This flavorful and crispy Bang Bang Chicken recipe is coated with a creamy sweet-spicy sauce made with sriracha and sweet chili sauce. Bang Bang Chicken is easy to make and ideal for dinner when served with rice or as an appetizer.
This recipe is simple to make and brings restaurant-style flavor right into your kitchen and onto your table.
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Homemade Bang Bang Chicken
Now you can make this restaurant-style chicken at home with just a few ingredients.
Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, chicken pieces are tossed in a creamy, sweet-and-spicy sauce.
With just a few basic kitchen ingredients and quick frying on your stovetop, you can have a dinner, or appetizer, that looks and tastes like something you would enjoy at your favorite restaurant.
Buttermilk keeps the chicken tender and juicy and the seasoned coating fries up golden and crunchy.
Warm chicken pieces get tossed in a flavorful and creamy homemade Bang Bang Sauce with just the right amount of heat from sriracha.
Made with sriracha and a creamy base, this DIY sauce transforms simple fried chicken into something truly special.
Every bite is sweet, savory, and slightly spicy all at the same time.
This recipe works beautifully as an appetizer, a main dish, or even as a filling for tacos or in bowls with rice and vegetables for an easy weeknight dinner.
Best of all, making my homemade Bang Bang sauce for this recipe makes it easy to customize the flavorfor your personal taste preferences. Just adjust the sriracha for your preferred spice level. You can make the sauce more or less spicier with the amount of sriracha you add or more or less sweeter with the amount of honey you add.
If you love bold flavor with a little kick and tender bites of chicken then this Bang Bang Chicken recipe is going to become a new favorite family dinner.
I have to admit that it’s already my new favorite recipe!
This spicy fried chicken is great for a quick weeknight dinner, game day gatherings, or anytime you’re craving something crispy and saucy.
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How to make Restaurant-style Bang Bang Chicken
This is a quick overview of how to make this sweet and spicy chicken recipe. Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.
- Step 1: Combine the buttermilk, sriracha and chicken pieces in a bowl and let stand for 20 minutes.
- Step 2: In another bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, kosher salt and smoked paprika.
- Step 3: Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture to coat.
- Step 4: Fry the chicken until golden and cooked through. Prepare the sauce and toss.
Hint:You can make my homemade Bang Bang sauce recipe, and control the heat and sweetness, or use store-bought sauce.
For the best results, toss the chicken with Bang Bang Sauce just before serving or serve it as a dipping sauce.
Expert recipe tips
- For the crispiest Bang Bang Chicken, be sure your oil is hot before adding the chicken. You can check the oil temp with a food thermometer. The best temperature for frying is 350°F.
- Fry the chicken in batches and don’t crowd the skillet so the oil temperature stays consistent.
- Let any excess buttermilk drip off the chicken before dredging it in the flour mixture. This helps the coating to stick evenly without clumping.
- Using both flour and cornstarch creates a light, crispy texture so that the chicken will hold up well when it is tossed in the sauce.
- For the best results, toss the chicken with Bang Bang Sauce just before serving or serve it as a dipping sauce.
- If you love extra sauce, make a double batch for even more sauce for dipping.
- I tested air frying the chicken and I do not recommend air frying. I was not happy with the results.
- Cut the chicken into even bite-sized pieces to guarantee even cooking and crispiness in every bite.
Substitutions
- Buttermilk - If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make your own by combining 1 cup of regular milk with one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for a few minutes to thicken before using.
- Buttermilk – You can also substitute plain Greek yogurt for the buttermilk. You may want to thin it out with a tablespoonful of milk.
- Cornstarch – You can replace cornstarch with potato starch. Potato starch will give you a similar crispy coating.
- Smoked Paprika – Regular paprika or chili powder can replace smoked paprika.
- Chicken – If you prefer dark meat chicken, feel free to replace chicken breasts with chicken thighs.
- Bang Bang Sauce – You can use store-bought sauce, however, when you make my homemade sauce you can control the levels of heat and sweetness.
Variations
- Chicken Thighs - You can make this recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat.
- Spicier - If you love a recipe with lots of heat, add extra sriracha and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce.
- Sweeter - For a sweeter sauce, add extra honey.
- Tacos – Use the chicken pieces for a tasty taco filling and top with your favorite taco toppings.
- Sliders – This chicken recipe can be the filling for sliders too. Add lettuce and tomatoes and enjoy!
- Bang Bang Chicken Bowl – I love making bowl recipes and topping hot white rice or brown rice with pieces of Bang Bang chicken. Add sliced radishes and shredded lettuce or red cabbage and sprinkle with sliced green onions and enjoy all the textures and flavors in every forkful!
- Bang Bang Shrimp - Love seafood? You can make this recipe with shrimp instead of chicken!
Storage
- Refrigerator – You can store any leftover Bang Bang Chicken in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
- To stay crispy - For best results, keep the chicken and sauce separate so the chicken doesn’t get soggy.
- To reheat – To reheat leftover chicken, preheat your oven to 350°F oven and cook on a baking sheet with low sides until the chicken is heated through and crispy again. I do not recommend reheating in the microwave because microwaving may soften the coating. Toss with fresh Bang Bang Sauce just before serving.
- See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Ingredients
Crispy Bang Bang Chicken ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - Boneless skinless chicken breasts cook quickly and stay tender when marinated in buttermilk.
- Buttermilk - Buttermilk tenderizes the chicken and also adds a hint of tangy flavor. It also makes the seasoned coating adhere to the chicken.
- All-Purpose Flour - All-purpose flour forms the base of the crispy coating. The flour, combined with cornstarch and spices, creates a crunchy coating on the chicken that holds up well when tossed in sauce.
- Cornstarch - Cornstarch is the secret ingredient for extra crispy chicken. Cornstarch lightens the flour mixture and gives the chicken that restaurant-style crunch that we all love.
- Kosher Salt - Kosher salt makes all the flavors of the recipe pop.
- Smoked Paprika - Smoked paprika adds a subtle smokiness and warmth to the breading mixture. It complements beautifully with the creaminess and flavor Bang Bang Sauce.
- Oil for Frying - A neutral oil such as vegetable oil or canola oil works best for frying. Both of these oils have a high smoke point.
- Bang Bang Sauce – My homemade Bang Bang sauce recipe creates the timeless flavor coating the chicken. This sauce is creamy, sweet, and spicy, and coats the crispy chicken in an irresistible flavor.
- Scallions– Scallions add a pop of color and a slight onion flavor
Chicken Appetizer Recipes
Easy Chicken Dinners
Bang Bang Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon sriracha
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- oil for frying , about 1 cup
- 1 cup homemade Bang Bang Sauce
- 2 scallions , sliced
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Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk and sriracha sauce.
- Add the chicken pieces to the buttermilk mixture and let stand for 20 minutes. The buttermilk tenderizes the chicken.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, kosher salt and smoked paprika, whisking until thoroughly blended.
- In a skillet with deep sides, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- Toss the chicken pieces, one by one, in the flour mixture until completely coated, pressing to adhere the coating, if necessary.
- Fry the chicken, in batches, until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes, turning occasionally.
- Transfer the chicken onto paper towels to drain any excess oil.
- Just before serving, toss the chicken pieces with some of the sauce. Serve the remaining sauce on the side as a dipping sauce.
- Garnish with sliced scallions.
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