Thai Basil Chicken
Thai Basil Chicken – Make this better-than-takeout recipe in the comfort of your own home in less than 20 minutes. This insanely flavorful, healthier, and lighter option to the traditional restaurant version is a guaranteed hit with the family.
I love Thai restaurants and can eat basil chicken any day of the week. But making it at home is especially perfect for a stress-free weeknight dinner. It’s a flavorful and healthy improvement to the standard fast-food fix. Besides, garlic, Thai basil, and chili pepper make everything better!
Before my blogging days, I used to use these flavors in my cooking as often as possible. Now, not so much—I have to diversify, right? But the unique flavor of Thai basil with that anise-like quality keeps calling me back.
Is Thai Basil Chicken Spicy?
In general, Thai food is pretty spicy. While this Thai basil chicken recipe has quite a kick, it’s definitely on the milder side. Instead of using the super-hot red chili pepper, I add sriracha sauce and pepper flakes so my sous chef can enjoy it, too! However, feel free to add more chili sauce or spicy red chilis if you are a heat seeker.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Oil – Vegetable oil works because of its high smoke point. You could also use other neutral-tasting oils, such as canola or peanut.
- Seasonings – Onion and garlic provide the perfect flavor base. Sriracha sauce and red pepper flakes add layers of flavor and just the right amount of heat without being overpowering.
- Chicken – My preference is skinless, boneless chicken breasts for convenience. But you could also use chicken thighs or ground chicken.
- Sauce – Fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar combine to give this dish its signature hot, sweet, savory, and umami flavors.
- Thai Basil leaves provide a fresh, peppery flavor with just a hint of licorice. However, you can substitute sweet basil or Italian basil if you can’t find them at your local grocery store. And the dish will turn out spectacular.
How to Make Thai Basil Chicken
- Rice – If you’re serving this dish with rice, start cooking the rice before you cook the chicken.
- Seasonings – Heat oil in a wok or saucepan, swirl to coat the pan, and add onions, garlic, sriracha sauce, and pepper flakes—sauté until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to let it burn.
- Chicken – Add chicken and cook until it’s no longer pink and is slightly browned (7-10 minutes). You can add a little water, if desired, to prevent burning.
- Sauce – Add the brown sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Continue simmering until the sauce thickens and the chicken cooks through.
- Basil – Finally, stir in the basil leaves. Turn the heat off once the leaves wilt.
- Serve – Dish it up on a serving platter and serve with steamed rice for an authentic Thai dish.
Variation Ideas
- Protein swap. Replace the chicken with your favorite protein, such as turkey, shrimp, pork, or tofu.
- Veggie add-ins. Add chopped red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, snow peas, broccoli, or baby corn for extra nutrients and color.
- Go nuts! Add toasted cashews to the dish or garnish it with a sprinkle of roasted peanuts for a delightful crunch.
- Fried rice. A great leftover makeover is Thai basil chicken fried rice. Chop everything up, melt some butter in a skillet, add leftover rice and chicken, add a little soy sauce, and heat through.
- Pad krapow. This similar dish uses Thai holy basil instead of the regular basil. Black soy sauce, yard-long beans, and ground meat or chicken deliver close to an authentic recipe.
Tips and Tricks
- For an extra special touch, lightly fry the basil until crispy and use as garnish.
- This recipe comes together quickly, so have everything ready before you start.
- High heat is key to a flavorful stir fry. Make sure the oil is ripping hot when you start.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Thai basil chicken cooks up in a flash once all the prep work is done. That said, you can do most of the prep work a day in advance. Chop the chicken, onion, and garlic and refrigerate them in separate containers.
If you’re adding veggies to the dish, you can also clean and chop them the day before and store them in the fridge. Allow the meat to come to room temperature, and then cook as directed.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Thai basil chicken is absolutely mouthwatering over a bed of fluffy rice. Garnish it with chopped peanuts or fresh diced mango for a special touch.
Leftovers are easy to store and taste just as amazing the next day. Transfer them to an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days. This dish also keeps well for 3 months in the freezer. Place the container in the refrigerator to defrost before reheating.
To reheat, place the leftovers in a skillet over medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes. Or you can heat individual portions in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Perfect Sides for Thai Basil Chicken
You can’t go wrong serving Thai basil chicken over a plate of aromatic jasmine or basmati rice. A fresh, colorful pineapple cucumber salad perfectly complements the savory chicken.
Wine Pairing: Spicy dishes go best with sweeter wines. An off-dry Reisling or Gewûrztraminer is the perfect match, but a slightly sweet Pinot Gris is also delicious.
More Quick, Easy, and Delicious Chicken Recipes to Try
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in January 2015 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Thai Basil Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon (6-7g) sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon (1g) crushed red pepper
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 pound (450g) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 teaspoon (10g) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) or more fish sauce (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) soy sauce
- ¾ cup (15g) fresh basil leaves (10 or more leaves)
Instructions
- If serving this dish with rice, start cooking the rice before you cook the chicken.
- Heat oil in a wok or saucepan, swirl to coat the pan, and add onions, garlic, sriracha sauce, and pepper flakes—sauté until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to let it burn.
- Add chicken and cook until it's no longer pink and is slightly browned (7-10 minutes). You can add a little water, if desired, to prevent burning.
- Add the brown sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Continue simmering until the sauce thickens and the chicken cooks through.
- Finally, stir in the basil leaves. Turn the heat off once the leaves wilt.
- Serve it on a serving platter with steamed rice for an authentic Thai dish.
Tips & Notes:
- Thai basil chicken is pretty spicy. While this one has quite a kick, it’s definitely on the mild side. Instead of using super hot red chili peppers, I sub with sriracha sauce and pepper flakes.
- If you are a heat seeker, definitely add more chili sauce or use the spicy red chili.
- For an extra special touch, lightly fry the basil until crispy and use as garnish.
- This recipe comes together quickly, so have everything ready before you start.
- High heat is key to a flavorful stir fry. Make sure the oil is ripping hot when you start.
- Pad krapow. This similar dish uses Thai holy basil instead of regular basil. Black soy sauce, yard-long beans, and ground meat or chicken deliver close to an authentic recipe.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Only had Italian basil so used more than double the amount called for in the recipe. Made delicious filling for lettuce wraps. Next time I will add some red pepper strips.
Amazing!!!!! That looks absolutely delicious!! Glad you loved it. Looking forward to you trying more of my recipes.
Greetings from the UK, made this for our dinner last night, well near enough, they didn´t have any basil in the shop unfortunately but I just used a bit of dried basil instead, loved the flavour of everything, was spicy but we like it, served it with rice, sprinkled with spring onions (green onions in the US I think) and a bit of sesame seeds, yum yum, will make it again when I can get my hands on some fresh basil. Thanks for sharing this 🙂 x
Great substitution, Rakel Lord! Glad it turned out yummy! Thank you for sharing and trying my recipe 🙂
Made this again last night. This was easy to make and delicious. A plus on this recipe is that I don’t have to go buy Oyster sauce and then waste it later since I rarely need it.
Only change was I doubled the sauce, added zucchini and red pepper.
Yum!! Thank you, Desiree!
Love the website redesign! I’ve made this recipe so many times (any time I can find Thai basil at the grocery store) It tastes exactly like take out, which blows my mind. I serve it over rice noodles, rice, or shirataki noodles. Occasionally I add red bell pepper and mushrooms and there’s always plenty of sauce to cover the additions. Thanks for making this recipe!
Glad you you do . Thanks so much !!
Can you use regular basil, or does it need to be thai basil? I would love to try it because I have tons of basil in my garden, but it’s not thai basil.
Hi Kim, Any basil would do just fine.
Amazing. Used Cholula instead of Sriracha. Oyster sauce ,was out of fish sauce. This dish is outstanding!
I made this recipe for the first time just a few nights ago, and it was such a hit we had it again tonight! I used scallions instead of onions, and tripled the amount of sauce, using both fish and oyster sauces along with gluten-free tamari as a substitute for soy sauce. Thank you so much! So glad I found your recipe!
Looks great I have some pork tenderloin don’t have chicken, feel like making this how do you think it would come out? And do you see any value in marinating the pork tenderloin in the ingredients like other have stated thanks.
Hi Pamela,
Yes, pork tenderloin works too. Marinating the pork always makes it more flavorful.
Girl……YUM!!! I am tearing this meal up as a type.. Lord knows that I am not one big on cooking but I recently grew Thai Basil in my indoor garden and thought, “Now what am I going to do with this?” (Such a beautiful plant, by the way). I did a search for a recipe online and SO GLAD I found you!! YUM GIRL YUM!! LOL Thank you!
I added a little water for more sauce and to cut the salt but otherwise a fabulous dish!
Thank you for sharing those tips, Lena!
i want to make this tonight but I would love it to have more sauce on it? what should I do
Hi, Lori. If you want more sauce in this recipe, I’d say you 4x the soy and fish sauce mixture and taste according to preference.
I cooked this with thighs and it was amazing! You are the real deal with these brilliant recipes. When I was cooking this my boyfriend complained about the fishy smell but once he started eating it he could not shut up on how amazingly tasty it was. Thank you! Also I cooked an egg in the chicken grease like they do at the thai restaurants and it was a huge hit !
That’s good to hear. I am So Thrilled!! Thanks for taking time out to share your thoughts
I made this today and just finished eating it. Delicious! I doubled the recipe. I wish I could’ve marinated over night, so the chicken could absorb more of the sauce. Any recommendations? Maybe I should cut the chicken into smaller pieces? I know breast tends to be a bit dry. Nevertheless, excellent receipe! Oh, I also threw some jalapeño in!
Love the addition of jalapeño, Ama. I might have to try it next time with it. I’d probably cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and would double or 4x the sauce as noted by others above. Thanks for trying it out.
Thank you for the recipe!!! This was super yummy! My 20 month old seem to really really enjoy eating it! (we had the non spicy version where I removed the sriracha and red chili flakes… but i added ginger) . I also substituted lightly sauteed zucchini and carrot noodles instead of rice, delicious!
THANK YOU FOR SHARING!
I love your own take on this recipe, Jessica. Way to go! And thank you for stopping by!
zucchini and carrot noodles–what a great idea! Thanks for sharing.
I found your Thai Basil Chicken recipe and discovered your blog through Yummly. I made the chicken last night, and it came out perfect the first time! So delish!! I served the chicken over cauliflower rice, but could also have served over a bed of greens as well, for a tasty salad. I can’t wait to see what other delicious recipes you have on your blog!
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to let me know .
Delicious!!! Totally satisfied my favorite takeout dish craving. We have been trying to cut back on carbs so instead of rice I quickly sautéed lightly salted zucchini noodles in a bit of sesame oil and olive oil. Tasted great!
I’m so pleased to hear that Debbie! Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Great recipe! Had it with brown rice today, absolutely delicious!
Made it with a few modifications: added shrimps, bell peppers and spring onions for more veggies, and oyster sauce after scouting other recipes.
Wow, really good, quick and tasty.
My only mistake was I somehow bought shrimp with shell on (which I haven’t done in years), and had to spend time peeling and deveining, while debating if I should just stick with chicken 🙂 Was well worth the effort though! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe … will try with beef next time — no shell-on 🙂
This was delicious. My husband got thai basil at the farmer’s market, so I was looking for a dish which required it. My youngest doesn’t like spicy things, so the rest of us put the crushed red pepper and Sriracha on as condiments after the dish was cooked. Instead of rice, I like it with rice noodles. I soaked them for 9 minutes, drained and threw them in with the cooked mixture and stir fried for a few minutes. I made 4x the sauce so that I would have enough to coat the noodles. Perfection.
Fantastic! Thanks for providing feedback and tips with us Susan.
Thanks for the great recipe. It would be helpful if you added cooking times, to better guage when to cook sides,, that would be helpful. I didn’t put any siracha and cut the crushed red peppers in half and it was perfect, spice wise, for my husband and I, but still a little spicy for our 3 year old. I can’t imagine how spicy the original is! I used a leek instead of the onion because I can’t digest them, and it was perfect. Lastly, I added the fried basil to the top, but I didn’t find it added much to the dish, I would omit that step in the future. Thank you so much.
Am on it ! Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback.