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Weeknight style Thai Black Pepper Chicken and Garlic Noodles. The super fast Thai chicken noodle bowl that looks like takeout, but tastes so much better…and it’s healthier too! Quick-cooking chicken tossed in a sweet, tangy, and spicy Thai style black pepper sauce with plenty of broccoli, cashews, and basil. Serve this chicken over saucy garlic butter rice noodles and top with extra lime juice. Every bite is saucy, sweet, spicy, and hinted with basil. It’s delicious and healthy. Major bonus? This comes together in no time at all (under 30 minutes). Perfect for busy weeknights when you’re looking for something a little more special, but still quick, healthy-ish, and DELICIOUS.
Making Monday night Thai inspired food a thing and so happy about it. I’ve been saying this for weeks, but all I’m craving right now is colorful food, anything fun, and anything different. Any kind of recipe that I haven’t made before. With life in quarantine being much the same every day, I’m thankful to have food as an outlet for spontaneity. Just something different to break up the days, you know?
So yeah, long story short, I’m switching up recipes these days. I’ve made things like a whipped coffee white Russian, Mexican taquitos, and Italian style ravioli. I even ventured towards Cuban with my skillet cheesy Cuban chicken and rice bake and creamy coconut lime mojitos.
Cooking has been the only thing keeping me sane. What’s helping you guys?
Anyway, today we’re stepping into some quick-cooking Thai cuisine, and it’s truly my favorite kind of food.
The inspiration.
I’ve had this dish in mind for a while now. My oldest brother Creighton is here and this week he pushed me to finally create the recipe. He’s been asking for some new quick-cooking Thai inspired chicken dishes, so I obviously had to deliver up something good.
Enter this under 30-minute Thai black pepper chicken. It’s not super traditional, but it was inspired by black pepper chicken. Which customarily, is a mix of chili peppers, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and plenty of black pepper. My take has all these flavors too…but also some additional ones as well.
It’s saucy, spicy, sweet, a touch salty, and just about as delicious as a quick-cooking Thai chicken dinner can get. I really can’t say enough good things about this recipe. It’s one of those dishes that will become a monthly staple.
Why? Well, it’s simple, it’s quick, it’s pretty healthy, and it’s a dinner that most everyone can really enjoy.
The process.
First up, toss the chicken with a little cornstarch, turmeric, and ginger. Tossing the chicken with cornstarch allows it to get extra crispy and caramelize while cooking.
Now make the sauce. It’s simply, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and plenty of chili flakes, plus black pepper.
Pan-fry the chicken in a little oil until it is crisp. Add plenty of broccoli, a handful of cashews. Then pour over the sauce and let it simmer down and thicken over the chicken and broccoli.
As the chicken is cooking, boil some rice noodles and toss them in a hot pan full of butter and garlic. Yes, noodles, butter, and garlic…but then add a touch of coconut milk for a little more sauce and additional creaminess. SO GOOD.
By the time the noodles have cooked, the chicken should be done as well. Now, put it all together…
Spoon the noodles plus the sauce into bowls, then add the chicken and broccoli. Finish each bowl off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and fresh basil or cilantro.
Enjoy. Immediately.
Yes, this is that simple and that quick-cooking. Honestly, this will take you no more than thirty minutes to make and uses a good amount of pantry staples too!
Notes and substitutions…
For the broccoli, while I love it with this dish, you can really use whatever vegetable you have on hand. Bell peppers would be my top pick, then asparagus, but you could also use mushrooms, bok choy, carrots. Really, use whatever you’ve got.
Now, let’s talk about the noodles. I like to use vermicelli rice noodles, but you could use any variety of rice noodles or even angel hair pasta. The noodles are meant to be saucy, so once you toss them with the garlic butter sauce, make sure to serve right away.
And you guys…that’s it. Takes less than 30 minutes to make and it’s not only delicious but fun too. We might not be able to travel around the world right now, but at least we can create fun ethnic-inspired recipes at home any night of the week.
I’m all about that. So, Monday night Thai food?
Watch the How To Video:
Lastly, if you make this Thai black pepper chicken and garlic noodles, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Thai Black Pepper Chicken and Garlic Noodles
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 823 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons corn starch or flour
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1-2 teaspoons black pepper, using more or less to your taste
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- 2 medium shallots, sliced or chopped
- 2 small heads broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh basil or cilantro, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped or grated
- 1/3 cup canned coconut milk
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, toss together the chicken, cornstarch, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon oil.2. In a glass jar, combine the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup water. 3. Cook rice noodles according to packaged directions. 4. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and brown all over, until it becomes crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the shallots, broccoli, and cashews, cook another 2-3 minutes, until the broccoli is charring. Pour in the honey/soy sauce mix. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce coats the chicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime zest, lime juice, and the basil.5. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes, if desired. Cook until the garlic begins to caramelize and turn light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, cooking 3-5 minutes, until warmed through. Remove from the heat and toss the noodles with the sauce. 6. To serve, divide the noodles among bowls and top with chicken. Serve with additional basil and limes. Enjoy!
We loved it!
Hi Resa,
Wonderful!🤩 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xT
The flavors are so good! But wondering how to make it a little less salty? Just tasted slightly over-salted to me.
Hey Lollie,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! Did you use low sodium soy sauce? That should help reduce the salt for you! Let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I make this all the time, it’s absolutely amazing!
Hi Katie,
Awesome!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it! Hope you’re off to a great Saturday! xT
Ok now I can say my piece. Oh the food was good but this was the hardest recipe with the most expensive ingredients ever but I ever make this again no never and can I say 19 ingredients! Wtf
Hi Denise,
Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was too much work for you. Have a great weekend! xTieghan
This was delicious! But, with due respect, in no kitchen on earth is it 279 kcal per serving. I genuinely understand that nutritional information is estimated. And, a different source may provide different caloric detail. But, this meal is closer to 1000 kcal per serving, assuming all the ingredients are used and consumed by 4 people. The honey, butter, coconut milk, and sesame oil [on their own] get you to around a thousand calories, meaning that, with nothing else added, no chicken, no noodles, no cashews(…), each serving already packs around 250 calories. Again, totally delicious, but many more calories than advertised, even allowing for estimation. Still, a big fan of the HBH, though.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! I always recommend that if the nutritional information is important to you, you use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. It’s not something we’d prefer to be using. We are required to. I’m sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you’re having a great week! xT
This was awesome!
Hey Josh,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you taking the time to make this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit! xT
Loved this! I added baby bok choy and shredded carrots to the broccoli for more veggies. I didn’t have any rice noodles, so I made riced cauliflower with the garlic and coconut milk. I am looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow.
Hey Djienne,
Happy Monday!! I really appreciate you trying this recipe out, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week:)
This is a family favorite. I’ve made it with chicken and beef, and tried different vegetables. Thin wheat noodles (like the refrigerated ones at my local Asian market) are another option instead of rice noodles. So unbelievably tasty!
Hey Miriam!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing your feedback and making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed:)
It’s alright has a sweet and sour taste
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for trying the recipe and sharing your feedback! xTieghan
Is the sesame oil in this regular or toasted sesame oil?
Hi Donna,
You can use regular sesame oil for this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the dish! xx
So delicious. I added thawed frozen shrimp seasoned with ground ginger as well. It was a hit at my house.
Hey there,
Happy Wednesday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xx
One of my favorite dishes ?
Hey Kaylan,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
Wow—we loved this one! Black pepper chicken is a particular favorite of mine, but drenching the noodles in flavor really brought the dish up a notch—so so tasty. I used broccoli and sugar snap peas and it was amazing. The sauce had a great tangy spicy kick as well— the cashews are a nice touch!
Hey Lucy,
Thanks for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
Wow this was so good, by far one of my favorites! I replaced the broccoli with cabbage I had on hand and used almond milk instead of coconut for the noodles and entire dish turned out perfectly! Not too much time spent on prep either. Will definitely be making again soon!
Hi Melinda,
Happy Friday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it!! ☀️xxT
Hi! Can I substitute the honey for something else in this recipe? My husband is allergic to honey!
Hey Karly,
Maple syrup will work well for you! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx