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 cook a TON. You are one of my top 2 fave food bloggers. I don’t usually leave feedback on recipes I try unless I”m blown away & this recipe blew us away. Hands down our families new favourite asian noodle dish. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of the peanuts. I added thinly sliced sauteed onions & red peppers in their place. The sauce is out of this world!
Made this for dinner tonight. Didn’t have dry sherry, so used 1/4 cup sweet sherry. Next time would like to use correct one and to add some vegies to this dish. Scored 8/10 overall from my family (I gave it a 10 as I loved it)! Happy I get to have the leftovers tomorrow for lunch! So easy to make and tasted wonderful. Served this with spinach fettuccine. Beautiful. Thanks for a lovely recipe.
To make this recipe vegetarian, what would you substitute the chicken broth with?
Vegetable broth would be a great substitute.
I made a vegan version of this with no-chicken broth and tofu. I otherwise followed the recipe to a T. I thought it was good and simple to make. I think next time I will decrease the sugar and maybe increase the sherry or vinegar to play off the sour aspect to give it a little more depth of flavor- personal preference though as I don’t like really sweet things. I also would add more veggies but its a great base. Thanks for the recipe!
Looks amazing!! I don’t have any dry sherry on hand. Is there a substitute? I want to make this tonight! 🙂 thanks!
Lindsay, here is a great article on possible sherry substitutes. Hope that helps!
Hi! Thank you for the recipe! But I am just wondering what brand of red chili paste you use in this recipe? There are ones from Lee Kum Kee but it is a chili garlic sauce that is a bit sweet! Thank you for your help! I am preparing this for a BBQ & would love your help!
My favorite brand is Huy Fong Chili Sauce.
I just made this tonight. It was very, very good. I didn’t know what to expect. Mine looked like your picture and that always makes me happy. I followed the recipe toltally. When I make it again, I will add some veggies. Thank you for a great, easy recipe.
Just when I thought I tried your best recipe I try another and OMG! This was so easy, and delicious. I could not stop eating it! The spiciness was addictive! Just perfect! I have been making 2-3 of your recipes a week. I think I could just make all if them for the rest of my life and be happy. You really need your own tv show! I thank you and my husband/family thanks you! Jason is one lucky guy!
This was really easy to make (your directions are great) and the flavor was fantastic but there was something slightly off about the aftertaste with the spaghetti noodles for us. Next time we will use lo mien or just put over rice plus add in some red peppers.
Why didn’t I know about this recipe sooner!? Thank you for sharing. I cannot wait to make this! I have a tech question for you. I am a newbie travel blogger and I’m ramping up for my 6 months abroad mid June. I noticed when I pinned this recipe that I got a nice long vertical pin, but that image isn’t on this blog post. How do you hide the image for pinning? I also use the Genesis framework so our processes should be similar. Thanks, Chungah!
CPK’S Kung Pao Spaghetti is my most favorite meal everrrrrr!!!
If you can’t make it into a CPK restaurant…definitely make this at home!
Add chicken and shrimp!!!
I just made this pasta, and it tasted exactly as the CPK recipe! yummy!
WOWZERS!!! Just made this tonight and it was crazy good! I live in a its with zero good Chinese food options so this dish has satisfied my craving for goooooooood saucy noodles! Thank you for sharing! I made them vegan by subbing out chicken, using veggie broth and adding in some steamed green beans and carrots, yum!
I cook for about 60 people or more a week and I am always looking for something new. When I saw this, I said wow, it simple and it doesn’t take a lot of time. I am adding this to my menu very soon. Thanks for sharing.
It had great taste but I used regular soy sauce, so I had to make extra pasta cause it was just a tad salty! Will make again with low sodium next time!! Kids liked it, repeat meal!
In searching the web for substitutes for the Sherry, I read that there really were not any good substitutes. But one site said you could use Sake and others said you could use chicken broth, In a pinch, you could use a dry white wine (not sweet).
Made this tonight and it was a 10 out of 10. Used sour cherry juice in place of sherry. I am sure you could also use apple or grape juice
*top notch!
This.is.AMAZING!!!! Haven’t tried a recipe you’ve posted that hasn’t been just too notch. Followed this exactly and it was bomb.com!!!!
Also the recipe says spaghetti but looks like linguini in the photos. I’m thinking linguini might soak up the sauce more. Either way it definitely didn’t taste like soy sauce dumped on noodles, it was very good and I will be making it again soon!
I made this last night, I didn’t have or know what chili paste is so I just used a little Sriracha and a good amount of garlic. It was delicious. I also added a small bag of angel hair coleslaw and tossed that in with the green onions and peanuts. The only thing I’ll do different next time is use less spaghetti, a whole pound was a ton of food and I wanted more of that sauce!!!!