The sauce in this broccoli chicken stir fry is perfectly “saucy,” making it ideal for serving over steamy 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 Stir Fry Recipe
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry satisfies the craving for takeout, and you’ll feel good about serving this to your family. It’s healthier than going out, and it’s simple to make into a meal served over cooked white rice, brown rice, or even cooked quinoa.
If you loved my famous 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!
Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry Video
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. I don’t recommend frozen veggies sicne they can get mushy and water down the sauce.
- Chicken Broth – this adds more flavor, but water can easily be substituted.
- 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 to 2 tablespoons of liquid sweetener, such as honey, or add it to taste.
- Corn Starch – using cornstarch as a thickener helps keep this gluten-free.
Pro Tip for Peeling Ginger:
The easiest way to peel ginger is to scrape the skin away with the side of a teaspoon. Once it’s peeled, finely grate it on a box grater or a microplane.
How to Make Broccoli and Chicken Stir Fry:
- Make the Sauce: Combine all of the sauce ingredients and stir to dissolve the sugar. Warm broth will help the sugar 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.
- Stir-Fry 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 crisp and vibrant green then reduce heat. Do not overcook the veggies at this point or they can get mushy while cooking in the sauce.
- 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 Making the Best Stir Fry
A stir-fry is essentially flash-cooked on a very hot skillet, with a cooking time of less than 15 minutes. 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.
Storing and Reheating Stir Fry
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry reheats well so it’s a great option for meal prepping.
- Refrigerate Leftovers – Once the chicken broccoli stir fry has cooled to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-4 days. I prefer not to freeze since the broccoli can become mushy.
- Reheating – It’s always best to reheat in the same method that the dish was cooked. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until hot. You can also reheat in the microwave in 30-second increments until heated through. If needed, you can add a little splash of water when reheating to bring back some moisture.
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
The sauce in this stir fry is perfectly "saucy," making it ideal for serving over hot and fluffy white rice. This recipe moves fast so start cooking your rice first and be sure to prep and chop all of your stir fry ingredients and make the sauce before cooking the stir fry.
Ingredients
Servings: 4 people
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
- Make the Sauce – 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.
- Prepare Chicken – 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.
- Stir Fry Veggies – 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.
- Add Sauce – 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.
- Combine and Serve – 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
325kcal Calories21g Carbs31g Protein14g Fat
Nutrition Facts
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
325
% Daily Value*
Fat
14
g
22
%
Saturated Fat
2
g
13
%
Cholesterol
73
mg
24
%
Sodium
586
mg
25
%
Potassium
1039
mg
30
%
Carbohydrates
21
g
7
%
Fiber
4
g
17
%
Sugar
10
g
11
%
Protein
31
g
62
%
Vitamin A
740
IU
15
%
Vitamin C
105
mg
127
%
Calcium
68
mg
7
%
Iron
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Filed Under
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- Chicken Pesto Pasta – adding pesto sauce is genius!
- Chicken Korma – with a vibrant curry sauce
My new year’s resolution is to cook every week so I don’t rely on take out. This recipe is perfect! One pot meat and veggies on a delicious sauce; made in a short time! Thank you!
That’s a great goal Evelyn and thank you for the great review of the recipe :).
I am health conscious at the same time love food with great taste. Tried your recipe and it turned out to be exceptionally awesome, I think “Honey+Soya Sauce” is simply wow!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thanks so much for the awesome review! 🙂
“WOW” What a recipe. It was great ! It’s now in my recipe book. The only change I made was I used Blue Agave instead of honey . Thank you for sharing. GBA
I think agave is a great substitute! I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
Hoo boy, this is definitely going to be on frequent repeat! I haven’t made a stir-fry in ten years but thought I’d give it a go…tossed in some snow peas, water chestnuts, and celery….WOW!All three kids, including my little veggie-selective guy, asked to have this again…No problem here!
I’m loving the additions you made to the stir-fry. That all sounds so incredibly tasty! I’m so happy you all loved it! Thank you for sharing that with me 🙂
I just made this for dinner and it’s phenomenal! It’s so much better than take out and my husband and two year old loved it. Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you Angela for the great review 🙂
Just made this. Omg. Soo gooooood.. Thanks so much for the awesome recipe. Btw, so glad I used the Sesame oil, it tasted really good in there! Thank you! My family just loved it!
I’m so happy to hear your family loved it! Thank you so much Lily 🙂
What should I do, I started doing this and realized that I don’t have chicken broth or any broth and I’m planning to bring this to my husband for his lunch, wouldn’t this be so bad with water instead?
Thank you
I haven’t tried it with water, but it might still work. Do you have any bouillon that you could make broth with? Let me know how it goes!
How do I make the broth with the bouillon?
Rina, just follow package instructions, it’s usually 1 tsp or 1 cube per cup of water. Hope this helps :).
I made this for lunch and it was ahhhhhmazing!! I used shrimp instead of chicken, fast and easy! it taste just like out of those freezer bags but you actually know what goes in it. going to make this again soon 🙂
Oooh I sure love the idea of using shrimp! Thanks for the tip! 🙂
This recipe is amazing!! My whole family loved it, even my picky son for whom I always cook separately. Thank you!!!
Oh I’m so happy to hear that :). That’s the best feeling when a picky eater loves something you make :). Thanks for sharing that with me!
I was a bit skeptical about using so much honey (I doubled the recipe because I have a big family) but it turned out sooo good. We all loved the “sweet” taste to this chicken! Thank you Natasha for being so awesome! 🙂
I don’t blame you for making a double batch ;). I’m so glad you all liked it. Thank you for your awesome comment! 🙂
Natasha, stumbled upon your website trying to figure out how to make deruny. Ended up doing that yesterday and then this stir fry today. I can say that it was amazing! Even my husband who is an extremely picky eater ended up eating seconds. The only thing I ended up with way too much sauce and had to dump some out mid-cook.
I made this one extra saucy to serve over rice per readers request, but I agree it would be just as good with a little less sauce :). I’m so happy you are enjoying the blog and thank you so much for the great review 🙂
Sooo delicious… and easy to make and I had to have my “crispy noodles” on top and added red pepper flakes. Thanks again for all of your recipes. . you look soooo happy
Irena
Irena, thank you for such a sweet comment, I’m excited that you enjoying the recipe :).
Spasibo dorogaya !!!! Bulo ochen vkysno !!!! God bless you !!!
Na zdorovya Irina, I’m glad you liked it :). Blessings to you and your family as well.
YUM!!! Now I want to go buy these ingredients and make it ASAP!!! 🙂 I knew there was a reason why I didn’t read this recipe the same day you posted… I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from running to the store! Definitely on my list of things to make after grocery shopping next week. 🙂
Thanks Luba :). I hope you LOVE it and it makes all of your stir-fry dreams come true ;).
Delicious! I made it for dinner tonight, and the whole family approves. Thank You!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for the wonderful review 🙂
Panda! This looks delicious! I am always looking for easy, weeknight chicken recipes. Pinned!
Thank you so much for pinning! 🙂 I sure appreciate it!
I know what I’m having for dinner this weekend.
Sounds like a good weekend to me! 🙂
This stir fry looks absolutely delicious and I’m planning to make it soon. I love the use of chicken broth and fresh ingredients. Thanks for your amazing and simple recipes Natasha!
Thanks girl! Yes, I love that I know exactly what went into it, unlike the restaurant versions.
Have you ever tried using anything else besides flour or corn starch for a thickening agent? Just curious as I’m trying to find a more “healthier” way to thicken my food? I tried almond flour before but didn’t really like it. Thanks 🙂 And this chicken beats any takeout. Looks absolutely delish!
I haven’t experimented much with it, but a few of my readers haver recommended arrowroot as a thickener. I don’t know exactly how much healthier it is, but it is an alternative.
Arrowroot or Tapioca starch are awesome substitutes
Looks Amazzzing! Good job Natasha 🙂 when are you gonna tell us If your having a boy or girl? 🙁
Thank you Olya :). I’m going to find out next week. I’m so excited! I don’t think I’d be able to keep it to myself so you’ll know when I know. 😉
Just finished making this for lunch. Turned out to be the best stir fry I ve ever had! Again thank you so much for your impressive recepies!!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for an awesome review 🙂