Kung Pao Chicken Noodles
These Kung Pao chicken noodles are easy to make, saucy, full of flavor and perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. This recipe comes together in about 30 minutes and is a total family favorite.
These kung pao chicken noodles are a weeknight dinner staple these days. They’re so quick and easy, packed with flavor and perfect to meal prep.
I love asian noodle recipes and this one is now at the top of my list of favorites! I love asian food largely because of the flavor profiles, but also because it’s so easy to make gluten free. Rice, rice noodles, tamari instead of soy sauce etc!
No fancy swaps or ingredients are needed to make my favorite stir fries gluten free. This recipe can be easily customized to your needs. Make it spicier, sweeter, more peanut based, swap the chicken for shrimp or tofu, whatever you like! If you love this recipe, try my curry noodles or kung pao tofu next.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make
- Gluten free
- Ready in 30 minutes
- Perfect for meal prep
- Pantry staple ingredients
Key ingredients
NOODLES. I used brown rice udon noodles (from Lotus Foods) which I loved, but you can use ramen noodles, pad thai noodles or just regular spaghetti.
CHICKEN. You need one pound of chicken breast here. I like to use the chicken breast tenders from Trader Joe’s because they’re already in smaller pieces that I can just cut up a bit more to make it easy!
MARINADE. The chicken is marinated in a mixture of soy sauce/tamari for that umami flavor, honey for sweetness and chili paste for a little spice.
SAUCE. The kung pao sauce is made up of mostly soy sauce, a bit of peanut butter, brown sugar, chili paste, sesame oil and rice vinegar to help balance out all of the flavors.
How to make kung pao chicken noodles
Cut the chicken breast into small, roughly 1 inch pieces. Add to a bowl with the soy sauce/tamari, honey and chili paste. Mix and set aside to marinate.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions.
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Whisk together all ingredients for the sauce. Add the oil to a skillet and heat over medium/low heat. Mix in the green onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute an additional 1 minute.
Add in the chicken and fry on each side for 2-3 minutes or cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 Fahrenheit.
Once done, add the sauce to the noodle and mix to combine. Mix in the chicken and let all flavors blend together for a minute or two. Garnish with crushed peanuts and diced green onion and enjoy! Try my spicy peanut chicken noodles or gochujang chicken next!
How to store
Once prepared, these kung pao chicken noodles will keep in the fridge for about 3 days. I suggest reheating on the stove with a touch of oil. You can microwave, but I personally don’t like the texture that chicken takes on when microwaved, so the stovetop is best!
Add your favorite veggies!
This recipe as written is very simple, essentially just the sauce, chicken and noodles. You can add any additional protein or veggies you like!
I love adding in some sautéed bell peppers, bok choy, kale, snap peas, broccoli or whatever veggies I have on hand. I’d suggest sautéing in a bit of sesame oil before adding to all other ingredients. Same with my peanut chicken lettuce wraps.
Make it vegan!
You can easily swap the chicken for tofu and honey for maple syrup to make these vegan kung pao noodles.
You’ll want to press the tofu for about 20 minutes to remove excess moisture, cut into cubes then marinate in the same mixture and fry in the oil and green onion mixture. If you don’t have time to press the tofu, just wrap in in a dish towel and lightly squeeze out some of the excess moisture.
Tofu tends to stick to the pan more than chicken in my opinion, so you may need a touch more oil to prevent that.
More noodles you’ll love!
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Kung Pao Chicken Noodles
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Base/chicken
- 12 ounces noodles of choice
- 1 pound chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce if not gluten free
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon chili paste
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ cup diced green onion mostly the white part
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
Sauce
- ½ cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce if not gluten free
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chili paste I used sambel oelek
- 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar I did 1, but use 2 if you prefer it sweeter
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ tablepsoons toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes can omit for less spice
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For garnish
- ⅓ cup crushed peanuts
- ⅓ cup diced green onion mostly the green part
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breast into small, roughly 1 inch pieces.
- Add to a bowl with the soy sauce/tamari, honey and chili paste. Mix and set aside to marinate. Ideally for 1-2 hours but even just 30 minutes is ok.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions. Once done, drain and set aside.
- Whisk together all ingredients for the sauce aside from the water and cornstarch.
- Add the sesame oil (from the base/chicken section) to a skillet and heat over medium/low heat.
- Add in the green onion and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute an additional 1 minute.
- Add in the chicken (discarding any leftover marinade) and fry on each side for 2-3 minutes or cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 Fahrenheit.
- Add the sauce to a pot and whisk over low heat. Whisk together the cornstarch and water and add to the sauce. Let thicken slightly, then add in the noodles and mix to combine.
- Mix in the chicken and let all flavors blend together for a minute or two.
- Garnish with crushed peanuts and diced green onion! Serve as is or with your choice of veggies (I love broccoli and bell peppers here).
Notes
Comments
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Is this really 5000 calories per bowl?
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It says 501!
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This has quickly become a favorite in our house! My youngest is a picky eater and he requests this atleast once a week!
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So glad! Thanks, Kerry!
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Tried it … SOOOO AMAZING and rich in flavor … was a bit salty from the amount of soya .. but added some water and balanced it out .. 10/10 really!!!
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Glad you made it work for you! Thank you!
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This is SOOOOOO good. Wil be making this frequently.
Also I had to use siracha instead of chili paste and man. Fantastic flavor. Also used Cantonese egg noodles.-
Thank you, Jess!
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Holy heat!! The recipe is very good as written, but I think I’ll try what another person said and try it with half the chili paste and red pepper flakes next time. It was a little too spicy for my kids palettes and right at my top range. My husband thought it was perfect heat though! So depends on what you can handle. Will definitely make this many more times! Thanks so much!
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Everyone is different so can definitely be tough to find what works for a whole family! You can always start low and then your husband can add more if he wants! Glad you loved it though!
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My family loved it! I used 3 packages of instant ramen noodles, since we are not GF. It was the perfect amount for the sauce. Didnt add the chili flakes, and used about half the chillipaste so my daughter would eat it. It had a great kick and I made mine spicier by adding more sambal to my own dish. Will make it again! Thank you!!
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Perfect, thanks Amanda!
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Can you substitute the peanut butter and the sesame oil my daughter is allergic to both
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You can use sunflower seed butter in place of peanut and just leave out the sesame oil as there isn’t really a good sub there. Flavor will be more mild but still good!
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