Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken
This slimming friendly sweet and sticky dish is an easy dinner whether you're counting calories or following plans like Weight Watchers.
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories217
- Carbs13g
- Protein17g
- Fat4g
- Saturates1g
- Sugars5g
Your dishes
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For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of
Believe it or not, you can do much more than just drinking Pepsi Max and Diet Coke!
Our Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken is quick, tasty and mega easy to throw together after a long day at work. The last thing you want to be doing it slaving over a hot stove for hours on end. There are a lot of variations of “Diet Coke Chicken” online, some of which are a little peculiar. Most of them use… surprise, surprise Diet Coke!
We prefer to use Pepsi Max as we think it thickens better than Diet Coke. You could even use the Pepsi Max Ginger for a more concentrated ginger taste. We’ve packed this dish with tons of veggies, but feel free to swap out any you don’t fancy; the beauty of this dish is its versatility, so chuck your leftovers in if you like.
What diets is this Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken suitable for?
This Pepsi Max / Diet Coke Chicken recipe is suitable if you’re gluten free as long as you swap out the following ingredients for gluten free versions;
- Stock cubes/pots
- Worcestershire sauce
- Soy sauce
- Vinegar
You can also enjoy this Pepsi Max / Diet Coke Chicken if you’re dairy free.
Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.
Do you need any special ingredients to make Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken?
You may have guessed, the Pepsi Max or Diet Coke is the key ingredient in this dish!
The 5 Spice is also key for that Chinese flavour, but it’s a common ingredient found in most spice racks. If you don’t have any it’s available everywhere, and you will find lots of Chinese recipes here at Pinch of Nom to use it in.
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‘This is absolute cracker of a fakeaway, the use of diet cola adds a real twist as it almost caramelizes through the cooking process. Packed with flavour & goodness at a fraction of the cost of a takeaway, what's not to like!’
How many calories are in this Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken?
Takeaways are nearly always super high in calories, but this recipe is only 217 calories per portion! This means it falls into our Everyday Light recipe category.
This Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
Step 1
Spray a frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and heat gently.
Step 2
Add the chicken, sprinkle with the 5 spice and season. Stir and cook until the chicken has started to brown.
Step 3
Remove the chicken from the pan, add a few more sprays of low calorie cooking spray and then fry off the onions, ginger, garlic and mushrooms.
Step 4
Cook until they start to soften.
Step 5
Add peppers, baby corn, tomato puree, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Stir then add the Diet Coke/Pepsi. Stir and bring to the boil.
Step 6
Stir in the half a stock cube and the stock pot and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Step 7
When the sauce has started to thicken and go a bit syrupy, return the chicken to the pan and stir in the spring onions.
Step 8
Simmer for another 10 minutes. Check the consistency and if it’s not quite thick enough simmer for a bit longer, until the required consistency is reached.
What should you should serve with Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken?
You could enjoy this Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken on its own, with fluffy white rice, or serve it with one of the suggestions below:
How do you know when Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken is cooked?
The chicken will be cooked throughout. You can cut a piece in half to check that the meat is white all the way through. When the dish is ready the sauce will be thick and syrupy.
This will take approximately 25 minutes on the hob.
Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.
How long can you keep Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken in the fridge?
Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours.
If you allow any left overs to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.
Can I freeze this Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken?
Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;
- Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
- Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!
How do I reheat Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken?
From chilled: Place in a microwave proof container with loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.
From frozen: Allow to defrost, and heat covered in the microwave for 3-5 minutes then stir. Cook for a further 5-7 minutes until piping hot.
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Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken
This slimming friendly sweet and sticky dish is an easy dinner whether you're counting calories or following plans like Weight Watchers and similar.
-
Prep Time
10 MINS
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Cook Time
25 MINS
- KCals 217
- Carbs 13G
Instructions
- Spray a frying pan with low calorie cooking spray and heat gently
- Add the chicken, sprinkle with the 5 spice and season. Stir and cook until the chicken has started to brown
- Remove the chicken from the pan, add a few more sprays of low calorie cooking spray then fry off the onions, ginger, garlic and mushrooms
- Cook until they start to soften
- Add peppers, baby corn, tomato puree, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Stir then add the Coke/Pepsi. Stir and bring to the boil.
- Stir in the half a stock cube and the stock pot and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes
- When the sauce has started to thicken and go a bit syrupy, return the chicken to the pan and stir in the spring onions
- Simmer for another 10 minutes. Check the consistency and if it's not quite thick enough simmer for a bit longer, until the required consistency is reached
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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130 comments
See what others have to say
SarahSunday 6th February 2022
Could you do this in the air fryer
HollyMonday 7th February 2022
Hi Sarah, I’m not sure this is the best recipe to cook in the air-fryer or how successful it would be due to it being quite a sauce based recipe. We do have a really handy guide HERE which talks through recipe conversions for the air-fryer it has some helpful tips along with a time conversion guide which you might find helpful for other recipes. Hope that helps!
EllenSaturday 11th December 2021
Hi! I love this recipe and make it often but I can never get my sauce to thicken and go “syrupy” as you say it should…..what am I doing wrong?!
HollyWednesday 15th December 2021
Hey Ellen, make sure your pan is set on a medium heat when cooking. The vegetables can release quite a bit of moisture so make sure in step 3 you fry the onions, ginger, garlic and mushrooms for a good 5 minutes. When simmering in step 6 make sure the heat isn’t too low once you lower the heat it should still be bubbling this is the reduce it down and this will make it syrupy and thick. Hope that helps!
Susan McIntyreWednesday 24th November 2021
I’ve just made the diet coke chicken using your recipe – I’ve used a different recipe in the past – but I’ll be using yours from now on.
It was so much easier to make and was absolutely delicious. I didn’t have any baby sweet corn or spring onions but substituted the sweet corn with green beans. Thank you very much for your wonderful recipes.
LisaThursday 25th November 2021
So glad you enjoyed it Susan!
Karen HallTuesday 25th May 2021
Love,love,love maximum taste minimum calories,served it with boiled rice that I stir fried with garlic spray oil and a one egg omelette in ,not using a takeaway again didn’t tell my husband that it was made with diet coke untill he cleaned his plate he was lost for words, thank you for such an amazing recipe
HollyWednesday 26th May 2021
Hey Karen, we are so glad to hear you and your husband enjoyed the Diet Coke / Pepsi Max Chicken!
Michelle worthingtonSaturday 13th March 2021
Hi
I want to make this for my parents but i have a very fussy dad who doesn’t like veg !!
Could i cook all the wet sauce ingredients separately and then all the veg on its own so i can give him chicken and sauce and the rest of us all the veg as well or will it alter the flavour significantly?
SharonMonday 15th March 2021
Hi Michelle, I think that would alter the flavours of the sauce and possibly the consistency too, as the vegetables will add flavour and moisture to the sauce. I would suggest cooking the dish as stated in the recipe and then taking out some pieces of chicken and some sauce for your Dad. You could always strain his portion of sauce to make sure he doesn’t end up with any vegetables. Hope you all enjoy the recipe!
Georgie ScotneyMonday 8th March 2021
Hello
Can you use normal coke instead of diet?
Thank you
HollyTuesday 9th March 2021
Hey Georgie, yes you can use normal coke just adjust the calories accordingly, hope that helps!
WayneSunday 14th February 2021
What weight per person is a portion please
HollyMonday 15th February 2021
Hey Wayne, We work out our recipes on the serving size not by weight. To work out your own weight of a serving you would need to make the finished dish and divide servings, as the weight will vary due to variation of ingredients and water content it’s not something we can do as an exact measure. If you scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page on the website there is a little arrow by servings and you can alter up or down to serve more or less people. Hope that helps!
LauraSaturday 9th January 2021
Hi, I’ve just ordered the Pinch of Nom recipe book not realising there was more than 1 (!). Is this recipe in any of them?
HollySunday 10th January 2021
Hi Laura, the Diet Coke/Pepsi Max Chicken is a website recipe if you have a look HERE you can find all information about all of our books. Hope that helps!
JaneMonday 4th January 2021
Hi can Coke Zero work with this
SharonMonday 4th January 2021
Hi Jane, we haven’t tried using Coke Zero in this recipe but it should work fine.Thanks for your question.
Barbara BrooksSunday 3rd January 2021
Hi is it possible to give the weight of the chicken as sizes vary quite a lot. Loving your recipes.
HollyMonday 4th January 2021
Hi Barbara, the approximate weight of an average chicken breast is 130g so for this recipe you would need 2 chicken breasts or approximately 260g chicken as a guide. Hope that helps!
susan brennanFriday 28th August 2020
Has anyone used the Cherry Pepsi Max?
HollyFriday 28th August 2020
Hi Susan, when we developed this recipe we didn’t try it with the Cherry Pepsi Max but I’m sure it would work just as well! Just alter the calories accordingly. Hope that helps!
Joanna OwenWednesday 19th August 2020
Not a big fan of mushrooms,can I leave them out of the chicken in diet coke recipe
SharonThursday 20th August 2020
Hi Joanna, yes, you can leave the mushrooms out if you prefer. Mushrooms add flavour to a dish, but this recipe has plenty of other good flavourings in it so it should be fine to leave them out. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
KateWednesday 8th July 2020
Hi can this dish be done in a slow cooker? I want to try it but work long hours so doing in a slow cooker is much easier for me!
SharonThursday 9th July 2020
Hi Kate, this recipe is more suited to cooking in a frying pan as this method will allow the sauce to reduce and thicken. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
HollieThursday 2nd July 2020
The recipe says for 4 people but only has 2 chicken breasts. Is that correct?
Steve CowderoyFriday 3rd July 2020
Hi Hollie, thanks for getting in touch with us. We feel that with all the other vegetables in this recipe, that 2 chicken breast should be sufficient for 4 people, especially if served with rice. If you feel you would like more, please feel free to add more but remember to recalculate the calories. Hope this helps.
Olivia BTuesday 16th June 2020
Do you mix the stock cubes/stock pot with with water or add directly to the Pepsi?
SharonWednesday 17th June 2020
Hi Olivia, you add them straight into the recipe, no need to add water. Thanks for your question and enjoy the recipe!
PamMonday 8th June 2020
Hi! I can’t get the chicken stock pot here in the USA. What can I use as a substitution? P. S. Ordered the PON book from amazon and LOVE it
Steve CowderoyMonday 8th June 2020
Hi Pam, so glad you are enjoying our book. You can use granulated chicken bouillon in place of the stock pots. I would recommend 2 tsp to 1/2 cup. Hope this helps
WendyMonday 16th March 2020
Hi could I do this in slow cooker
LisaFriday 22nd May 2020
Hi Wendy. This recipe is better suited to being cooked in a sauce pan to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken. Hope this helps.
AnisaSunday 8th March 2020
Can I cook this in a pressure cooker?
HollyThursday 17th September 2020
Hi Anisa, yes you can! Set to saute and follow steps 1-4. Press cancel add the peppers, baby corn, tomato puree, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Stir then add the Coke/Pepsi stir in the half a stock cube and the stock pot. Set the Instant Pot to manual and set a timer for 15 minutes, allow for 5 minutes natural release then release steam manually using the valve. Check the consistency and if it’s not quite thick enough use the saute function, until the required consistency is reached. Hope that helps!
MeganTuesday 21st January 2020
I really want to try this but have a very fussy other half. What does it taste like? Is there anything to compare it to?
Sharon FitzpatrickWednesday 20th May 2020
Hi Megan, this is a sweet and sticky dish with Chinese style flavours from the Chinese 5 Spice powder, ginger and soy. Hope you try the recipe!
EmmaThursday 9th January 2020
The calories stated at the top states 217… is that the sauce alone?
Steve CowderoyFriday 22nd May 2020
Hi Emma, thanks for getting in touch with us. The calories are for the recipe per portion, without the rice. Hope this helps.
Charlotte OrmeTuesday 7th January 2020
Really enjoyed this! Will deffo be cooking it again! x
Sharon FitzpatrickThursday 7th May 2020
Hi Charlotte, really pleased to hear that you enjoyed this dish. Thanks for taking the time to tell us!
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