Spicy Kung Pao Chicken (keto + low carb option)
My easy Spicy Kung Pao Chicken recipe is way better than take out! This recipe includes traditional as well as low carb, keto friendly instructions! Your family will love this flavorful kung pao chicken.
Do you remember anything from the speeches said at your graduation? Probably not. Most people don’t. However, Mr. Maebell and I remember one thing very clearly from our high school graduation. Chinese food makes you smarter.
Our class Valedictorian was the daughter of the couple that ran the very best Chinese restaurant in town. When speaking to her success, she said it was actually very simple. Chinese food makes you smarter so everyone should go eat at Hong Kong Chinese Buffet.
Of course, this got a big laugh from the crowd and years later it still proves to be one of the most memorable moments of the night. However, now anytime I make anything even remotely Asian inspired, we always joke we are getting smarter by the bite.
So make this and see what happens!
Easy Spicy Kung Pao Chicken
This has become the most requested meal in our house. I absolutely crave Spicy Kung Pao Chicken! It has a bit of spice to it and a rich flavor from the sesame oil. It is really a guest-worthy dinner. The flavor is spot on to Pei Wei’s Kung Pao chicken, and it is gluten free!
Don’t shutter when you see the ingredient list. It does call for a couple things you may not keep in your pantry, however if you like Asian food I highly recommend taking the plunge and keeping these spicy kung pao ingredients around. They aren’t expensive and you only need a couple tablespoons so they last forever. You can use this sauce for anything!
How to Make Gluten Free Spicy Kung Pao Chicken
If you enjoy delivery or take out Chinese food, you will definitely love this easy Spicy Kung Pao Chicken. It might not be quite as fast as your favorite restaurant, but it will be surprisingly simple to make at home with healthy, wholesome, and gluten free ingredients!
What You Need:
- Chicken breasts
- Cornstarch
- Canola oil
- Soy sauce – La Choy is gluten free!
- Sriracha
- Rice vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Brown sugar
- Minced garlic
- Water
- Sesame seeds
- Green onions – sliced
- Crushed red pepper – optional
Tip: Normally you can find sesame seed oil in the global food section and in the baking section next to the regular oils – check both places. Chances are one is much cheaper than the other!
Steps to Make Spicy Kung Pao Chicken:
Because this dish is so easy to make and flavorful, I guarantee it is better than take out!
1. First, cut up the chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks. Toss them in cornstarch – naturally gluten free! – and fry over medium high heat using sesame oil in a dutch oven or deep skillet. I find that by breading them you get that crunch and the sauce tends to stick to it a bit better. However, if you want to lighten it up you can definitely do grilled or baked chicken or shrimp. The possibilities are endless!
My easy Spicy Kung Pao Chicken recipe is way better than take out, and completely gluten free! Your family will love this flavorful kung pao chicken.
2. Next, make the sauce. Simply mix your main ingredients together in a small bowl, then in another bowl mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with one tablespoon of water.
3. Finally, when you’re ready to coat your chicken with the spicy sauce to serve, you just mix the two together and the spicy kung pao chicken sauce thickens up beautifully.
4. To serve, garnish with sesame seeds, sliced green onions, and crushed red pepper if you want even more spice.
This Spicy Kung Pao chicken recipe is just like what you find in a restaurant, but hot and fresh from the comfort of home!
So, the next time you have a hankering for Kung Pao skip the take out and try this version! My family is sure that it’ll be a regular favorite in your household, too.
How do you make Keto Kung Pao Chicken?
Just below the ingredients and instructions you will find a notes section. There you will find instructions on how to make Keto Kung Pao Chicken! You only need to make two small adjustments to make this recipe low carb. This recipe makes 4 servings and with the keto adjustments written below it comes to 4.3 net carbs per serving!
Looking for More Quick and Delicious Dinners?
- Keto Sesame Chicken Stir Fry
- One Pan Shrimp Pasta with Feta and Arugala
- Easy One Pan Enchiladas
- 20 Minute Cilantro Lime Shrimp and Rice
- Orange Sesame Chicken Skewers
- Sesame Chicken Lo Mein
Get the Recipe: Spicy Kung Pao Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast, cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup corn starch
- 1/4 cup canola oil
Kung Pao Sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, (or monkfruit if keto)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
Cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces, place in a large plastic bag or mixing bowl with 3/4 cup of corn starch, lightly shake until all of the chicken is coated well.- Heat a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat, pour in just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Cook chicken in batches, take care not to over crowd your skillet. I cooked about 4 minutes on each side.
- Remove chicken from pan and place on a paper towel lined baking sheet in order to drain off as much oil as possible. Continue until all chicken is cooked.
- Combine the next 6 ingredients in a small bowl or measuring up to make your sauce. Set aside.
- Combine one tablespoon of water with one tablespoon of corn starch and mix well.
- Drain off any oil that is in your pan and wipe clean, heat to medium, add in soy sauce mixture and corn starch mixture, add in chicken and stir until mixture is evenly coated and heated through.
- Garnish with green onions, sesame seeds, and crushed red pepper if desired.
Notes
For a low carb/keto version:
-
-
- 1 pound chicken breast, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 3 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Golden Monkfruit Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
-
- Low Carb Nutrition: 4 servings/ About 1 cup per serving
- Calories: 339, Total Fat: 23.5, Cholesterol 82.7mg, Sodium 412.5mg, Total Carbohydrate 4.5g, Dietary Fiber 0.1g, Sugars 0.9g, Protein 26.6g
Other Easy Dinner Recipes:
Drumsticks with Sriracha Honey Lime Sauce
This looks SO good! I’ve always been a little intimidated about making Asian food, but this looks pretty easy and I think my husband would also love it! I think that I have all of these ingredients at home right now, so I will be making this soon!
Good! I was exactly the same way, I would stand in the ethnic food section at the super market and feel so overwhelmed because I didn’t know how to use any of those ingredients! But this really is easy! If you make it I would love to hear what you think!
Be careful with adding gluten free labels. Regular soy sauce is not gluten free. This looks great and I’m sure will work just fine with gf soy sauce.
Hi Tim, All La Choy sauces are gluten free. So just regular soy sauce from that brand is fine.
That is what I use for this recipe. All recipes on this site are 100% gluten free.
My husband and I enjoyed this tonight. Served over cooked rice. Very good. Will make again. However, I would double or triple the sauce next time.
Great Ceil I am so glad you enjoyed!! 🙂
What a funny story! I will remember that every time I eat Chinese food from now on. 🙂 The chicken looks super delicious!
is the brown sugar really needed?
Hi Lori! Yes, you need the brown sugar to get a really authentic flavor. I hope you try this! It is one of my favorites! 🙂
We happen to be allergic to corn as wel has have celiac. Can this be thickened with anything else? Like potato starch? Sounds amazing and I would love to make it:)
Hi! Yes! Absolutely! You can use potato starch, I might start with two teaspoons instead of a full tablespoon because I usually find potato starch to thicken things a bit more than cornstarch. Alternatively, you can just leave out a thickner all together and let the chicken sit and simmer in the sauce a bit longer, it won’t “cling” to the meat quite as well but the flavor will be just the same. I think you will love this!! 🙂
I made this tonight with Arrowroot starch, and it came out well, but I know you can interchange Tapioca starch with Arrowroot, so that may be an option, too!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! 🙂 I’ve never tried that! I’m so glad to know there are other options!
I made this and it was amazingly delicious!
Puts any Chinese restaurant to shame.
And so easy anyone can make without fear of it not turning out. Seriously you must make!
Joelle, I am so glad you enjoyed this!! I REALLY love this dish! Definitely in my top five list! I used to think Asian dishes were impossible to get at home, but they don’t scare me anymore! 🙂
Best Kung Pao ever! So good I made extra sauce for next time. Lasts a long time in the fridge and makes cooking dinner fast and convenient. Thinking I will cut up extra chicken and store in baggies in the freezer too. Oh yeah!
Hi there, could i add some ginger to this reciepe? I like the ginger and seasme flavour for kung pao.
Thanks
Hi Melanie! I have never tried it but I would imagine you could add about a teaspoon of fresh ginger and it would be just fine! 🙂 I hope you enjoy!
Thank you soooo much for posting this recipe. Since moving back to NC, I have been missing Kung Pao Chicken the way I had it in DC. Our local restaurant doesn’t make it very well at all, not like what I expect when I order it! I made this tonight and loved it! So much better than takeout too! Can’t wait to make it again!
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this! We LOVE Kung Pao but there is no place around here for us to have a gluten free version so I knew I needed to make a really great homemade version! Thank you for your sweet words, you made my day! 🙂
I’d like to make this. when u coat the chicken and fry do you only put a little oil to just cover or like an inch of oil?
Hi Nicole! I use a small amount of oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan, and then add a little more if I begin to run out but you are just looking to pan sear them until they are nice and crispy not necessarily frying them. This is one of my all time favorites, you will love it!
Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious. I double up on the sauce and it turned out perfect. Definitely adding this to the regular dinner rotation.
Hi Chad! I’m so glad you enjoyed this! It is easily one of our favorites, I’m glad your family enjoys it as much as mine! 🙂
What is the side dish behind chicken? Rice and vegetables? Is there a recipe for that I am missing? It all looks amazing? Gonna make tonight!
Hi Shelley! It is just a quick vegetable fried rice, I used different veggies (just what I had on hand) in this photo but this is the base recipe I followed: http://www.maebells.com/crispy-brussels-sprout-fried-rice/ 🙂
I found this recipe about a year ago and have LOVED it from the first time I ever tried it. This is around my 6th time making it and it always turns out perfect. This time I am pairing it with a pineapple and green pepper rice! Every time I see Chinese food I now think of the story that was told. <3 Thanks for sharing what has become my favorite!
Mary that makes my day!! I am so glad you enjoy it! It is one of our favorites! And one of my favorite memories! 🙂