These Sticky Chicken Rice Bowls are about to become your new most-requested weeknight dinner! Between the juicy air fryer chicken, the sweet and savory sticky sauce, and the spicy mayo drizzle on top, these bowls seriously deliver on every level.
A Quick Look: Sticky Chicken Rice Bowls
- ✅ Recipe Name: Sticky Chicken Rice Bowls
- 🕒 Ready In: About 45 minutes
- 👪 Serves: 5
- 🍽 Calories: 858 per bowl
- 📋 Protein: 44g per bowl
- 🥬 Main Ingredients: Chicken breasts, rice, broccoli, soy sauce, honey, sriracha, spicy mayo
- 📖 Dietary Info: Dairy-free, nut-free
- 🥣 Best For: Weeknight dinner, meal prep, family meals
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: That glossy sticky sauce + spicy mayo drizzle makes this chicken rice bowl absolutely irresistible!
Easy Sticky Chicken Rice Bowls
When it comes to preparing dinner — especially on weeknights — easy recipes always win. This chicken rice bowl recipe is just that! It's prepared in an air fryer, making it extra easy (not to mention delicious!).
These bowls are made with a base of rice, broccoli, and chicken. They're topped with a homemade honey sticky sauce, followed by a three-ingredient spicy mayo. The double sauce situation makes them extra good, trust me! If you don't want to make your own spicy mayo, you can use a store-bought version, that's totally fine.
When all is said and done, the recipe yields 5 delicious protein-rich servings. It's perfect for feeding the family or using as the week's meal prep! And rf you love this kind of bowl situation, you'll also want to check out my Sticky Salmon Rice Bowls and Ground Chicken Teriyaki Bowls, too!
Table of contents
Why You'll Love These Rice Bowls with Chicken
- That sticky sauce is everything. Sweet, savory, garlicky, and perfectly glossy, it coats every bite and you'll want to put it on everything!
- Air fryer chicken in 12 minutes. Juicy, perfectly seasoned bite-sized pieces with almost zero effort.
- High-protein and super filling. Each bowl delivers 44g of protein! This is a meal that actually keeps you full.
- Built for meal prep. All components store well separately, making this a weekday lunch hero.
- Totally customizable. Swap the protein, load up on extra veggies, turn down the heat, you name it! These bowls work for everyone at the table.
Ingredients Needed
This sticky chicken rice bowl recipe consists of a few different sets of ingredients. We'll start with those for the bowl base, followed by the sticky sauce and then the spicy mayo. You can use any vegetables you want!
Bowl Base
- Rice: White rice, brown rice, or long grain would be perfect here, or feel free to sub in quinoa!
- Broccoli: Then, include some veggie goodness with 2 small heads of chopped broccoli.
- Chicken: For the chicken, you'll need 3 large chicken breasts. If you prefer, you can use chicken thighs!
- Olive oil: Olive oil will be used to help the seasonings stick to the chicken.
- Seasonings: To add flavor, we'll use the following seasonings: salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, and oregano.
Sticky Sauce
- Soy sauce: To use as the base of the sticky sauce!
- Honey: For a dash of sweet flavor, and that sticky consistency.
- Rice vinegar: Rice vinegar is a must in sticky sauce, to balance out all the flavors!
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best if you have it!
- Sriracha: Heat things up a bit by adding 2 tablespoon of sriracha, but adjust that to your personal taste.
- Sesame oil: Sesame oil adds a lovely nutty flavor!
- Ground ginger: Adds a fresh zing of flavor.
- Arrowroot powder: Finish off the sticky sauce by mixing 2 teaspoon of arrowroot powder with 2 tablespoon of water. This is going to create a slurry that will thicken up the sauce. For an arrowroot powder substitute, you can use cornstarch.
Spicy Mayo
- Mayo: To create the spicy mayo, we'll begin with ½ cup of... you guessed it... mayo!
- Sriracha: Then, add spicy flavor with 1 tablespoon of sriracha.
- Water: 2-3 tablespoon of water will help the spicy mayo reach the perfect consistency.
Topping
- Sesame seeds: Finish off the chicken rice bowls by adding sesame seeds on top!
- Avocado: Add some creamy avocado on top for some healthy fat!
Substitutions & Variations
- Swap the protein. Tofu, shrimp, or ground chicken all work beautifully with this sticky sauce.
- Go lower carb. Use cauliflower rice instead of regular rice for a lighter base.
- Add more veggies. Snap peas, red onion, shredded purple cabbage, matchstick carrots, cucumber, scallions, or mushrooms are all delicious here.
- Adjust the heat. Reduce the sriracha in both the sauce and the mayo for a milder, more family-friendly version.
- Make it gluten-free. Swap soy sauce for coconut aminos and you're good to go.
How to Make Sticky Chicken and Rice Bowls
Step 1: Prep. Cook rice according to the package directions, and steam the broccoli in the microwave. While those are cooking, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, and oregano.
Step 2: Season and air fry the chicken. Lay flat in the air fryer and cook at 400°F for 12 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Step 3: Make the sticky sauce. While the chicken cooks, add soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, sriracha, sesame oil, and ground ginger to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then stir in the arrowroot slurry. Let boil for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and turned glossy.
Step 4: Assemble the bowls. Layer rice, broccoli, and chicken into bowls. Pour the sticky sauce generously on top. Whisk together the spicy mayo ingredients and drizzle over everything. Finish with sesame seeds, avocado, and any other toppings you love.
Erin's Expert Recipe Tips
- Cut the chicken small. Bite-sized pieces cook faster and more evenly in the air fryer, and you get more sticky sauce coverage on every single piece.
- Don't rush the sauce. Let it boil for the full 4 to 5 minutes after adding the arrowroot slurry! This is what gives it that gorgeous, thick, sticky texture. It will thicken more as it cools too.
- Make the spicy mayo drizzle-thin. Add enough water so it drizzles easily from a spoon. If it's too thick, just add another splash of water.
- Taste and adjust the heat. The sriracha level is totally up to you! Start with less and add more to your preference.
- Storing: Transfer all components to airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3–4 days. Store the sauce separately if possible so the rice doesn't get soggy, then reheat and assemble fresh when ready to eat.
- Serve it with: Asian Chicken Crunch Salad, Moroccan Couscous Salad, or Roasted Garlic Potatoes!
Frequently Asked Questions
A chicken rice bowl typically starts with a base of rice topped with seasoned chicken, your favorite veggies, and a flavorful sauce. In this case, a honey soy sticky sauce with a spicy mayo drizzle that takes everything to the next level! From there, you can customize with toppings like avocado, sesame seeds, scallions, or whatever sounds good to you!
Absolutely! Bake the chicken at 400°F for about 20 minutes, or cook it in a skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through. The air fryer just speeds things up.
If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!
Looking for some more easy weeknight dinners? Try one of these!
- Lemon Cauliflower Pasta with Grilled Chicken
- Easy Chicken Provencal
- Thai Inspired Chicken Meatball Soup
- Honey Glazed Salmon Bites
- Easy White Chicken Chili Recipe (Stovetop or Crockpot)
All recipes by Erin Morrissey and Photos by Sierra Inn
If you tried this recipe or any other recipes on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Follow @erinliveswhole on Instagram and tag me in any of the recipes you make so I can repost them!
Sticky Chicken Rice Bowls
Ingredients
Method
- Cook rice according to package.
- Steam broccoli in microwave or on stove top until fork tender. Set aside.
- Cut chicken up into small bitesized pieces.
- Toss chicken with oil and all spices. Lay flat in air fryer and cook in preheated air fryer at 400F to 12 minutes or until chicken is 160F internally.
- While chicken is cooking, add soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, sriracha, sesame oil, and ground ginger to a sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add arrowroot slurry. Let boil 4-5 minutes or until sauce has thickened greatly.
- Prepare bowls by layering rice, broccoli, chicken, and covering in sauce. Mix together spicy mayo ingredients and drizzle on top. Top with sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Notes
- Cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces before air frying. This helps everything cook evenly and makes it easier to load up your bowls — plus it gets more of that sticky sauce on every single bite.
- Don't rush the sauce. After adding the arrowroot slurry, let the sauce boil for a full 4-5 minutes until it has greatly thickened. That's what gives it that gorgeous, glossy sticky texture.
- Make it your own! This recipe is super flexible so feel free to swap in tofu or shrimp, add extra veggies like snap peas or red onion, or use cauliflower rice for a lower-carb option. The sticky sauce makes everything taste amazing.
S says
I dont own an air fryer. Will a wok due? Thanks.
S says
Found the answer further on down the comments. Please disregard. 🙃
Erin says
Hi, yep that'll work! Let me know how yours come out!!
Cheryl says
So delicious! Hit with the whole family. Thank you for this recipe.
Erin says
Hi Cheryl, so happy you all loved them!! 🙂
Kayla Nagel says
No believed I made this myself, holy moly this is delicious! Thank you for a recipe that FINALLY tastes how I wanted it! This was simple and easy to make - My picky parents loved it also 🙂
Erin says
Hi Kayla, so happy they were a hit! 🙂
Jenna says
just made this for dinner and will be using for meals this week for lunch and OMG. i used chicken thighs instead of breast because it’s what i had on hand and this was seriously a delicious meal. Cannot wait to make this again!
Erin says
Hi Jenna, so happy you loved them so much!! 🙂
Jennifer Cuba says
I was nervous about the chili and smoked paprika, so I didn't add the full tsp, but it was great! My husband raved about it. This is a keeper! Thank you!
Erin says
Hi Jennifer, so happy you both loved them!! 🙂
Sandra says
What a fantastic recipe. I love flavourful food and am often disappointed, so I did what others have done and read all the reviews. It was the sheer number of people who said this was excellent that made me give it a try. I followed the recipe almost exactly, only using fresh ginger instead as I didn't have ground. It was sticky, spicy, and the perfect blend of protein and veg for us. The sauce is very rich, so I'm glad i followed other reviewers and only started with a bit to start and added more as needed. This is going into our regular rotation. Thank you for sharing!
Erin says
Hi Sandra, so happy you loved the bowls so much! 🙂
Nicole says
This was absolutely delicious! I roasted cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, and broccoli.
And did everything else to the recipe.
I’ll be making this again and again!
Thanks for the recipe!
Erin says
Hi Nicole, so happy you loved them!! 🙂
Lorri Ritcheson says
Loved this chicken bowl. Can't wait to make it again! Double the recipe, you will definitely want left overs.
Erin says
Hi Lorri, so glad you loved them! 🙂
Jenn says
absolutely delicious! I roasted broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. topped it with cucumber, red onion and avocado. The cucumber was a really fresh add.
Erin says
Hi Jenn, so happy you loved them and great additions! 🙂
Christine K says
I don't have an air fryer. Would you suggest baking the chicken, or sauteeing it as an alternative?
Erin says
Hi Christine, either would work! Up to you which you prefer better. Let me know how your bowls come out!!
Jenny G says
Tried this tonight. It was really good. Got a thumbs up from my husband. Only difference I did was I didn’t have any sriracha so I substituted with Franks Hot Sauce.
Thanks for the recipe!
Erin says
Hi Jenny, so happy you both loved the bowls! 🙂
Val says
I was skeptical at first as this recipe seemed too simple. But I decided to read the reviews which is what convinced me to try this. Outstanding!! I am also not one to leave reviews but I must confess I read the reviews religiously to see what others thought and/or suggestions. I didn’t change a thing and I am still in disbelief that this was so easy and so delicious! Thank you for making one night out of my week less stressful with regards to the dinner debacle!!
Erin says
Hi Val, so happy you loved them so much! 🙂
Lisa says
Just made this tonight with ingredients I had available…cooked chicken and asparagus in oven added micro greens on top with the drizzle.
Had Tabasco not siracha and it turned out delicious! Thanks for the inspiration!
Erin says
Hi Lisa, so happy you loved them and made them your own!! 🙂
Lexi says
Definitely adding to the regular recipe rotation! My husband and I loved this meal - it was super easy to make GF using Tamari instead of soy sauce.
Erin says
Hi Lexi, so happy you both loved them!!
Sara says
This is our family's favorite recipe! We love to cook and are always trying new things, so we don't have a lot of regulars. But this recipe is one that stuck! We make it all the time and it is so delicious!!
Erin says
Hi Sara, so happy it is a big hit!! 🙂
Lauralea says
Made this for my husband this week - he loved it. Said it tasted restaurant quality! I'm going to try it with tofu next!
Erin says
Hi Lauralea, so glad you both loved them! 🙂
Ava says
YUMMY!!
Erin says
Hi Ava, so happy you enjoyed the bowls!
Colette says
Can I use the oven to make a large family meal? Would you suggest high heat baking or broiling?
Ava says
YUMMY
Erin says
Hi Ava, so glad you loved them!
May says
Absolutely delicious! Definitely going into our dinner rotation. Thank you for sharing!!
Erin says
Hi May, so happy you loved them!! 🙂
Kathy says
I didn’t have broccoli, so I substituted sautéed portobello mushrooms. Also, substituted a quarter cup of lite coconut milk for water in making the rice. Super yummy!
Erin says
Hi Kathy, so happy you loved it and made it your own!! 🙂
dana says
Phenomenal recipe, it was so easy to make and tastes so good! I'd cut back on the paprika due to personal taste for it but otherwise it's so amazing and was perfect for our meal prep this week!
Erin says
Hi Dana, so happy you loved them!