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
More Easy Chicken Recipes (Reader Favorites!)
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- 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
- Chicken Pesto Pasta – adding pesto sauce is genius!
- Chicken Korma – with a vibrant curry sauce
I followed the recipe exactly. It was delicious. Next time I’ll double the recipe because it disappeared so fast like magic!! Thank you. N
Yay so great to hear that you enjoyed it, Joy. Thanks for your good review!
Hi Natasha!
Followed your recipe and it came out so well. Very yummy indeed. I had to substitute corn starch with potato as I didn’t have that in my pantry. Nevertheless the finished dish was amazing.
Love watching your videos and will make another one very soon.
Cheers!
Wonderful! Thanks for your great feedback and for trying out this recipe.
Doubled the sauce amounts like everyone suggested AND made this recipe with shrimps Instead of chicken!
Turned out absolutely delicious! Shrimps went so well with the Asian twist- can not recommend it enough.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Yasmine!
Made this for dinner last night and it was so delicious!! Added some teriyaki into the sauce and it was perfect!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Dominique! Thank you for that wonderful review!
Made this last night and it was a hit! It was so flavorful and tasted like great takeout! Based on someone else’s suggestion, I added water chestnuts as well and it was yummy.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Loved this recipe. Made exactly as is and we loved. I used the leftover chicken from the spatchcock chicken! Will put this on our rotation. Souse was spot on. Thanks Natasha
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite Claudia! Thank you for that awesome review.
Hi Natasha
I tell you that I made the recipe for Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry on Saturday, it was something incredible, the whole family loved it, the only thing is that since I had no mushrooms, I changed them for carrot in pieces, just as it was delicious
Thank you!!!!!
I’m so happy you all enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hey Natasha! I love watching your videos you make cooking look so easy and fun! It’s hard for me to find chicken stock/ making my own and I know you use them in a lot of your dishes… can I use water instead? Also would love if you made more recipes without chicken
stock so I can really taste the delicious foods that you make! thanks so much xoxo
Hi Jasmin, someone commented and shared this “Didn’t have broth or stock, just used water. This dish is delicious!! Will be making this again and again.”
Just made this hubby loved it thank you. Love your recipes. I added pepper and sweet corn.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Just made this my husband loved it best sauce I have made added a pepper and sweet corn as my hubby not to keen on broccoli I love it so just a little for myself. Love your recipes thank you
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Sheila!
I really enjoyed this recipe!! I used diced store bought rotisserie chicken and it was still great. Thanks Natasha the family gave it raves.
That’s so awesome! Thank you for sharing that amazing review with me Brenda!
This looks delicious however I can not use mushrooms so if I leave them out do I need to make adjustments to the recipe?
Hi Stephanie, we love this recipe with mushrooms but you are welcome to omit them or replace them. Here is what one of our readers wrote “I subbed carrots for the mushrooms and it was delicious! TY for the recipe, it’s filed under family fav now!”
This looks like a great one I will try it soon I’ve been using a lot of your recipes since we are all doing a lot of cooking at home these days. Love how simple you keep them and they always taste great. What size is the cast iron pan you are using? I see there are several sizes to choose from Thanks
Sounds like a great plan! I used the 12″ Fr Pan, you can check out the kitchen tools that I use here in our Amazon Page.
It’s sad that you’re taking down old recipes:( I’ve noticed this happening overtime. Wish you had a way to just post improvised versions and leaving the old ones up. Guess I’ll just have it print everything out from now on. Thanks for all your hard work though!
This was so good and so easy. Loved the sauce – my husband said he was better than his favorite oriental restaurant. Thank you for the recipe.
What a great compliment from your husband, thank you for that!
I enjoy watching your videos and i have tried your beef and broccoli and my family loved it. Now I’m teying chicken with broccoli
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Saira! It is one of our favorites around here. I hope you love this chicken and broccoli recipe!
The old recipe with soy sauce and honey is far better. Can you put that one back on?
Hi Craig, you can sub with honey if you prefer.
Do you still have the original recipe exactly as it was? I loved it!
Hello Dee, 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 it helps!
I clicked on the site link you recommended & copied the url in from this recipe. I didn’t get the old recipe just a bunch of statistics & calendars. How do I access the old recipe on this site? Thx!
Hi Beverley, you would need to paste the URL of this recipe into that site to see it and then select a date that is provided.
Well, Natasha,,,, not only have you impressed me with the recipe[s] but I must say that your presence & posture in front of the camera certainly portrays you as a Kitchen Goddess par excellence that even Nigella Lawson & Silvia Colloca would feel as a rival.
By the by,,, many thanks for that link you provided to Josh on the 27th April. I’ve never come across that avenue before.
You’re welcome, Nick! I’m glad that was helpful and so happy you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for that amazing review.
My husband and I just finished eating this amazing dish! We loved it and I didn’t realize until just now that I forgot the Sesame Oil. Can’t wait to see how amazing it is with that ingredient added.
Thanks for sharing Samantha and good to know that it’s still delicious without the sesame oil. You can add it next time and share with us which version you like better.