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 Pesto Pasta – adding pesto sauce is genius!
- Chicken Korma – with a vibrant curry sauce
inase anyone wants to know… this meal is only 243 cal per serving
That’s pretty impressive! Thanks Tiffany! 🙂
Hands down. The best stir fry I’ve ever made in my entire life. The entire family loved it. I can’t wait to make it again.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for your fantastic review! Isn’t that the best feeling when your whole family loves something you make? Thank you for sharing that with me 🙂
that said, I still think u meant stock as opposed to broth and I don’t know much about cooking as I’m a newbie but it does appear that there is a difference between the two. And apparently chefs use the term interchangeably. Please correct so that other newbies don’t make the same error
I’ll definitely update the recipe to include that either one can be used. Thanks Danny! 🙂
ok im sorry, I see the problem. Ordered from asda online and they gave me chicken and veg broth. First time cooking so didn’t question the veg, thought it was part of it lol. Sorry, I was very enraged at time
Hi Danny, I’m glad you got it squared away. 🙂 You can actually use chicken stock or broth in this recipe. It’s used interchangeably. I found this quick article that might help explain. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/chicken-stock-vs-chicken-broth.html 🙂
Fabulous! This is the best stir fry recipe I’ve ever used. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the dish and repeated it again the next week.
Chris, thank you very much for the great review, I’m glad you enjoyed it :).
Beef, broccoli and mushroom: a perfect combination. Love it.
Thank you! 🙂 And it’s so simple too! I love Asian food and I’m so glad you discover your site through your link. I’m hungry all over again 🙂
I used a little teriyaki sauce and peach jam instead of honey.
That sounds really tasty! Thanks for sharing Linda 😉
Very delicious recipe, I altered it a bit to make a meal for one. Im going to use this same sauce for a vegetable recipe tonight! Thanks for the inspiration. Working on a blog of my own, but I’ve got loads of work to do. And your blog is very helpful, inspirational and fantastic xo
Welcome to the site Shawna and you are welcome :). I hope that you’ll find many new favorites here.
This was delicious! I am just learning how to cook and my husband and I both loved it. I think it was the best thing I have ever made!!! Thank you!
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂
Been eyeing this for a while and I finally made it for my family tonight and we all LOVED it!! Thank you for the pictures/such great intructions! It made it so easy to follow. This is definitely a keeper for us! Absolutely delicious!
Thank you Natasha!
Can’t wait to try more recipes from you!
🙂
Thank you for the great review :). I’m happy to hear that everyone loved it and you are welcome.
This was great! But I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something missing. The taste was there but it didn’t seem very marinated through the chicken. I feel like it would be better to cook the chicken in some onion garlic and soy sauce first so that the chicken holds more flavor. This recipe calls for the chicken to be browned with zero seasonings.
Again, the outcome was good, but I felt like something was missing and it could’ve tasted better – I followed the instructions to the T. Anyone else feel the same?
Hi Kelly, thanks for writing in. You could add some seasonings to the chicken if you wanted to. We didn’t feel it was necessary because the sauce was pretty flavorful, but your ideas sound great! 🙂
We loved this dinner! I added a can of sliced water chestnuts. Delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the great review Sue and you are welcome :).
Will this work with frozen broccoli? Would I need to thaw it first?
Melinda, you will get the best results with fresh broccoli, but it still will work by using frozen broccoli, without thawing it first. Hope this helps :).
Thank you. Frozen is all I have on hand right now. I’ll use fresh next time!
So delish! Anyone know how many calories in one serving?
Super Easy to cook! I added baby corn too… The picture guide is a great idea coz many times my final result is of a different color 🙂 But this time it looked exactly the same! Thank you – From India.
Thank you for the great review Jinx 🙂 and you are welcome.
I made this for dinner a few nights ago. It was amazing and amazingly simple to make! I am definitely adding this to my recipe collection.
I found your website/blog when searching for a recipe using chicken and broccoli. I am glad I found this site and look forward to trying more of your recipes!
Welcome to my blog. I’m so happy you found it too 🙂 thank you for an awesome review!
This was an absolute hit with my fiance!! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Hi Dasha! I’m so happy to hear that :).
From Wellington NZ – trying your recipe – lovely – too sweet for me will do without honey next time -thanks
Robyn
You can definitely change the amount of honey to taste and still have great results. Thanks for sharing your review 🙂
Hi,
made this last night and it was a hit with the hubby.. as a rookie cook thats all i strive for!
Thanks!
That’s awesome!! I’m so happy you both liked it 🙂
Would like to know nutritional info for this dish thank you
I currently don’t have nutritional values, but when I need to research something, my best source: Caloriecount.com – sign in for free and then go to “tools” and then click “recipe analyzer” You can copy and paste your list of ingredients and it spits out the nutrition info. It’s a great tool.