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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Just made this recipe for the first time , it’s delicious.
Also excited to find the button that prevents my iPad from closing while I cook. It’s only a little thing but it means a lot to me thank you.
I’m so glad you found that feature helpful, Elaine! Its newer to my blog and I’m so excited we finally made it happen! Thank you for your awesome recipe review!
Well done the low sodium broth, but 2 tablespoons of sugar? Wow! That’s a lot of sugar…
Hi Polly! This recipe serves 4. You can use less sugar if you prefer or even leave it out but it balances the flavor really well.
This is such a great recipe. I didn’t have sesame oil or fresh ginger, and it was still delicious. I can’t wait to try it again with the oil and fresh ginger. Thanks so much
You’re welcome, good to her that you enjoyed it!
Delicious!
It will be part of our meal rotation!
I didn’t have mushrooms, so I subbed in a red bell pepper.
I subbed beef broth instead of chicken, because that’s what I had.
And I didn’t have fresh ginger, so I used ground ginger instead.
Even with all those modifications, it was fantastic!
Husband gives it 2 👍🏻!
Hi Michelle, great to hear that the substitutions that you used worked in this recipe! Thanks a lot for sharing.
This and your meatloaf recipe (with the best glaze!!) have become true staples! Both come out PERFECT every time!
Thank you for sharing such flavorful, fun to make and unpretentious food for us all to enjoy!
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad you loved it.
I’ve made this recipe several times and, on occasion, replaced chicken with shrimp. It’s a deliciously flavorful recipe. A definite keeper!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Maria! I’m so glad it was a hit.
Quick question…do the mushrooms really add that much flavor? We REALLY don’t care for them so I left them out when I made this recipe. Everything else was exact but we both found it really lacking in flavor. I may try again with some fish sauce added in…
HI Janet, mushrooms really do add alot of flavor and it would be lacking something without them considering it’s a pretty simple recipe with 3 main ingredients.
This was good stuff! Followed recipe to a
T and it came out so so good! My husband told me to SAVE this recipe!!!
That’s awesome and super great!
Hello! I’m wondering if you’ve tried this with odon noodles? We had it with rice last time and it was delicious. I’m thinking to double the sauce and use the second portion to coat the noodles. Thoughts? Thanks in advance!
Hi Amira! I have not, but feel free to experiment. Just make the noodles according to the package instructions.
This is the best stir fry sauce I’ve ever tasted! I didn’t have sesame oil so used extra virgin olive oil, and didn’t take a difference at all
The sauce was delicious and you were so right about it coating the rice, it was so good!!!
That’s great to hear, Jazz!
Hi there
Merry Christmas and happy new year.
How many grams are per serving in this recipe
thanks
Hi Gus! Thank you, Happy New Year!
I don’t have the exact measurement per serving. This recipe serves 4. You could weigh the whole thing on the food scale and then divide it by 4. I hope that helps.
We really did not like this recipe. It was very bland. No flavor.
HI Caryn, is there anything you changed or substituted in the recipe? Also, one thought – if using frozen broccoli, that could release more liquid and make the sauce seem bland.
This recipe is simple, quick and delicious. I always make it as the recipe states but use whatever veggies I have on hand. I have never been disappointed by any of Natasha’s recipes. Always my go to!
Aaaw thank you, Mary! That’s so inspiring for me.
Hi, just a quick question. Could any leftovers be re-heated for lunch the next day? Thanks
Hi Sue, yes you can re-heat them for next day.
Natasha, good morning. I have a question. In this recipe it calls for sesame oil. I made sauce with a different recipe with sesame oil but it was to strong of a taste. We did not care for it. Is there anything that I could use to substitute for the sesame oil or is the sesame oil not strong at all in your recipe? I want to make this after Thanksgiving. Thank you
I do not recommend skipping it, as it gives the sauce authentic Chinese stir fry flavor.
My husband and I loved it! Super easy and delicious. I used Bella mushrooms (sliced thick) because it’s what I had on hand and it turned out great. Loved the sauce!
I’m so happy you loved it, Meredith! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Again and always perfect!! Every recipe Natasha has turns out amazing and is always sooo simple to make! Her tutorials should be used in schools across the world to show young people how easy it is to make healthy delicious food 👏👏👏
Thank you so much, Cindi!
Perfect recipe! Thank you Natasha! Will add some salt next time. Other than that, it tasted better than takeout.
Thank you so much for your excellent comments and feedback, AJ!
Delicious. Will definitely make again. Added a little more soy sauce. Will use 1/2 the brown sugar next time. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes
You’re very welcome, Randi! Thanks for sharing.
Great recipe. Love the sauce, and so easy. Marinated chicken in sesame dressing a few hours and topped with toasted sesame seeds. The men in the house loved it also.
Great to hear that it was a huge hit!