Air Fryer Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls

Satisfy your sweet & spicy craving with these Air Fryer Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls – a complete make-ahead friendly meal with marinated chicken thighs, crunchy veggies, rice, and a brilliant cashew lime sauce to bring it all together!

What are the ingredients in these Air Fryer Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls?

When I look at the ingredients list, it feels like quite a few ingredients, but most of them are pantry staples you probably already have. All you need fresh is the chicken and veggies – and those are flexible too 🙂

Here’s a list of everything I used in this recipe and why:

• garlic cloves – Measure with your heart! Recipe says 2 cloves because that’s all you really need, but 3-5 is totally fine too!!
• Sriracha & honey – Obsessed with this combo! The Sriracha keeps the chicken from being too sweet while the honey balances out the Sriracha so the chicken isn’t too spicy. Both add delicious flavor to the chicken too.
• soy sauce – Adding some soy sauce to the marinade helps provide some saltiness and flavor to the chicken marinade. I also like to add a small amount to the cashew sauce for the same reasons.
• rice vinegar – Just a tiny amount of rice vinegar helps tenderize the chicken and bring all the marinade flavors together
• boneless skinless chicken thighs – At my grocery store, chicken thigh packs are usually about 1.5-1.75 pounds. Getting as close to 2 pounds as possible is good enough!
• cashew butter – You can make your own cashew butter or find it near the peanut butter at the grocery store. Another option is to swap with peanut butter for a delicious peanut sauce!
• lime juice – For the cashew sauce, I cut the lime in half and squeeze both sides into the cashew butter. It should be about 2-3 tablespoons worth of juice.
• rice – This will vary based on your preference, but I personally like to make jasmine rice with chicken broth in my Instant Pot. Other options are using a rice maker or following the package directions for stovetop rice.
• cucumber, radishes & lettuce or cabbage – I like to pair a simple raw veggie combo with this chicken, rice, and cashew sauce. These veggies hold up well in the fridge and provide and nice varied texture in the final dish.

Equipment you’ll need to make this recipe:

To make this recipe, you’ll need an air fryer, along with a few smaller kitchen tools. Here are my recommendations:

• air fryer – The air fryer I’m currently in love with and pictured in this post is the Cosori Turboblaze 6 Quart Air Fryer (affiliate link!). I just started using this model in 2024, and I’m loving how easy it is to clean. Plus it’s way quieter than my older model!
• sauce cups – For adding any kind of sauce to your meal, I recommend these salad dressing containers (affiliate link!). They have super tight fitting lids and they fit perfectly into the larger containers.
• tongs – Flipping and moving the chicken is best done with some tongs. To avoid scratching any of the nonstick surfaces, I almost always use silicone tipped tongs, like these OXO 9-Inch Silicone Head Tongs (affiliate link!).
• plastic cutting board – When handling, trimming or cutting raw meat, I usually use a plastic cutting board that can go into the dishwasher. Save the wooden cutting boards for produce and cooked proteins.
• meal prep containers – For this recipe, I’ve packed the chicken and rice in these 3-Cup Pyrex Rectangle Glass Containers, and the veggies in this 2-Cup Pyrex Round Glass Container (affiliate link!). But any containers with lids will work! I do recommend glass for anything you’ll be heating up.

How to make Air Fryer Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls:

This recipe comes together in under 45 minutes and let me tell you from experience – the chicken is juicy, sweet, spicy, flavorful, and hard to resist!! The crisp veggies on the side are not only tasty, but really easy to chop up and add to the meal now or later.

Get this recipe started by marinating the chicken. When slicing the chicken, I also like to cut off any fatty pieces. Be sure to use a plastic cutting board for cutting raw chicken – that way you can just put it right into the dishwasher.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the garlic, sriracha, honey, soy sauce, vinegar and salt to make a smooth sauce. Add the chicken slices and toss well to coat them completely. Set the bowl aside while you start the rice and cut the veggies if needed.

For the rice, the cooking method is up to you. You can follow the package instructions or use your preferred method. I usually cook rice in my Instant Pot for a hands-off method while I work on other parts of the meal. However you do make it, set it aside to cook when it’s done.

Time to start cooking the chicken. Prep your air fryer basket by wiping with avocado oil, if you are not working with a nonstick basket. If you don’t usually have issues with chicken sticking in your basket, you can skip this part. Don’t use a generic cooking spray, as that can cause problems with the nonstick lining of some air fryer baskets.

Place the raw strips of marinated chicken into the basket in a single layer using tongs. It’s okay if they are touching a bit, they will shrink slightly as they cook. If they don’t all fit, work in batches.

Cook the chicken thighs for 14 minutes at 400F. Halfway through cooking (about 7 minutes in), use tongs to turn all the pieces over. Baste with any leftover marinade in the bowl using a pastry brush or a spoon to drizzle.

While the chicken is cooking, make the cashew butter sauce. Carefully stir the lime juice and soy sauce into the cashew butter together. Don’t worry if it strts to seize up and go a bit lumpy! Continue stirring as you add a little cold water to thin the sauce to your desired consistency for dipping and drizzling – it will smooth out, I promise!

Finally, once all the components are cooked and prepared, it’s time to eat, OR time to portion everything into meal prep containers. Divide the cooked rice between four meal prep containers and lay the cooked chicken on top.

Place the veggie salad in a separate compartment, or in separate containers if you’re planning on serving the rice and chicken warmed. Divide the cashew butter sauce between four sauce containers and store with the salad.

Best tips for making Air Fryer Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls:

Here are my best tips for making these bowls successfully in your own kitchen:

• Save leftover marinade! When you flip the chicken halfway through cooking, use a pastry brush or even a spoon to drizzle the remaining marinade over the chicken. This will provide more moisture and give you sticky flavorful chicken!
• A little bit of charring on the chicken is good – this is because of the honey in the marinade!
• Use Persian cucumbers or English cucumbers if you plan on prepping this recipe in advance. Those kinda of cucumbers hold up better for meal prep than a regular grocery store cucumber.

Ways to customize this meal:

Here are some ideas on how to customize this chicken thighs recipe:

• Swap the salad for some roasted veggies or other side of your choice! It’s flexible 🙂
• Skip the Sriracha and go heavy on the garlic and soy sauce. You’ll end up with a delicious honey garlic chicken!
• Use your favorite grain for the rice, or jazz it up with a cilantro lime rice or quinoa!

Ways to meal prep this recipe:

This recipe was developed specifically for meal prep and makes a delicious make-ahead meal for lunch or dinner. There are also a couple different ways to do some prep and save time later if that’s your thing. Here are some options:

1. Prep for the week: Make the recipe as written, and then portion the ingredients evenly into four meal prep containers and enjoy throughout the week. Be sure to portion the raw veggies and cashew sauce separately.
2. Ingredient prep: Save yourself time on cooking day by marinating the chicken overnight. You can also cut all the veggies ahead of time.
3. Ingredient freeze: You can prep and cook the honey sriracha chicken ahead of time and then freeze – this can be frozen individually in my favorite meal prep tool – these 1-Cup Souper Cubes Trays (affiliate link!).
4. Enjoy now & later: Prepare all the ingredients and make the recipe as written. Eat some for lunch or dinner right now, then save the rest in airtight containers and enjoy over the next 4 days.

How to store Air Fryer Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls:

Store chicken and rice together in an airtight microwave safe container with lid for up to 4 days. In another smaller container, store the veggies and sauce separately to make reheating easier.

How to freeze Air Fryer Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls:

There are two options for freezing components of this recipe:

1. raw chicken – Complete only Step 1 of the recipe to marinate your chicken thighs in the honey Sriracha sauce. This chicken and marinade combo can be frozen in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Do not freeze raw chicken again if it was previously frozen.
2. cooked chicken & rice – Complete Steps 1-3 of the recipe, marinating and cooking the chicken, as well as cooking the rice. This portion of the meal can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3-6 months for best quality.

How to reheat Air Fryer Honey Sriracha Chicken Bowls:

To reheat, add 2 tablespoons water to the rice to create steam, then loosely cover the meal with the lid and microwave on High in 30 seconds blasts until heated through.

Recipe developed by Rachel Phipps.