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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Hi I just stumbled upon your recipe and I’m eager to make it soon I was wondering would it be weird to substitute the rice with some udon noodles instead? Would it not have the same impact as it would with rice ?
Hi Sai, I haven’t tested that but it sounds delicious! If you experiment, please let me know how you like that.
are you using regular sesame oil or toasted sesame oil? If it is toasted oil would you still use 1 tbsp? Love you videos and recipes Natasha! Thanks
Hi Judi, I used the regular for this one. Toasted sesame oil is a seasoning used more for flavoring after the dish is cooked because it doesn’t withstand high heat cooking as well. If you have toasted, I would suggest adding it at the end to taste.
You’re a gem! Thanks! Happy cooking and creating. May you and your family stay safe and healthy. Happy Mother’s Day!!!
All the Best, Judi
Thank you for your kind words Judi. I appreciate it, take care and stay safe!
Hi Natasha, where did you buy your cast iron pan?
Hello Anna, you can see the kitchen tools that I use here in our Amazon Page. I hope that helps!
I made the chicken stir fry and it’s lovely! Thank you for your great recipes
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Sara!
Any chance you can send me the original recipe using the honey and the original amounts of each ingredient? I make this weekly and to my surprise it changed this week and I am lost now! My wife and I loved it
Hello Josh, the best way to look at old versions of a recipe is to go to this site and paste the url of the recipe in the search bar. I hope that helps!
Hello Natasha!!!
Love the recipe. I made it for my family and they love it
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and so far everything I tried cooking from your website my family and I love it…
Thank you so much
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles!
Very nice, tasty. Needed a little more sauce so i’ll make the adjustments for next time I make it. Due to low carb diet served it on finely diced onion cooked in butter, then added grated cauliflower (using food processor), ie cauliflower rice. Very healthy.
That’s so great John! I’m so glad you enjoyed that.
A tempting dish. A quick and easy recipe to make. Very delicious too. Made for dinner and served with hot steaming rice.
It is so good! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
Hello Natasha!
I’m Mariana. I’m from Ukraine, but live in Switzerland. Love your recipes and your positivity.
Chicken stir fry was amazing and my husband can’t get enough of it!
I wanted to ask how many gramms or oz you mean by one portion? Do you think sugar could be replaced by honey?
Thanks a lot!
Greetings
Mariana
Thanks for your great feedback, Mariana. Honey should work well too, to get the ingredients in grams click on the recipe, click “Jump to recipe” then click “Metrics” and it will convert it in grams.
Can I use all purpose flour instead of corn starch?
Hi Susana, I have made it with flour in the past and it worked well.
I would suggest marinating the chicken in soy sauce, garlic and ginger while you prepare the veggies.
Thank you for that feedback Sue!
It was good, but I thought but the sauce needed a little something.
Thank you for that feedback Kim. Was anything altered in the recipe?
No, I prepared as written. I added a little more soy sauce at the table and that seemed to do the trick.
Every recipe of yours is a hit with my family.
Love it! Thanks for giving my recipes a try.
I come form a long line of great cooks. And….I am and loyal follower of Natasha’s Kitchen.
(I discovered her only because my #1 granddaughter shares the same first name). So, I am staying at home but managed to order from Amazon all the ingredients for this meal. It’s easy and just fantastic! The fresh ginger and garlic, tender chicken, just wonderful. Not too salty. Just delicious. Thank you, Beautiful, Natasha! As always, great meal! : )
Hello Carol, good to know that you’re cooking more these days. It’s a bit of a challenge to find all of the ingredients that we need lately but I’m glad that you were able to get them online. Enjoy cooking and thanks for giving your great feedback!
Have you ever thought about putting together your cookbook? You have so many fantastic recipes….& I’d love to have them all organized in a book….so I don’t have to print them all up!! Thanks! I’m sure you’d sell a lot of your recipe books! 🙂
Hello Kathy, I am working on a cookbook, although it’s taking me some time to finish it I’ll make sure to share it with everyone once it’s ready.
What kind of skillet did you use and where do i find one??
Sandy
Hi Sandy, we love using this heavy skillet here for recipes like this.
Could this be made with a different veggie besides brocolli? I have some in my family who don’t like it.
Hi Anita, That should work! If adding more vegetables, you might add a little more soy sauce as the liquid released from veggies can dilute the sauce some.
Natasha’ love your recipe’s. Glad I sign up to your web-site. Your recipe’s are great & easy & I like to follow you on my email, Thanks!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles!
Hi Jo, welcome to our blog and thank you for subscribing! I hope you love this stir fry and every recipe you try.
I absolutely love your receipes and how easy you make them! I also appreciate how your “Natashakitchen” Channel/emails makes it so easy to follow instructions and view how you makes your dishes and displays a list of ingredients to purchase. Everything is laid out so beautifully and easy to follow with a beautiful display of dishes cooked in beautiful, vibrant colors. Thank uh ou for doing it like a true Master! I am most grateful for your talent and gift!
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
I don’t have mushrooms and I’m not running to the store during this time. Any suggestions for a good replacement?
Hello Heather, you can probably use tofu or zucchini.
Found it.
So…where are the notes with the secret for the white rice? Please.
Hi Eileen, we have it bookmarked in the recipe post but you can also find it here. I hope that helps.