This Whole30 Chang’s Spicy Chicken will become one of your favorite weeknight meals in no time.
Growing up, my family were very loyal PF Chang’s customers. We loved going for the family-style dinners and getting an assortment of our favorite things on the menu: Mongolian beef, lettuce cups, string beans, and my personal favorite… the Chang’s Spicy Chicken. So it was a must to recreate my go-to dish into this Whole30 Chang’s Spicy Chicken.
The Chang’s Spicy Chicken is spicy, tangy, and a little sweet– but absolutely delicious! Since I can remember, I’ve always loved spicy food and this was one of my favorite spicy dishes to feast on! You guys know how much I love to recreate my childhood favorites, so it was a no-brainer for me to recreate the Chang’s Spicy Chicken in my own kitchen. I’ve adapted it to be Whole30, and it turned out quite lovely! I will say that it was hard to get it as sweet as I’d like to, but that is just life on the Whole30. However, for a whole30 rendition, it’s as close as it gets and regardless– freaking delicious!
If you’re a spicy food lover like me, try this simple and delicious chicken stir fry! It goes well with cauliflower rice and some sauteed green beans, snap peas, or steamed broccoli! No need to call in take-out, you can make Whole30 Chang’s Spicy Chicken right at home!
Like this recipe? Here are more P.F. Chang’s-inspired recipes you might love: Whole30 Mongolian Beef Stir Fry, Thai Red Curry Shrimp Lettuce Wraps, Whole30 Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
Whole30 Chang's Spicy Chicken

Ingredients
For the Chicken Stir Fry:
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 4 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper (Black pepper is fine too)
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced (Save about 2 tbsp for garnish)
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp ketchup (I use Primal Kitchen)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (Add more, to taste, depending on your heat preference)
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes (Add more, to taste, depending on your heat preference)
- 2 tbsp pineapple juice (From a can of pineapple chunks)
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp arrowroot
Instructions
- Place chicken on a cutting board and cover with saran wrap. Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a skillet, pound until chicken it is an even 1/4-in thick. Discard the plastic wrap, then cut chicken into 1-inch cubes.
- Place the cubed chicken in a large bowl and add 2 tbsp of the avocado oil, the salt, pepper and arrowroot. Toss until well combined. Set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the coconut aminos, fish sauce, garlic, rice vinegar, ketchup, cayenne, chili flakes, toasted sesame oil, pineapple juice and arrowroot. Whisk until well combined and the arrowroot has dissolved in the mixture. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat add your remaining 2 tbsp of avocado oil. Once heated, add your chicken in a single layer (You'll likely need to do this in 2 batches) and cook until a brown crust forms on both sides and the chicken is cooked through; about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean plate and set aside until all of your chicken is cooked through.
- Once all chicken is browned, add it back into the hot skillet. Whisk the sauce once more to ensure it's well combined, and pour into the skillet with the chicken. Add about 3/4 of the green onions (reserve the rest for garnish) and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens and chicken is well-coated in the sauce, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Serve as desired and top with remaining green onions. enjoy!
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
28 Comments
Jenni Rodriguez
January 5, 2023 at 2:15 amAnother phenomenal recipe from Alex! This is soooo freakin delicious and super easy to make. Definitely going into regular rotation at our house.
Alex
January 5, 2023 at 5:51 pmSo happy you loved it, Jenni!!
KC
November 17, 2022 at 3:59 amThis is my partner and my favorite recipe of all time. The flavors are insane and the sauce is incredible. Literally a perfect dish 🥰
Alex
November 17, 2022 at 4:23 pmSo glad this is a hit for you and your partner! Thank you for commenting!
jenny
November 7, 2022 at 11:28 pmlooks delicious! could you sub orange juice for pineapple juice?
Alex
November 11, 2022 at 2:18 pmYes, that should be fine! it will change the flavor a bit, so just keep that in mind!
Lexie
October 20, 2022 at 11:20 pmSuch a delicious and easy recipe. We make it at least every other week. Everyone loves it.
Meghan
October 16, 2022 at 4:56 pmOn repeat in our household – love this recipe!
Alex
October 18, 2022 at 1:10 amYay!! so glad!
Megan
September 10, 2022 at 8:15 pmCan I buy the thin sliced chicken breasts instead of having to pound the big breasts down?
Alex
September 12, 2022 at 2:50 pmYes!! If you get chicken tenders, you can just cut them down into bite-sized pieces.
Becca
September 8, 2022 at 9:08 pmI just made this for dinner and it was delicious! Even my 18 month old (I reduced the spice) ate it and he usually refuses chicken. Printing to put in my comfortable kitchen cookbook to make again!
Mon
January 22, 2022 at 8:54 pmAll I can say is wow… and I want this sauce on everything.
Nicole
September 8, 2021 at 5:20 pmLooks like I forgot to grab rice vinegar while at the store – any substitutes for this, or am I running back out to the store? 🙂 Excited to give this recipe a try, looks so delicious!
Carrie
July 16, 2021 at 4:42 amThis recipe looks delish and I’d like to make it for my husband’s birthday. He loves Chang’s Spicy Chicken. Can this be made without sesame oil? We have a kiddo with a sesame allergy.
Alex
July 19, 2021 at 4:09 pmyes you can omit!
Abby Jones
July 13, 2021 at 2:19 amOne of my top favorite DD asian dishes! Soo flavorful.
Tiffany
June 2, 2021 at 12:25 amI’ve made this twice and both times my sauce turns out slimy and gooey. What could I be doing wrong??
Alex
June 2, 2021 at 12:01 pmHi Tiffany, in this blog post I write a little more about what arrowroot is and why it my turn out “slimy/gooey” for you in a recipe and why.. I hope you find it helpful:
https://thedefineddish.com/whole30-chicken-marsala/
Ashley
May 16, 2021 at 11:40 pmThis is a winner! We love the heat and are always glad to have a clean version of our favorite foods.
This is on regular rotation in my house!
Meghan Wilkosz
May 5, 2021 at 2:32 amSuch an amazing recipe! Much healthier and flavorful alternative to Chinese takeout. Alex never disappoints!!
Brittany
February 20, 2021 at 1:18 amYum!!! I’ve made this a few times now and it’s always so delicious. This time I chopped up and added pineapple into the dish. I think this recipe may even beat Chinese takeout. Thanks 😊
Suzanne Burton
January 19, 2021 at 6:26 pmDo you have the nutrition info for your recipes?
Alex
January 19, 2021 at 8:11 pmI do not but someone else may have calculated for this recipe!
Rachel
January 13, 2021 at 12:53 amI feel like I have only survived three rounds of W30 thanks to your recipes. This was no exception! We halved the amount of meat so we had double sauce and added pineapple chunks and bell peppers as well and served on top of cauliflower rice. Not too spicy for those worried about heat.
Alex
November 30, 2020 at 2:59 pmFirst of all.. I have to thank you for all you do! I’m a newlywed who has never cooked a day in her life and you have taught me everything!!! My husband thinks I’m a pro because all of your recipes are SO delicious. Our three favorites are of course this Changs Spicy Chicken, the Tikka Masala, and the Texas-Style Brisket tacos (they taste JUST like mias!!). This might be a very dumb question but being brand new to cooking, I thought I’d try and ask.. Do you think there is a way I can use the instant pot for the Changs Spicy Chicken? I wasnt sure if I could do it similar to how you do the Tikka Masala? Thank you so much again!
Alex
November 30, 2020 at 4:03 pmI would have to test that method– usually for stir frys I like to keep it on the skillet and doing this in the IP I would have to change the cook method for sure.
Sara
February 9, 2022 at 2:49 amI make this all the time and we love it! Tonight I made it with salmon instead (I didn’t have any chicken) and it might be even more delicious!!!