Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken (Copycat)

Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken is marinated ginger soy chicken, in a peppery black pepper sauce with celery and onions that tastes exactly like the Panda Express version you love! And really low in fat and WW points!

Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken is marinated ginger soy chicken, in a peppery black pepper sauce with celery and onions that tastes exactly like the Panda Express version you love! And really low in fat and WW points!

This is my first post of the new year and it seems only fitting that it is a Panda Express recipe copycat. Why is that you ask? You guys LOVE them. Every one of the recipes that have been posted here have been among the most popular recipes on the blog. I don’t blame you all, I love them too. In fact while you only see a recipe posted on here once there are recipes I make for us at home and for clients more than once a week. Among those are most of the Panda Express recipes, my Crisp and Juicy Slow Cooker Chicken which we make at home every Sunday night (without exception) and the One Pan Baked Chicken and Rice. Sounds like a lot of chicken right? We have young kids, so plain chicken and baked brown rice are staples in our diets around here.

So back to the task at hand, today’s newest Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken recipe! Let’s add it to the arsenal shall we? And if you would like to take a trip down Chinese food memory lane, here are all the other recipes we have so far so you can build your two or three item plates at home.

I have to say it has been a little while since I had a new recipe on the blog, and in fact the last one was the accompaniment to this meal (the fried rice). While I’ve been gone I have been working on a project for later this year. So while I thought I would use the last week to decompress and relax, I was writing up a storm! Oh and the best part of the holiday? I didn’t cook a single thing for Christmas since we flew home for the occasion and then I took the rest of the weekend off from cooking for good measure ;). The most important thing I realized in the down time? I look forward to these posts and actually felt sort of odd not waking up to all the interaction I have with you guys each day! What I am trying to say is I missed you all!

Its a fresh slate this year, there are a lot of things on the horizon for the blog. Lot’s of new recipes, a few projects I am working on related to blogging and if all goes well I will be launching a hugely innovative feature on this blog at the end of the month. <—I really hope I did not jinx myself here.

So sit back and eat some delicious Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken because it fits into your New Year’s resolution! Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken is marinated ginger soy chicken, in a peppery black pepper sauce with celery and onions that tastes exactly like the Panda Express version you love! And really low in fat and WW points!

Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken is marinated ginger soy chicken, in a peppery black pepper sauce with celery and onions that tastes exactly like the Panda Express version you love! And really low in fat and WW points!
4.88 from 48 votes
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Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken (Copycat)

Marinated ginger soy chicken, in a peppery black pepper sauce with celery and onions that tastes exactly like the Panda Express version you love! And really low in fat and WW points!
Course Main
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken (Copycat), Panda Express recipes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 289 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 1 pound chicken breast
  • 2 stalks celery , thinly sliced on a bias
  • 1/2 medium white onion , chopped into 3/4 - 1 inch squares (look at the photo for reference)
  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
  • 1 tablespoon chili vinegar*
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper (grind fresh, you want the punch of the large, coarse black pepper here. If you use plain black pepper it will completely overpower the dish and ruin it.)
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 4 tablespoons canola oil , divided

Instructions

  1. Cut the chicken into one inch bites, and marinade with 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of the chili vinegar, cornstarch and the ground ginger for 30 minutes.

  2. Using two tablespoons of canola oil, heat a wok on high.
  3. When oil is hot and ripples as you move the pan, add the chicken.
  4. Cook on high heat until browned.
  5. Remove from the pan and add in the celery and onions with the remaining two tablespoons of canola oil.
  6. Cook the veggies on high for 30-45 seconds.

  7. You aren't looking to soften them, just to slightly cook them.
  8. Add in the remaining two tablespoons of soy sauce, the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of chili vinegar, the cooked chicken and the black pepper.
  9. Cook for 15 seconds to combine everything and and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from Mye's Kitchen

*I bought this to stay authentic to Mye's recipe on the first pass, after this I just made my own, 1/2 cup vinegar with one jalapeno soaked for 30 minutes, then remove the jalapeno and use 1 tablespoon for this recipe. I go through the vinegar quickly as we make this recipe quite frequently.

Nutrition Facts
Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken (Copycat)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 289 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 665mg29%
Potassium 498mg14%
Carbohydrates 7g2%
Protein 25g50%
Vitamin A 35IU1%
Vitamin C 2.4mg3%
Calcium 22mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken is marinated ginger soy chicken, in a peppery black pepper sauce with celery and onions that tastes exactly like the Panda Express version you love! And really low in fat and WW points!

Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken is marinated ginger soy chicken, in a peppery black pepper sauce with celery and onions that tastes exactly like the Panda Express version you love! And really low in fat and WW points!
Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken is marinated ginger soy chicken, in a peppery black pepper sauce with celery and onions that tastes exactly like the Panda Express version you love! And really low in fat and WW points!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. My family loved this! We didn’t have the chilli vinegar & did the jalapeno & vinegar & it still came out great. This is one for the books.

    Thank you for sharing! ???

  2. Can I add extra stars??? This is my hubby’s fav at PE. I found your site and decided to try this fantastic PE Black Pepper Chicken. However, unlike the restaurant, I used chicken breasts (healthier). My guy raved about it. Said it was better than Panda Express! He wants to know when we’re having it again. Thanks Sabrina. I’m also going to make many more of your copycat recipes.

  3. Made this again tonight but this time with boneless, skinless chicken thighs and it was equally as good. I use half the pepper (course freshly ground) and half the oil and it’s so good and probably the best copycat recipe I’ve ever made. I’m not sure I could even tell the difference between this and real Panda side-by-side. One of my new favorites and will now be in regular dinner rotation! Thank you!

  4. With some changes, I found this recipe as yummy as everyone claimed! I do realize different strokes for different folks. This is what worked for us.

    I wanted 1 1/2 lbs chicken. I absolutely recommend the seasoned rice vinegar over the jalapeno in vinegar ( I tried it both ways). When I made this the 1 1/2 T ground black pepper was way too much. I would eyeball it and keep it to between 1-2 tsp. Served over Jasmine rice it is delicious!

  5. I just made this and I agree that it’s even better than the original! The only change I made was to add carrots cut on the bias just like the celery. I used regular soy sauce because that’s all I had but next time will use low
    sodium as the recipe indicated. Thank you for a clearly written, easy to follow recipe.

  6. So good and easy, just like Panda but better – especially because my Panda doesn’t make the black pepper chicken anymore. Thank you!!!

  7. So stinkin’ good!! Love this more than the original. Definitely going into the recipe box under favorites. Thank you!
    Side note: did not have a chance to make my own chili oil, but the rice vinegar was the perfect substitute:)

  8. It is perfect! My boyfriend and I have made it twice this past week. I made my own vinegar as suggested as I could not find it in the store. The first time I tried to substitute flour for the corn starch, but it was more soggy. Finally I found corn starch at the store for the second make and it was perfection! Thank you for this.

  9. This meal had so much flavor. My husband and 7 year old son loved it and had seconds, which rarely happens with my cooking, lol. My 4 year old son was not into it, but he’s especially picky. Maybe next time I will set aside a couple pieces of chicken for him before I add the Freshly ground pepper. I will definitely make this again, I couldn’t believe how juicy and flavorful the chicken was. I followed the recipe exactly, except I couldn’t find chile vinegar anywhere (and during the pandemic, I didn’t want to be hopping from store to store looking for it) so I used rice wine vinegar that I had in my cupboard, still tasted amazing. I served it over rice. I’d like to double the veggies, next time, or add a third vegetable, as it didn’t seem like a lot. I recommend you try this recipe… so delicious.

  10. I love this recipe, the secret jalapeño
    chili vinegar is fantastic.

    Having with dark meat and chicken breast, I veered towards dark meat so it wouldn’t be dry.

    Using a trick from TheWoksOfLife, marinate the sliced white meat in 2-3Tbsp water (massage it in, wait 20 min) then add all the seasonings to the raw chicken from DinnerThenDessert. Cook 60 seconds-2 min in the wok each side then remove chick. Add veggies, soy sauce & more chili vinegar then black pepper & mostly cooked chicken. It’s SO juicy!

    It’s one of/the BEST Cantonese recipes I’ve made!

  11. Having this for the 2nd time this week. It tastes amazing. I found Alessi (brand) Italian/Asian fusion sauce. It is balsamic vinegar and chili pepper sauce. I used it for the chili vinegar. Perfect dish for me as on WW.

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