This gluten-free Apricot Chicken recipe combines the sweetness of the apricot preserves with the saltiness of soy sauce and the complexity of the sweet but slightly spicy ginger. The chicken pieces are fried to perfect crispiness with using a perfect flour blend to make the lightest crunchy coating.
Gluten-Free Chinese Food
I crave Chinese food. Big time!
There is not a PF Chang’s (my favorite gluten-free Asian restaurant) where I live and I have not found a safe Asian restaurant in my town where I can eat.
Some of my favorite Chinese food dishes are orange chicken, General Tso’s chicken, lemon chicken, and sesame chicken. Are you seeing a common theme here? I like my Chinese food a little on the sweet side.
Apricot Chicken
This gluten-free apricot chicken recipe combines the sweetness of the apricot preserves with the saltiness of soy sauce and the complexity of the sweet but slightly spicy ginger. The chicken pieces are fried to perfect crispiness with using a combined coating of gluten-free flour and cornstarch.
My husband has always really disliked “home Chinese food”, but this recipe is now one of his favorite meals. Be adventurous and try the BEST home Chinese food recipe tonight!
Looking for other Asian inspired recipes? Try my Asian Sticky Wings and Honey Lemon Ginger Chicken.
Gluten-Free Asian Apricot Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups of vegetable oil I like peanut oil for frying.
Dry Coating:
- ½ cup rice flour I use Pillsbury Gluten Free Flour
- ½ cup cornstarch I use Argo
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- one egg beaten
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons of gluten-free soy sauce I use La Choy
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
- ¾ cup apricot preserves I use Smuckers
- ¼ cup of water
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil on high in a large pan or wok.
- Combine the rice flour, cornstarch, and ground ginger in a large plastic storage bag, (Think Shake and Bake). This is the easiest method, but you could also dredge the chicken pieces in a bowl.
- Cut the chicken breasts into small bite size pieces. I find the best way to get the best size pieces is to cut the chicken in half and then cut them once more in half.
- Add chicken pieces to a bowl with the beaten egg and stir to fully coat the pieces.
- Place all chicken pieces in the bag of flour mixture. Keep turning over the bag until the chicken pieces are fully coated.
- Add chicken pieces to hot oil and fry until light golden brown.
- Remove chicken pieces from hot oil to drain. I use a metal colander with a paper towel lined plate underneath.
- Pour hot oil from pan into a glass bowl to cool off so you can dispose of it later (or safe for another frying recipe).
- Either spray your pan with a nonstick cooking spray or put a little oil back into your pan. On medium heat add all the ingredients for the sauce, stir until combined and sauce thickens a bit.
- Return your chicken pieces to the pan and stir to evenly coat the chicken with the sauce.
- I serve this dish with rice and sugar snap peas. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Cassie says
This is one of our favorites. We save it as a special treat since it’s a bit sweet. But still so yummy! I have a corn allergy, so we make a few adjustments. We use tapioca flour/starch instead of the cornstarch and it works great. We also use our air fryer rather than frying on the stovetop. We find it’s a little less messy/healthier. I still make the sauce on the stovetop and once the chicken is done we toss it into the sauce with some veggies.
Jessica Shuler says
We make this over and over again! I’ve probably already left a review LOL. Can’t get enough. I always double the sauce and I’ll throw in green beans or broccoli. Have to always make enough for leftovers!
Linda says
This dish was so amazingly good! It is now one of my “repeater favorites”. I doubled the sauce too, it only seemed natural being it was so good! Thanks for the great recipe. I had an extra chicken breast so I used the same egg and flour mixture and made a fried chicken breast with an oriental flair and saved it for my lunch the next day. Yummmm!
Maggie says
I made this tonight for dinner and all I can say is it was AMAZING! The whole family absolutely loved it. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Diane Napoli says
I made this last night. Great comfort food since. I stir fried broccoli, carrot and onion to serve with it. So delicious! Thanks Audrey for the recipe.
Audrey says
Thank you so much Diane for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the apricot chicken. You are so welcome, I love sharing the recipes I make for my family. It’s one of my personal favorites. Thanks again!
Miri says
Delicious. I haven’t had sticky chicken since 2013. It felt so good to get back to some comfort food!
Audrey says
Thank you os much Miri for the wonderful 5-star recipe review, it really made my day. I am so happy that you enjoyed the apricot chicken. Especially since it’s been 7 years since you had it. It definitely is comfort food for me too and one of my favorite meals. Thanks again!
Jobie says
Absolutely amazing! I was feeling sorry for myself and craving Asian food and came across this recipe… heaven sent ??
Audrey says
Thank you so much Jobie for the amazing 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the apricot chicken. You really made my day. I totally understand Asian food is one of the things I miss the most. Thank you again!
Susan says
Have you ever made this recipe with grilled chicken? I guess you would just be making the sauce? Let me know your thoughts, please. Thank you.
Audrey says
Hi Susan! Yes, I have made this recipe using both grilled and sauteed chicken and the sauce is amazing on both. Please let me know if you try it. I hope you enjoy the apricot chicken!
Brenda J Gerstenslager says
I made this tonight and changed nothing, and it was fantastic! Great recipe, easy to follow and easy to make! I would give it a 10 if I could, The taste was excellent! Will make this ALOT from now on. Did I say it was GREAT? lol It was! Thank You for sharing!
Audrey says
Thank you so much Brenda for the awesome 5-str recipe review, it really made my day! I am so happy that you enjoyed the apricot chicken. It is one of my all-time favorite meals. You are so welcome, I love sharing what I make for my family. Thanks again!
Shirley says
My husband and I are doing gluten and dairy free. However hubby has a sensitivity to rice and oats so that eliminates a lot of the traditional gluten free flour substitutes. Have you every tried using coconut flour in this recipe? I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!
Audrey says
Hi Shirley! I have not tried coconut flour in this recipe. You could just toss the chicken in corn starch and then sautee the chicken instead of frying it. Remove the chicken once it’s coated to a plate, make the sauce in the pan, return the chicken to the pan to coat with the sauce. I make Mongolian beef that way by coating the meat with cornstarch before cooking it. It won’t be as crispy as the fried version but it’s really all about the sauce in this recipe. I know some Paleo recipes use almond flour to coast chicken, but I have not tried frying with almond flour either. I hope this helps! If you like Asian recipes take a look at my Honey Lemon Ginger Chicken. Please let me know if I can help you in any way.
Leslie Crockett says
I was diagnosed with IBS a year ago & struggle with finding foods that I can eat. This recipe was sooo delicious! The mix of ginger with the apricot preserves was the perfect combination of sweet & sour. I will definitely make this dish again!
Audrey says
Thank you so much Leslie for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the apricot chicken. I totally understand the struggle of finding food you can eat and that tastes good. That makes my heart happy this recipe is one that you can enjoy and will make again! Thank you again.
Heather says
This tastes absolutley wonderful. My sweet family of 5 really enjoyed it. I too, doubles the sauce. I added diced onions and a sweet red bell pepper to it and it was just perfect. I will be making this again. Thank you for, yet another, meal that has been really wonderful.
Audrey says
Thank you so much Heather for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that your family enjoyed the apricot chicken. It’one of my family’s favorite meals. The onions and sweet peppers are a nice addition to the recipe, my husband can’t have nightshades, so I have to leave out extras like that. You are so welcome I love sharing what I make for my family. Thank you again!
Shelley says
The taste is spot on for this recipe!! Recipe is easy to follow and not over-complicated (like a lot of GF recipes can be). However, I need to fine tune my cooking time because the chicken was a little overdone on parts. We will also probably add a tiny bit of ceushed Korean red pepper next just to give the sause a smidgen of heat. Keep sharing your amazing GF recipes! ????
Audrey says
Thank you so much for the wonderful 5-star recipe review Shelley! I am so happy that you enjoyed the apricot chicken and found the recipe easy to follow. I totally understand how some gluten-free recipes are over-complicated. I try to keep things easy around here. I wish I could handle the heat because I’m sure the Korean red pepper add great flavor to this dish. Thank you again!
Stacy says
I made this the other night and it was delicious. I like to have extra sauce for the rice so I doubled the sauce recipe. Will definitely make this a regular dish!
Audrey says
Thank you Stacy for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the apricot chicken. It’s one of my favorite meals. I totally agree with you, I can’t get enough sauce either. I always make extra sauce too. Thanks again!