One Pot Salt & Pepper Chicken

Salt and pepper chicken is an easy meal, ready in 30 minutes and all cooked in one pot. Lightly breaded chicken with unique flavors you will love. 

Why Make This Salt and Pepper Chicken

It's lightly breaded, and a meal everyone will love. It's mild, but has great salty flavors. The five spice gives it a unique balance. It's all made in one pot which means less dishes to clean and more time to eat. Fresh peppers give it color and flavor and the Serrano peppers bring the heat. You can skip them if you are sensitive to heat but gosh I love them in this dish.

Ingredients Needed

• Chicken Breasts. Traditionally this dish is made with chicken thighs, but I like chicken breasts better. Either will work. Just be sure it's boneless and skinless.

• Corn Starch. This is found in the baking aisle and this is the "breading" on the chicken to give it a fried texture. You can use arrow root as well.

• Five Spice. This is an asian style spice found in the spice aisle. It has a unique flavor, it's aromatic and a little sweet from the star anise.

• Salt. This is the star of the show for this dish! You can add as much or as little salt as you'd like but the salt is prominent in flavor. I like to use course kosher salt.

• Pepper. Fresh, cracked pepper is best.

• Oil. I use avocado oil but canola oil will also work, just use one that can handle high heat and that's mild in flavor.

• Garlic. Fresh garlic cloves for aromatics and flavor.

• Serrano Peppers. These bring some heat to the dish, they are found in the fresh produce aisle. They aren't as hot as jalapeño in my opinion.

• Onion. This is for aromatics and flavor. I use yellow onion.

• Bell Peppers. Any color will work. I like red and green for color.

• Rice. Short grain white rice, but you can use any rice you prefer but you will need to change some measurements.

• Chicken Broth. I use low sodium broth so I can control the salt flavor in this dish. This is what's going to flavor and cook up your rice.

• Fresh Parsley. For garnish.

Steps To Make This Recipe

Step One. Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the corn starch, salt, black pepper, five-spice. Add the chicken to the bowl and mix well to cover all of the chicken well.

Step Two. Heat oil in a large pan on high heat. Add the breaded chicken to the pan and let it cook on each side for about 7- 10 minutes or until chicken is browned, crispy and cooked through (165º inside). Remove from pan and set aside.

Step Three. Chop garlic, onion, peppers into small pieces. Add them into the same pan you just cooked the chicken in. Sauté for about 5 minutes until everything is sweating. Add in broth and water, stir, add in dry rice. Bring to a simmer and cover for about 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender, cooked and liquid is absorbed. You may need to add a little more water at this point since rice can be finicky with absorbing.

Step Four. Once the rice is cooked all the way through, add in the salt and pepper chicken, let it warm a bit and serve.

FAQ's & Tips

Recipe Variations

Chicken. You can use chicken thighs in place of chicken breasts.

Bell Peppers. You can sub broccolini or chopped broccoli.

Five Spice. If you can't find five spice no worries! You can mix your own up with 1/4 tsp of the following:  fennel, star anise, Chinese cinnamon, clove.

Other Chicken Recipes To Enjoy

• Chicken and Orzo 30 Minute Skillet
• Blackened Chicken
• Jalapeño Chicken
• Crispy Chicken Wrap

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