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
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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
SarahSunday 15th April 2018
I am currently cooking this. My salt flakes have been on a very high heat for over 20mins and still no sign of browning! Do I just keep going?
joanneSaturday 14th April 2018
hi I’ve used the maldon sea salt flakes and still having trouble getting them to colour and had them in over 10 minutes , am I going wrong somewhere
tinaMonday 26th March 2018
Hi it’s Tina again, this may seem a stupid question but after you do the salt thing then it says to add other ingredients, is that to make a dry rub or do I heat the other ingridients up with the salt, Thanks
tinaSunday 18th March 2018
Hi I am just about to make this but only have rock salt, will this be okay to use?
PaulSaturday 17th March 2018
OMG. Just made this. To die for.
AmyTuesday 6th March 2018
Too much white pepper for me, couldn’t eat it. Very fiery. Will try it again with half the amount of pepper.
Claire MartinThursday 15th February 2018
Hiya. Can this be made in the actifry? ????
Morag PatersTuesday 20th February 2018
I’m going to try this in the actifry tonight wish me luck ????
KayTuesday 20th February 2018
Best of luck Morag!
karaThursday 1st February 2018
can i do it without the sea salt flakes and how does the spice mix not liquidize?
ChristineWednesday 24th January 2018
I’ve made this twice already with chicken and once with prawns in the space of two weeks. It is absolutely amazing. Served the prawns tonight with pinch of no fried rice; that was delicious too.
WendyMonday 22nd January 2018
Can this be cooked in the ActiFry?
Thanks
LucySunday 21st January 2018
I made this tonight along with SW egg fried rice. It was amazing. By far the best meal I have cooked so far. Thank you Pinch of Nom!
PennySaturday 20th January 2018
Hi I have an induction jobhob so can’t get a wok hot enough. Is there another way to cook it? Thanks
HelenfotSunday 14th January 2018
Made this this evening and was simple and delicious. Family loved it too. Will definitely make it again
Jayne SpicerSunday 14th January 2018
Going to give this a try for tea tonight, I have some turkey breast strips so hopefully it will work the same with these!
LindaSaturday 13th January 2018
Cam this be frozen thanks
Mhairi JaunceyMonday 8th January 2018
Hi, it is mentioned that rice vinegar is used in the salt and pepper chicken but I couldn’t find it in the recipe. I made this dish yesterday, it is so yummy. Thank you so much for sharing these amazing recipes, they always work out so well.
CarynSaturday 6th January 2018
Had this and the chips with salad tonight, we added little more chilli as we like the heat, was not disappointed this has hit our top five favourite meals – big thumbs up from us.
KiranTuesday 26th September 2017
ok that’s fine thank you, will be trying this tomorrow 😉
KiranTuesday 26th September 2017
Can you use Natural Rock Salt,
HiWednesday 30th August 2017
Super recipe, so easy to make something so tasty? Thank you, I’m staying on track thanks to recipes like this ????????
Emma TMonday 11th September 2017
Hi there,
So glad you liked it ????
LorahFriday 28th April 2017
We tried this tonight with a different sweetener and it’s far too sweet, it’s inedible. Have we done something wrong?
KateSaturday 29th April 2017
Hi Lorah
Sukrin has exactly the same consistency, weight and sweetness as normal sugar so you can just replace it like for like. This may not be the case for other brands. It may be worth taking a look at the website of your specific sweetener as many of them have conversion charts to help work out the correct ratios
TraceyMonday 24th April 2017
I am so going to try this my mouth is actually watering now thank you for that something different than the norm and keeping on track x <3 x
KateMonday 24th April 2017
Hi Tracey
This is one of our favourites. We had it for dinner last night….again!! lol
Chris GerrardTuesday 18th April 2017
I would love this dish but my other half really hates 5 Spice, both the smell and the taste. Any suggestions for alternative spices that would work nearly as well? There is such a lot of it used here that I don’t think I coukd just leave it out.
Kirstie StorrieFriday 31st March 2017
I absolutely love this….and despite the warnings always put far too much spice mix in lol.
Thinking of trying it with prawns tonight – will post pics and credit this site when I do 🙂
Love the site as well – this is where I come to get all my SW recipes and recommend it to anyone whether they are doing SW or not
DebbieSaturday 18th March 2017
Just make it. Yum but I couldn’t get the salt to brown. Where an I going wrong ?
KateSunday 19th March 2017
Hi Debbie
Some salts contain ‘impurities’ such as anti caking agents etc and it’s these that will make the salt change colour. If you are using pure salt (with no food additives) then it probably won’t brown or is less likely to brown when heated
DebbieSaturday 4th February 2017
Would chicken breast work with this recipe?
KateSunday 5th February 2017
Hi Debbie
Yes you could use chicken breast if you prefer
MichelleMonday 30th January 2017
Just cooking this now, i hope its good as it looks!
AlisonThursday 19th January 2017
Looks amazing, and you’ve solved the problem of what we can have for tea tomorrow ????????
KayThursday 19th January 2017
Awesome! Hope you enjoy x
MarionSunday 15th January 2017
Looking forward to trying thus for tomorrow nights dinner.
KateMonday 16th January 2017
Hi Marion,
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. It’s one of my favourites 🙂
CherylThursday 5th January 2017
This sounds delish and while I am here thank you for sharing you inspire me to keep going. Could I toast coarse Himalayan salt?? and would this freeze????
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