Air Fryer Sweet Chili Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

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Whether you need a simple weeknight dinner or low carb meal prep option, this air fryer chicken and brussels sprouts recipe is the move. It pairs juicy, tender chili ginger chicken breast with crispy brussels sprouts. 

Each serving has 20 grams of protein with just 7 grams of carbs, 155 calories, and 1 WW SmartPoint. That leaves plenty of room to pair with rice or cauliflower rice and loads of sweet chili sauce. 

Sweet Chili Air Fryer Chicken and Brussels Sprouts Recipe Walkthrough

It’s a super simple recipe, but I’ll do a quick visual recipe walkthrough below and cover a few ingredient questions along the way. You’ll find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post if you’re ready to get rolling right away. 

Toss halved brussels sprouts in olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I’ve included notes for using frozen brussels sprouts in the recipe card’s notes section. I’m a huge advocate for frozen veggies but if you can use fresh, they’ll get much crispier in this recipe. 

The only other note here might be on the olive oil. If you wanted to save a little fat, you could probably get away with reducing the olive oil or using a bit of cooking spray in its place. They won’t get as crispy, but you’d be surprised how effective an air fryer can be at crisping in the absence of oil. 

Air fry at 400ºF for 10 minutes. 

I use a 6.5 quart Ninja Foodi for air frying. Every air fryer is a bit different so use the photo above for a visual reference. You want your brussels sprouts to be dry and slightly crisp in spots with minimal browning in this step.  

Toss diced chicken breast in chili oil, ground ginger, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt. Add to the air fryer with the brussels sprouts.

In case you’re wondering why you cook the brussels sprouts on their own before adding the chicken, it’s because you’ll have a tough time getting the brussels sprouts crispy if everything goes in together. Unlike my air fryer jerk chicken and jalapeño tacos, the brussels sprouts need a little special attention to avoid overcooking the chicken. 

I’ve included notes for what to do if you don’t have chili oil on hand, but you should get some. For more ideas on what you can use it for, check out my sweet chili ground beef and brussels sprouts or chili garlic chicken fried cauliflower rice recipes. 

Air fry for 14-16 minutes at 400ºF, shaking halfway through for even cooking. 

Be sure to give everything a good shake/stir around the 10-minute mark, making sure to move any partially cooked pieces of chicken breast to the top. I may sound like a broken record here, but a food thermometer is a must have kitchen tool for food safety purposes. You can use a thermometer to check several pieces in different spots around the air fryer basket to make sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165ºF. 

I use a $22 Kizen Instant Read Food Thermometer that you can get on Amazon. 

Serving Your Air Fried Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

Instead of tossing everything in sweet chili sauce, I recommend serving the sauce on the side. This keeps the brussels sprouts crispy. 

I’ve included notes in the recipe card below for nutrition info with different amounts of sweet chili sauce. I used Trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce, but G Hughes makes a sugar free sauce I’m interested in trying. I’ve user their sugar free BBQ sauce in recipes like chipotle BBQ ground chicken tacos, sriracha BBQ ground beef and green beans, and my Ninja Food pulled pork. 

As for the rice, the recipe photos you see here are with jasmine rice. If you wanted a lower carb option, you could do a mix of “real” rice and cauliflower rice like in my ground beef and rice skillet. You might also want to check out lower carb rice products like the Right Rice I used in my ground chicken and rice enchiladas. 

Sweet. You’re ready to rock. If I missed something, feel free to leave your recipe question in the comments at the bottom of this post. Otherwise, enjoy your air fryer chicken and brussels sprouts! 

Air Fryer Sweet Chili Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

Yield: 6 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Spicy chili ginger chicken breast with crispy brussels sprouts.

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Ingredients

For the Brussels Sprouts

• 12 oz Brussels Sprouts, stemmed and halved*
• 1 Tbsp (16g) Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper

For the Chili Chicken

• 1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, diced
• 1 Tbsp (16g) Chili Oil**
• 2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

Instructions

1. Cut the stems off the brussels sprouts before cutting them in half and tossing in the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
2. Add the brussels sprouts to an air fryer basket and cook at 400ºF for 10 minutes.
3. While the brussels sprouts are in the air fryer, coat the diced chicken breast in the chili oil before adding the ground ginger, garlic and chili powder, and salt. Stir to fully coat the chicken.
4. After the brussels sprouts have cooked for 10 minutes, add the chicken breast to the basket and gently stir everything together.
5. Air fry for an additional 10 minutes at 400ºF. Stir/toss the chicken and brussels sprouts and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
6. Serve over rice with scallions, toasted sesame seeds, and sweet chili sauce, if desired.

Notes

* For frozen brussels sprouts, microwave a 12-ounce bag for 2 minutes before draining and cutting the semi-thawed sprouts in half. Otherwise, follow the recipe as written.

** If you don't have chili oil, you can use olive oil or another oil with crushed red pepper or chili flakes added. 1/2-1 tsp should add plenty of spice.

For Stovetop Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

Toss the brussels in the olive oil, salt, and pepper and place cut side down in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the sprouts develop a char. Stir and continue cooking until they're as crispy as you'd like. Remove and add the chicken to the skillet. Cook for 6-8 minutes to fully cook the chicken. Add the sprouts back and stir everything together.

You can also microwave the sprouts for a few minutes before halving to speed up cooking. Example: crispy cast iron brussels sprouts

For Oven Baked Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

Toss the brussels sprouts in the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place them cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in a 400ºF oven. Add the chicken to the baking sheet, stir everything together, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the chicken reaches 165ºF.

Nutrition Information Notes

Each 3-ounce serving of chicken and brussels sprouts has 1 WW SmartPoint (blue).

Nutrition facts are do not include any sweet chili sauce. Each 3-ounce serving with 1 Tbsp of Trader Joe's sweet chili sauce has 180 calories, 20g protein, 13g carbs, 5g fat, and 3 SmartPoints. Add 1 SmartPoint, 25 calories and 6g of carbs for each tablespoon of sweet chili sauce (nutrition info will vary between brands).

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Servings Serving Size: 3 ounces
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 155Total Fat: 5gCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 20g

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