This Chicken Stir Fry is an easy dinner idea, made with chicken, vegetables and the best Stir Fry Sauce. This stir fry recipe is fresh, flavorful and healthy!
Love stir fry recipes? Try this Beef Stir Fry, Shrimp Stir Fry or Vegetable Stir Fry next.
Chicken Stir Fry
This chicken stir fry recipe has become one of my family’s favorite dinners. It’s quick and easy to make, loaded with colorful veggies, and so satisfying.
The key to a good stir fry is a flavorful sauce. In this recipe, I use my best stir fry sauce. You can mix the sauce up in ten minutes or less, and it’s so tasty with fresh ginger and garlic. This homemade sauce is so much better than anything you might buy at the grocery store!
Ok this is the first time I’ve ever commented or reviewed an online recipe – but this one was just so excellent, I had to! I’m a very inexperienced cook and this recipe had instructions that were clear and easy to follow (even for a newbie like me). Most importantly, the end result was so delicious! My husband and kiddos couldn’t get enough. Thanks for making me look good!
Lindsay
Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients
To make this chicken stir fry, you’ll need chicken breast, vegetables and the homemade stir fry sauce ingredients, plus olive oil for stir frying.
Stir Fry Sauce
The stir fry sauce is a delicious combination of chicken broth, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, fresh ginger, fresh garlic and cornstarch. I recommend using low sodium chicken broth and soy sauce so that the stir fry doesn’t turn out too salty. The cornstarch thickens the sauce when you pour it into the hot pan. If you love spice you can add a few pinches of red pepper flakes to the sauce.
Stir Fry Vegetables
This stir fry recipe calls for broccoli, carrots, bell peppers and green onions. But the beauty of making stir fry is that you can use whatever vegetables you enjoy – it’s a great clean out the fridge recipe!
You can make a stir fry with mushrooms, zucchini, red or yellow onions, sugar snap peas, snow peas, bok choy, green beans, asparagus, water chestnuts or baby corn. Some vegetables cook more quickly than others, so add them to the pan in batches, adding the most firm vegetables first.
How to Make Stir Fry
When you make a stir fry, my best tip for success is to prep all of your ingredients before you start cooking. Once you start adding ingredients to the hot skillet or wok, the recipe moves very quickly and you won’t have time to chop ingredients or make the stir fry sauce.
- Make the Stir Fry Sauce: In a small bowl, liquid measuring cup or jar, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Chop the Chicken and Vegetables: Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces and thinly slice the carrots on a slight diagonal. Put the broccoli and carrots in the same bowl, since you will add these to the stir fry at the same time. Slice the bell peppers and put them in a separate bowl. Slice the green onions and set them aside. Once the vegetables are chopped, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.
- Brown the Chicken: Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. When the pan is very hot, add the cubes of chicken and cook until the chicken begins to brown and is almost cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate. The chicken will finish cooking when you add it back to the skillet with the sauce.
- Stir Fry Vegetables: Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, along with the broccoli and carrots. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Then add the bell peppers to the pan and stir fry for a few more minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Add the Sauce: Return the chicken to the pan with the vegetables. Stir in the sauce and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. This will take 2 to 3 minutes.
- Serve Over Rice: Finally, stir in the green onions and serve your stir fry over cooked white rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or noodles. Enjoy!
Chicken Stir Fry Recipe Tips
- Cut the broccoli into small bite-size pieces so that it will only take a few minutes to become tender.
- Add the vegetables to the pan in batches, starting with the most firm vegetables (like carrots and broccoli) and ending with quick-cooking vegetables (like bell peppers or zucchini).
- Cook the vegetables until they are just crisp-tender. You want them to have a little crunch to them, not be mushy.
- Whisk the sauce again right before adding it to the skillet, since the cornstarch tends to settle to the bottom of the bowl.
- To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free tamari, gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos instead of regular soy sauce.
Make Ahead Instructions
You can prep most of the ingredients for this stir fry recipe ahead of time to make the meal come together especially quickly at dinner time. The stir fry sauce can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can chop the vegetables up to 2 days ahead, and the chicken up to 1 day ahead, and store them in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
Once cooked, store leftover stir fry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat it in a skillet on the stove or gently reheat in the microwave.
More Easy Chicken Recipes
Looking for more easy chicken recipes? I’ve got lots of delicious ideas for you to try!
BEST Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ¾ pound broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces (about 4 cups)
- 2 large carrots, sliced thinly on the diagonal
- 2 bell peppers, cut into thin slices
- 4 green onions, white and light green parts only, sliced
For Serving
- cooked white or brown rice
Instructions
- Combine all stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Whisk together and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
- When the pan is hot, add the cubed chicken and cook until browned and almost cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate.
- Add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the pan. Add the broccoli and carrots and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add the bell peppers to the pan and continue stir frying the veggies until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Whisk the stir fry sauce to recombine. Add the chicken back to the pan, followed by the sauce. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened.
- Stir in the green onions. Serve stir fry over cooked rice.
Notes
- To make the stir fry spicy add a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes to the stir fry sauce, to taste.
- Make Ahead: The stir fry sauce can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can chop the vegetables up to 2 days ahead, and the chicken up to 1 day ahead, and store them in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
- Once cooked, store leftover stir fry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat it in a skillet on the stove or gently reheat in the microwave.
- Nutrition information does not include rice.
Easy to make and so delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the stir fry, Mary! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
This is Shanelle celestine from Louisiana, just made the chicken stir fry recipe and it is soo delicious. This recipe help me because i have high blood pressure so i need recipes with low sodium. Thanks for your recipes, dont mind using them
This was so good!! I added sugar snap peas to it as well! My kids ate it and said it was amazing! We served it over stir fried cauliflower rice blend! This is definitely a go to. That sauce was super yummy! And as a time saver, I used the frozen Dorot cubes of garlic and ginger I blended the sauce in my magic bullet and it was so easy and delicious! Thanks for an amazing recipe!!!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the stir fry!
This is the best Stir fry sauce I have made. It’s a family favorite! I cook the broccoli separately because it gets too “saucy” for us, then we just mix it in on the plate. I also add crushed pepper flakes. Perfect!
Yum!! We loved this and it was so simple and quick. Delicious!
I’m happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Stir fry sounds amazing…Will try! How long is brown rice cooked? Never seems done.
Thanks! Here is how I cook brown rice on the stove, and here is my Instant Pot brown rice recipe. I hope that helps!
One of the nicest stir fry’s I made , thank you ( had it with noodles instead of rice )
I made it and it was super simple looks delicious as well ?????
I made this last night. It was delicious!! I can’t wait to make it again!
A delicious, quick and easy recipe!
I’m a college student who is learning how to cook while quarantined at home and this recipe was DELICIOUS and so easy! I made this recipe for my whole family using our stir-fry wok and they loved it! The stir fry sauce was amazing… Thanks for the recipe!
When do I add the low sodium chicken broth?
In step one of the recipe, you combine all of the ingredients for the stir fry sauce, which includes the chicken broth. (The chicken broth is listed under “Stir Fry Sauce” in the Ingredients list.) I hope that helps!
Great sauce! My son and I are so tired of chicken! Trying it with maybe shrimp or some lean pork. Should work good and be a keeper sauce!
Hubby found this recipe on a Google search and we both love it! We’ve never cooked anything with fresh ginger and didn’t realize what we were missing. We added sliced mushrooms and next time we’ll add water chestnuts and maybe some snap peas.
Thanks Kristine!
I’m glad you enjoyed it and those sound like great additions to the recipe!
This tasted delicious! Made a shrimp stir fry and chicken and both were great.
Thank you!
Soooo good. Love love love the sauce! Will definitely be making this again! Huge hit with kids too which is such a great bonus!
I really wanted to make this recipe tonight, but I have no fresh ginger. Can I use something else?
You can either leave it out or substitute about 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.
This recipe has a lot of sodium. Do you have another recipe to lower the sodium?
The sodium comes mainly from the soy sauce and chicken broth. You can use water in place of the broth, but will lose some flavor. You can do a web search to find recipes to make your own low sodium soy sauce substitute.
Nice and easy but more delicious than any other stir fry sauce I’ve made. I did add some oyster sauce and pepper flakes (as suggested) to give it a bit of a kick. A little Chinese mustard at the end and it was incredible.
This recipe is a keeper!!
Thanks
OMG … I made the shrimp stir fry and it was the best! Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe.
This is my go to, fail proof chicken stir fry! We love it. I add unsalted cashews and use low sodium broth. It’s also a great recipe for my frozen garden veggies through the winter! Thank you so much for sharing this!
I was looking for a new stir fry recipe and this was so easy and delicious! My family all enjoyed the sauce flavoring. Always looking for healthy ways to feed my family. They told me to keep the recipe so I can prepare it again!
The last brown rice I made from pkg instructions was chewy awful and had to throw away. Anxious to try your take on it. Your stir fry sauce is the key element and veggies are whatever you want…and Clem out frig. A Korean friend gave me a tip on broccoli. Always blanch it in boiling water for a minute or two to preserve the color and very little cooking time in wok. I’ve done it this way forever and it always looks beautiful. Thank you for giving me the perfect sauce.
I really want to try this tonight. Hubby has high blood pressure, we’re trying to eat healthier but I don’t have chicken broth. Can I still make the sauce?
Thank you
Hi Marlene, You can substitute vegetable broth or water for the chicken broth. I hope you enjoy the stir fry!
Ok this is the first time I’ve ever commented or reviewed an online recipe – but this one was just so excellent, I had to! I’m a very inexperienced cook and this recipe had instructions that were clear and easy to follow (even for a newbie like me). Most importantly, the end result was so delicious! My husband and kiddos couldn’t get enough. Thanks for making me look good!
My husband and I collaborated on making this tonight and enjoyed the outcome very much!
The sauce is perfect, and it was fun to use whole shrimp, baby corn, water chestnuts, cashews and zucchini with the peppers /scallions for a variation on your recipe.
This experiment in trying your dish with our new wok turned out great! Thanks!
I made this last night & it was delicious. Very easy to make. I think next time I’ll reduce the amount of soy sauce by half and increase the chicken stock to make up the difference. So good, love all of the ginger & garlic. This recipe is a keeper!
I just made this and it is delicious. I also added mushrooms and sesame seeds while cooking the chicken. My husband loves it and I will make it again for the whole family!! Wanted to post a picture of it but couldn’t figure out how to do it.
Made this and it was super yummy however this time we all agreed we want more of this delicious sauce! Should I double the garlic & ginger as well as the other ingredients or will it become over powering? Thanks for a great stir fry!
I’d recommend doubling everything, including the garlic and ginger, if you want more sauce. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Very delicious! Thank you for the very detailed directions!
Fantastic! I added snow peas and regular yellow onion, no green onion at the end….just because I didn’t have them.
It’s delicious just so without rice! And very colorful!
Thanks!
What if I don’t have any sesame oil. Can I use Vegetable oil instead?
You can just leave out the sesame oil, no substitution needed. 🙂
Awesome! Doubled the sauce and cut the ginger but other than that it was perfect!
This recipe is absolutely delicious, it was easy to cook, even prep time was a breeze ,it’s a fun quick dish and absolutely enjoyed it with rice Ramen noodles, it’s a light dish that is full of flavor and healthy, and I will definitely cook it again!
Thank you! This is absolutely brilliant. I have not been successful (understatement) with stir frying but this is truly The Secret Sauce!! Thankfully I prepared the full amount of sauce; half-ish of the stir fry ingredients since we are two empty nesters.
This is really a great base recipe that will become part of the regular repertoire.
The comments posted earlier were also very helpful.
This was delicious 😋 I added mushrooms yellow onions and snap peas. My husband also enjoyed and suggested adding cashews next time.
Made this for dinner tonight.
Hands down the tastiest chicken stir fry sauce I’ve ever prepared.
Dinner was a hit
Thanks, this recipe is a keeper!
Hi, I am looking very forward to making this I used to make stirfries all the time, but it’s been a long long time! However, in your list of ingredients you have sesame seed oil, but then in your instructions you have olive oil can you explain? Thank you so much. 😊
Hi Doreen,
The sesame oil goes in the stir fry sauce. (It’s listed with the stir fry sauce ingredients.) I hope you enjoy the stir fry!
I made it for dinner; turned out great. I was most curious of the sauce because I didn’t see sesame oil but it was just as tasty and I will make it again!
This recipe was easy for a weeknight dinner. It’s SO yummilicious! Full of wonderful flavor! Thank you!!
We loved the chicken stir fry.
Great tasting sauce! It came out perfect.
Thanks, I will be making this again!