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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- 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
Such a simple and delicious recipe! The stir fry sauce is one of the best I’ve made/tasted. Thank you for a keeper recipe
Hi Jackie! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Sounds like you found a new favorite!
Just made this for my boyfriend. He’s Asian, KNOWS chicken and rice and is actually kind of a picky eater. He’s also not afraid to hurt my feelings ( I’ve tried my hand at some Indian dishes that he had some critiques on for sure). He was slurping this down! Complimented me several times and cleaned every bit of rice off his plate! I was gleaming the whole time watching him enjoy this one! Definitely make!
Wow! That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
We made this tonight and it was great. We did not add mushrooms, as we do not care for them. Still was very good. Prepping is key.
So great to hear that you enjoyed this recipe even without mushrooms. Thank you for sharing that with us, Tim!
It was super amazing and super easy. Just to make it healthy I replaced the rice with quinoa and it was still amazing.
Thanks Natasha for this delicious recepie.
Cheers!
OMG this is soooooooo delish! So happy to have a new go-to!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Can frozen broccoli florets with this recipe?
Hi Anna, 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.” I hope that helps!
Hi, can I use ginger powder in place of fresh ginger? How much would I use?
Hi Ellie, Fresh usually tastes better but it would work if you added the powdered version.
Made this tonight, so delicous!
Glad you loved it!
Amazing recipe!! The sauce is really great, will definitely make again!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe Sandra!
We made the chicken and broccoli stir fry and immediately fell in love. We have made it multiple times and we definitely recommend!
That’s so great! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Made this on Friday for a family supper – went down a treat everyone loved it, real quick and easy to make definitely a keeper in our house 😋
That’s so great Hels!
Can I have the other recipe, before it was updated? My family loved that one. This one tastes different for sure.
Hi Erica. 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!
Hi Natasha, my daughter introduced you to me. I love chicken and broccoli and plan to make it tonight. However, I don’t like mushrooms and am wondering if there’s something I can substitute. Or, I’ll just leave them out.
Thanks.
Hi VERNELL, 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!”
Hi! I have sesame seed oil at home, is that the same thing as sesame oil?
Hi Mariya, yes that is the same thing.
Hello, Natashas Kitchen
I love this recipe it’s quick and easy and it tastes great. It’s a big hit in my family so I see a repeat performance in its future.
Thanks
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I made this last night! Delish!!!👍🏻
I did the “velveting method” with the chicken. Works! Natasha, Since you’re so great at cooking videos, suggesting you do one using this method!
Since I had water chestnuts leftover from Asian meatloaf, added them! You’re a great inspiration to my cooking and I’m no spring chicken. Lol.
Hello Debi, thank you for your great comments and suggestion. I’ll keep that in mind if I do this recipe again next time. Thanks again, we appreciate your awesome feedback!
Made the beef and broccoli and was wondering if it can be done with chicken as had that in the fridge. and low and behold there it is. Will make tomorrow.
Perfect! Enjoy and hope you love it.
So simple, quick and delicious! Would make it again. Thanks, Natasha!
You’re welcome, Kay! I’m glad you enjoyed that!
Perfect! Fast, easy, delicious!
A big hit, everyone loved it, wouldn’t change a thing!
Thanks for your great comments, Cindy. We appreciate it!
I added Red bell peppers and small can of water chestnuts. Served on brown rice, it was amazing.
Sounds good, James. Those were great additions, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!