Quick Look at this Bang Bang Chicken Bowl with Rice
- Ready In: 30 minutes!
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: juicy and tender chicken, fresh avocado cucumber salad, an easy slaw, and a 3-ingredient bang bang sauce!
- Protein: 32g/serving
- Dietary Info: dairy-free and gluten-free friendly
- Cooking Methods: stove top or air fryer
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Why You’ll Crave This Recipe
- So much flavor → thank you bang bang sauce!
- Use the cooking option that works for you – stove top or air fryer.
- Chicken cooked in pieces for less than 10 minutes cook time!
- Easily meal prep the various pieces for a quicker dinner!
- Versatile for kids or adults to customize and build their own bowls.
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Chicken Breasts – cut into pieces for faster cooking, but feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
- Bang Bang Sauce – the star of the show that is made with only 3 ingredients. Adjust their amounts to your desired flavor.
- Avocado Salad + Slaw – these are so fresh and delicious, but if you don’t have the time simply cut up some avocado and cucumber instead.
- Soy Sauce – use tamari to make this dish gluten-free.
How To Make Bang Bang Chicken Bowls
Step 1 – Mix up the slaw and avocado salad in separate bowls.
Step 2 – Mix together the bang bang sauce in a small bowl.
Meal Prep Tip
Make the sauce and slaw in advance and store in the fridge until ready to use. The avocado cucumber salad can also be prepped ahead of time, but wait to add the diced avocado until right before serving (it will turn brown).
Step 3 – Cook the chicken pieces in a skillet with a splash of soy sauce.
Step 4 – Build the bowls and add a drizzle of bang bang sauce on top!
Bang Bang Chicken Bowls – Air Fryer
What we learned when testing this recipe in the air fryer:
- Begin by tossing the cut-up chicken pieces in soy sauce. Let them sit while you prep the salad, slaw, and sauce.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F for 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to the air fryer basket, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5-7 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Build the bowls over rice with the salad, slaw and sauce on top!
A Simplified Bowl Variation
- If you don’t have the time or ingredients to make the avocado salad and slaw, feel free to skip them and add diced avocado and cucumber instead.
- The sauce and chicken can still be prepared as instructed but this keeps the rest of the bowl simplified. Still delicious!!
Easy Bang Bang Chicken Bowl FAQs
It is the American spin on a popular Chinese dish. In many recipes, the chicken often has breading and then is deep fried, but we’ve lightened our version by pan frying the chicken.
In the traditional Chinese cooking method, the cooked chicken was literally “banged” with a wooden club to tenderize it, in order to allow for even more flavor to seep into the meat. While we don’t include this step in our method, we do use the amazing bang bang sauce.
Every bang bang chicken recipe has varying spice levels, but ours is on the mild side. Feel free to experiment with the amount of chili sauces to find the perfect amount of heat for you.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Leftovers will last longer if you store the sauce separately from the chicken and the fresh ingredients separate from both of those.
Other Bang Bang Recipes You Might Like
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Ingredients
Avocado Cucumber Salad:
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 cup English cucumber, diced
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, more, if desired
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- pinch kosher salt
Bang Bang Sauce:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon thai sweet chili sauce, more if desired
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, sub sriracha
Quick Slaw:
- ½ cup green cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup purple cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup matchstick carrots
- ¼ cup green onions, chopped
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
Chicken & Bowl Ingredients:
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (2 large breasts or 4 small)
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, sub avocado oil (if cooking on stove top, not needed for air fryer)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce, sub tamari for gluten-free
- 4 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Make Avocado Salad: In a mixing bowl, add diced avocado, 1 cup English cucumber, diced red onion, 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, 1 tablespoon lime juice, and a pinch kosher salt. Toss to combine and set aside.
- Make Sauce: In a separate small bowl, add ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon thai sweet chili sauce, and 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce. Mix to combine and taste. Adjust any flavors as desired and set aside.
- Make Slaw: In a separate large bowl, add ½ cup green cabbage, ½ cup purple cabbage, ½ cup matchstick carrots, ¼ cup green onions, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger paste, 1 teaspoon lime juice, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Toss to combine and set aside.
- Cook Chicken: Season the cut-up chicken pieces with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Bring a large skillet to a medium-high heat and add a drizzle of 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil. Once hot (the pan will sizzle when flicked with water), add the chicken pieces. Move around and cook for 5-6 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 165℉. Add 3 tablespoons soy sauce to the pan and toss to coat for 1-2 minutes.
- Build Bowls: Divide 4 cups cooked rice cooked chicken, avocado salad, and the slaw between individual bowls. Serve with plenty of bang bang sauce drizzled on top!
Notes
- Gluten Free: simply swap out the soy sauce for tamari when cooking the chicken.
- Air Fryer Option: Let the chicken pieces sit in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce while prepping the salad, sauce, and slaw. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F for 3-4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to the air fryer basket, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5-7 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Slaw: feel free to some store-bought coleslaw mix instead of shredding your own cabbage (isn’t as colorful, but it is easy).
- Simplified Option: highly recommend making this recipe card as-is, but you could also keep the bowl super simple with the cooked rice, chicken, bang bang sauce, and then just add some diced avocado and cucumber.
- Storage: leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Store separately from the bang bang sauce to make reheating easier.
Bridget says
Love the flavors of this dish!
Erin Jensen says
yay!! glad to hear it, Bridget!