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Quick and easy black pepper chicken is a restaurant-quality meal that’s also ridiculously easy to make. Tender chicken, crisp veggies, and a savory, rich sauce come together in roughly 20 minutes using just one skillet, leaving everyone at the table full and happy.
Before You Get Started
- This recipe moves very quickly once the cooking starts. I recommend reading through the instructions at least once before diving in!
How to Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Marinate the Chicken
Mix together the marinade ingredients until they’re fully combined, then add the bite-sized pieces of chicken and stir until the chicken is fully coated in marinade. Set the bowl aside and marinate the chicken 10 to 15 minutes.
Prep the Sauce
While the chicken marinates, add all of the sauce ingredients to another bowl and whisk them together until the sugar and cornstarch are fully incorporated into the liquids. They may not dissolve completely, but the mixture should be mostly smooth, no clumps of cornstarch left behind.
SEAR THE CHICKEN
After the chicken’s marinated, heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of avocado oil to the pan and let the oil get nice and hot. Once that happens, place the marinated chicken in the skillet, spreading all of the chicken pieces out into a single, even layer. The goal is to sear each piece of chicken, so you don’t want them to overlap at all.
Cook the chicken undisturbed 30 seconds, then quickly flip the chicken pieces over and sear them on the other side for 20 seconds or so. After that you can stir the chicken as you cook it until it’s lightly browned on all sides. When you hit that goal, transfer the chicken to a large plate and set it aside.
Sautรฉ the Vegetables
Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and let it get hot, then add the vegetables. Stir the veggies into the hot oil, then sautรฉ everything for 60 seconds, stirring the mixture occasionally. After 60 seconds, add the prepared sauce to the pan and stir the veggies into the sauce. Simmer the sauce until it’s thickened a bit – this shouldn’t take long, maybe 30 seconds.
bring It All Together
Once the sauce has thickened, add the chicken back to the pan. Stir it into the sauce mixture, making sure to coat each piece well. You don’t want to overcook the chicken, so once it’s mixed into the sauce, remove the pan from the heat and portion the chicken and vegetables onto serving plates. Serve the black pepper chicken hot with your preferred sides (you can’t go wrong with white rice!).
What I Love About This Recipe
- You only need one skillet and about 20 minutes! The only thing faster than making this recipe will be cleaning it up afterwards. One skillet means quick and easy, convenient cooking with even easier cleanup!
- The flavors in this black pepper chicken are incredible! The sauce is perfectly tangy, has just the right amount of black pepper, and a touch of sweetness. It also doesn’t skimp on the sauce, making enough to ensure you’ll have a spoonful of sauce with every bite!
- It’s a restaurant-quality meal that’s super easy to make at home! Even if you don’t consider yourself an experienced cook, you can handle this black pepper chicken recipe. Trust me!
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Black Pepper Chicken
Equipment
- 2 medium mixing bowls
- 2 whisks
- large, heavy-bottomed skillet
- Silicone spatula or wooden spoon
- Tongs
- Large plate
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce low-sodium if desired
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry or Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 ยฝ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral-flavored oil
For the Sauce
- ยฝ cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry or Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce low-sodium if desired
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper more or less to taste
For the Stir Fry
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or other neutral-flavored oil
- ยฝ cup chopped white onion approximately 1 small onion
- ยฝ cup chopped green bell pepper approximately 1 medium bell pepper
- ยฝ cup chopped red bell pepper approximately 1 medium bell pepper
- ยผ cup chopped celery approximately 1 large rib
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon dry sherry, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper to medium mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until fully incorporated.
- Add 1 ยฝ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces, to mixing bowl. Toss or stir chicken until fully coated in marinade.
- Set bowl aside and let chicken marinate 10 to 15 minutes.
- While chicken marinates, add ยฝ cup low-sodium chicken stock, 2 tablespoons dry sherry, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper to other medium mixing bowls. Whisk ingredients together until fully combined. Set sauce aside.
- After chicken has marinated 10 to 15 minutes, place large skillet on stovetop over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil to skillet and continue heating pan until oil is hot and shimmery.
- When oil is hot, add marinated chicken to skillet, arranging chicken in one even layer with little-to-no overlap if possible.
- Sear chicken 30 seconds or until undersides of chicken pieces are lightly browned.
- Once lightly browned underneath, quickly flip chicken over and sear chicken on other side 20 seconds.
- After 20 seconds, stir chicken and continue cooking until chicken is just lightly browned on all sides.
- Transfer browned chicken to large plate and set aside.
- Reduce heat under skillet to medium-high. Add remaining 1 tablespoon avocado oil to skillet. Heat pan until oil is hot and shimmery.
- When oil is hot, add ยฝ cup chopped white onion, ยฝ cup chopped green bell pepper, ยฝ cup chopped red bell pepper, and ยผ cup chopped celery to pan. Stir to incorporate.
- Sautรฉ vegetables 60 seconds, stirring occasionally.
- After 60 seconds, add prepared sauce mixture to skillet and stir to incorporate. Simmer sauce until thickened, approximately 15 to 30 seconds.
- Return chicken to skillet and stir to incorporate, coating chicken and vegetables completely in sauce.
- Portion chicken and vegetables onto serving plates. Spoon sauce from pan over chicken then serve hot with desired sides.
- Chicken:ย Make sure to cut the chicken into equally-sized pieces so that they cook at the same rate.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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- Szechuan Chicken
- Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Beef Pad Thai
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