Salt and Pepper Chicken
This Salt and Pepper Chicken is a great slimming-friendly addition to a Chinese fakeaway, especially if you're counting calories or following a diet plan like Weight Watchers.
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories308
- Carbs11g
- Protein34g
- Fat15g
- Saturates4g
- Sugars5g
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For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!
Salt and Pepper Chicken tops the list of many people’s Chinese takeaway favourites. Crispy chicken (usually wings) seasoned with a spicy coating, it’s just irresistible! Unfortunately, it’s usually packed with oil and calories, so we decided to make our own version instead.
In fact, our Salt and Pepper Chicken is so easy to make and ready within an hour, so you’ll have this on the table quicker than ordering from the takeaway, and knowing exactly what goes in it too. You can vary the spice as much as you like, just leave out some of the chilli if you prefer a milder dish. The spice mix is also quite versatile and you get plenty of it in this recipe, so you can store the extra for next time, bonus!
What diets is this Salt and Pepper Chicken suitable for?
This Salt and Pepper Chicken recipe is suitable for gluten free and dairy free diets.
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 Salt and Pepper Chicken?
All of the ingredients can be purchased from your local supermarket.
The quantities for the spice mix will make more than enough for the Salt and Pepper Chicken recipe, so you can just keep any extra spice mix in an airtight container or sealed food bag until you’re ready to use it again!
Hints & Tips
Below we added some of our communities most common hints and tips. We hope you find them useful.
Monosodium glutamate or MSG is a flavour-enhancer commonly added to most Chinese food from the takeaway. There have been many debates about the use of MSG, so if you prefer not to use it you can just leave it out.
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‘Very tasty, easy to follow recipe and to make. I served this recipe with some Mexican rice on the side, can't wait to try the salt and pepper chicken again’
How many Calories are in this Salt and Pepper Chicken?
There are 308 calories in each portion of our slimming friendly Salt and Pepper Chicken. This means it falls into our Everyday Light recipe category.
This recipe 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.
To make the salt and pepper spice mix
Step 1
Toast the salt flakes in a hot pan until they start to brown – it’s very important to do this to get the true salt and pepper flavour.
Step 2
Mix the toasted salt and all the other spice mix ingredients together.
To make the salt and pepper chicken
Step 1
Sprinkle the chicken thighs with a couple of teaspoons of the spice mix.
Step 2
Place them on a baking tray and cook as per pack instructions (usually around 30 minutes at 190°C).
Step 3
When the chicken is cooked, heat up a wok sprayed with some low calorie cooking spray.
Step 4
Add the spring onions, onions, chilli and peppers to the wok and cook until they start to brown slightly.
Step 5
Add the chicken thighs to the wok along with 1 or 2 tablespoons of spice mix. Don’t add it all at once, add it a bit at a time, taste and stop when it’s spicy enough.
Step 6
Cook through for another 3 or 4 minutes, then serve sprinkled with some finely chopped spring onions.
What should you should serve with Salt and Pepper Chicken?
Any of the following go really well with this dish, or you could keep it simple with fluffy white rice. You could even serve it as part of a Chinese fakeaway feast!
Whatever accompaniment you choose, don’t forget to account for the extra calories and/or other nutritional values.
Can you cook Salt and Pepper Chicken another way?
This recipe is best cooked using the method below.
How do you know when Salt and Pepper Chicken is cooked?
You should cook this recipe until the chicken is completely cooked through and the juices run clear.
This should take approx 35-40 minutes using the oven and 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 Salt and Pepper Chicken in the fridge?
Once you’ve served it, 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 Salt and Pepper Chicken in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.
Can I freeze Salt and Pepper 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 Salt and Pepper 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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Salt and Pepper Chicken
This Salt and Pepper Chicken is a great slimming-friendly addition to a Chinese fakeaway, especially if you’re counting calories or following a diet plan like Weight Watchers.
-
Prep Time
10 MINS
-
Cook Time
40 MINS
- KCals 308
- Carbs 11G
Instructions
To make the salt and pepper spice mix
- Toast the salt flakes in a hot pan until they start to brown - it's very important to do this to get the true salt and pepper flavour.
- Mix the toasted salt and all the other spice mix ingredients together.
To make the salt and pepper chicken
- Sprinkle the chicken thighs with a couple of teaspoons of the spice mix.
- Place them on a baking tray and cook as per pack instructions (usually around 30 minutes at 190°C).
- When the chicken is cooked, heat up a wok sprayed with some low calorie cooking spray.
- Add the spring onions, onions, chilli and peppers to the wok and cook until they start to brown slightly.
- Add the chicken thighs to the wok along with 1 or 2 tablespoons of spice mix. Don't add it all at once, add it a bit at a time, taste and stop when it's spicy enough.
- Cook through for another 3 or 4 minutes, then serve sprinkled with some finely chopped spring onions.
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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62 comments
See what others have to say
NinaBSaturday 21st October 2023
I’ve used rainbow pepper corns and ground them as couldn’t find ground white pepper in the shop I was in.
Salt n pepper mix made and ready, all other ingredients chopped and prepared for tea later.
First time doing this recipe, can’t wait to try it.
SharonMonday 23rd October 2023
Hi NinaB, we hope you enjoyed our Salt and Pepper Chicken. Thanks for sharing your tip for using rainbow peppercorns and hope it worked well!
CattyWednesday 11th May 2022
Absolutely lovely.
HollyThursday 12th May 2022
Hey Catty, thanks so much for your message we are so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
eddieWednesday 7th October 2020
What would you have along side this salt and chicken dish. Thankyou
HollyFriday 9th October 2020
Hey Eddie, you could serve it alongside our Fakeaway Fried Rice or some of our Homemade Oven Chips theres also a wide range of side recipes under our Snacks and Sides recipe category which is definitely worth a look through! https://pinchofnom.com/category/snacks-and-sides/
LindaThursday 6th August 2020
Which book will I find Turkey Meatloaf and Pepper chicken
LisaFriday 7th August 2020
Hi Linda
These recipes don’t appear in our books. They are exclusive to our website. Hope this helps.
LiesaFriday 22nd May 2020
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs please?
LisaSaturday 23rd May 2020
Hi Liesa! Yes, you can! You might have to cook it for a little longer as breasts tend to be thicker than thighs.
PaulineThursday 16th April 2020
Can you use rock salt instead of salt flakes ? Going to make this tonight
Steve CowderoyFriday 8th May 2020
Hi Pauline, thanks for getting in touch with us, yes you can use rock salt instead of salt flakes.
EmmaThursday 16th January 2020
Absolutely lovely
Holly LevellTuesday 12th May 2020
Hi Emma, so glad you enjoyed the Salt and Pepper Chicken!
KloeTuesday 10th December 2019
Can you make the chicken goujons and make the salt and pepper chicken that way?
Sharon FitzpatrickThursday 21st May 2020
Hi Kloe, thanks for your comment. Yes, cooked breadcrumbed chicken goujons topped with the salt and pepper mix and the pepper,spring onion and chilli would work really well.
ElleSaturday 16th February 2019
Can I use turkey steaks in this menu
MichaelSunday 27th January 2019
What salt flakes brown as the ones i have dont
NikkiThursday 7th March 2019
Can you give a bit of guidance to how long to toast the salt for please? I’ve noticed a few comments have said it takes a while but I’ve been going for 30 minutes and no idea if I’m ruining the salt as it still isn’t brown?
BarbaraFriday 25th January 2019
Made this tonight, absolutely fabulous. Would have posted a phot but unfortunately all a eaten.
JoanneFriday 12th October 2018
Hi going to have a go at this today. Do you spray the pan before adding the salt flakes to toast or not.
Many thanks.
Anna MinihanFriday 15th June 2018
Love love your website. Just made the salt and pepper chicken and chips, OMG definitely have a new favorite. Thank you.
CarolynSunday 29th April 2018
I made this last night. Is it a teaspoon of white pepper? As a tablespoon seemed quite a lot!! I didn’t add that much needless to say. It was delicious! Definitely make it again. Thank you for recipe xx
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