Weeknights just got spicy!
This Southeast Asian One-Pot Black Pepper Chicken dish is a spicy and savory delight. You’ll find the flavors of ginger, soy, and garlic play off one another perfectly, building a ton of flavor in a short amount of time. And you’ll love the way the black pepper emerges as the star in this incredibly flavorful, healthy one pan dish.
Because this recipe only requires only one pot, clean-up is easier than ever! In fact, everything about this dish is simple. The prep only requires chopping a few veggies and whisking together a quick marinade. From there, you just need to choose your favorite pan and stir-fry it all up! Lean chicken is a healthy protein, and garlic and ginger are both known for their numerous health benefits.
This healthy meal makes a fabulous weeknight dinner that will have your kitchen smelling like a gourmet dream! Serve it up over brown rice or quinoa to create a complete meal packed full of protein. This One-Pot Black Pepper Chicken dish will have you asking yourself why you need take-out when you can make a healthier version at home!
An Optional Crispy Chicken Option
If you want chicken with crispier edges in your One-Pot Black Pepper Chicken, we can make that happen! In our regular recipe, we have you add the chicken and all the juices to the pan. This creates an immensely flavorful sauce, but the chicken will turn out soft. That definitely works if you’re looking for a quick-and-easy way to make dinner, but you can also make the chicken crispier if you have a little extra time.
To create crispier chicken, sear the chicken without adding the juices. Cooking the chicken in oil over medium-high heat for five to six minutes is all you need to give the chicken an added boost of texture. To keep the chicken from getting soggy when you add the juices, cook them down separately in a small pot. Once they’ve reduced by half, you can toss them with the crispy chicken and vegetables. This process creates another dish to clean, but it’s totally worth it.
Let us know what you think in the comments! We always love hearing from you, especially if you have any helpful tips for making this recipe the best it can possibly be.
One-Pot Black Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless and skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and cut into strips
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper freshly ground
- 1 inch ginger root fresh, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely minced
- 3 tablespoons lite soy sauce divided, optional coconut aminos, tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar divided
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar or honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Whisk together in a medium-sized bowl, half of the soy sauce, half of the vinegar, and the sweetener. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Place in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Add oil to a skillet and heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds, just until garlic is golden and fragrant, but not burnt.
- Add the marinated chicken with any juices in the bowl and cook for 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper strips, remaining soy sauce and vinegar, and black pepper and stir. Cook for about 10 minutes until peppers have softened and chicken is cooked through.
- Spoon chicken over or alongside brown rice or quinoa.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Have you made this recipe?
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I'm really enjoying the recipe ideas presented, however continue to be disappointed by the inclusion of sugar.
I appreciate that Thai and Asian recipes do call for the use of palm sugar, however these countries also have an increasing population health issue of sugar related diabetes – as do we in the Western World.
Just to clarify, I am not suggesting sugar substitutes – these are just as bad, if not worse. It would simply be great to see a health and fitness blog which is promoting healthy lifestyle to also support the omission, or at least significant reduction, of unnecessary sugars all together, especially in savoury food ideas.
Ann, Of all the unrefined natural sweeteners, coconut palm sugar ranks one of the lowest on the glycemic index. It is a great alternative to sugar!
Honestly, there is one tablespoon in the recipe. Of course indulging in too much sugar is not healthy for anyone, but one tablespoon is a pretty innocuous amount. Most people who ingest too much sugar do so in processed or fast foods, not homemade dishes made with whole foods. The same with salt.
I appreciate your intent, but taking this site to task for the use of any sugars is kind of ridiculous.
I absolutely agree with your post. Most people are killing themselves drinking soft drinks and juices. 1 T in this recipe is not nearly as harmful as a teaspoon of Equal, which is pure poison.
Without the sugar the dish would be overwhelming in the salt depatment. You have to have a balance or it is just bad.
I made this – was pretty bland. Wondering what I could add in the future to give it more flavor – or maybe it is supposed to be bland. (Never thought of Indian food as bland).
Judy Rowe Britt, Add more pepper and soy sauce for more flavor, and for a kick add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
I made something similar to this last night, except I added more ginger. I also put a good squeeze of lemon in, chili, onion powder and instead of olive oil I used sesame oil. The sesame oil gives it that rich authentic taste and I just prefer it over olive oil when making stir frys (or I use coconut oil as well). I also added unsalted cashews that I roasted in the oven prior, obviously the cashews will increase the fat/calorie content etc, but it's just sooo good 😉
Renee, All of those ideas sound great. Thanks for sharing.
Some grated fresh ginger at the very end would add some zing. I love fresh ginger and it’s such a healthy addition.
because its not Indian food. its more Chinese flavor than Indian.
I made this and didn't find it bland at all!! It was delicious and very flavourful. I've shared this recipe with my friends and family.
Guest, Thanks, this has been corrected.
Does this recipe call for distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar? Does anyone know?
Laurie, This recipe calls for distilled white vinegar:).
Thanks for the recipe, making this tonight over brown rice, looks delicious!
Has anyone tried Black Pepper Sauce? If you want a kick to your recipe, try it!
I just made this. And yes the chicken was pretty bland! Perhaps the marinade needs longer than 30 mins (although I let my chicken marinate for almost an hour). Also, my end result did NOT look like this photo. Perhaps the sauce darkening and caramelization varies depending on the sweetener and type liquid used (I used coconut aminos and coconut sugar) Maybe, the liquid aminos and honey would have made the sauce darker and thicker…… I had to do some serious tweaking. ( added a white onion, scallions
Would this work well in a crock pot?
Lori GT, It should work well in a crockpot. If you do make it that way, you can add more vegetables and a touch of liquid.
this was wonderful! Right before I served the dish i put in a teaspoon of peanut butter for a more nuttier taste, but this is going to be a staple in my home.
Wonderful recipe. Since you didn't state the amount, I've added 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. It was delicious. Thank you.
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper, but you can adjust that for taste. We're glad you enjoyed the dish!
This recipe was AWESOME!!!! And only 6 WW points!
YAH!!! So happy you enjoyed. It’s one of our family favorites. 🙂
Made this tonight, and it was a big hit. I think there was tons of flavor. Now I don’t have to get
Black pepper chicken at Panda Express. I’ll just make my own now.
We’re so glad that you enjoyed it!
This sounds amazing, but i have thawed out boneless pork chops, I might have to try it just to see if it would be just as good.
You say 1/4 of the recipe. Can you tell me is that one cup?
Jolie, This recipe makes approximately 1 cup serving sizes, or just a bit more. 🙂
I made this and it didn’t look anything like the photo. In the photo it’s a very dark red. It tasted pretty good. Nice for a light weekday meal but not special enough for company. It doesn’t taste “Indian” to me though. Garlic and ginger are the start of a lot of Indian dishes, but there really wasn’t anything else that would make me think it was Indian. It tasted more like a North American Chinese dish.
I just made this and it was a HUGE hit with everyone (including our 18-month-old and 3-year-old boys)! I cooked at a higher temperature to thicken the sauce and it turned out just like the picture. Thanks for giving us a new favorite!
Missy, YAH!!! Thank you so much for the feedback, it’s much appreciated. 🙂
I followed the recipe, no bland chickenk it was w9nderful. Thanks so much for sharing. Will definitely try this again.
We’re happy that you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Tried this dish last night and it was delicious. Very flavorful! I didn’t have much sauce so we just added more soy sauce to our individual servings!
Delicious…not at all bland….will definitely be making this again.
I just made it and it’s great, but is there a way to thicken the juice into a sauce?
Mike, Stir in a 1 teaspoon cornstart until desired consistence is reached.
Could I substitute ground ginger for the fresh? What would the conversion be? Just trying to use what I have on hand…
Yes, you can substitute 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger for each tablespoon of fresh. A one-inch section of fresh ginger equates to about a tablespoon.
This recipe is a keeper❤️My family loved it!!!
We’re so happy that your family enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I going to try this tonight I doubt I’ll get a response by then but would this be good if I added sugar snap peas at the time I add the red pepper? Also has anyone tried this in a wok how would that work?
Sorry we didn’t get to your comment sooner, Bobby! Yes, you can add snap peas at the same time as the red pepper. This would be a delicious addition! Let us know how your meal turned out.
This is a great week night meal! Our whole family loved this. We were generous with the ginger, garlic and black pepper. We added celery (like Panda Express which I love) and some snap peas to the red peppers, and half an onion. The black pepper is kind of a slow after burn so it provides some “interest” for the adults but it’s not so spicy that our 10 and 13 year old kids couldn’t handle it. Honey is always a preferable choice for our family vs. sugar. And we turned it up to med-high cooking temperature after we cooked the garlic and ginger. Our version was saucier than the photo but we used all that sauce on the rice! Yum!
We’re happy you liked the recipe! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This recipe was great. Everyone liked it. My boyfriend said it was a keeper recipe. It has great flavor. Will definitely make it again. Thank u. Can’t wait to try a few more of these recipes
Just made this. Huge hit with my hubby. I subbed avocado and sesame oils, added yellow and red peppers plus red onion, rice vinegar and I used the aminos. SUPER delish! Like the suggestions for tasted cashews or chunky pb. ?
This recipe was great as I was looking for a recipe similar to the black pepper chicken dish in our local indian restaurant. I did add some green peppers as well and lots of small chestnut button mushrooms. I also added a bit more of the dark soya sauce and just a little less sugar. I also use white balsamic vinegar, It was delicious and very very close to the dish we always choose in our local indian restaurant
Val, WOW…these are some great tips, we’ll try them out. 🙂 Thank you!
Is the rice or quinoa part of the 6 points?
Kelly, Smart points would need calculted separately.
Me and my family love this recipe.
I have made this a few times now and my whole family loves it! However, it never looks like yours and I follow the recipe exactly. Is there something I could do to get that crusty, gooey, delicious look? Mine seems to be a tad more runny, still delicious but runny.
Amanda, You might try searing the chicken cubes, using a higher temperature, just be sure not to burn. Also, add less of the liquid when searing. Sometimes I like to heat most of the marinade in a small pot, separately from the chicken, and cook down until it’s a little thicker. That should do the trick.
I put it in the recipe builder on the app and it said it was only 2 smart points
Hi Natasha! I double checked the recipe and 2 Freestyle SmartPoints is correct! I’ve updated the recipe. Thank you!
Has anyone substituted white vinegar for Apple Cider Vinegar, or Rice wine vinegar? It seems to me that with that substitution as well as Sesame oil, it might be a bit more authentic in flavor.
You can definitely substitute the white vinegar for another. The vinegar substitutions won’t change the flavor. Changing the oil to sesame oil will change the flavor, however traditionally peanut oil would be used. We try to use olive oil for most of our recipes but feel free to adapt to your personal preferences.
I have made this twice and it was amazing so much flavour. I did however cut down on the pepper when I made it the second time and it still has a kick. I only used a 1/2 Tbsp of Olive Oil because I feel 2 Tbsp would make it to greasy.
We’re glad to hear you loved the recipe, Dannette!
Delicious.. served this great dish over Chinese egg noodles stir fried in oyster sauce.
This recipe is 5 stars!!! Followed recipe exactly (maybe a bit more honey) but was absolutely DELICIOUS! Served over white rice…my family is BEGGING me to make again! TYSM ❤️
Aimee, YEAH!!! When you get a minute please leave a review.
Sorry I forgot to actually rate ?let me try again…5 stars allllllll the way! I’ll be making this recipe on the weekly ?
Aimee, Thank you so very much for the feedback.