved it. I just wanted to find out how important is the corn starch in the recipe. I say this because I tried this recipe once before but didnt have corn starch and I didnt want to run to the store either so I made it without the corn starch. It turned out to be very good as far as the taste goes but the texture didnt come out so good. I’m guessing the main purpose of the corn starch in this recipe is to get the proper texture. Correct me if Im wrong.
Thank you
Amy
Maryland
Sorry Rose. I don’t have any way for you to save the recipes in a file. What some people do is print out each recipe and create a binder to save all the recipes.
All the best,
Nancy
Amy, coating the chicken in cornstarch before stir frying, gives you a much better texture and a crispy coating. I highly recommend doing this step. You saw so yourself. I’m thrilled you and your kids loved this recipe!
Thanks for sharing.
My best,
Nancy
I made this and my whole family loved it! I want to try it next using shrimp instead of the chicken. Thank you for a great recipe.
Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback Terri. I’m so glad the whole family loves this recipe. I bet shrimp will taste fantastic!
My best wishes,
Nancy
my kids love this at panda express, so this is is great. (didn’t know they sold the sauce at the grocery store) not only healthier, but less expensive. going to make it w/ shrimp, as Terri mentioned.
I hope your family thoroughly enjoys it Missy!
My best,
Nancy
Made this for the first time tonight! So,no good? Thanks for the recipe. I too will try the shrimp.
I’m so glad Elaine. Thank you!
All the best,
Nancy
I just made this recipe, and it was good but seemed to be lacking something. I sprinkled a little ginger on the meat mixture and added just a little more of the chili sauce. It was just what I felt the recipe needed. Thank you so much for digging out the makings of this recipe. I will definitely make it again.
One of the best parts of cooking, you can adjust most recipes to your taste. Glad you added to your taste and ended up enjoying this recipe. Thanks for sharing Wanda.
All the best,
Nancy
Looking forward to making this recipe – thanks for posting it. How much rice vinegar do you add to the shredded cabbage?
Dee, I used 1 tablespoon rice vinegar with the shredded cabbage.
I hope you thoroughly enjoy this dish!
My best,
Nancy