This Chicken Stir Fry Recipe is so much better than takeout! The chicken and vegetables are in a garlic ginger soy sauce with honey, the perfect balance of sweet and savory. It’s ready in under 30 minutes and is so versatile.
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It’s not surprising that this Chicken Stir Fry recipe has been a reader favorite for years. Quick 30-minute meals like Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Chow Mein, and Fish Taco Bowls are some of my favorites for busy weeknights, and this easy dish is a great one to make on repeat.
Easy Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
Here’s why this chicken stir fry recipe will become a staple in your home as an easy go-to weeknight dinner. It’s so quick to make and you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand or whatever your family likes best. It tastes wonderful regardless of how you alter the vegetables and even the picky eaters will approve!
You’ll love the garlic-ginger stir-fry sauce since it has a touch of honey to give it the perfect blend of savory saltiness and sweetness. Serve over rice or noodles for a complete and satisfying meal.
Ingredients for Chicken Stir Fry
I love to use seasonal veggies in my chicken stir fry, but you can choose whatever you have on hand or a bag of stir-fried veggies from the grocery store. It’s so easy to make it truly yours!
- Chicken Thighs – cut into 1″ or bite-sized pieces. This is a fattier chicken cut, so it stays juicy on the inside. You can use chicken tenders or even chicken breast, but be careful not to overcook them.
- Oil and Butter – I recommend unsalted butter and a high smoke point cooking oil such as extra light olive oil or Canola.
- Veggies – I use zucchini, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, onions, and cashews to add a little crunch to this stir fry, but feel free to try my other favorites listed below. Just be sure everything is cut into uniform pieces.
- Flavorings/Spices – garlic cloves and ginger
- Stir Fry Sauce ingredients – chicken broth, water, soy sauce, honey and cornstarch. For gluten free, be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce.
Variations
You will love how versatile this stir fry is, and you can use just about any vegetables you have on hand for this chicken stir fry. Here are some great options:
- cauliflower
- sweet peas
- asparagus
- snap peas or green beans
- bean sprouts
- baby corn
- water chestnuts
How to Make Chicken Stir Fry
Chicken stir fry couldn’t be easier to make than this recipe. It takes 30 minutes and one pan!
- Cut the chicken thighs and all the veggies into bite-sized pieces
- Stir the stir-fry sauce ingredients together until no lumps remain. Set aside.
- Heat a large pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add oil once hot and cook the chicken pieces in a single layer, stirring to brown all sides and cook through. Remove from the pan.
- Add the rest of the oil and butter to the hot pan followed by the veggies. Stir and cook until crisp-tender.
- Return the chicken to the pan and add the garlic and ginger, stirring for 1 minute.
- Add the cashews and then pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables, stirring to coat. Simmer until the sauce thickens and the ingredients are well incorporated.
Tips for Making the Best Chicken Stir Fry
Stir fry is easy to whip up and makes a complete meal quickly with little cleanup. Here are some of my tips for making the best stir fry:
- Equal-sized pieces – It helps to cut each ingredient into equal sizes so they all cook at an even rate
- Timing – determine which ingredients may need extra time to cook and add those first (think broccoli or mushrooms). Then add quicker-cooking veggies (like leafy greens or bean sprouts) at the end.
- Use a large skillet or wok to avoid overcrowding the pan which leads to steam cooking.
- Preheat the pan – the food should sizzle when it hits the pan.
Can I use Frozen Vegetables in Stir Fry?
You can use frozen vegetables in a chicken stir fry, but they take a few minutes to cook. Do not thaw and add veggies directly from the freezer, and stir frequently for even cooking. Also, frozen vegetables can release more liquid, so allow it to evaporate or pat dry with a paper towel to prevent a watered-down sauce.
What to Serve with Chicken Stir Fry
My chicken stir fry recipe is easy to serve by itself, but for a complete meal, serve it with your favorite starchy or carby side, like fried rice, brown rice, quinoa, white rice, or pasta.
My Chicken Stir Fry recipe comes together quickly with protein, veggies, and a savory-sweet ginger soy sauce. Cook up a pot of rice for a complete meal in under 30 minutes!
Make-Ahead
Stir fry leftovers keep well in the fridge for an easy lunch the next day. Try these storage ideas:
- To Refrigerate: Cool and store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: We like freezing in serving sizes. Put your grain and the cooled stir fry into a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: Thaw in the fridge and reheat in a saute pan or wok on the stove until heated through
More Easy Stir Fry Recipes
If you love takeout copycat recipes, you will surely find some treasured recipes in this list. Let me know if you have any recipe requests for your favorite takeout dishes.
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Vegetable Stir Fry
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Chicken Vegetables and Pasta Stir Fry
- Chicken Broccoli Stir Fry
- Shrimp Stir Fry
- Beef and Broccoli Ramen Stir Fry
- Honey Garlic Chicken
Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients:
- 1 lb chicken thighs, *cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 zucchini, sliced or cubed
- 2 Tbsp oil, divided
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 small carrot, julienned or cubed
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 red pepper, cubed
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1/2 onion, cubed
- ½ cup cashews
Best Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, or gluten-free soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
Instructions
- Trim chicken thighs of excess fat and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Cut the vegetables into even-sized pieces (about the same size as the chicken pieces).
- Combine all of the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Set aside.
- Add the remaining oil and the butter to the skillet with the broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, red peppers, onion, and carrots. Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, mixing frequently.
- Add chicken back to the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the cashews then pour the sauce into the pan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let stir fry simmer until the sauce thickens and is well incorporated with the remaining ingredients. Garnish with green onion and sesame seed before serving if desired.
Notes
- Vegetables: Feel Free to swap vegetables to fit your preferences or what you have on hand. Great options include: cauliflower, sweet peas, asparagus, green beans, snap peas, bean sprouts, baby corn, or water chestnuts.
- Chicken: You can use chicken tenders or even chicken breast, but be sure not to overcook.
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Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
Hi Natasha! I can’t wait to make this. In the video it shows that you used brown sugar and in the recipe it shows honey. How much brown sugar would I add.
Hi Patty, this Chicken Stir fry recipe doesn’t have a video for it. We do have this Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry that we do use brown sugar for.
We made this last night. I added whole wheat spaghetini noodles in to cook in the sauce when I put in the veggies. I used frozen broccoli, 1/2 a white onion, and sweet peas as the veggies.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us Lindsay!
I love this type of food ..made your recipe and it is so tasty I loved it… I did make too much and just wondered if it can be frozen …thanks again for thedelicious recipe.
Hi Anita. I haven’t tested that so I can not advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
We enjoyed this so much!
I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
I’m smiling big reading this comen Janine! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
this is a versatile, easy, quick recipe. This recipe should be credited to the creator, who is Valentina Ablaev.
Hi Doug, yes, Valentina is the author of this amazing recipe. She wrote up this post and is listed as the author. We love featuring her recipes and talent here!
I use your receipts all the time! This is as delicious as it looks! Didn’t change a thing. THANK YOU 👍🤗
My pleasure to help, June. Thanks for giving this recipe a try!
I literally never leave comments on recipes but this was SO GOOD I had to. The one tweak I implore you to consider is just a dash of sesame oil to the sauce. It brought it to a total crazy level. My boyfriend is very impressed. Thank you so much for this recipe!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Emi!
It was delicious and everyone loved it. Everyone wanted more sauce though. If I double the sauce will it be ok? Saucy enough?
Hi Lisa! Isn’t the flavor amazing! I bet you can add more sauce! I’d love to know how you like it after testing that!
Used Valentina’s recipe for chicken stir fry. Delicious! Highly recommend.
Thank you so much Terry!
Third time making this love it, so easy. I use frozen stir fry veggies, cuts the time down
Thanks for sharing that with us,Doug. I’m happy that you loved it!
Delicious! I marinated the chicken in my usual chicken/chilli/ginger/peanut oil marinade first, and then cooked with sum random veges as per the recipe. Absolutely DELICIOUS! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Emma! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful
post. Thank you for supplying this information.
I’m so happy you liked this recipe Ashton!
This was delicious! Whole family loved it, even the kids; from the 2 year old to the 12 year old! Thank you!
That is so great! I’m glad the kids enjoyed it.
Hi quick question, what kind of soy sauce did you use?
Hello Rhea, this is the soy sauce that I used for this recipe but you can use any kind.
Loved this! Used asparagus instead of zucchini and had it with white rice and it was delicious. All the family loved it.
That’s so great! I’m so glad you all enjoyed that!
I have tried this recipe today.It’s soo good.I will definatley add it to my favourite list of food.Thankyou.
I’m so glad you found a favorite Maria!
Natasha, you are my go to for recipes. I have told friends and family about your site. I just don’t where to begin when i start looking through them. So far so delicious on what i have made. My husband gives you a thumbs up.
Aww that’s the best! Thank you for that amazing feedback!
This was delicious!! It’s a keeper.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Nancy!
I’m batting .1000 with recipes from your blog! This is so simple and delicious, I’m a complete beginner but I feel like I nailed it! Thanks!
That’s so great Kristina! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Actually i tried to cook and wow fantastic. 😍😍😍😍😋😋😋
Great to hear that MJ!
My ginger is old and limp but i cant get to store and I still use it I know its not fresh but it smells right even if it is soft can i use it or better to use the ginger in can
It depends as I am not able to personally see it to judge but if you think it’s still usable that should still work.
This was fabulous! The whole family loved it. Definitely making this again. My wife usually makes the stir fry in our house and this has the kids wanting me replacing her as the top stir fry chef. Thanks!
That is awesome Dave, I’m so glad that your family loved this recipe!