Sometimes you just need things ASAP—that is, as SIMPLE as possible. ;) That’s when I pull out recipes like these Simple Mushroom Broccoli Stir Fry Noodles. The sauce is incredible simple, but hits all the bases (sweet, salty, spicy, tangy) and thanks to frozen broccoli florets and pre-sliced mushrooms, the vegetables required NO CHOPPING. Yay! This is the perfect weeknight dinner, if there ever was one.
Customize your Broccoli Stir Fry Noodles
This is basically a vegetarian version of my Stir Fry Beef Noodles, with a little more sesame oil to bring up the base notes in the absence of beef, and a little cornstarch to add body to the sauce. If you’re not into broccoli and mushrooms, you could do a variety of other vegetables in their place, including snow peas, red bell pepper, baby spinach, or carrots.
And lastly, while you could probably use just about any noodle for this dish, I really like the wide rice noodles that I used below. They soak up the sauce nicely and aren’t too heavy despite their wide shape.
Just want plain spicy noodle goodness with no extras? Check out my Spicy Dragon Noodles.
Simple Mushroom Broccoli Stir Fry Noodles
Servings 4Ingredients
STIR FRY SAUCE
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.40)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil* ($0.33)
- 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce* ($0.21)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp water $0.00 ($0.00)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
STIR FRY
- 7 oz wide rice noodles ($1.50)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 8 oz sliced white mushrooms ($2.49)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 lb frozen broccoli florets ($0.85)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce first, so it’s ready to go when needed. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, water, and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved. Set the sauce aside.
- Cook the noodles according to the package directions, then drain in a colander. The wide rice noodles I used needed to be boiled for about 7-8 minutes.
- While the noodles are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the cooking oil, sliced mushrooms, and minced garlic. Sauté until the mushrooms release all their moisture and begin to brown on the edges.
- Add the frozen broccoli florets (no need to thaw) and sauté for just a couple minutes more, or until they are no longer frozen but still bright green (they may still be cold, but they will heat through in the next steps. It’s important not to over cook the broccoli).
- Finally, add the cooked and drained noodles and the prepared sauce. Stir and cook, still over medium heat, for 1-2 minutes more or until everything is cooked through and the sauce has thickened and no longer pools on the bottom of the skillet. Top with sliced green onions and serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Video
How to Make Mushroom and Broccoli Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
Prepare the simple stir fry sauce before you begin to cook so that it’s ready to go when you need it. In a small bowl stir together 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp water, and 1 tsp cornstarch.
Two ingredients that I often get questions about are chili garlic sauce and toasted sesame oil. This chili garlic sauce is made by the same company that makes the famous green top sriracha, so you’ll find it in most stores that sell sriracha. It’s a chunky mix of spicy red pepper, garlic, and vinegar. So, in one ingredient it gives spicy, garlic, and tangy vinegar to the sauce. It’s also super inexpensive.
Toasted sesame oil is a very potent nutty oil that adds a LOT to sauces. Don’t skip this one. It usually comes in smaller bottles and doesn’t always say “toasted”. You can tell when it’s toasted by the color, though. Regular sesame oil is a light straw color, just like vegetable or canola oil. Toasted sesame oil is a deeper brown color.
Cook 7oz. noodles according to the package directions. I prefer these wide rice noodles for this stir fry. To cook these noodles, bring a pot of water to a boil, then add the noodles, and boil for 7-8 minutes or just until tender. Drain the noodles in a colander.
While the noodles are cooking, you can begin the rest of the stir fry. Heat a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add 8oz. sliced white mushrooms and two cloves of minced garlic. Sauté until the mushrooms have released all their moisture and begin to brown (the will seem dry at first, but then release a bunch of moisture that will collect in the skillet. After that the moisture will evaporate and the mushrooms will begin to brown.)
Next add 1/2 lb. frozen broccoli florets to the skillet. Sauté them for just a couple minutes more, or until they are no longer frozen but still bright green. It’s okay if they’re still a bit cold, just make sure they’re not totally frozen at this point.
Finally, add the cooked and drained noodles and the prepared sauce. Continue to stir and cook over medium until everything is coated in sauce and the sauce has thickened and is no longer pooling on the bottom of the skillet.
Top with a couple sliced green onions and serve! So easy and so good. That’s how I like dinner.
Followed recipe exactly except that I used linguini instead of rice noodles (had half a box in the pantry) and 1 tsp of chili garlic sauce instead of 1 Tbsp because I was feeding two kids. Very thankful for the latter: I am extremely spice tolerant but even 1 tsp stung. A full tablespoon would have been too much. Will definitely repeat but maybe just completely leave out the chili garlic sauce next time.
Delish but too salty .. did you use low sodium?
No, we don’t use low sodium.
I agree about it being salty. I made this tonight.The flavors are really good though. I bet if you add more noodles or broccoli it could help or like you said sub in low sodium soy sauce. I squeezed a bit of lime juice over my serving and that helped to balance it a bit. I bet adding more freshness like sprouts or thinly sliced cucumbers would help too and are inexpensive items.
Quick question, will the chili garlic sauce make it spicy? (I’m terrible with spice) If so is there a good mild substitute?
As Beth mentions in the step-by-step: “Two ingredients that I often get questions about are chili garlic sauce and toasted sesame oil. This chili garlic sauce is made by the same company that makes the famous green top sriracha, so you’ll find it in most stores that sell sriracha. It’s a chunky mix of spicy red pepper, garlic, and vinegar. So, in one ingredient it gives spicy, garlic, and tangy vinegar to the sauce. It’s also super inexpensive.”
While only a small amount is used in the recipe, it is still pretty spicy. (And if you don’t like spicy stuff, going through a whole jar will take you ages!) I would suggest replacing it with a prepared sweet chili sauce, gochujang, teriyaki sauce; or a mixture of minced garlic/rice wine vinegar/pinch of red pepper flakes. ~Marion :)
Thank you so much! I’ll give this a try next week!
All I have in the house is Sambal Oelek (ground fresh chili paste), will this work in a pinch instead of the Chili Garlic Sauce? I could add a minced garlic clove, if necessary. Thanks!
The main difference between the two condiments is that chili garlic sauce also contains some sugar, salt, and oil. Sambal is spicier, too, so I would suggest adding less of it and substituting that amount with a pinch of each of those missing ingredients (and some minced garlic, too!). I say trust your instincts here, but if needed, I bet you can Google search and find an exact conversion somewhere online. ~ Marion :)
Much appreciated! I made it and it was devoured! Thank you so much.
THESE NOODLES ARE FIRE!!
I followed the recipe almost exactly. I didn’t have frozen broccoli, so I used fresh. Everything else was exactly the same. Wow. With all the endless possibilities this recipe is going to find its way into my weekly rotation as a base recipe for sure.
I followed the recipe exactly. Omg. So, so, good. A very reasonably quick and easy dinner for 1.
Beth, you’ve done it again. Slam dunk!!
Wow! This was good! I was browsing here for something for dinner and realized I was starving for lunch and feeling lazy so I whipped this up. Used what I had: ramen noodles, sriracha, garlic, frozen broccoli and roasted red pepper (from a jar – I use them for everything!) That sauce is so good and it was so easy, I think I’ll make egg rolls to go with it next time – homemade “take-out!”
Thank you, Beth!
We love this recipe!! It used to be our favorite, but now that we have a toddler, we are not sure he can handle the spice. Do you have a recommendation for a replacement for the chili garlic sauce which has flavor but not spice (ah we love this sauce so much though, such a shame to replace it). Thank you!
Yep, you could try a simple sauce like the one I used in my Vegetable Lo Mein, or something a little more rich like the one I used in my Garlic Noodles recipe (that one is my fav).
Quick and easy,,,,Great flavors!! It was even more delicious reheated the next day!!
Oh my so delicious, and quick and easy. Cannot wait to make this again. I might not be able to wait until next week.
Excellent recipe. Made it with egg noodles and added a little fish sauce towards the end. Flavors were great and it really hit the spot.
First off I’d like to say thank you so much for your recipes. I really appreciate how many vegetarian recipes you have on the site. Just about everything that I have made from here has gone into my rotation. This recipe is no exception. I made the noodles separate to better control portion sizes but followed the rest. The sauce is great! Nice and spicy – how we like it. I also upped the protein by pan frying some extra firm tofu. Got a big thumbs up from the family.
Forgot to mention I used liquid aminos, sambal oelek, and added fresh ginger and onion.
Really great base recipe! I prepped some beef and tofu to put on top (we’re a mixed eating household), added ginger along with the garlic and mushrooms, and also drizzled some soy sauce over the mushrooms while getting the last few things ready. It came out great and I would definitely make this again!
Made this with soba noodles and added bell peppers. Very delicious.