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Weeknight style 25 Minute Black Pepper Jalapeño Basil Chicken Stir Fry. The super fast chicken stir fry that everyone requests. Quick-cooking chicken tossed in a sweet, tangy, and spicy black pepper sauce with plenty of bell peppers, jalapeños, and basil. Serve this chicken over coconut lemongrass rice. Every bite is saucy, sweet, spicy, and perfectly seasoned with basil. It’s delicious and healthy.
The summer of my freshman year, I remember making chicken stir-fry all the time. This was the summer I really started to get into cooking. It was also the summer I got into the habit of cooking dinner for my family, I loved it. It was always such a release of creative energy for me at the end of the day.
Chicken stir-fry was one of the dinners I had the most fun experimenting with. You don’t need a specific recipe for stir-fry. For me, it’s always a mix of whatever vegetables I have on hand. And my sauce, it’s almost never the same.
Stir-fry is fun because you can do what you want with it. So today I’m sharing a quick stir-fry recipe that was just so good it needed to be written down…and hopefully made on repeat.
This really is fast, here are the details
First up, toss the chicken with a little cornstarch, turmeric, and ginger. Tossing the chicken with cornstarch helps the sauce to thicken nicely around the chicken.
Now make the sauce. It’s simply, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce (if you’d like), and plenty of black pepper.
Then stir fry the peppers and jalapeños until they just begin to soften. Add the chicken and give everything a nice toss. Then pour the sauce over top and let it simmer down and thicken over the chicken and peppers
While the chicken cooks, I always make some coconut rice with a touch of lemongrass. Using coconut milk in the rice adds additional creaminess, and the lemongrass keeps it flavorful. SO GOOD.
Now, put it all together
Spoon the rice into bowls, then add the chicken and peppers. Finish each bowl off with fresh basil.
Then serve it up right off the stove.
This really is that simple and that quick-cooking. Honestly, this will take you no more than thirty minutes to make.
Looking for other quick stir fry recipes? Here are some favorites:
30 Minute Better Than Takeout Thai Drunken Noodles
20 Minute Stir Fried Honey Ginger Sesame Noodles
30 Minute Extra Saucy Thai Summer Noodle Stir Fry with Sesame Peanuts
Lastly, if you make these 25 Minute Black Pepper Jalapeño Basil Chicken Stir Fry, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
25 Minute Black Pepper Jalapeño Basil Chicken Stir Fry
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 335 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1-2 teaspoons black pepper
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 1-2 jalapeños, seeded, if desired, and sliced
- 1 medium shallot, sliced
- 1 cup fresh Thai or regular basil chopped
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, toss together the chicken, cornstarch, turmeric, ginger, and black pepper. 2. In a glass jar, combine the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce (if using) and 1/4 cup water.3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bell peppers, jalapeños, and shallots, cook 2-3 minutes, until the peppers are charring. Stir in the chicken, tossing to combine with the peppers, cook 2 minutes. 4. Pour in the honey/soy sauce mix. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce coats the chicken, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.5. Serve the chicken and sauce over bowls of coconut lemongrass rice (recipe in notes). Top with plenty of fresh basil.
Notes
Coconut Lemongrass Rice: Combine 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk and 1/2 cup water in a medium pot. Bring to a low boil. Add 1 cup basmati rice, 1-2 tablespoons lemongrass paste, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, cover, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible. Allow the rice to cook 10 minutes on low, then turn the heat off completely and let the rice sit, covered, for another 15-20 minutes (don’t take any peeks inside!). Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
This post was originally published on August 19, 2021
I made this last night and it was delicious!! I was able to use my homegrown peppers, shallots, and Thai Basil so it was so perfectly fresh!! It did take me longer than 30 minutes, but if I’d had help in prepping, it wouldn’t have taken so long! I just used plain rice because that’s all I had.
Hey Mary Lou,
Happy Sunday! I love to hear this recipe was enjoyed and I truly appreciate you giving it a try! xxTieghan
So good! My whole family loved it.. including my 4 kids:)) I’ve made brown rice in the IP and added coconut cream at the end.. and it was so good! Next time I’ll make sure to have lemongrass paste in the house. I’m sure it would be even better! Thank you for another yummy recipe!
Hey Lily,
Wonderful! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Adding this to our meal plan for the week! I saw you make it on IG Stories and it looked so easy and delicious!
Thanks so much Libby, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Where can I find lemongrass paste? I’ve tried Whole Foods and thrive market and can’t seem to find it? This looks amazing!! Can’t wait to try it!
Hey Angela,
You should be able to order from Amazon, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Looks delicious! Is this spicy? My husband and I are wimps 🙂
Hey there,
I would just omit the jalapeño do reduce the spice here:) I hope the recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Delish!! The coconut rice was an outstanding addition. You even had our kids licking their plates clean.
Hey Liz,
Happy Friday! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
Delicious. Tieghan recipes have never failed us and this another keeper! And the coconut rice ilwas on point!
Hey Katie,
Wonderful! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving the recipe a try!! xTieghan
Looks amazing! Question- can you please recommend a substitute for turmeric? Thank you
Hey Kathleen,
You could try a little bit of dry mustard powder. I hope this dish turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Thank you so much!
Can I leave the cornstarch out?
Hey Tabitha,
The cornstarch helps to thicken the sauce, I would try arrowroot powder instead. I hope you love this dish, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Do you use sweetened coconut milk?
If you want to sub chicken for shrimp, does the cook time and step where you add the protein remain the same?
Thanks!
Hey Ashley,
The shrimp will take a lot less time to cook, you will still add it after the veggies, but I would allow the veggies to cook down a little more so you don’t end up with rubbery shrimp:) xTieghan
Hey Theresa,
I like to use unsweetened coconut milk. I hope this recipe turns out amazing, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Oh.Em.Gee! This is SOOOOO good and comes together quickly! I followed the recipe almost to a T using 1 red/1 yellow bell and 2 Serrano peppers, but plain brown rice and crushed some peanuts on top just because 🙂 absolutely making this again! Thank you Tieghan for an amazing recipe!!
Hey Yvette,
Happy Friday! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
How many servings does this make?
Hey Allie,
This recipe will make 6 servings. I hope you love the dish, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Had this meal as dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious! We prefer stir fry curries without coconut milk and so this is another perfect example how to cook it. I made the rice with coconut powder and lemongrass powder and it worked perfectly as well!
Greetings from Munich, Sibylle and Michael
Hey there,
Happy Friday! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
Hello,
This looks fabulous, like all of your recipes. I’m going to make it.
Thank you
Thanks Carmela! I hope you love it! xTieghan
Interesting that asian food is what got me started cooking in junior high. I was into stir fries, “hawaiian” meatballs and noodle dishes with the glass noodles that start with a soak in water. Look forward to trying this recipe on my family, thanks for sharing.
Thanks Michelle! I hope you love the recipe!! xTieghan
This looks delicious. And I need to avoid garlic (I’ve discovered there are a lot of people who don’t eat it) so I appreciate a recipe that doesn’t include it. Thanks!
Thanks Adrienne, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
Trying this dish for dinner tonight, I rated it on recipe appeal alone because it sounds so good. Concerning the coconut rice, I have never come across lemongrass paste. I’m guessing it might be found in the produce section. Do you think a similar flavor could be achieved with lemon juice and lemon zest if the paste is unavailable?
Believe it or not I use coconut extract – a few drops – in my rice. Has the identical great flavor of coconut rice without the added expense of coconut milk.
Hey Patricia,
I would just skip the lemongrass, lemon juice and lime zest unfortunately won’t give you those same flavors:) I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
I found mine in an Asian grocery store with the other Asian spices. I could only find powder, however, but I made it into a paste. It worked great! (shrug)