This Firecracker Chicken is made with extra crispy fried chicken breast or thighs that are tossed in a flavorful Firecracker sauce and baked to perfection. This restaurant-worthy meal tastes even better than takeout!
Firecracker Chicken
I’ll just come right out and say it. This firecracker chicken recipe absolutely tastes like it comes from a restaurant. The chicken is so crispy, (and it stays crispy), and the firecracker sauce is exploding with flavor.
There is some heat from the buffalo sauce which is contrasted by sweetness from the brown sugar, umami from the soy sauce, and tang from the apple cider vinegar. A little bit of melted butter adds a smooth, velvety finish to this sauce and mustard powder acts as a flavor enhancer that you can’t taste outright.
This recipe calls for dipping the chicken in whisked eggs, then cornstarch, and then back into the whisked eggs. This is the best way to create super crispy chicken that stays crispy even during storage.
While the chicken bakes in the oven, the cornstarch coating works it’s way into the sauce and creates a thick and glossy glaze. You won’t believe that this came from your kitchen.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Season cubes of chicken with salt/pepper. Add the chicken to a bowl of whisked eggs and toss to coat. Dredge in cornstarch, then briefly dip the chicken back into the eggs just before frying.
Fry the chicken in 365° oil for 3-4 minutes per side, until brown and crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to cooling racks. Once all of the chicken is fried, transfer it to a large bowl with combined sauce ingredients.
Toss to coat in the sauce and transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove and toss to coat in the sauce again, then bake for 10 more minutes. Garnish with green onions and serve with rice!
Is Firecracker Chicken Spicy
- Firecracker Chicken has a kick of heat from the buffalo sauce, so if you are sensitive to spicy food, you may want to try my General Tso’s Chicken or Peanut Butter Chicken recipe instead.
- This recipe also includes an optional addition of chili powder which makes it spicier, but can be omitted.
Pro Tips
- Make sure the oil is sufficiently heated before adding the chicken, the chicken should start frying immediately once it hits the oil. This ensures that the outer coating will stay on the chicken, making it nice and crisp.
- Peanut Oil can be used for frying as well, it adds a nice flavor that pairs well with this recipe.
- I use Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce for this recipe.
- A pinch of Red Pepper Flakes can be added to the sauce as well for an additional kick.
- This recipe is great with a side of rice. The notes section of the recipe card includes instructions for how I make perfectly cooked rice every time.
- Leftovers make a great pizza topping with some blue cheese or ranch dressing drizzled on top. It’s similar to buffalo chicken pizza, but with more tang. Try it on some Naan Pizza!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- To Freeze:
- Store the chicken and the rice separately, these are my preferred storage containers for each.
- To Reheat:
- The chicken can be reheated from a thawed state in the microwave or in a lightly greased, covered casserole dish at 350° for 15 minutes or so, or until heated through.
- The rice can also be microwaved or reheated in a lightly greased foil packet in the oven for 10 minutes or so.
Tools For This Recipe
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- 3.5 Quart Dutch Oven– This is the one I have, I like to use it for frying chicken and for cooking rice.
- 9 x 13 inch Baking Dish– This is the one pictured in this recipe.
- Oil Thermometer– Having the correct oil temperature is important.
- Deep Fryer– This can also be used.
- Slotted Spoon– Perfect for handling the chicken during frying.
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Firecracker Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
- Salt/Pepper
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 1 cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed
- ¾ cup cornstarch
Sauce
- ¾ cup buffalo sauce
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder, optional
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces and pat completely dry. Season with salt and pepper.
- Whisk the eggs vigorously in a medium bowl, until small air pockets have developed and it’s very uniform in color. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
- Heat 1 cup vegetable oil over medium-high heat to 365 degrees. Just before frying, coat the first batch of chicken with cornstarch, then briefly dip each back into the whisked eggs.
- Fry the chicken in batches, leaving room around each to ensure the edges get crispy. Flip once the bottom of the chicken is light brown and crisp, about 3-4 minutes per side. Make small adjustments to the heat (up or down) throughout cooking as needed. Add a little more oil as needed throughout cooking.
- Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the chicken and place on wire cooling racks so that the bottom stays crispy. Place wax or parchment paper underneath the racks to catch excess grease.
- Once all of the chicken has been fried, add the chicken to the large bowl with the sauce and gently toss to coat. Transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and gently toss to coat the chicken with the sauce. Bake for 10 more minutes.
- Remove and garnish with green onions. Serve over white rice.
Notes
- Make sure the oil is sufficiently heated before adding the chicken, the chicken should start frying immediately once it hits the oil. This ensures that the outer coating will stay on the chicken, making it nice and crispy.
- Peanut Oil can be used for frying as well, it adds a nice flavor that pairs well with this recipe.
- I use Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce for this recipe.
- A pinch of Red Pepper Flakes can be added to the sauce as well for an additional kick.
- This recipe is great with a side of rice. The notes section of the recipe card includes instructions for how I make perfectly cooked rice every time.
- Leftovers make a great pizza topping with some blue cheese or ranch dressing drizzled on top. It’s similar to buffalo chicken pizza, but with more tang. Try it on some Naan Pizza!
Making Perfectly Cooked Rice: I love serving this with 3 cups of white long grain rice. Here is how I make it:
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. (I add 2 chicken bouillon cubes to the water for enhanced flavor.)
- Add 1 cup of rinsed white long grain rice and let the liquid come back up to a boil.
- Cover tightly and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let it stand in the pot for 10 minutes with the lid on, any rice stuck to the bottom will release.
- This yields 3 cups of flavorful, perfectly cooked rice. I use a Dutch oven for this which conducts heat well.
- Note that other varieties of rice may require different liquid measurements and/or cooking times.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- To Freeze:
- Store the chicken and the rice separately, these are my preferred storage containers for each.
- To Reheat:
- The chicken can be reheated from a thawed state in the microwave or in a lightly greased, covered casserole dish at 350° for 20 minutes or so, or until heated through.
- The rice can also be microwaved or reheated in a lightly greased foil packet in the oven for 10 minutes or so.
- The nutritional facts include 3 whole whisked eggs, 3/4 cup cornstarch, and assume a whole cup of vegetable oil is used. It is likely that there is much less of each that is actually consumed.
Loved the sauce hated frying the chicken. Next time I make this I’m taking a shortcut and buying popcorn chicken in the freezer section and coating that in the sauce!
Hi Kaley! That’s a great shortcut idea! Just note that the sauce may not be quite as thick as the cornstarch coating on the chicken is what helps it to really thicken up during baking.
Good point! I’ll add a little cornstarch to the sauce to help it thicken 🙂
Boom! That’s perfect!
Second time I’ve made this and it’s my husbands favorite he says no more take aways .
So simple and so so tasty
Thankyou once again
Cracking meal
Yayyy! That makes me so happy to hear Tracey, sounds like you’re doing a great job cooking this one! Thanks so much for the great comments!😍
This one is a little more work but sooooo worth it! I’ve made this several times already because my teenage son keeps requesting it. The recipe is perfect as is and is so much better than take out. Thanks for the delicious recipe! 💙
You’re very welcome Emily! It makes me so happy to hear your teenage son keeps requesting it! There’s nothing better than that. Thanks so much for the great comments and for taking the time to leave a review!😍
Made this tonight and it was really good! My husband said the only thing it was missing was a blur cheese drizzle … I’ll turn the leftovers into a Buffalo chicken pizza tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy you guys enjoyed this Joanne! Using the leftovers for buffalo chicken pizza is such a great idea! Enjoy! Thanks so much for the great review ❤️
Would the cook times need adjusted if you use chicken tenders instead of thighs?
Hi Mia! If the chicken is thinner, then it will require slightly less cooking time, not a significant amount though since the thighs are cut into 2-inch pieces anyway! 🙂
So Good!!! Will definitely make again. My husband was thinking of making chicken wings with this recipe for Super Bowl Sunday. I think they might be great!
Yummm! That sounds like a great idea Robyn!😋 I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed this one. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I made this tonight and it was awesome! The method for cooking the chicken made it perfectly crispy! It had lots of great flavor, I added broccoli to the 9×13 before putting it into the oven. This is the third recipe I’ve tried of yours and all of them have earned compliments from my picky husband!
Sounds like you’re doing a great job with the recipes! I’m so happy your picky husband is enjoying them. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!❤️
Made this tonight and boy this was over the top ‼️THE BEST EVER. I was really worried with the amount of Frank’s Red Hot but I trusted the process and it couldn’t have tasted any better.
Yayyy! I’m so glad you trusted the process and enjoyed it so much! Thanks so much for the great comments and for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
This Firecracker Chicken is amazing! I have fried chicken in cornstarch before but I never dipped the chicken in egg as well as you detailed in this recipe. It made a HUGE difference in the consistency of the fried chicken. The sauce was hands-down phenomenal with all the different flavors complimenting each other creating a bowl full of deliciousness. The rice cooled down the dish nicely so that my whole family thoroughly enjoyed it. I will be making this dish on a regular basis for sure. Thank you so much!!!
Yayyyy! That’s what I love to hear Sabrina! Thanks so much for the great comments and review! This is one of my favorite recipes of the year so far. My husband is obsessed. Thanks again!❤️
This firecracker chicken recipe is sooo good, my husband already wants me to make it for him again tonight, that never happens! Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Hey Rebecca, I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!! My husband absolutely loves this one too! 🙂
Made this tonight for my husband and boy it went down a treat .
He totally loved it .
I made it with homemade fried rice with roasted cashew nuts .
With the chicken on top of the rice it was a dreamy meal .
Thankyou so much for spicing up our Friday night lol
I love that you added roasted cashew nuts, yummmm😋! Happy to hear it spiced up your Friday night 😂. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!