Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken Copycat
A complete copycat version you can easily make right at home! And yes, it tastes a million times better (and healthier) than take-out!
Have you tried Panda Express’ sweet fire chicken yet? It’s a fairly new item but it’s quickly become a favorite. It has that amazing sweetness with just the right amount of spice to it. But just like every other entree item there, they always give you about 3 chicken bites and 8 pineapple pieces with each serving!
Fortunately, this homemade version is really easy to whip up. And if you’re short on time, you can even cut down the cook time further by using frozen chicken nuggets. With that, this will be on your dinner table in 15 minutes from start to finish!
And yes, as always, the homemade version is always tastier and healthier since you know exactly what’s going into your meal!
Panda Express Sweet Fire Chicken Copycat
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 ½ cups diced pineapple, fresh or canned
- ½ cup Thai sweet chili sauce, or more, to taste
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
For the chicken
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into
- 1- inch chunks
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Working one at a time, dredge chicken in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in flour again, pressing to coat.
- Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet, 3 or 4 at a time, and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bell pepper and pineapple and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in chicken and Thai sweet chili sauce until well combined, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions.
Did you make this recipe?
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This recipe is AMAZING! Thank you so much for posting it. My family loved it! I added a little red onion and cooked it with the bell pepper for a little extra flavor. It was amazing. Definitely making this again in the future.
I love your recipes!
Not gonna lie though, I hated making the chicken. It took forever and was incredibly messy.
But, the end product was delicious! I had to stop my pregnant self from eating it up! Yum. I did not drain the pineapple which I thought could have helped ease the spiciness everyone is talking about. I also added some cut up fresh pineapple I had in the fridge.
Loved it! Another great recipe that our family loved. Thanks.
Their recipe has a white onion in it; none listed here.
There is no onion in this recipe, but please feel free to add it in! 🙂
Hello from Germany! I found your recipe for sweet fire chicken about three months ago. It is the easiest and best tasting new option for chicken that I have made in years. I highly recommend! Frying the chicken takes some additional time but worth it. Keep the great recipes coming.
We buy Sweet fire at Panda often. I was disappointed when I made this. It was much spicier that theirs is. I don’t know if it was the brand of sweet chili, I could only find 2 locally, but it had a very off flavor.
My husband threw his away. I may try again, using 1/2 the amount and the other brand of sweet chili
I’m so sorry that this recipe did not turn out for you! May I ask which brand you used?
I love this recipe.
This is the second dish that I have made from your recipes. The first one was good but this one was over the top perfect. The flavors were great. Frying the chicken took some time but the rest was super fast. Thanke!
I made this just as directed and it was very, very good buuuuut it did take me longer than the time frame that you have. That’s okay, it was worth it.
This chicken was to die for!! Supremely crispy, held the breading perfectly and the sauce was outrageously yummy! My husband would not complain if I made this several times a week lol. All the recipes I’ve tried from your blog are incredible. Keep up the awesome work Chunga. So glad I discovered you! 🙂
This is so yummy! I am making it for the second time tonight. I wonder if there is anyway to bake the chicken nuggets?
Yes, absolutely.
I’m making it right now. I just saw the recipe an hour ago..lol
Awww I hope I’m not on the bottom of the comments…I’ve lots good to say. This was yet another wonderful dish. If you’ve never seen four men gather at the table and walk away 10 seconds later with nothing left….well, I’d call them RUDE. My guys took a little longer but the results were no less! What a yummy easy dish…I really also enjoyed making it. Thank you for another favourite 🙂
This was AMAZING!!! We paired it with your Shirmp Fried Rice (minus the shrimp) and added some scrambled egg into the rice and everything was delish! It was far better then any take out we could have ordered! We were practically licking the plates clean! Bravo on this one. We will make this for years to come!
Could this recipe be altered by not breading the chicken, just cooking the chunks of chicken “naked” in a small amount of oil, then completing your recipe as shown?
Yes, of course!
I made this without the breading and it was delicious…. also bought the panda Express sweet chili sauce
I made this recipe last night for dinner, it was delicious! I am not an expert in the kitchen but I love your recipes because they are easy and delicious. Thank you!
10 out of 10! Love this. Excellent.
Best meal I’ve ever made .. it taste better than panda
I made this tonight. Very delicious! I dredged the chicken in a mixture of flour and cornstarch and it gave it a great crispy texture. Thank you for the recipe!
I made this last night. Gorgeous and so professional looking. I used Franks sweet chili sauce and it was a little bit too hot for us so next time I will use less.