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 Chow Mein – adding chicken makes it a meal
- Chicken Tetrazzini – a creamy cheesy pasta bake
- Chicken Pesto Pasta – adding pesto sauce is genius!
- Chicken Korma – with a vibrant curry sauce
Love your website–how could that be made vegan–tofue
Hi Sandra, I haven’t experimented with tofu to be honest so I’m not sure what to advise in the preparation, but I would omit the chicken and swap it out for tofu – I’m just not sure about the prep of tofu.
Looks great! Trying to find the link to your cast iron skillet?
Hi Louie, our favorite tools can be found on our Blog Shop HERE. I hope that helps.
Everyone at my house loved it! Such a delicious weeknight meal!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Toni!
This broccoli beef was so tasty and full of flavor. I made it in the slow cooker and it turned out amazing.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Stephanie!
This is going to be a new family favorite, I can tell already.
Thanks Natasha! Made tonight and added zucchini, julienne carrots, And water chestnuts. Delicious!
That’s just awesome Nigel! Thank you for that great review!
Really tasty. My fussy lot loved this. Simple to make too
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us Sam!
Natasha, I love your recipes! I will be making this one this week!
Hope you love it, Meg!
Looking forward to making this!
Hope you love it Kara!
Made this recipe for lunch. It was delicious!
That’s awesome, Bonnie. Thank you for your great feedback!
Nice and easy. Tasted great! We added cashews for some crunch:)
That’s great, Jen. Thanks for the tip and wonderful review!
Confusing. Some ingredients in pound & ounces, some in USA cups. Why not stick to one ie imperial would make life easier. I had to ‘google’ every cup measurement!
Hi Marion, I added metric measurements to the recipe card so if you click on “Metric” in the recipe card, you can see the gram and ml measurements. I hope that helps! We are working through our recipes to add those.
Too sweet! Since when does stir fry cuisine taste like dessert? Ditch the honey. Maybe 1/2 the broth and sone hoisin sauce and it will be edible.
Hi Judi, you can absolutely do that and add sweetness to taste or leave it out if that is what you prefer.
Love this! I need a new pan though. Is there such a thing that is nonstick and “heavy bottomed” that can handle high heat?
Hi Anne, our favorite kitchen tools can be found here. There are some nice heavy-duty pans out there.
This is one of the few recipes my husband asked to make again! A lot of Asian recipes include a step to marinate the meat. Would marinating the chicken work with this recipe?
Hi Jenny, I’m not sure that would work well. I like to brown the chicken first to keep it juicy inside. It would be a completely different method if you marinated the chicken first. Usually if you marinate chicken in a sauce, you discard that part of the sauce – I’m not sure I would want to pour the marinating sauce over the veggies.
Easy and tastes great. Hubby loved it and we will be eating leftovers tomorrow.
That’s so awesome Rhonda! Thank you for that awesome review!
Can I us frozen broccoli?
Hi Misty, one of my readers reported the following for using frozen broccoli: ” I use frozen all the time I steam in the microwave first to drain any excess water and it cuts down the time it takes to cook. I just throw them in after the mushrooms cook down”
Tried this recipe adding yellow & red bell peppers, thin sliced carrots and water chestnuts just to fill it out a little for company. I added a little oyster sauce to the mix too. Family LOVED the sauce.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Jack!
This is so good…eating it now. Didn’t have any onion (hubby threw it out) OR fresh ginger…used a little onion salt and some good quality ginger powder. Yum. Just wish I would have been reminded at the beginning of making this to start the rice! Guess that happens when you enjoy a glass of wine while cooking :). Will definitely make again…with rice…and will be sharing this delicious recipe! Hubby is going back for seconds now…I’m afraid I won’t have any leftover for lunch tomorrow 🙁
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Buffy! Thank you for sharing that with us!
I am impressed with how easy this was, how delicious AND it actually looked just like your photos. That hardly ever happens. Will be pursuing your other recipes for more yummy dinners to make. Thanks
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!