Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe is a simple 30 minute dinner recipe made easy with lean chicken breast, crispy broccoli, and a sweet tangy stir fry sauce!
On busy weeknights, I love making stir fries like this beef stir fry recipe, healthy chicken stir fry and teriyaki chicken and cauliflower.
Table of Contents
Homemade chicken and broccoli stir fry is more healthy and tasty version than your favorite Chinese take out.
This chicken and broccoli recipe is made with simple ingredients like tender juicy chicken breasts and crispy veggies, stir fried in a mouthwatering sweet and sticky sauce that even the kids devour.
Another kid favorite is this healthy beef and broccoli recipe and sauteed broccoli.
Ingredients and Notes
To make chicken and broccoli stir fry recipe you will need just a handful of simple ingredients.
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces, about 1 inch. You could substitute chicken tenders or boneless skinless chicken thighs if that is all you have on hand.
- Broccoli: Chop broccoli florets as little or as big as you’d like.
- Seasonings: Fresh ginger, garlic, and black pepper add all the aromatic flavors you need.
- Oil, for frying: Some great options are avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil.
- Toasted sesame oil: Adds distinct flavor to the sauce which is familiar in many Asian style recipes, I even love it in air fryer broccoli.
- Soy sauce: I used Bragg’s liquid aminos. You can also use tamari.
- Honey or maple syrup: If you are looking for the traditional dark color in the sauce, substitute with brown sugar.
- Cornstarch: To thicken the sauce making it that velvety sticky texture rather than thin and runny.
- Broth, low sodium: If you have made your own chicken broth or Instant Pot chicken broth, now is a great time to use some! Vegetable broth will work too.
How to Make Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Here is a quick overview how to make chicken and broccoli stir fry. Stir-frying moves quickly, so be sure to have everything ready and on hand before getting started. There is also a full recipe card below.
- For the chicken and broccoli sauce: Whisk sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, chicken broth, cornstarch, and black pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cook the chicken: Preheat a large skillet or wok with a bit of oil. If you do not own a wok, a non-stick large skillet will work just as well. Add chicken breasts and cook uncovered until golden brown, then remove onto a plate and set aside.
- Cook the broccoli: Return pan or wok to medium-high and add remaining oil, garlic, and ginger, stirring frequently being careful as garlic and ginger can burn quickly. Add the broccoli and continue to cook.
- Add the sauce and chicken: Whisk soy sauce mixture once again to combine everything before adding to the skillet or wok. The cornstarch would have settled to the bottom of the bowl by now. Stir and let the sauce come to a boil and continue cooking until it thickens. Add the chicken and stir to combine chicken with broccoli and stir fry sauce.
Recipe Tip
Sprinkling sesame seeds and green onions over the top of chicken and broccoli can add extra elements of texture, flavor, and garnish to your dish.
Variations
- Add more veggies: Sugar snap peas, mushrooms, snow peas, zucchini, carrots, baby corn, sliced onions, or bell peppers can be added or used instead of the broccoli.
- Make it spicy: Toss in some red pepper flakes or sriracha for a bit of delicious heat.
- Use oyster sauce or hoisin sauce: Are common in Chinese chicken and broccoli stir fry. Replace some broth with either and reduce the amount of honey as those prepared sauces are sweeter.
- Add a splash of rice vinegar: Adds another layer of flavor, just add it to the sauce mixture.
- A good substitute for cornstarch would be arrowroot powder. It looks the same and acts the same.
- Make stir fry more crunchy: Toss in water chestnuts at the end of stir frying or cashews or peanuts right before serving this delicious chicken and broccoli recipe!
Tips for Best Results
Here are top tips for the best chicken and broccoli stir fry from my kitchen to yours!
- Use a higher heat skillet: A cast-iron skillet or wok produces the best heat, a regular skillet or saucepan doesn’t get as hot.
- Make sure all your ingredients are ready to go before cooking: The idea behind stir fry is to cook everything quickly at high heat.
- Use only cold broth to make the sauce: It prevents the cornstarch from clumping.
- Use broccolette or broccolini: Works as a great replacement for regular broccoli.
- Darker stir fry sauce: In place of honey, use brown sugar. It makes the sauce darker and gives it that Chinese takeout vibe.
- Other sauces: Try healthy orange sauce instead!
What to Serve Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry With?
- Grains: This chicken and broccoli stir fry recipe is best served hot with white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or even some brown rice noodles.
- Low carb: If you are looking for an alternative to grains, try cauliflower rice or cauliflower fried rice.
- Salad: Sometimes just a light side salad is enough, especially for a light lunch the next day. Try a creamy cucumber salad, peanut slaw, or a lettuce salad recipe.
How to Store and Reheat
Storing: Chicken broccoli stir fry will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Reheating: To reheat, simply toss leftovers back into a skillet with a little bit of oil until heated all the way through.
I do not suggest freezing this dish! Over time it will lose taste and essential nutrients. Not to mention, due to the sauce, it may become quite mushy.
FAQs
You want to use a sharp knife and slice the chicken breasts or chicken thighs into bite-sized 1″ cubes.
If you’re waiting for your frozen chicken breasts to thaw, catch them when they’re not quite there yet and still a bit frozen. Cutting them at this point can make your life so much easier!
No. Stir fried broccoli still has a nice crunch to it even when it’s cooked down and crisp-tender. Cooking it beforehand would cause it to become mushy.
By using low sodium chicken broth or homemade chicken broth, and making sure you’re using low sodium soy sauce.
It is Chinese-inspired. Traditional Chinese stir fry contains true soy sauce. Typically there is also some sort of alcohol used, whether dry sherry, rice wine, or something called Shaoxing wine. Then there is the use of oyster sauce that we don’t have in our chicken and broccoli stir fry recipe.
More Stir Fry Recipes to Try
- Broccoli mushroom stir fry
- Shrimp stir fry
- Instant Pot stir fry
- Cauliflower stir fry
- Chicken asparagus stir fry
- Sausage stir fry
- Cashew chicken
Check out 65 more easy dinner ideas.
More Chicken and Vegetables Recipes
- Chicken and mushroom recipe
- Chicken and bell pepper recipe
- Chicken and tomato recipe
- Chicken and zucchini recipe
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry:
- 1 lb chicken breast boneless cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 lb 6 cups broccoli, chopped
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- 1 large garlic clove grated
- 2 tbsp oil for frying
Stir Fry Sauce:
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce I use Bragg’s liquid aminos
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 1 cup any broth low sodium
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, broth, cornstarch and black pepper. Set aside.
- Preheat cast iron skillet or wok on medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add chopped chicken breasts and cook uncovered for 7 minutes, turning once. Remove onto a plate and set aside.
- Return skillet or wok to medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Add broccoli and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Whisk sauce well (cornstarch settles fast at the bottom) and add to the skillet or wok. Stir and let sauce come to a boil, then cook for 2 minutes until it has thickened. Add chicken and stir to combine.
- Serve hot over Instant Pot brown rice, Instant Pot quinoa or rice noodles.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate covered for up to 2 days. Do not freeze.
- Use a higher heat skillet: A cast-iron skillet or wok produces the best heat, a regular skillet or saucepan doesn’t get as hot.
- Make sure all your ingredients are ready to go before cooking: The idea behind stir fry is to cook everything quickly at high heat.
- Use only cold broth to make the sauce: It prevents the cornstarch from clumping.
- Brown sugar: In place of honey makes the sauce darker and gives it that ‘Chinese take out’ vibe.
This is a great base! Easy to make on a weeknight. I think some of the variations suggested by the author should just be added to the actual recipe. I used chicken thighs and added a tablespoon of chili paste, but it didn’t have much “zip.” I think I would definitely make it again, but with twice the ginger, a bit of sherry (or rice vinegar), definitely mushrooms and cashews — and maybe crushed red pepper instead of black pepper. Overall, it had a very pleasant flavor and was healthy and filling, but if you like more spice with your sweet and savory, you’ll definitely want to jazz this up.
So glad to hear you enjoyed this stir fry. Everyone has different taste buds, for sure. We love it as is but your additions sound amazing too, if you have time and more desire for layers of flavors.
This looks delicious! Can you use frozen broccoli instead of fresh?
It hasn’t been tested but I think that would work.
Another tasty, excellent recipe!
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Me and my kids really enjoyed this meal! I boiled some brown rice spaghetti noodles while I was prepping everything else. I used one large chicken breast that was about 3/4lb and pounded it to make it all about the same thickness, lightly salted and peppered it and seared it on both sides at medium-high heat. After searing a few seconds on the second side I turn the heat down to low and covered the pan for about six minutes. I remove the chicken from the pan, cover it with foil, wipe out the pan and continue the recipe as is. My chicken always stays nice and juicy cooking it this way, unlike when I cut it into chunks and cook it. I also added shredded carrots with the broccoli and mixed the rice noodles in the sauce after I added the cut up chicken back in pan. This recipe is so much less overwhelmingly salty like most stir fries. I’ve been kinda addicted with trying your recipes lately so I’m sure you’ll be expecting more good reviews from me!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Pretty darn good and very easy! Thanks!
This dish makes such a lovely, lively, healthy dinner! If you measure everything out before hand & read the directions before cooking, it will be a breeze! I actually cooked my chicken cubes a few extra minutes because they were a little larger than 1″. Also sub’d gluten free soy sauce. Overall, 10/10!!
So glad you liked the recipe. I really appreciate you taking the time to write such a great review!
Really nice and easy recipe with few ingredients. Just what I like. I made it with boneless skinless chicken thighs. My husband and daughters said “It’s actually pretty good” which is a very good indicator that the recipe is staying for the future use. 😉
Glad this recipe was a hit with your family Zarina!