Black Pepper Chicken is a simple 30-minute stir-fry with veggies and a delicious peppery sauce. Today I’m sharing how to serve this over chow mein noodles or rice!
Serve alongside this Asian Cucumber Salad!
Best Black Pepper Chicken
My family always teases me about how much I love black pepper. I add a normal amount when I’m cooking, but then I can’t help sprinkling a little extra on my plate. So it’s no surprise that Black Pepper Chicken is one of my favorites.
This stir-fry is packed with flavor, easy to make, and has quickly become a family go-to.
The pepper gives it a bit of a kick, but you can easily adjust it to your taste. I’ve tried it with both noodles and rice, and today I’ll show you how to make it with either!
Ingredients
- Chicken: Thighs are juicier, but breasts work great too.
- Pepper: Adjust to preference.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch locks in moisture and helps brown the chicken.
- Bell Pepper, Celery, & Onion: These veggies add crunch, flavor, and color.
- Garlic & Ginger: Use fresh not jarred if possible.
- Vegetable Oil: Ideal for high-heat stir-frying without smoking.
- Sauce: Whisk sauce well before adding it to pan, as the cornstarch can settle.
- Cooked Rice or Noodles: Choose your base! For noodles, increase chicken stock to 1/3 cup so they soak up all the sauce.
How To Make Black Pepper Chicken
This recipe is incredibly easy and quick to make. Once the veggies and chicken are prepped, the actual cook time is very fast.
- Prep veggies: Thinly slice/chop all the veggies: the pepper, celery, garlic, and ginger.
- Prep sauce: Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl and set aside.
- Cook noodles or rice: Follow package directions to prepare the noodles and then rinse in cold water. Alternatively, prepare rice instead.
- Fire up stove: Now that everything’s prepped, it’s time to cook! Start with the veggies, and then the chicken.
- Add sauce: Pour it in, toss to combine, and enjoy!
How To Serve This Dish
Black Pepper Chicken with rice:
- Reduce the chicken broth/stock to 1 tablespoon.
- Remove the noodles entirely from the recipe and prepare rice separately.
- Serve stir fry over rice.
Stir fry with noodles:
- Cook chow mein noodles (click the link to see what I use) for 1 minute less than the container says; drain and rinse in cold water.
- Increase the chicken broth or stock from 1 tablespoon to 1/3 cup.
- Toss the noodles along with the sauce to get everything coated.
Quick Tip
To tenderize chicken breast: Cut into small pieces, toss with baking soda, let stand for 15-20 minutes, rinse in cold water, and pat dry. This optional step, suggested by Cooks Illustrated, ensures ultra-tender chicken in your black pepper chicken.
Storage
Storage Tips
- Store this Black Pepper Chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in a microwave or on the stove before serving.
- To freeze this dish, place it in a freezer-safe container or airtight freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
More Delicious Chicken Dinners
Black Pepper Chicken
Black Pepper Chicken is a quick and flavorful meal loaded with tender chicken, colorful veggies, and a bold, peppery stir-fry sauce. You can have it on the table in 30 minutes or less!
Equipment
- Fine mesh sieve optional
- Large pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda optional
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 cup green bell pepper 1 large pepper
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery sliced on the bias, 3 stalks
- 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion 1/2 large onion
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced in 1-inch pieces, see note 1
- 2 teaspoons garlic cloves minced, 2 large cloves
- 1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Cooked white rice or cooked chow mein noodles, for serving, see note 2
- Fresh sliced green onions optional, for topping
Sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon chicken stock or broth, see note 2
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil or plain sesame oil
- 1/2 to 2 teaspoons freshly cracked pepper depending on heat preference
Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. This step is optional, but will ensure super tender chicken: Place in a small bowl, toss with baking soda, and refrigerate, covered, 15 minutes. Then place chicken in a fine mesh sieve and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. If not doing this step, simply chop the chicken and proceed.Toss chicken with 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch and salt and pepper to taste (I add about 1/4 teaspoon each).
- Chop pepper into bite-sized chunks, thinly slice celery on the bias: Hold your knife diagonally across the celery stalk, and thinly slice. This obtains more surface area to brown the celery and reduce cooking time. Thinly slice yellow onion. Mince ginger and garlic.
- In a small bowl, add soy sauce and remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Whisk with a fork until completely smooth. Stir in oyster sauce, chicken stock, honey, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Add freshly cracked pepper to taste. (I start with 1/2 teaspoon and go up to 2 teaspoons—depending on the type of pepper and personal heat preferences. Start with less; you can always add more.) Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pan over high heat. Add bell pepper, onion, and celery. Cook 5–8 minutes or until they aren't hard or soggy but still have a bite to them. And garlic and ginger. Be careful to make sure neither burn—only cook about 20 seconds. Transfer veggies to a plate and set aside. Add chicken to the pan (adding an additional tablespoon of oil if needed) and stir constantly for about 2–4 minutes or until both sides are lightly browned but not fully cooked through; time varies depending on size of chicken chunks.
- Return all cooked veggies and sauce mixture to the pan (give the sauce a quick stir before adding in case ingredients have settled). Toss with tongs 1–3 minutes or until sauce has slightly thickened and chicken is fully cooked. Optionally garnish with green onions. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste, adding more salt and pepper if desired.
- Enjoy immediately served over cooked white rice or with cooked chow mein noodles.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: I recommend using fresh garlic and ginger so neither burn at the high cooking heats. Jarred or paste garlic and ginger cook much quicker at a high heat.
Note 2: If you’d like to serve this stir fry with noodles instead of rice, cook 6 ounces of chow mein noodles (I use WEL-pak®) for 2 minutes in boiling water. Drain and rinse in cold water. Increase the chicken stock/broth in the sauce to 1/3 cup. Add cooked noodles back in when you add in the sauce. Toss with tongs for an extra minute.
Nutrition Note: Nutrition Facts do not include rice or noodles.
Storage: Store this Black Pepper Chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3–4 days. Reheat in a microwave or on the stove. To freeze, place it in a freezer-safe container or airtight freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Nutrition
Serving: 3servings | Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 2056mg | Potassium: 747mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 312IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is one of my favorite dinners, not only to eat but to make too!
Made these last night and served them over yakisoba noodles. So delicious and so easy! There was plenty of sauce for the noodles too.
new favorite dinner
This quickly became a new favorite at my house!
We were looking for something quick and easy to make and came across this! It taste so good! Served it over rice!