Keto Kung Pao Chicken (P.F. Chang's Copycat Recipe) (2024)

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By Lina | Recipe/DIY Content Creator

Oct 15, 2019 @ 1:00 PM MDT

Keto Kung Pao Chicken

yield: 4 SERVINGS

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 20 MINUTES

total time: 30 MINUTES

Ingredients

For the sauce:

  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari gluten-free soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon Swerve sweetener

for the stir fry:

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds raw chicken thigh meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 bell pepper, sliced
  • 3 dried red chiles
  • 1/4 cup peanuts

Directions

2

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet to medium/high heat. Season chicken with a little salt & pepper. Once hot, add the chicken, and let cook for about 3 minutes on each side until browned.

3

Toss the bell pepper and dried chiles in with the chicken and cook for a few more minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the bell peppers are slightly tender. Pour in the sauce, add the peanuts, and stir all together. Turn up the heat until simmering, and let the sauce caramelize and thicken for a few minutes.

4

Remove from heat and serve on top of cauliflower rice if desired.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 6 cups kung pao chicken, Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
Amount Per Serving:546 Calories | 26g Fat | 6g Total Carbs | 2g Fiber | 44g Protein | 4g Net Carbs

Brought to you by Hip2Keto.

Hip2Keto may earn a small commission via affiliate links in this post. Read our full disclosure policy here.

Keto Kung Pao Chicken (P.F. Chang's Copycat Recipe) (1)

Love spicy kung pao chicken?

If you miss eating this delicious Chinese dish at P.F Chang’s, listen up! It’s actually super easy to make a low-carb, keto version at home, and it’s bursting with the same garlic, ginger, and chile flavors we all love. This chicken skillet meal is a cinch to make, and will take care of your Chinese food craving.

The result is a hearty meal with caramelized stir-fried pieces of chicken, peppers, and peanuts. So good.

Keto Kung Pao Chicken (P.F. Chang's Copycat Recipe) (2)

Hip Tips:

  • Use chicken thigh meat for best results. You could always use chicken breasts, but tender thighs have so much more flavor and won’t dry out like breast meat can.
  • Dried red chiles are so yummy in kung pao chicken! You can find them at the grocery store in the ethnic foods section. Be warned though, these are powerful, so start with just a few.
  • Balance this spicy dish with a bit of sweetness. I used a little Swerve in the sauce (or you could use your favorite sugar alternative to keep things keto).
  • Serve your kung pao chicken on top of cauliflower rice if desired. I think it’d be yummy with zucchini noodles, too!

Keto Kung Pao Chicken (P.F. Chang's Copycat Recipe) (3)

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Keto Kung Pao Chicken

yield: 4 SERVINGS

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 20 MINUTES

total time: 30 MINUTES

Chicken, bell peppers, and peanuts get stir-fried in a spicy garlic chile soy sauce for an easy skillet dinner bursting with flavor.

Ingredients

For the sauce:

  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari gluten-free soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon Swerve sweetener

for the stir fry:

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds raw chicken thigh meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 bell pepper, sliced
  • 3 dried red chiles
  • 1/4 cup peanuts

Directions

1

In a small bowl whisk together sauce ingredients, and set it aside.

2

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet to medium/high heat. Season chicken with a little salt & pepper. Once hot, add the chicken, and let cook for about 3 minutes on each side until browned.

3

Toss the bell pepper and dried chiles in with the chicken and cook for a few more minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the bell peppers are slightly tender. Pour in the sauce, add the peanuts, and stir all together. Turn up the heat until simmering, and let the sauce caramelize and thicken for a few minutes.

4

Remove from heat and serve on top of cauliflower rice if desired.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 6 cups kung pao chicken, Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
Amount Per Serving:546 Calories | 26g Fat | 6g Total Carbs | 2g Fiber | 44g Protein | 4g Net Carbs

Brought to you by Hip2Keto.

Keto Kung Pao Chicken (P.F. Chang's Copycat Recipe) (4)

Welcome to kung pao heaven!

My husband’s favorite chinese food is kung pao, and we both really enjoyed this easy recipe, and can’t even believe it’s keto! The texture on the chicken is so delicious, and it hits all the right bold and spicy flavors like the P.F. Chang’s version. I love that’s it’s easy to throw together any night of the week! The leftovers were also yummy the next day, too!

Keto Kung Pao Chicken (P.F. Chang's Copycat Recipe) (5)

Make these keto copycat P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps next!

About the writer:

Lina has a Bachelor's Degree from Northern Arizona University with 11 years of blogging and photography experience having work featured in Today.com, Martha Stewart, Country Living, Fox News, Buzzfeed, and HGTV.

Keto Kung Pao Chicken (P.F. Chang's Copycat Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is in the kung pao chicken from PF Chang's? ›

What ingredients are in P.F. Chang's Kung Pao Chicken/Kung Pao Shrimp? Your choice of sliced chicken or whole shrimp, potato starch, chili pepper pods, garlic, chili paste, scallion, spicy Kung Pao sauce, peanuts, celery, and sesame oil.

What are the ingredients in kung pao? ›

What Is In Kung Pao Chicken? This Kung Pao chicken recipe consists of cubed chicken breasts soaked in a marinade (made with cornstarch, water, white wine, soy sauce, and sesame oil) and tossed in a sweet-savory sauce (made with hot chili paste, brown sugar, white vinegar, water chestnuts, peanuts, onions, and garlic).

What's the difference between Kung Po chicken and kung pao chicken? ›

Kung Pao chicken (Chinese: 宫保鸡丁), also transcribed as Gong Bao or Kung Po, is a spicy, stir-fried Chinese dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. The classic dish in Sichuan cuisine originated in the Sichuan Province of south-western China and includes Sichuan peppercorns.

What does PF Chang's kung pao sauce taste like? ›

Spicy yet balanced, our Kung Pao Sauce is anything but ordinary thanks to bold ingredients like fermented chili bean sauce and chili flakes, which are complemented with sweet and tangy flavors from apple juice concentrate and vinegar.

Why do Chinese people eat Kung Pao Chicken? ›

As the most ardent fan of Kung Pao chicken, the dish was named after him. Ding Baozhen loved to cook and especially liked chicken, peanuts, and spicy peppers. Using those ingredients, he created Kung Pao chicken. Originally a home dish of the Ding family, guests loved it so much that the popularity spread.

What is kung pao three flavor? ›

Well selected sliced chicken, sliced beef, and shrimp sauteed with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, celery, onion, green pepper, and peanuts in this well known Szechuan spicy sauce.

How do Chinese make their chicken so tender? ›

Ever notice how the chicken in stir fries at your favourite Chinese restaurant is incredibly tender? It's because they tenderise chicken using a simple method called Velveting Chicken using baking soda. It's a quick and easy method that any home cook can do, and can also be used for beef.

What can you substitute for peanuts in kung pao? ›

If you've never had kung pao chicken, the dish consists of juicy bites of chicken, crisp veggies, and crunchy, roasted peanuts -- all deliciously coated by a sweet, tangy, and savory sauce. My mom taught me to use cashews instead of peanuts. The buttery texture of cashews goes so well with the rest of the dish!

What's the difference between kung pao and kung bao? ›

Both refer to the same Sichuan dish. Gongbao Chicken means 宫保鸡丁, based on the Chinese pinyin. Kungpao Chicken is Romanised Chinese, whose pronunciation is easier for Westerners to read.

What food is similar to Kung Pao Chicken? ›

Kung pao chicken and General Tso's chicken are similar in that they are both chicken-based dishes with a hint of chili, but the primary difference is that latter is deep-fried and coated with a syrupy sweet and sour sauce, and the former is coated with a gentle, more balanced sauce.

Do Chinese eat Kung Pao Chicken? ›

One of the popular dishes available at any Chinese restaurant is Kung Pao Chicken. While generally associated with Westerners and the “westernized” Chinese cuisine, story of its origin can still be traced back to China. The story begins in the Guizhou province in southern China.

Is Kung Pao Chicken authentic Chinese? ›

If you're wondering whether Kung Pao Chicken is authentic Chinese, the dish as we know it outside of China is a slightly westernised version of an authentic Chinese Sichuan dish.

Which is sweeter General Tso or kung pao? ›

What's the difference between General Tso and Kung Pao Chicken? General Tso's is sweeter with a milder spice, featuring deep-fried battered chicken. Kung Pao is spicier with stir-fried chicken, vegetables, and peanuts.

Is Kung Pao chicken like General Tso? ›

General Tso's Chicken is battered and deep fried whereas Kung Pao Chicken is briefly marinated then stir fried. General Tso's Chicken is sweet and mildly spicy, far less spicy than Kung Pao Chicken, with the zing coming from a generous amount of ginger verses chili peppers.

What is Chang's sauce? ›

Chang's Original Oyster Sauce (280ml)

Black bean sauce is an essential ingredient in the Cantonese dish “Beef in Black bean sauce”. It adds a unique flavour to stir-fry beef, pork casserole and steamed fish.

What is the kung pao chicken? ›

Kung pao chicken is Chinese-style stir-fried chicken cubes with dried chili peppers. It's a Sichuanese staple that was brought over to America and reinvented for local flavors and tastes. The Sichuanese version is a tad more complex, seasoned with Chinese peppercorns and a large heap of dried chili peppers.

What's the difference General Tso and kung pao? ›

General Tso's is sweeter with a milder spice, featuring deep-fried battered chicken. Kung Pao is spicier with stir-fried chicken, vegetables, and peanuts. Also, General Tso's has Chinese-American roots, while Kung Pao hails from Sichuan cuisine.

What is PF Chang's version of General Tso's chicken? ›

Have you ever eaten at P.F. Chang's? They have “Chang's Spicy Chicken” on the menu, which is basically their version of general tso's. It has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy, and the sauce is light in color, which indicates it's not overloaded with soy sauce.

What is the difference between Szechuan and kung bao? ›

What is the difference between Szechuan and Kung Pao? - Quora. Szachuan is the name of a place, which is Sichuan (四川) province in China. Kung Po (宫保) or Gongbao in Mandarin, is a style of cooking involving shallow frying of a meat dish with dry chili and nuts.

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