CPK’s Kung Pao Spaghetti
A copycat recipe that you can make right at home in less than 20 minutes. And it tastes even better than the restaurant version!
Have you ever had California Pizza Kitchen’s Kung Pao Spaghetti? I’ve had it on many occasions but as good as it is, I’m just not comfortable spending $15 on a lunch dish for myself, especially when it’s during my lunch break. But now, I never have to order this because I can make it right at home in just 20 minutes!
Now if you’ve never had the CPK version, this is really a Chinese take-out favorite tossed in spaghetti noodles. It’s wonderfully flavorful and savory with that extra spicy kick to it, and there’s plenty of chicken to go around for everyone, unlike CPK who adds in a couple of pieces of chicken and then charges an additional $3 for it.
And f you want it completely vegetarian, you could even add some fried tofu cubes. That actually sounds better than the chicken. I’ll definitely be trying that next time!
CPK's Kung Pao Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 boneless, skinless thin-sliced chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup dry roasted peanuts
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
For the sauce
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ½ cup dry sherry
- 2 tablespoons red chili paste with garlic, or more, to taste
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, chicken broth, dry sherry, red chili paste, sugar, red wine vinegar, cornstarch and sesame oil; set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, to taste. Add to skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces; set aside.
- Add garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in pasta, chicken, peanuts and green onions.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I tried the Kung Pao Spaghetti for the first time from CPK and knew I wanted to make it myself at home. I found this recipe and it was perfect. The sauce is so delicious and I’ve made this recipe a handful of times now. This will be in my regular rotation of recipes from now on!
I’m extremely disappointed in CPK not only having no vegan pizzas available but also not making the Kung pau spaghetti vegan!!How easy is it to use a veggie or chicken broth instead of chicken broth? And offer tofu too!
I urge you to get updated & make more vegan dishes!
This is so delicious. My kids loved it too. It seems like it would be versatile in terms of proteins and veggies used. I will be making this again!
This was great
Love your recipes!! Quick question! If all I have is shoaxing wine can I use it in place of Dry Sherry here? I love this recipe and by mistake once I used a sweet chili sauce instead of red chili paste and we loved it that way even moreso! Weird, right? Ha!
Great Pasta slightly sour
I have made this more times than I can count. Even my grandkids, who’ve been raised with spicy food, love it. The leftovers are great cold the next day because the sauce soaks into the pasta. It’s makes a nice summer cold side dish. Buy good dry sherry at the liquor store (Total Wine has it) and DO NOT use cheap cooking sherry if you want the best taste.
This recipe needs more amazing reviews because it’s so good!!! This is the second time I’ve made this, it’s definitely a repeat dinner!
My family loves this recipe! I halve the red chili paste to 1 T. And it’s still got a kick, but my kids can enjoy it too! Most recently I added shredded carrots and snow peas after adding the garlic and it was delicious–a one pot meal!
This recipe is beyond perfect! For a truly amazing dinner, double the sauce!!
Where can I find dry sherry?
Any liquor store
I found cooking sherry at the grocery store next to the vinegars and works really well.
PLEASE don’t use cooking sherry. It’s got salt added to it (and is horrendous cheap wine on top of it). That same market should have dry sherry over in their alcohol section.
This recipe is a keeper! I like simple, one pot type meals and this one was pretty simple with not too much cleanup. It tastes great and my family loved it. I thought the spice was perfect, but I’ll lessen it next time due to my son who thought it was too spicy. I’m loving trying a lot of your recipes this summer. Thank you!
I made this last night. I was SO SURE I had red chili paste but I couldn’t find it. Maybe kitchen organization should be on my to do list. Anyway, I used siracha instead. Be careful with that stuff! I used one tablespoon and it was almost too spicy for me, but not my husband. Overall I liked it and I promise to make it again as soon as I locate the red chili paste!
My husband used this receipe it came out just delicious just like CPK!! Cant tell the delicous
Thank you!!
Followed recipe exactly as written. It was good but didn’t taste like CPK dish (which is one of my fav). Not going to part of regular rotation.
My family loves this recipe! Does anyone know the nutritional value? I would love to know. Thanks in advance.
Wow! It tastes exactly like you know who! One complaint it wasn’t hot enough! I added thinly cut carrots, onions and green peppers, delicious. I will add either hot peppers or siriacha sauce for more heat. Next time I’ll add bean sprouts or r bamboo shoots. Sauce so simple to follow.My sweetheart was impressed, has seconds, this is a keeper and will definitely make it again.
Delicious! …this will definitely go into my monthly lineup. I added red bell pepper and snow peas, and reduced the sugar to 2 TBSP. Love love love!
Can you use something in place of Dry Sherry? I’m out of that ingredient.
While an appropriate replacement for sherry in cooking depends upon the specific recipe, chicken broth or plain water are often acceptable substitutes. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I made this tonight with my hubby! It was such a good meal 🙂
I substituted sherry with rice wine and red wine vinegar with rice vinegar. Also i did not have the chili sauce with garlic, so i instead used sriracha!
It turned out exactly like CPK’s kung pao spaghetti, except for the consistency of the sauce. Mine was a bit drier, but that did not stop us from finishing it!
It was so so good 🙂
Thank you for the amazing recipe!
It tasted a lot like CpK’s but I agree mine also turned out drier than theirs… any specific reason??