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Skip takeout and make this Black Pepper Chicken Recipe at home. One pot meals make dinner so easy and the flavor is amazing in this Chinese black pepper chicken. This Copycat Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken is ready in 15 minutes!
Our family loves Panda Express but it can get really expensive when the entire family goes and it isn’t always convenient. I attempted to make this copycat Panda Express black pepper chicken at home and my kids could not believe how amazing it was. Everyone was pretty impressed with how it tasted.
One of my favorite recipes! I love the flavor, and it tastes way better than take-out!
-Kathryn C
We also saved time because this entire recipe comes together in only 15 minutes. Even Chinese takeout usually takes longer than that. Talk about a win all around.
You may also love our Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe and Hoisin Sauce Noodles with Chicken. You may love these one pot meals, Lazy Day One Pot Spaghetti Recipe, Slow Cooker Korean Beef, One Pot Italian Chicken Past Recipe, General Tso’s Chicken and Tex-Mex Chicken Chili One Pot Recipe.
Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts – You can also use Boneless Chicken Thighs or Chicken Tenders
- Green Bell Pepper – Feel free to use red bell pepper or peas as an easy substitute
- Red Onion – Love the color of red onion but white onion
- Olive Oil – Change oil to vegetable oil, sesame oil or canola oil
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce – You can also use coconut aminos, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce or check out these Best Soy Sauce Substitute
- Minced Garlic – If using fresh garlic, learn How to Mince Garlic Cloves
- Ground Ginger – Also see The Best Ginger Substitutes)
Scroll to the recipe card for the full recipe details.
How to Make Black Pepper Chicken
Step 1 – First, heat half of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
Step 2 – Add the chicken pieces and cook for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is browned and cooked through in a skillet or a Wok. Then move the chicken to a separate plate.
Step 3 – Next add the remaining olive oil to the pan with the bell peppers, celery, onions and garlic. Cook these ingredients for 5-6 minutes until slightly soft.
Step 4 – Then in a separate small bowl, combine the soy sauce, corn starch, oyster sauce, vinegar, black pepper and ginger.
Step 5 – Then pour the sauce mixture and chicken back to the skillet with the vegetables.
Step 6 – Stir to combine these ingredients.
Step 7 – Make sure that you coat the tender chicken and vegetables with the sauce.
Step 8 – Cook for 1-2 minutes and the black pepper sauce has thickened.
Step 9 – Next remove from the skillet and top with the sesame seeds.
Easy Black Pepper Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 3 chicken breasts (diced into bite size pieces)
- 1 green pepper (sliced)
- ½ red onion (sliced)
- 2 stalks celery (diced)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
For the Sauce:
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is browned and cooked through.
- Move the chicken to a separate plate.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan with the bell peppers, onion, celery and garlic. Cook these ingredients for 5-6 minutes until slightly soft.
- I a separate small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.
- Stir the chicken and sauce back into the skillet. Stir to combine all ingredients with the sauce.
- Cook over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove from heat and top with the sesame seeds. Then it's ready to serve and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- It is best to cook chicken hot and fast – Make sure you dice your chicken into small bites. It is best to cook your chicken in a hot skillet and large enough that the chicken cook evenly.
- If you have a small pan – If you do have a small pan, cook chicken in batches. Try not to over crowd the pan so that you can cook chicken fast.
- Cook Vegetables Softly – We like to cook our vegetable so that they are soft but still have a little bit of crunch to them.
- Add sauce when everything is done – Add your sauce when your chicken and vegetables are done. If you add it to soon that it makes the food mushy.
- Easy Cleanup – We love that everything cooks in one skillet. It makes for an easy cleanup so we can spend more time with family.
- Add more Vegetables – We like to add in some chopped broccoli and shredded carrots. I am always trying to find ways to get my family to eat more vegetables.
- Skillet – We use a cast iron skillet and it’s perfect for this recipe. I have the Lodge cast iron skillet but you can see all the different brands here. Cast iron is amazing. You can make so many different recipes, include stir fries, and they are great for skillet recipes.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Suggestions
Serve over cooked white rice and top with sesame seeds and green onion if you prefer. Did you know that you can also cook rice in the slow cooker? I like to cook a ton of rice in my crock pot and then freeze it for recipes like this one.
This way I always have some cooked rice on hand for recipes that require it or for a quick side dish in no time at all. You make even like this Tiktok Ramen.
You can also steam broccoli in the microwave for a quick and easy side dish or Crab Rangoon, Wonton Soup or Cream Cheese Wontons for a tasty side dish. It is so simple goes great with this recipe.
However, there are lots of bell peppers and onions in this recipe so you really don’t need extra veggies if you don’t want to fix anything else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can use chicken thighs or chicken tenders. We have even made this recipe with leftover chicken and rotisserie chicken.
Cut the chicken breast into bite size pieces by placing on a cutting board and cut with a sharp knife. I like try cut in about the same size pieces so the chicken cooks about the same time.
This black pepper chicken is a great meal to prepare for leftovers or your lunch for the week. We think it taste even better after the chicken has time to marinate in the black pepper sauce. If stored properly in an airtight container, it will stay fresh for up to 4 days in the fridge. I usually will store in individual containers with some rice and it make a perfect lunch for my husband and I.
We just reheat in the microwave and turns out great.
More Easy Asian Recipes
Easy Asian Dinner
Asian Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe
Easy Asian Dinner
String Bean Chicken Panda Express
Quick and Easy Instant Pot
Instant Pot Mongolian Beef Recipe
Easy Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken
We love to hear from you. If you make this Copycat Black Pepper Chicken Recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review.
I made this tonight. It ZZZ was easy ro make abd delicious. I will make this again.
I made this dish tonight. I should have used low-sodium soy sauce because the sauce turned out a bit salty, but overall it was really good. I served it with white rice. The chicken was good, the veggies were tender, and it had a great overall flavor. I will definitely be adding this recipe to our regular rotation.
One of my favorite recipes! I love the flavor, and it tastes way better than take-out!
This recipe is so good. It’s better than what you get in a restaurant.