The sauce in this broccoli chicken stir fry is perfectly “saucy,” making it ideal for serving over steamy white rice. Homemade Chicken and Broccoli is an easy 30-minute meal and it has the best stir fry sauce.
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Chicken Broccoli Mushroom Stir Fry:
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry satisfies the craving for takeout and you’ll feel good about serving this to your family because it’s healthier than going out. If you loved our Beef and Broccoli, then you will love this chicken stir fry. It’s loaded with tender chicken, mushrooms and fresh broccoli. I hope you’re inspired to make this easy and tasty dinner!
Ingredients & Substitutions for Stir Fry:
- Chicken – we used boneless skinless chicken breast, but chicken tenders or even thighs would be delicious here.
- Stir Fry Veggies – We love the combination of broccoli, onions, and mushrooms for an authentic Chicken Broccoli Stir fry. You could sub the broccoli with snap peas or zucchini and sub onions with julienned carrots.
- Chicken Broth – this adds more flavor, but water can easily be substituted.
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce – Since different brands have different amounts of salt, add soy sauce to taste. You can always add more at the end, but you can’t take salt out of a dish. For gluten-free, use Tamari sauce.
- Sesame Oil – this one ingredient gives the sauce authentic Chinese stir fry flavor. Do not skip it.
- Ginger & Garlic – fresh is best for stir fry, but in a pinch, you can substitute 1 tsp fresh garlic for 1/2 tsp garlic powder and substitute 1 tsp fresh ginger for 1/8-1/4 tsp ground ginger.
- Brown Sugar – we used 2 Tablespoons of packed light brown sugar. You can substitute with 1 1/2 Tbsp to 2 Tbsp of liquid sweetener like honey, or add it to taste.
- Corn Starch – using cornstarch as a thickener helps keep this gluten-free.
Pro Tip: It’s easiest to peel fresh ginger using the edge of a teaspoon. Simply scrape the skin away. Try it – it’s so easy.
Watch the Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Video:
How to Make Broccoli and Chicken Stir Fry:
- Make the Sauce: Combine all of the sauce ingredients and stir to dissolve the sugar. The warm broth will help the sugar to dissolve easily.
- Cook Chicken: Cut chicken into small 3/4″ bite-sized pieces and season lightly with black pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat with 1 Tbsp oil. Add chicken and cook 1 minute undisturbed then stir fry 5 minutes until golden and just cooked through. Remove chicken to a bowl.
- Sautee Veggies: In the same skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 Tbsp oil, broccoli florets, sliced onion and mushrooms and stir fry 3 minutes until mushrooms are softened then reduce heat.
- Add Stir Fry Sauce: Give the sauce a quick stir in case there was settling and add it to the skillet. Simmer the sauce over medium/low heat for 3-4 minutes until thickened and garlic and ginger have mellowed in flavor. To thin the sauce, add water as needed and you can add more soy sauce to taste.
- Return Chicken to the Pan and stir until heated through then serve over white rice garnished with sesame seeds if desired.
The KEY to Cooking Stir Fry:
A stir fry is essentially flash cooked on a very hot skillet (less than 15 minutes of cooking time). Since this recipe moves fast, you want to have every ingredient chopped, measured, prepped and ready to use before you fire up the skillet. If serving with white rice, you’ll want to put the rice on the stove first then cook your stir fry. You’ll want to bookmark our tutorial for Perfect White Rice.
More Easy Chicken Recipes (Reader Favorites!):
- Chicken Fried Rice – the best way to use leftover rice
- Lemon Chicken – 30-min chicken dinner packed with flavor
- Chicken Parmesan – easy and classic family favorite
- Chicken Chow Mein – adding chicken makes it a meal
- Chicken Tetrazzini – a creamy cheesy pasta bake
Print-friendly Recipe for Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry:
Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken and Broccoli:
- 1 lb chicken breast, (boneless skinless), cut into 3/4" pieces
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil, (I used extra light olive oil), divided
- 1 lb broccoli, cut into florets (about 5 cups)
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced into strips
- 1/2 lb white button mushrooms, thickly sliced
Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce, (use Tamari for gluten free), or added to taste
- 2 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed (or honey to taste)
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated (lightly packed)
- 1 tsp garlic (2 small cloves), grated
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, plus more to season chicken
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients and whisk to dissolve sugar and corn starch (warm broth will help dissolve the sugar faster). Set sauce aside.
- Cut chicken into small bite-sized pieces (no more than 3/4” thick) and season lightly with pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil. Add chicken in a single layer and let it sit undisturbed for 1 minute to get a good sear then stir fry for another 5 minutes or until golden brown just cooked through then remove to a bowl and loosely cover to keep warm.
- In the same skillet, add another 1 Tbsp oil along with broccoli florets, sliced onion and sliced mushrooms. Stir fry 3 minutes or until mushrooms are softened and broccoli is crisp-tender then reduce heat to medium/low.
- Give the sauce a quick stir in case there was any settling of starch and pour all of it over the vegetables. Simmer 3-4 minutes or until sauce is thickened and garlic and ginger are mellowed in flavor. To thin the sauce, add water a tablespoon at a time.
- Return chicken to the pan and stir another 30 seconds or until heated through. Add more soy sauce to taste if needed and serve over hot rice.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This recipe was first published in October 2014. We updated it April 2020, using corn starch instead of flour to make it gluten-free chicken broccoli stir fry, improved the flavor of the sauce and re-photographed the recipe.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Every one of Natasha’s recipe that I’ve made are keepers. This is an excellent dish. There is only one recipe I’ve had to modify and that one is also a keeper after the mash nor modification.
I’m so happy to hear that Dennis! Thank you so much for sharing.
This is the best stir fry ever. I love all your recipes. Thank you for sharing your expertise on cooking.
You’re welcome! Thank you too for your excellent review!