Kung Pao Chicken Stir Fry (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

This kung pao chicken stir fry is made in one skillet, and is gluten-free, dairy-free and fully of vegetables! It’s a quick and easy way to make your favorite takeout dish right at home in under 30 minutes. It also reheats great, making it not only great for a weeknight dinner but for a meal prep recipe as well.

Kung Pao Chicken Skillet Ingredients

This chicken stir fry recipe is really easy to make, and doesn’t require a ton of ingredients. The majority of them are to make up the kung pao sauce. For the sauce, you’ll need low sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, sriracha, cornstarch or gluten-free 1:1 flour. You could also use tapioca flour or arrowroot flour, but you’d want to make a slurry out of it first. The other sauce ingredients are just a few simple pantry spices, like ground ginger and onion powder.

For the skillet part of this recipe, you’ll need 1 pound of chicken which you will dice in 1-inch pieces. You’ll also need a red bell pepper and green bell pepper, also chopped in 1-inch pieces. Lastly, you’ll need minced garlic, 2 green onions and peanuts (or cashews!)

How to Cook Kung Pao Chicken

This gluten-free kung pao chicken comes together in the skillet in about 20 minutes, so it’s a really quick process from start to finish. The first step is to heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and then add in the garlic. Sauté the garlic for about a minute until it’s fragrant, and then add in the diced chicken.

You will then sauté the chicken for about 8 minutes until they’ve browned and mostly cooked through. While the chicken is cooking, whisk together your kung pao sauce in a small bowl until the cornstarch or 1:1 gluten-free flour is dissolved.

Next, add in the diced bell peppers, and sauté those for about 4 minutes until they’ve softened, but are still fork tender and crisp. The final step is to add in the green onions, the kung pao sauce, and the peanuts (or cashews), and stir it together to combine everything. Let it cook for about 4 minutes, until the sauce is thickening and heated up.

Serving & Storing

This kung pao chicken is great served with rice or cauliflower rice, or even over roasted or steamed broccoli florets. You can garnish with additional green onions, additional peanuts or cashews, sesame seeds and red pepper chili flakes if you want more of a kick.

To store this recipe as leftovers or for meal prep, let it cool completely first. Then you can store it together in one container or portion it out into individual servings and containers. The containers you use should be airtight so it will last longer and stay fresh in the fridge. The leftovers will last about 4-5 days.

Additions and Substitutions

There are quite a few substitutions you can make to this recipe to change it for ingredients if you follow a particular way of eating, or are wanting to use what you have on hand. One of which is swapping chicken breasts for boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

You can also use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, cashews instead of peanuts, and you can omit the honey completely. You can also add more vegetables, such as diced zucchini or roughly chopped white onions.

Other Easy Chicken Recipes You’ll Love:

Slow Cooker Chicken & Chickpea Tikka Masala

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

Mayo Marinated Grilled Chicken Thighs

Instant Pot White Chicken Chili

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