Easy Black Pepper Chicken Recipe inspired by Panda Express. Juicy, tender chicken bites in a savoury black pepper sauce. This homemade black pepper chicken is easy, only requires a few ingredients to make, and tastes as good as your favorite Chinese takeout or even better.
Craving more restaurant favorites? Check out our Honey Sriracha Chicken Recipe, Chicken Jalfrezi, and Kung Pao Shrimp.
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Reader Comments
Kelli McDougall says: "I made this tonight & it was delicious! So much flavor & my husband & kid approved! We will definitely be making this again!"
Lindsey says: "My goodness this is now a staple in my house! Wow...just wow. We don't use soy sauce, instead we use coconut aminos. Im sure the 2 different soy sauces make a more well rounded flavor, however the coconut amino did not disappoint. We absolutely love this one!"
Black pepper adds the freshest aroma and taste to any dish where pepper is used, whether it's a curry, soup, or even stir-fries.
I absolutely love this dish. The freshness, crunch, and zesty peppery flavor combination of this dish have me making it every chance I get.
What is Black Pepper Chicken
Black pepper chicken is a delectable Chinese dish and a popular menu item in Panda Express, one of the largest Chinese restaurants chains in the United States, inspiring lots of copycat recipes. The easy meal features succulent chicken pieces, crunchy onion, and bell peppers, all coated in an irresistibly delicious black pepper sauce.
This recipe is wonderfully quick and easy, healthy, and satisfyingly delicious!
The black pepper sauce boasts an addictive balance of sweet, spicy, and savory flavor with an earthy, peppery undertone that will have everyone returning for more.
After you learn how to make this Chinese black pepper chicken at home, you won't go to order takeout again!
Why You'll Love this recipe
Quick and easy to make. Once you start cooking, it is ready to serve in less than 15 minutes in a single pan.
No deep-frying required. The chicken gets quickly marinated with seasonings and cornstarch, then pan-seared. Marinating the chicken ensures juicy, flavorful chicken, while searing it gives it a mellow crunch and an excellent fried flavor without deep frying.
Contrasting textures. The tender chicken pieces complement the texture of the crunchy onion and bell peppers.
Delicious sauce. The black pepper sauce is loaded with so many flavors; tangy, sweet, savory, and with a hint of heat to drape every inch of the chicken and veggies.
Customizable. You can use chicken breasts or thighs or swap the chicken for tofu, shrimp, or other protein of choice and use whatever veggies you have on hand. You can even adjust the heat as per your taste buds.
Nutritious. This recipe uses lean chicken breasts and veggies. It is also stir-fried in minimal oil rather than deep-fried to create a healthy chicken dinner your whole family will love.
Budget-friendly. It is much less expensive than takeout. Feed your entire family for a fraction of dining out.
More Delicious Asian Recipes
- Chicken Mei Fun
- Asian Broccoli Stir Fry
- Spinach Stir Fry with Garlic
- 10 Minute Sesame Garlic Ramen Noodles
- Flaky Scallion Pancakes
- Chinese Salt and Pepper Chicken
Ingredients You will need
Here are a few important notes about the ingredients. For measurements see the recipe card below.
- Chicken: I use boneless skinless chicken breast, but you may use boneless chicken thighs.
- Oil: use a neutral, high-smoking point oil such as vegetable, canola, peanut, or sunflower oil.
- Vegetables: Onions and bell peppers add a nice crisp texture and a lovely sweetness that go well with the chicken. I used green bell peppers. You can also include red bell peppers or yellow ones for color and the different flavors they bring to the dish.
- Aromatics: Garlic, ginger, and fresh red/green chili. Fresh chili adds a kick of heat to the recipe. Use less or more based on your heat level preference. You can even omit it for a milder version.
For the Black Pepper Sauce
- Soy sauce: use both light and dark soy sauce for the perfect flavor. I use Kikkoman.
- Rice vinegar: If you don't have it on hand, use white vinegar instead.
- Brown sugar: adds sweetness to balance the tangy flavor. You can use more or less depending on how you like it.
- Toasted sesame oil: adds depth of flavor. Toasted sesame oil is made by pressing toasted sesame seeds. It is darker in color than regular sesame oil and has a strong fragrance. Hence it is used for flavoring dishes.
- Black pepper: It is an important component of this dish. Be sure to use good-quality black pepper. I highly recommend using freshly ground black pepper for this recipe. That's because freshly cracked black pepper has a strong citrusy aroma that you won't get with pre-ground or sold-ground pepper.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch acts as a thickening agent in the sauce. Cornstarch also provides a light coating that ensures the chicken won't dry out while cooking. Potato starch is a nice substitute.
P.S. Light soy sauce has been left out from the ingredient list by error.
Preparations Step By Step
Make the sauce
Make the black pepper sauce by whisking together the crushed black pepper, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil, cornstarch, and water in a small bowl until there are no lumps.
Marinate the chicken
Coat chicken with 1 tablespoon of the sauce, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and salt. Rest it aside while you prepare the onion, ginger, garlic, and pepper.
Brown the chicken
Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat until it's hot. Add one tablespoon of oil and tilt the pan to spread oil all over. Add chicken in a single layer and cook over medium flame until golden from the bottom. Then flip the chicken cubes over and cook until the chicken begins to brown and is almost cooked through. Then transfer the chicken to a plate. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan; cook the chicken in batches if needed.
Stir fry vegetables
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the same pan. Add ginger, garlic, and chopped chilies; Saute for 30 seconds. Immediately add onion and bell peppers. Stir fry over a high flame until the vegetables are crisp and tender.
Combine
Reduce the flame to the lowest. Whisk the sauce to recombine and pour the sauce. Let it simmer for 30 seconds. Add the fried chicken and toss well until warmed through.
Serve
Switch off the flame and add freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine and serve hot.
Helpful Tips
Prepare your ingredients in advance. Like all stir-fries, you need everything ready before heating the pan because the cooking goes very fast.
Use freshly ground peppercorns. Freshly cracked black pepper has a strong flavor. You can crush the peppercorns using a mortar and pestle or peppermill or just put them in a kitchen towel and pound them with a heavy object like a rolling pin.
Don't skip the quick marinating process. It's essential for a tender, juicy, flavorful chicken, just like the Chinese food in restaurants.
Use the marinating time to do other prep work. While the chicken is marinating, prepare your veggies and aromatics.
Whisk the sauce before using. Always whisk the sauce well before using it, as the cornstarch tends to settle at the bottom.
How to serve
It's delicious all by itself, or you can serve it over rice or noodles. I love to pair it with my Egg fried rice and Asian cucumber salad.
How to store
Black pepper chicken stir fry is best eaten fresh. However, leftovers will still be tasty. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
FAQs
The written recipe is not gluten-free. To make it gluten-free, use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari. Also, make sure your rice vinegar contains no gluten.
You can use the sauce for marinating chicken, fish, shrimp, or vegetables in grilled or bbq dishes. This sauce is also great for making stir-fried noodles.
You can easily make this sauce ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Remember to shake it up or whisk it to recombine before using it.
If you try the recipe, please take a moment to leave a comment and rating. I love hearing from you and it also helps other readers who are thinking of making the recipe.
Recipe
Easy Black Pepper Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 gram or 1.1 lbs skinless chicken breast cut into bite size cubes
- 2 tablespoon peanut oil
- salt as required
- 2 medium size onion cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 large size green bell pepper cut into 1 inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 fresh red/green chili chopped
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
For the sauce
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 3 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon water/chicken broth
Instructions
Make the sauce
- Make the black pepper sauce by whisking together the crushed black pepper, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil, cornstarch, and water in a bowl until there are no lumps.
Marinate the chicken
- Coat chicken with 1 tablespoon of the sauce, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and salt. Rest it aside while you prepare the onion, ginger, garlic, and pepper.
Brown the chicken
- Heat a large frying pan until it's hot. Add one tablespoon of oil and tilt the pan to spread oil all over. Add chicken in a single layer and cook over medium flame until golden from the bottom. Then flip the chicken cubes over and cook until the chicken begins to brown and is almost cooked through. Then transfer the chicken to a plate. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan; cook the chicken in batches if needed.
Stir fry vegetables
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the same pan. Add ginger, garlic, and chopped chilies; Saute for 30 seconds. Immediately add onion and bell peppers. Stir fry over a high flame until the vegetables are crisp and tender.
Combine
- Reduce the flame to the lowest. Whisk the sauce to recombine and pour the sauce. Let it simmer for 30 seconds. Add the fried chicken and toss well until warmed through.
Serve
- Switch off the flame and add freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine and serve hot.
Emily Artherton says
Thanks for this really easy to make super yummy meal! It does taste like Panda Express black pepper chicken. I used 1 tsp of honey in place of the brown sugar, there’s no amount listed in the recipe card, and I didn’t have the rice vinegar so I used white wine vinegar. Even with those changes this was a really tasy, really east meal to make. Thanks for posting!
Geetanjali says
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe and for your helpful feedback! I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the dish and that the substitutions worked out well for you. I've updated the recipe card with the amount of brown sugar. Thank you again for letting me know!
Stephanie says
I just made this tonight! My chicken didn't have that coloring like the picture shows, but it was SOOOO good! I doubled the sauce because we like IT SAUCY! DEFINITELY will make again!
Grayce says
I made this last night very flavorful. My husband who is a picky eater loved it. Thanks for a great recipe!
Geetanjali says
That's wonderful to hear! I'm thrilled that both you and your husband enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback.
Fatima says
I tried it last night, it came out really good. My husband and daughter loved it, will be making it again soon!
Don says
I make a lot of meals from Pinterest and the internet and this is one of the worst I’ve ever eaten! Way too many onions and too spicy! Yuck!
Dee Dee says
It's called black pepper chicken. What did you expect"?
Lisa says
Tell me you have boring tastebuds without telling me you have boring tastebuds.
Ял says
If you didn’t like it that doesn’t mean that the recipe is bad. I, personally, love lots of onions in a recipe. And I like this recipe because of the black pepper in it. It is called “Black pepper chicken”, it’s suppose to be spicy. You just had to use the amount of onions and spices you like or just skip it, find a recipe you would like. It’s ok when people have different opinions, but you, or anyone else, should never say “yack” on food. There are people who don’t have any food available, who are suffering of a hunger. Next time just think before saying such things.
Alana says
I don’t see the amount of brown sugar. It’s not on the list of ingredients but it’s in the instructions.
Geetanjali says
Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I apologize for the confusion - I must have missed that when I was writing it. I've updated the recipe post. Thank you again for letting me know, and I hope you'll give the recipe a try!
Vince says
I enjoy making this recipe. My wife really likes it. I'd love for my chicken to come out as colorful as that in the picture. What's your secret?
Meranda says
How much is a serving size and how many calories?
Betsy says
It was amazing. I will make it again. Thanks for the recipe!
Rick Teller says
Very good; will repeat. Used a wok rather than a skillet; also ramped up the ginger a bit. Added a handful of cashew pieces for crunch, because they were sitting on the counter and why not?
Anne says
That sounds so good to add cashews!
Susan Quickle says
I really enjoyed this dish. I wasn’t able to find fresh ginger or a fresh red chili pepper. I substituted with ground ginger and an Asian red chili sauce and it was great. Deffinetly going to fix it again, hopefully with the fresh ginger next time. My husband thought it might actually taste good with some pineapple. We will see. Thank you so much.
Susan s. says
Made this tonight. The recipe was easy to follow and meal was delicious. I served it over rice. Family loved it. I had doubled the sauce recipe. Definitely will make again. Thanks for the recipe.
Rebecca H. says
So delicious! Easy to follow recipe and everyone loved it.
Kendra says
Yummy! I just made this tonight and I am impressed with the ease and the complexity of flavors in this dish! Well done, I will make this again.
Lindsey says
My goodness this is now a staple in my house! Wow...just wow. We don't use soy sauce, instead we use coconut aminos. Im sure the 2 different soy sauces make a more well rounded flavor, however the coconut amino did not disappoint. We absolutely love this one!
Ann Alexander says
Delicious!!! All 3 of us gave it 5 stars! Not sure that’s ever happened in my house before. This one is a keeper!
Jan says
I made this last night for dinner and I will add this to my rotation! My husband is pretty picky eater and he loved it! Thanks for sharing! I doubled the sauce and added some zucchini but other wise the same as recipe!!
Sara says
Made this last night and it was so yummy! Modified the sauce by adding a spoonful of crispy chili flakes & oyster sauce because we like it extra spicy. Delicious will definitely be making it again 😋
Amiee says
My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe. I added some red pepper flakes and extra pepper as we both like that kind of flavors. I felt this recipe was easy to follow with great tips and directions. I also made the fried rice recipe she suggested and that was AMAZING!
Kelli McDougall says
I made this tonight & it was delicious! So much flavor & my husband & kid approved! We will definitely be making this again!
Helen Manuel says
I made this recipe for lunch today and we enjoyed it very much. I did add mushrooms and red pepper flakes. My husband said he would eat it again.
Ashley says
AMAZING! I didn’t have chili peppers so I used chili pepper sauce. I also added some pineapple and sriracha for some added heat. This was very easy to make. I will definitely make this again!
Stephen Brinson says
I’m a stay at home Dad & Grandpa I love cooking & trying new dishes. My wife is a nurse in Labor & Delivery Department. She hasn’t cooked daily in years bcuz she says she taught me how lol. Anyway your Black Pepper Chicken is ah Keeper and thanks for sharing and letting others like myself try new recipes.
Jeanne says
This is delicious! I have made it multiple times in the last few weeks. Tonight I doubled the sauce and tossed in Udon noodles before I added it. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe. I can't get enough of it!
Tianna. says
Very delicious! Can you freeze this meal?
Dominique W says
This was such an easy, inexpensive and absolutely delicious meal! Thank you for sharing your recipe. My kids loved it!
Sheldon says
Absolutely brilliant, loved the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
PS: Don't for a minute take to heart what Ron said about your recipe, it was amazing. Even my Wife & Daughter commented on how good it was 😎
Anne says
I made this tonight and it was SO good!! I followed the recipe as stated except we could not find dark soy but in googling, we decided to go with a Korean BBQ thick sauce which worked great. For the red chile pepper the only thing I could find was small red anaheim chile peppers and those were VERY good in this recipe. We served this with Trader Joe's veggie Chinese rice and also, I picked up broccoli and beef at Trader Joes. WHAT an amazing meal! Thank you for a truly great recipe!
Nancy says
We made it for dinner tonight, & we loved it! Both my husband & I added the Japanese seven spice to our dishes. I just recommend, not using a Great Value rice.
Prabh says
Beautiful!
Liked it reading, gonna try just now.
Niki says
Delicious and super easy to make! I made this with your 10 Minute Sesame Garlic Ramen recipe and the whole family loved it!
K J says
I inadvertently marinated the chicken instead of coating. So I sautéed the veggies first and then cooked the chicken and “marinade.” Still turned out great! Will definitely make again (but will pay more attention next time)!
Doug says
FYI: Chilis, like Thai Bird Chilis, freeze VERY well. They won't even need thawing before chopping them up. I keep a small tub in the freezer at all times, just in case I need MORE heat! So buy ahead and freeze 'em!
Hege says
We loved this 🙂
Michael Sauro says
We loved it. So very easy to make. Left overs were delicious the next day too. This is a keeper.
Vicki says
Haven’t made it yet. But, I boot the peanut oil. I don’t use that hardly that often. What can you replace it with?
Vicki
Jo Ann says
This was very good and easy to make. Very flavorful with adding a little more ginger and garlic. (We love garlic and ginger)THANKS
Mike says
Superb flavor, tastes like Panda Express. One note, leave corn starch of chicken when marinating. You achieve a better color in the meat and can add starch later. Otherwise, this is a banger recipe.
Michel says
Easy and very good. Very soft and juicy chicken after marinade and short time cooking. Already done it twice.
Stacey says
Delicious I threw a little red bell in there since I had some that needed to be used up. Good!
Dawn Bondy says
Did i miss the nutritional information? Carbs etc
T. S. says
Easy & quick prep ahead meal. I used red pepper flakes instead of chili pepper. I served it with white sticky rice. This tastes a lot like Kung Pao chicken so I would add mushrooms & peanuts next time. Definitely a keeper!
Kirstin says
Soo good !
Heather says
Excellent recipe! The only thing I did differently was add a cornstarch slurry to thicken up the sauce to my liking to coat the chicken! 10 out of 10!