Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken Copycat Recipe – a delicious Chinese inspired dish based off Panda Express’ popular black pepper chicken!
Tastes just like it is from Panda Express but a million times better with tons of garlic and black pepper chicken flavor for dinner the whole family will love – faster than it takes to pick up takeout!
My daughter’s absolute favorite fast food on earth, hands down, is Panda Express.
She loves the chow mein, the orange chicken, the broccoli and beef – and she really, really loves the Black Pepper Chicken. It’s full of flavor, gluten free, lower calorie, and low carb – making it one of my favorite Panda Express dishes too.
This Copycat Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken recipe, complete with celery and onions and a thick, rich, and tangy black pepper sauce is my go-to now anytime we’re craving Panda Express!
This easy Black Pepper Chicken recipe can be made in less time than it takes to drive to a Panda Express – and tastes about a million times better than takeout. It can also be made to work into a paleo diet or keto diet, since it is naturally gluten and grain free, and low carb – making this a healthy and delicious Copycat Panda Express Recipe!
Just Take Me To The Recipe Already!
If you’d rather skip my (very helpful, i think) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to this deliciously easy black pepper chicken recipe – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
What is Black Pepper Chicken
Black pepper chicken is a delicious Chinese inspired dish popularized by American Chinese restaurants.
While many black pepper chicken dishes Americans love aren’t traditional Chinese cuisine (American style Chinese food is thicker, has more sauce, and tends to combine ingredients not usually combined in regional Chinese dishes , the dish has become a staple on many Chinese restaurant menus.
Panda Express is well known for their black pepper chicken as it is one of their lighter offerings and is also gluten free – but it is a bit of a departure from more traditional Chinese black pepper chicken offerings since it is a lot thicker and has a lot more sauce.
This Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken Copycat Recipe is light, delicious, and full of flavor – it is a bit spicy and tangy, and has a deliciously rich garlic flavor that will quickly make this simple black pepper chicken dish a huge favorite with your family!
How to Prepare Black Pepper Chicken
Black pepper chicken is one of the easiest Panda Express copycat recipes to make – most of it is mixing the sauce and then pan frying the chicken and vegetables. There are a couple of tips and tricks to make sure your black pepper chicken turns out perfect, every time!
-Cook hot and fast.
This chicken tastes best when diced small and cooked very hot and very fast – make sure you’re using a large pan or wok and high heat to cook your chicken quick! You want your chicken to pan-fry, NOT boil.
-Cook in batches.
If your pan is smaller, cook the chicken and vegetables in batches to cook everything quickly – then add back into the pan to toss with sauce to come together.
-Soften Vegetables, but not too much.
Your vegetables should be softened – but not cooked to soft! Slightly crunchy vegetables give this dish a perfect fresh and crunchy texture that everyone loves.
-Slice celery on a diagonal for more bite.
To slice your celery like panda express, lay the celery face down (like an upside down U) on a cutting board.
Slice celery at an angle towards you to make larger wedges instead of thinly sliced half-circles for more crunch just like Panda Express serves theirs.
-Don’t add the sauce until the end.
Don’t add the sauce until your dish is done – we want to warm the sauce and let it coat the chicken and vegetables – but we don’t want the sauce to overcook the food and turn it mushy after pan frying.
Is Black Pepper Chicken Healthy
While many Chinese inspired dishes in America aren’t actually very healthy and are known for being a bit heavier and oily, this black pepper chicken is a smart choice for those looking to indulge their Chinese food chicken cravings without a heavy or calorie and fat laden nutritional profile like other Americanized Chinese food dishes.
Black pepper chicken relies on fresh vegetables and dried herbs as well as a few sauces to come together with a rich, hearty, and indulgent flavor that doesn’t include soy, gluten, or much sugar as other Americanized Chinese food dishes normally have.
This Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken Copycat recipe is a healthy Chinese food inspired dish that works well in low carb and low calorie diets, and can easily be made even healthier with a couple of swaps outlined below.
Gluten Free Chinese Food Chicken Recipe
This easy and delicious Panda Express Copycat Black Pepper Chicken recipe is naturally gluten free – and can easily be made to work in a paleo diet or keto diet, too!
This recipe can be naturally low carb – but I’m outlining a lot of swaps you can try if you’re looking for some substitutions!
-Oyster Sauce – there is no true swap for oyster sauce if you’re worried about the 5 carbs per serving Oyster Sauce packs (Oyster sauce is higher carb than soy sauce, but it’s flavor is not easily substituted and the texture is much thicker and ideal in this recipe- though you can make your own oyster sauce at home to cut down some of the carbs in the sauce.)
If you’re looking to swap out the oyster sauce, you can try the following:
-Coconut Aminos (use the garlic or original flavor)
-Soy sauce (generally many keto diets will allow soy sauce if staying lower carb is a consideration for you.)
-Hoisin sauce (this is not an exact swap, but if it’s what you have on hand, it will work, albeit with a different flavor profile.)
Alternatively, if you’re sticking to a keto or paleo diet, the cornstarch in this recipe might trip you up. There are a couple of easy options to cut the cornstarch in this recipe, depending on your preference:
-Use arrowroot or xantham gum as a cornstarch substitute for dredging the chicken;
or my preferred option: skip it entirely and just pan fry chicken without dredging.
If you opt to just fry the chicken, it will have less of a coating and the sauce won’t get the extra starch, making it a tiny bit thinner, but the flavor will still be out of this world.
Whatever option you pick is entirely up to you!
What to Serve With Black Pepper Chicken:
We love serving this simple dish with rice, lo mein, grilled bok choy, spicy edamame, and Chinese style green beans!
To find more Asian food inspired recipes, please browse some of our recent favorites below:
Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken Copycat Recipe
If you love this Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken Copycat Recipe as much as I do, please write a five star review, and be sure to help me share on facebook and pinterest!
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Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken Copycat Recipe
Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken Copycat Recipe - a delicious Chinese inspired dish based off Panda Express' popular black pepper chicken! Tastes just like it is from Panda Express but a million times better with tons of garlic and black pepper chicken flavor for dinner the whole family will love - faster than it takes to pick up takeout!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 6 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 3 celery stalks, sliced
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 2 cups cooked rice
- For the Sauce:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
Instructions
For the Sauce:
- In a large bowl, mix together all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
For the Chicken:
- Cut chicken into 1" cubes and pat dry with a towel.
- In a small bowl mix cornstarch, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, and ginger powder. Place chicken a bowl and coat well with the spice and cornstarch mixture.
- Heat peanut oil over medium heat in a large skillet on medium high until shimmery.
- Add chicken to oil in small batches so it can cook quickly - don't overcrowd pan.
- Remove chicken from pan, place on a plate and repeat the sauteing process with the rest of the chicken in batches until done.
- Sauté vegetables in the hot pan for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender then add the chicken back into the pan.
- Add sauce and broth to pan, bring mixture to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Serve over a large bowl of rice and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 406Saturated Fat 5gCholesterol 110mgSodium 440mgCarbohydrates 25gFiber 2gSugar 2gProtein 21g
Cristina
Hi, this looks so amazing! Can’t wait to try. I do very low carb when possible, So how many carbs without the rice? Thank you so much!
Katherine
Hi Cristina,
If you are trying to go low carb try subbing cauliflower rice, here is my recipe for Best Ever Cauliflower Rice
Scott
Delicious recipe!
As a warning though… “This easy and delicious Panda Express Copycat Black Pepper Chicken recipe is naturally gluten free”, probably isn’t true.
Most chicken stocks and broths contain wheat. Also, most oyster sauces contain wheat.
As someone who cooks fairly often for folks I know who have celiac disease, you have to look for the gluten free label. Gluten can be hidden in “natural flavorings” and also yeast extract. If it doesn’t say it is gluten free, then it isn’t. On the note of stir fries… Even though the recipe doesn’t call for it, most soy sauces are not gluten free as well.
virginia deane
I literally just licked the plate. I’m 21 weeks pregnant and seriously craving Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken but am obsessed with having control over ingredients (organic chicken, no hormones, no GMO, etc. etc. etc.) so I made this at home and am SO happy. Pregnancy craving cured. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Also – celery is great for your immune system so I loaded up my plate with the celery. Your directions and tips were spot on!
Heidi
I LOVE Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken and I’ve been meaning to try making it for a while. I finally decided tonight was the night and Wow! This is even better! I’m not a fan of cooked celery so I opted for zucchini. I only had seasoned rice vinegar so I used it and think it gave a little more sweetness than unseasoned would have but it was so darn good, I won’t hesitate to do it again. I love spicy food and this did make me break a mild sweat! That’s a huge thumbs up!