Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry
Skip the takeout and make this Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry instead! It’s packed with tender chicken breast, colorful veggies, and an easy homemade stir fry sauce. It’s customizable with your favorite protein and veggies and it’s ready in about 30 minutes!
This Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry is a quick and easy dinner that comes together faster than you can pick up takeout.
I love takeout as much as the next person, but I prefer to prepare takeout inspired recipes like honey pineapple teriyaki chicken and PF Chang’s fried rice at home so that I can control the ingredients.
I steer clear of refined oils, processed sugar and utilize sustainable, seasonal ingredients as much as possible, which makes for a healthier meal altogether.
Of course the glory of stir fries is that they can be customized with whatever type of vegetables that are in season, or you can simply utilize what you have on hand.
You can serve it with my Instant Pot brown rice, or serve it as-is for a lower carb meal.
There’s really no wrong answer, and there’s no going wrong with this meal. 🙂
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- This chicken and vegetable stir fry recipe is packed with tender chunks of chicken breast, colorful veggies and a flavorful homemade stir fry sauce.
- It’s a quick and easy dinner that’s on the table in about 30 minutes.
- It’s easily customizable with your favorite protein or veggies and most of the prep can be done in advance.
- This a lower carb dinner served as-is and it’s dairy and gluten-free.
Recipe ingredients
- Chicken. For best results, use boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can substitute the chicken breast with skinless boneless chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Vegetables. It may seem like there are a lot of vegetables in this recipe, but they cook down significantly. I’ve used a wide variety for color, but you can use whatever you have on hand. See the FAQs section below for the best stir fry vegetables.
- Aromatics. Fresh garlic and ginger are a must for this stir fry…they both really make the flavors pop. Fresh ginger hack: freeze the ginger root in a zip top bag and grate it peel and all with a Microplane zester.
- Coconut aminos. The coconut aminos are gluten-free and paleo friendly. They may be substituted with soy sauce or tamari.
- Rice wine vinegar. Use either seasoned or unseasoned rice wine vinegar. It may be substituted with white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Sesame oil. I don’t recommend omitting the sesame oil as it adds a ton of flavor, and it keeps for months if you store it in the refrigerator. It may be substituted with your favorite oil if you prefer.
- Honey. The honey balances out the savory umami flavor. It may be substituted with your favorite sweetener.
See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities.
How to make chicken veggie stir fry
This chicken veggie stir fry recipe comes together very quickly. There’s a bit of prep involved including cutting the chicken breast into cubes, chopping the vegetables, and preparing the stir fry sauce, but it does go very quickly.
Pro tip: Prep the stir fry sauce recipe and veggies up to a few days in advance to prepare this recipe even more quickly.
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
- Place the cornstarch in a small bowl. Add one tablespoon of the coconut aminos to the cornstarch and stir until well combined and no lumps remain. Add the remaining coconut aminos, water, vinegar, sesame oil and honey and whisk well to combine.
- Cook the chicken in a large skillet over medium heat for about 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until no longer pink and an internal thermometer inserted into the center registers 160 degrees. Remove from heat.
- Cook the broccoli and carrots in the remaining oil for about 3 minutes, then add the bell pepper, snow peas and white and light green parts of the green onion and cook for another 3 minutes or until the vegetables reach the desired doneness. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, then pour in the sauce and stir well. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
Recipe FAQs
There are so many vegetables that are good for stir fry. You can choose just 2-3 varieties or several to add more color and flavor.
– Asparagus
– Bell peppers
– Bok choy
– Broccoli
– Cabbage
– Carrots
– Garlic
– Ginger
– Green beans
– Green onions
– Mushrooms (button, cremini, shitake)
– Snow peas or snap peas
– Summer squash
– Zucchini
Follow the (4) basic steps below to make great stir fry every time:
(1) Prepare the stir fry sauce first so that it’s ready to add to the pan at the end;
(2) Cook the chicken first, then remove it from the pan and set aside while you cook the vegetables;
(3) Cook root and cruciferous vegetables like carrots and broccoli for about 3 minutes before adding softer veggies as they take longer to cook. Add the softer vegetables and cook another 5 minutes until crisp tender;
(4) Add the chicken back to the pan along with the stir fry sauce and stir well. Cook until the sauce has thickened and warmed through.
This stir fry recipe includes just a few ingredients as follows:
– Coconut aminos (sub with low sodium soy sauce or tamari)
– Water
– Rice wine vinegar
– Honey
– Sesame oil
– Cornstarch
The good news is that a wok is not necessary to make stir fry — any large skillet will work perfectly. The recipe card below outlines how to cook chicken stir-fry in a pan.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: Prep the stir fry sauce recipe and veggies up to a few days in advance to prepare this recipe even more quickly.
- Customize this chicken vegetable stir fry recipe with your favorite vegetables. See the FAQs section for a list of the best stir fry vegetables.
- Serve this recipe as-is for a lower carb option, or serve with rice, quinoa or your favorite grain.
- Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.
More 30 minute dinners you’ll love:
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the stir fry sauce:
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch sub with arrowroot starch
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos sub with low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1/4 cup water sub with vegetable stock for added flavor
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar seasoned or unseasoned
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil see notes
- 1 tablespoon honey
For the stir fry:
- 2 tablespoons oil divided
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets cut into small florets
- 2 large carrots about 2 cups, sliced thinly
- 1 small red bell pepper sliced into thick strips
- 1 small yellow bell pepper sliced into thick strips
- 1 1/2 cups snow peas trimmed
- 3 large green onions sliced thinly on the bias; reserve the dark green scallions for garnish
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger minced; you can also freeze the ginger root and grate it peel and all
Instructions
Prepare the stir fry sauce:
- Place the cornstarch in a small bowl. Add one tablespoon of the coconut aminos to the cornstarch and stir until well combined and no lumps remain. Add the remaining coconut aminos, water, vinegar, sesame oil and honey and whisk well to combine. Set aside.1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/4 cup coconut aminos, 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon honey
Prepare the stir fry:
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until no longer pink and an internal thermometer inserted into the center registers 160 degrees. Place the chicken on a plate and set aside.2 tablespoons oil, 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, salt and freshly ground pepper
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan followed by the broccoli and carrots. Cook for 3 minutes, then add the bell pepper, snow peas and white and light green parts of the green onion and cook for another 3 minutes or until the vegetables reach the desired doneness. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds more.2 1/2 cups broccoli florets, 2 large carrots, 1 small red bell pepper, 1 small yellow bell pepper, 1 1/2 cups snow peas, 3 large green onions, 3 cloves garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger
- Add the chicken back to the pan, then pour in the sauce and stir well. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Stir in the scallions, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Pro tip: Prep the stir fry sauce recipe and veggies up to a few days in advance to prepare this recipe even more quickly.
- Customize this chicken vegetable stir fry recipe with your favorite vegetables. See the FAQs section for a list of the best stir fry vegetables.
- I don’t recommend substituting the sesame oil with another oil as it adds a ton of flavor. It’s great to have on hand and will keep for months stored in the refrigerator.
- Serve this recipe as-is for a lower carb option, or serve with rice, quinoa or your favorite grain.
- Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
