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Spicy Basil Chicken Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Spicy Basil Chicken Recipe - tender chunks of chicken sautéed in a well spiced sauce with plenty of fresh garlic, basil and minced shallots.

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Delicious Spicy Basil Chicken Recipe

Spicy Basil Chicken Recipe - tender chunks of chicken sautéed in a well spiced sauce with plenty of fresh garlic, basil and minced shallots. This is a terrific chicken dish you'll want to put on repeat! #savingroomfordessert #chicken #spicybasilchicken #thaibasilchicken #basilchicken #asianchicken #easydinner

Add a little zip to your next family dinner!

This Spicy Basil Chicken recipe is a terrific dish you’ll want to put on repeat! With tender chunks of chicken sautéed in a lightly sweet and spicy sauce with plenty of fresh garlic, basil and minced shallots. Serve with a steaming bowl of rice for a filling and tasty meal.

Sometimes we all need a little extra spice in our life. I always enjoy a little change from the same-old, same-old everything tastes the same – kind of meal. This is the dish that can bring excitement back into your relationship – with chicken of course 🙂
Spicy Basil Chicken with Jasmine rice and sliced green onions.

Quick, easy and on the table in about 30 minutes!

Spicy + basil + chicken on the table in about 30 minutes? Oh yes! This is an easy, uncomplicated recipe with most of the time spent prepping and chopping the shallots, garlic, basil leaves and chicken breasts. It cooks up in about 15 minutes so you better start the rice first!
A bowl of Spicy Basil Chicken with Jasmine rice and sliced green onions with chop sticks.

Okay don’t judge – I put a chicken and rice dish in an Asian noodle bowl.

I just love these little bowls with the narrow bottom that fits firmly in the palm of my hand. It’s just so easy to raise it up to my face and scoop the deliciousness right into my mouth, yum. I want to use them all the time – even for Cheerios! Check them out at Crate and Barrel 🙂

Spicy Basil Chicken with sliced green onions.

Finally, don’t forget to put this yummy, healthy, low calorie Spicy Basil Chicken dish on your dinner line-up. We love it served with Jasmine rice 🙂  It may just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Thanks for PINNING!

A bowl of spicy basil chicken garnished with sliced green onions

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Spicy Basil Chicken

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Author: Tricia
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5 from 6 votes
Tender chunks of chicken sautéed in a well spiced sauce with plenty of fresh garlic, basil and minced shallots.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • ½ cup minced shallots
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar optional
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup sliced basil leaves plus more for garnish
  • Sliced green onions for garnish
  • Jasmine rice for serving

Instructions

  • In a small bowl combine the fish sauce, sugar, honey soy sauce, chili sauce, water, cornstarch and salt.  Whisk until blended, set aside.
  • Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Sauté the shallots and garlic for about 1 minute or until fragrant.  Add the chicken and cook about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until done.
  • Add the fish sauce mixture to the pan and cook until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute.  Stir to coat the chicken and remove from the heat.  Add the basil leaves and stir to combine. Serve with rice and garnish with sliced green onions.

Recipe Notes

  • Six chicken thighs are a great substitute for the 3 chicken breasts.
  • Chili Garlic Sauce can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition

Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 1308mg | Potassium: 482mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 186IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg

Here are a few more of our favorite Asian inspired recipes you might also enjoy:

A bowl of Hot & Sour Soup with cilantro

Fresh and delicious, this Easy Hot & Sour Soup Recipe is loaded with tofu, mushrooms and bites of pork tenderloin simmered in a rich, full flavored broth. Homemade Hot & Sour Soup is so much better than take-out and easy too!

Teriyaki Salmon with green onions and black sesame seeds served on rice with lime and bok choy

Teriyaki Salmon Rice Bowls with roasted Bok Choy ~ a super easy, quick and delicious dinner with terrific (almost intense) flavor from the simple homemade teriyaki sauce.  Once you try this recipe, I bet you never buy pre-made teriyaki sauce again!

Sautéed vegetables with cashews served in a bowl with rice and chop sticks

Easy Stir Fry Vegetables is the kind of dish you’ll love having in your back pocket for a quick meatless-Monday meal, any day of the week! Click HERE to get the recipe for Stir Fry Vegetables.

Here’s a link to the chili garlic sauce used in this recipe.

If you decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my affiliate link, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog. Thanks for supporting SRFD!  

Originally posted July 2013, updated August 2018

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38 Comments

  1. Jennifer L Keane

    5 stars
    This a delicious recipe! Easy. I used Thai basil. Also I added a bag of frozen Asian vegetables, prepared, at the end .

    Reply

  2. Stephanie

    Hey hi! We made this tonight and it was just fantastic. Super flavorful and just perfect seasoning with the garlic sauce. YUM!

    Reply

  4. Liza kazi

    Spicy basil chicken recipe chicken breast measurement should be in weight not 3 chicken breast bcos some breast are big some are small. If you please specify the weight will be helpful. Thank you

    Reply

    • Tricia Buice

      I agree Liza – chicken breasts come in all sizes. But when cooking, the exact amount of chicken doesn’t matter that much. If you’re using really small breasts, just use 4 as I think the sauce can handle it. When baking it is much more important to know exactly how much you need of each ingredient. In this recipe it won’t affect the taste to have more or less chicken. Hope you enjoy and thanks for the comment.

      Reply

  7. Pam

    I think the little bowl is great for your spicy chicken, Tricia! It’s the perfect size. And the combination of recipe ingredients sounds great, a good meal for anyone! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  18. Wendy

    I truly have been looking for a way to spice up my relationship…with chicken! 🙂 We eat chicken several times a week and, though I have recipes we enjoy, life and cooking needs a little variety and spicing up now and then. With my 20 year old Siracha addict home for the summer, I find myself cooking on the spicier side. This looks like a dinner we can all enjoy! Thanks!<br />p.s. Thank you so

    Reply

  19. Monica

    Tricia – this looks so moist and scrumptious! I stir-fry all the time but it's only recently that I've started following recipes and trying to make tastier sauces. Your dish reminds me of this basil chicken stir-fry recipe from Martha that I made about a week ago. Only problem was it became more of a peppers & onions stir-fry because unlike you and your gorgeous basil plants, I can

    Reply

  20. Tanna at The Brick Street Bungalow

    LOL! I'm ready to run to the beach with you, Tricia! LOL! Sounds like great fun. I love basil in anything; and, the spices you combined with this make it sound divine. Thanks, Tricia. We'll keep daydreaming of sipping drinks and enjoying the sand and sea. 😉 blessings ~ tanna

    Reply

  21. Abbe@This is How I Cook

    Tricia, this is my kind of recipe with all my favorite ingredients. I think when it is so hot our minds tend to wander that we easily can go to the beach. Don't I wish? Well, at least in our heads! And spice-I'll take any kind I can get!

    Reply

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