Healthy Sweet and Spicy Chicken

You will LOVE this sweet and savory dish chicken that packs some heat! It also makes its way to the table in less than 30 minutes.

Here's how the sauce hits your palate from all angles: It's sweet from fruit preserves (I used apricot, but almost any fruit preserve or jam works), spicy from sriracha sauce, and savory from soy, sesame, rice vinegar, garlic, and onion. These ingredients are easy to find (and pretty much pantry staples), so whipping this up on a whim is totally doable.

About the fruit preserves: I used apricot preserves because I love how the apricot flavor partners with soy and sesame. You could also use preserves or jam made with strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Orange marmalade works really well too. Note, with the darker fruits, the sauce will be darker...but pretty nonetheless. Just try to use seedless preserves.

Serving suggestion: I served the chicken mixture over rice so we (my boys and I) could sop up every drop of that incredible sauce. You could also serve the chicken over Asian noodles, angel hair noodles, or quinoa.

Healthy Sweet and Spicy Chicken

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup apricot preserves or fruit preserves of choice (preferably seedless)
1/2 cup chicken broth or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons hot sauce (such as sriracha), or more or less to taste
1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar (or regular rice vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Rice or noodles for serving
Chopped green onions for serving, optional

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown on all sides, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the preserves, broth, soy sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Add the mixture to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens and reduces.
Spoon the chicken and sauce over rice or noodles and top with green onions (if using).

Serves 4