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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Fixed tonight and added some carrots, green onion and a variety of mushrooms. Used honey as sweetener. Definitely a keeper
That sounds delicious, Sarah! So glad you loved the recipe.
This is the best stir fry I’ve ever prepared. Delicious. The brown sugar and the 1 TBS of sesame oil surprised me but it was absolutely perfect.
Hi Judy! I’m so glad you loved it. Thank you for the feedback.
Hi, and thanks for this recipe. Easy as 1,2,3. Made rice ahead of time. Then prepped & started cooking. Family loved it.
That’s wonderful, Donna! Thank you for the feedback.
I don’t know who liked this recipe. There is no flavor and it is to sweet. The.chicken is bland and.the sauce is not thick enough to coat the ingredients. I will not make again.
HI, we haven’t had that experience and this is a popular recipe. It’s difficult to say what could have gone wrong, especially if any substitutions were made. I suggest watching the video tutorial to see where things started to look different or identify any missed steps or ingredients. I hope that helps.
I love it so quick and easy to put together. I added water chestnuts,bean sprouts and mini corn along with the broccoli. I will post on my ig ☺️
I would love that, please tag our page in case you post a pic. So glad you loved it!
Delicious! My husband and I are eating it now for lunch…..
Your idea of saucy, and my idea of saucy, are two different things. I doubled the sauce, and NOW it’s saucy. LOL
(in all fairness, I used more of everything else as well, always feeding crowd.)
Hi Linn! I’m so glad you loved it. Thank you for the feedback.
Delicious! I used rice noodles and I added some chili flakes and an egg. I used powdered ginger cause I didn’t have fresh on hand. Husband says to makes this again!
Great to hear that you both enjoyed the result!
Yummy! My kids all loved it. They didn’t want mushrooms so I just used broccoli, onions and carrots for a splash of color.
That’s great! So glad it was enjoyed. Thank you for the review. 🙂
The dish turned out yummy, especially the sauce! I thought I made enough for leftovers but the family ate it all, even the picky ones! Anytime I can get broccoli on their is a bonus!
Hi Marta! I’m so glad it was enjoyed!
This was phenomenal! You are phenomenal. I love all your recipes. So easy to follow. Oh, and the sauce amazing!!
Hi Dot! That’s wonderful. I’m so glad you love my recipes. 🙂
Great Skillet sauce! I read other notes and bumped up the cornstarch to a heaping tablespoon. I subbed julienne carrots for mushrooms and added a little (3oz dry) cooked linguine to the pan at the end w the chicken. This ‘lo-mein’ is as good as any take out. Prep all before you start cooking and it comes together quick & easy.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Jayme. I’m glad that it worked well and that you liked it!
I used carrots instead of mushrooms. We Love this recipe, quick and easy! I dint have social media, or I’d upload a picture.
Hi Teresa! Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad you loved the recipe. 🙂
Made this last night and it was outstanding. I did not have any mushrooms but added a can of water chestnuts. Very tasty.
Lovely to know that you liked this recipe!
Absolutely loved this recipe , so tasty , thank you Natasha
Skegness UK
Hi Tony! That’s wonderful to hear. Thank you.
Made it in the wok😁turned out really good. I like lots of sauce so I doubles that .
So glad you love the recipe, Caroline! The sauce is so good!
I made this for the first-time last night!! It was delicious!! I hope it reheat wells- because we will be having the leftovers for dinner tonight!
Hi Jane! That’s wonderful. I’m glad you loved it. 🙂
We made this tonight. It was wonderful. And even after a long day of work, it was super easy. Thank you.
Hi Linda! That’s great. So glad you loved it.
I made this tonight, and it was really good. I didn’t have any mushrooms or chicken broth, but it still came out fantastic. My daughter loved it as much as me, so this will be a staple in our home. Thanks a bunch!
So glad to hear that!
I tried the chicken broccoli stir fry – I added bell pepper and carrots and used a date honey I got in Israel in place of the brown sugar – it was so good!
Thank you for sharing, Vicki! Sounds delicious!
I loved this recipe. Next time, I will add less brown sugar. Just a personal preference! I did double the sauce after reading other reviews.
Loved every recipe of yours I’ve made! Can’t wait for your cookbook to come out!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Kim! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! The book is due to be out in the Fall of 2023! Stay tuned!