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 Tetrazzini – a creamy cheesy pasta bake
- Chicken Pesto Pasta – adding pesto sauce is genius!
- Chicken Korma – with a vibrant curry sauce
Going to try it tonight.
It looks so Yummy.
I hope you love this recipe Susan!
Once the prep work was done, this recipe came together so quickly. Like all your recipes, this was delicious!
Super! Thanks for your good comments and feedback, Carol.
Easy and delicious! I will make this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! I used Birds Eye Stir-Fry instead of fresh vegetables the second time. Birds Eye has all the vegetables and more and it was to die for. I have this about 3 times a month. Thanks Natasha you make cooking fun!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your good comments and feedback with us, Bob.
Hi Natasha! First of all, many thanks to you and your husband for such fun and informative videos with awesome recipes. I truly enjoy watching them and learning to cook different things.
This stir fry is incredibly simple to make and so delicious with the “saucy” sauce! It definitely has become one of my favorites. In fact, I am making it again for dinner today and honestly can’t wait to eat…YUM!!!
Thank you for sharing such an awesome recipe! 😊
Hello Jacqueline, thank you for your good comments and feedback. You are most welcome and it is a pleasure! I’m glad that you enjoyed this recipe!
I made the chicken and broccoli and it was great. I added a small amount of pineapple because I like pineapple. My husband really really loved this recipe. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Sharon. I’m glad you and your husband loved this recipe!
Hello Natasha,
I do not have homemade chicken broth. Can i substitute with chicken stock?
Thanks for the recipe, excited to try it!
Yes, stock will work. 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.”
Yikes! I forgot to add to my review that I bookmarked this recipe!
Thank you!
Easy and tasty recipe, I omitted the brown sugar and just added a tad of honey to the sauce. Since my hubby doesn’t like al dente vegetables, I semi steam cooked the broccoli before stir frying
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
The recipe is amazing I omit the mushrooms However don’t bother trying to print this recipe because it continues to print ads over top of the recipes in black boxes very disappointed
Thanks for your good feedback, Heather. Are you doing this to print the recipe? Click Jump to recipe to go quickly to the recipe card, click print and save as pdf then print from your device. That should help.
Did your chicken and broccoli stir fry for dinner this evening and it was a hit all round , will most certainly be making this again. Thank you for your recipes Natasha keep up the good work
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Ivy!
Not as saucy as you stated in your presentation. The flavor was there….thanks
I’m glad you enjoyed that Linda.
Excellent! Perfect proportion of chicken to veggies. I added a dash of red pepper flakes and dusted the chicken with chili powder. My husband had two huge servings!
Thank you for the wonderful review!
Fantastic recipe! Immediately added to permanent rotation. Subbed bok choi for the broccoi, cuz that was what we had, and sprinkled salt as I went on chicken and veg…just my preference…and used homemade stock.
The sauce is divine! Thanks!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
This was wonderful! Excellent recipe and definitely will make over and over. Thank you Natasha!
You’re very welcome, Susan. I’m glad you loved it!
You’re welcome, Susan! It sounds like you found a family favorite!
This was so delicious and easy to make! I’m not usually one for leftovers, but I made a double-batch and can honestly say this tasted even better the next day! Thanks for sharing – I love your recipes. 🙂
Hello Kass, so great to hear that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Delicious Sauce! Everyone loved the stir fry. I did use thighs because that’s what my husband prefers and I doubled the veggies and tripled the chicken. I tripled the sauce as well since this is something else hubby prefers. I love that this is so versatile and veggies can be adjusted to individual preferences.
That’s great, Barb. I’m glad you everyone enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for giving us this recipe an awesome review!
Very easy… Soooo yummy 😋 good
Thank you!
Made this tonight for the first time. It turned out great! Delicious! I haven’t found a recipe of Natasha’s that I don’t like 🙂
Isn’t it so good! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this for dinner tonight and it came out perfect. I used water instead of broth and used a little bit more of a black pepper. Thumbs up! It was excellent and easy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!