This easy Chicken Stir Fry recipe is my go-to ”what’s for dinner tonight” meal. Why? It’s full of tender chicken, tons of vibrant veggies, and the most delicious homemade sweet and tangy stir fry sauce (dare I say even better than takeout?!). This is one of my favorite dinners for using up whatever veggies I already have on hand, and everything comes together in about 30 minutes. And because this recipe makes a lot, I already know what’s for lunch tomorrow! #winning
I know how easy it can be to fall into the takeout trap, especially when life gets busy. But trust me, with just a few simple ingredients and some basic cooking skills, you can make a chicken stir fry to rival your favorite restaurant!! It’s quick, easy to make, budget-friendly, and super versatile. I use chicken, a mix of vegetables, and pantry staples like brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sriracha to create the perfect balance of sweet and spicy flavors.
You can also easily swap out the chicken for another meat or omit it altogether for a vegetable stir fry. I’m all about making recipes work for you, and this one is IT!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy chicken stir fry recipe:
- Chicken Breasts: I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe, but if your budget is tight, you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
- Vegetables: This is where you can really be flexible. I used broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, and onion today, but I’m always switching things up depending on what I have in my fridge/freezer. I’ve also shared some of my favorite options below, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
- Cooking Oil: For cooking the chicken and vegetables. You can use any neutral-tasting oil, like vegetable or canola oil.
- Stir Fry Sauce: The sauce is my favorite part of this recipe (and judging by many of the reviews below, it’s yours, too)! It’s a simple mix of soy sauce, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil, minced garlic, grated ginger, cornstarch, water, and sriracha for a little kick. Easy and delicious.
What Kind of Vegetables to Use
This homemade stir fry chicken recipe will benefit from almost any veggie, so don’t stress if you don’t have exactly what I used. Stick with vegetables that are in season, and shop the sales to keep it budget-friendly! You can also use fresh or frozen veggies. I’d add any frozen veggies toward the end and cook until heated through to stop them from getting too mushy.
Some of my favorite vegetables to use in this recipe for chicken stir fry are:
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Bell peppers (any color)
- Onion
- Snow peas
- Mushrooms
- Sliced cabbage
- Kale
- Water chestnuts
- Bamboo shoots
- A pre-mixed bag of stir fry vegetables—I usually find these in the produce section
Tips for Making This Recipe for the First Time!
I know how it feels to make a new recipe for the first time. But don’t worry! This recipe is super easy and the perfect dish for beginners to try. Here are some tips to help you along the way:
- Make the stir fry sauce first. Believe me when I say stir-fries cook fast. I highly recommend prepping the sauce so it’s ready to go before cooking the chicken and vegetables.
- Use a big wok or very large skillet. You don’t want to overcrowd your wok/skillet, as this will stop the chicken and vegetables from cooking evenly. Cook in batches if you have to! I always use a 12-inch skillet for this recipe.
- Avoid overcooking the vegetables. In my opinion, the best chicken stir fries have tender-crisp, still vibrant veggies. They should have a slight crunch and not be mushy. You can always cook them a little longer once the sauce is added. But hey, if they do overcook slightly, the super yummy sauce will make up for it!
- Adjust the ingredients to suit your tastes. If you know you don’t love spice or want a less sweet sauce, feel free to adjust the ingredients to make it just right for you. That’s the beauty of cooking at home!
How to Serve
I always top my chicken stir fry with green onions and sesame seeds and serve it with brown rice, white rice, or noodles! I also tried it with our homemade coconut rice the other day and that was really delicious. But if you want the full takeout experience, whip up some of our vegetable fried rice to serve on the side!
Meal prep it!
My chicken stir fry recipe stores very well in the fridge and works great for meal prep. You can make it on Sunday, divide it into equal portions, then store it in meal prep containers along with your rice. This dish will stay good in the refrigerator for about four days. I’d reheat it on the stove until the chicken is 165F throughout. The microwave also works in a pinch! You might need to add a splash of water to loosen up the sauce if it gets too thick.
Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
Servings 6 (about 1 cup each)Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- ⅓ cup soy sauce ($0.44)
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.12)
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil ($0.20)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.20)
- 1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch ($0.08)
- ⅓ cup water ($0.00)
- 1 tsp sriracha ($0.05)
Stir Fry
- ¾ lb. broccoli (1.75)
- 2 carrots ($0.50)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.39)
- 1 small onion ($0.39)
- 2 green onions ($0.22)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lb. total) ($6.25)
- 3 Tbsp cooking oil, divided ($0.12)
Instructions
- Start by making the stir fry sauce. Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sriracha, cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Set the sauce aside.
- Chop the broccoli into small florets. Slice the red bell pepper, onion, and carrots into similar sized pieces. Slice the green onions. Set all the vegetables aside.
- Next, cut the chicken breasts into small ½ inch sized pieces.
- Heat a very large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once hot add 2 Tbsp of cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Be careful not to overcook the chicken. Once the chicken is browned, remove it from the skillet onto a separate plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining 1 Tbsp of cooking oil along with the carrots and broccoli. Cook and stir for one minute, or just until the broccoli begins to turn bright green.
- Next, add the red bell pepper and onion to the skillet. Continue to cook and stir for 1-2 more minutes.
- Give the stir fry sauce another brief stir. Now add the cooked chicken back to the skillet, then pour the stir fry sauce over the chicken and vegetables. Give everything a stir and allow the sauce to come up to a simmer, at which point it will start to thicken and turn glossy. Continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes or until it has reached your desired doneness.
- Remove it from the heat, top with green onions and sesame seeds (optional) and serve!
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Equipment
Nutrition
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How to Make Chicken Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
Start by making the stir fry sauce. Combine the ⅓ cup soy sauce, 3 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp toasted sesame oil, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp sriracha, 1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch and ⅓ cup water in a small bowl. Set the sauce aside.
Chop ¾ lb. of broccoli into small florets. Slice 1 red bell pepper, 1 small yellow onion, and 2 carrots into similar sized pieces. Slice 2 green onions. Set the vegetables aside.
Cut 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into small 1/2 inch sized pieces.
Heat a very large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once hot add 2 Tbsp of cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Be careful not to overcook the chicken. Once chicken is browned, remove it from the skillet onto a separate plate and set aside.
In the same skillet, add the remaining 1 Tbsp of cooking oil along with the carrots and broccoli. Cook and stir for one minute, or just until the broccoli begins to turn bright green.
Next, add the red bell pepper and onion to the skillet. Continue to cook and stir for 1-2 more minutes.
Give the stir fry sauce another brief stir. Now add the cooked chicken back to the skillet, then pour the stir fry sauce over the chicken and vegetables. Give everything a stir and allow the sauce to come up to a simmer, at which point it will start to thicken and turn glossy. Continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes or until it has reached your desired doneness.
Remove it from the heat, top with green onions and sesame seeds (optional) and serve!
Make this easy chicken stir fry recipe the next time your family asks for takeout, and see just how much they love it!
Made according to recipe, but used bok choy instead of red pepper, and served with rice noodles. Everyone loved it! I wouldn’t have minded doubling the sauce.
Loved it! I substituted thinly sliced zucchini in place of the broccoli and it turned out great. The sauce was yummy as written but next time I think I’ll add some hot pepper flakes for just a little more heat. This recipe will definitely get added to my rotation. Thanks!
Absolutely delicious! Wonderful recipe! The sauce is restaurant quality. Thank you for an awesome recipe!
I printed this off to make on Monday next week for our Meals on Wheels clients, 47 of them, less the sriracha..I’ll be back to let you know how it was! I wanted something with lots of veggies, something fresh. I might add some snow peas also. I think I’ll make this for dinner tonight! I’m giving it 5 stars now, as I like the recipe, it has most of what I have on hand, and not a lot of prep!
Perfect! My wife and I loved it! Thank you!!
So easy and flavorful! I’m saving this recipe.
Very yummy and I loved the sauce! I used fresh peppers, onions, and carrots and a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables that included broccoli, peppers and mushrooms. It turned out great. Thanks!
Will make again.
This recipe doesn’t just have “a little kick”; it is extremely spicy. After eating this, my mouth was on fire!! The description of this dish is not accurate. I don’t mind a little spiciness, but that’s not what this was. Never making this recipe again!
Everybody has different tastes I didn’t think it was spicy at all …..so a as sane adult I adjusted the spice level. Just do that next time instead of crapping on someones hard work.
Or just…add less spice?
What do you consider spicy? Cottage cheese on cucumber slices?
I love the extra protein that the chicken adds to this recipe. Serve it with a Trader Joe’s Taiwanese scallion pancake and thank me later.
I’ve been looking for a good stir fry recipe, but the sauce is never quite right for my crew. Thanks for this delicious recipe! I am definitely going to make it again.
This was tasty, but I found it very salty. Will try again with low sodium soy sauce.
I made this but I took some liberties with the recipe because I am “doing” weight watchers. If you use a really good nonstick skillet, you can drastically reduce the cooking oil. I think I used 2 teaspoons , divided. I cooked 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms first in the pan sprayed with cooking oil. I used rotisserie chicken so I didn’t need to cook any chicken. I added 1/4 head of sliced green cabbage with the onions and red pepper because I needed to use it up. For the sauce, I only used 1 tablespoon brown sugar and powdered ginger along with everything else. It was so pretty and tasted great!
This is very tasty. I do have a couple of comments–boneless, skinless chicken breast is available in my part of NC for between $2.49 and $2.99 all of the time. A couple of years ago, it was $1.99. It’s the cheapest protein available here, and we love it. Chicken thighs, which DH won’t eat, are more expensive in this part of the world–probably because they get shipped out to places where customers prefer them.
I get tired of sriracha–a totally American product based on a Thai hot sauce which uses ripe jalapenos instead of whatever chilis are used in Thailand. When I made this stir fry, I used Lee Kum Kee brand Chinese chili garlic sauce, but I thought about Korean gochujang–another delicious option available in my local supermarket, which I will try next time. Lastly, Asian stir fries use similar sizes for all ingredients, meaning that diced chicken and small pieces of broccoli would be mirrored with similarly sized diced peppers and onions–or strips of chicken would pair with strips of pepper and onion. That’s a nitpicking thing which has nothing to do what American cooks want or with flavor, but I diced the veggies for this really yummy dish, based on what was drilled into me during decades old cooking classes.
I reduced the sugar to 1.5 T and slightly upped the spice.
Love your additions to this website, Marsha. Keep up the great work!
Can I substitute frozen broccoli for fresh?
Where has this been all my life.. I’m embarrassed to be at 50 years old and too intimidated to do stir fry. This recipe, the clear instructions and PICTURES, make it seem doable. Thank you thank you! I’ll finally take my never-been-used wok for a spin!
Yum! Enjoy!
I did, and it worked great. Just add it in later, not at the beginning with the carrots.