You’re just 30 minutes away from the best Vegetable stir-fry. I love a good Chinese stir fry for a quick meal, and this one is so versatile – cook whatever veggies you have on hand until they are crisp-tender, then add a quick stir-fry sauce to flavor every bite. It’s perfect as a meatless main course or a side dish.

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Helpful Reader Review
“Perfect exactly as created! My family loved it and fought over the leftovers.” – AJ ★★★★★
Easy Vegetable Stir Fry
A stir fry is a great option when you’re in the mood for Asian food but don’t want to order takeout, and I have found this to be an easy way to get my kids to eat more veggies! Whenever I have vegetables I need to use, I love to throw in whatever I have leftover for a filling and nutritious dish, served over steamy white rice.
This basic vegetable stir fry recipe is perfect on its own with an authentic stir fry sauce you’ll want to drizzle over everything on the plate. You can easily add protein, whether it’s leftover baked chicken breast, pork, pan-seared steak, shrimp, or even tofu–and have a complete dinner on the table. 30 Minutes, friends–that’s all it takes!

Ingredients for Vegetable Stir Fry
You can either stick to the vegetables I used or throw in whatever you have on hand (or see the variations below) to make this simple vegetarian stir-fry recipe.
- Vegetables – carrot, broccoli, baby corn, mushrooms, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger. Cut each veggie into equal-sized pieces so it all cooks at the same time. Note: I prefer using fresh veggies rather than frozen. Frozen vegetables tend to turn mushy and water down the sauce.
- Chicken Broth – Store-bought or Homemade chicken broth works here. It adds flavor to the sauce, but you can use water in a pinch. For a vegetarian stir fry, use vegetable stock.
- Cornstarch – this thickens the sauce. Make sure to add it to cool liquids so it incorporates properly without clumping.
- Low-sodium soy sauce – I prefer using low-sodium soy sauce so I can control the sodium level. For gluten-free, swap this 1-1 with a gluten-free Tamari. If using regular soy sauce, start with 2 Tbsp and add more to taste since it will be noticeably saltier.
- Honey – the sweetness of honey complements the savory flavors, but it’s not too sweet. It makes the perfect vegetable stir-fry sauce, but you can swap it with half the amount of brown sugar or maple syrup.
- Hot sauce – this is optional, but adds a nice kick of heat! Try a 1/4 tsp of Sriracha or Frank’s hot sauce
Variations and Substitutions
- Protein – Add cooked shredded chicken, shrimp, ground beef, ground pork, or tofu to the vegetables for a higher protein dish.
- Nuts – throw in unsalted peanuts, cashews, or almonds for added crunch and flavor
- Veggies – swap the veggies with whatever you like the best. Try onion, asparagus frozen corn, green beans, bean sprouts, water chesnuts, or even kale.
- Heat – add red pepper flakes or hot sauce for more kick

How to Make Vegetable Stir-Fry
A recipe doesn’t get much easier than this one. Don’t forget to get started on your side dish before beginning this recipe, since this vegetable stir fry comes together so quickly.
- Make stir fry sauce by whisking together all of the ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside so it’s ready when you need it.
- Sauté the veggies – Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add cooking oil. Add veggies and sauté for 3 minutes until barely crisp tender (do not overcook).
- Add Aromatics – Reduce to medium heat and add the butter, garlic, and ginger, and stir until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
- Add the stir-fry sauce – pour the sauce over the sautéed veggies and stir to coat. Cook on medium-low for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens. Serve immediately!

What to Serve with Vegetable Stir Fry
This vegetable stir fry is a filling and delicious meal, and because it’s versatile, it will fit right into your menu on weeknights or weekends. Here’s how I’ve served this stir-fry recipe:
- As a main dish with a side of White Rice, Quinoa, Bok Choy, egg noodles, or ramen noodles.
- Served inside lettuce as a lettuce wrap
- Paired with General Tso’s Chicken or Teriyaki Salmon.
- With added protein such as chicken, shrimp, or beef for a hearty meal. If adding protein, as we did with our Chicken Stir Fry, you’ll want to double the sauce and add it to taste.

This vegetable stir fry is so easy and good. The sweet and savory homemade stir fry sauce with ginger and garlic adds so much authentic flavor to the sautéed veggies. This recipe is an easy and fast 30-minute meal your whole family will love. Try this meatless meal today!
Make-Ahead
This vegetable stir fry can easily be prepped in advance, and then it will come together in 15 minutes when ready to serve. It tastes great as leftovers as well!
- Prep the veggies: Chop, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days until ready to use. Keep the mushrooms, garlic, and ginger separate since they can release moisture.
- Make sauce ahead: Mix the sauce (except the starch) up to 3 days ahead and store in a separate container. Add the cornstarch just before cooking to prevent settling or clumping.
- To Refrigerate: Cool leftovers completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezing: I prefer not to freeze since the vegetables can turn mushy.
- To Reheat: Reheat in a skillet over low heat until heated through. You can add a little more chicken stock or water if needed.
Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe

Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce:
- 1/4 cup chicken broth, (or vegetable broth for vegetarian)
- 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, (use Tamari for gluten-free), or 2 Tbsp regular soy sauce
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ¼ tsp hot sauce, optional (Frank's or Sriracha work great)
Vegetable Stir Fry:
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 2 cups medium broccoli florets
- 8 oz can baby corn spears, drained
- 8 oz mushrooms (white or brown), sliced or quartered
- 1 whole pepper (red, yellow, or orange), seeded and sliced
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil , (extra light olive oil or canola)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tsp ginger, minced
Instructions
- Make stir fry sauce – In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the stir fry sauce and stir to incorporate the corn starch, and set it aside until ready to use.
- Saute the veggies – Set a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat then add the oil. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the vegetables and stir-fry for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are just crisp-tender – do not overcook them.
- Add Aromatics – reduce the heat to medium and add the butter, garlic, and ginger, and stir constantly for 30-60 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the stir-fry sauce – If the sauce has separated, stir it and stir it into your vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium/low and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce thickens and vegetables reach your desired tenderness.
Notes
- Protein – add cooked chicken, shrimp, ground beef, ground pork, or tofu
- Veggies – swap with whatever veggies you prefer, but avoid frozen vegetables since they tend to get mushy and can water down the sauce.
- Nuts – add nuts like peanuts or cashews, or seeds to your liking
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Popular Asian Dishes to Try Next:
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Asian Chopped Salad
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Mongolian Beef
- Teriyaki Meatballs
- Honey Garlic Chicken
Great recipe! I paired it with brown rice, and subbed flour for cornstarch as I was out.
That sounds yummy, thanks for letting me know that sub worked well!
I made the Best Stir Fry Vegetables tonight – it was so good. I added shrimp for some protein. Served it with white rice. Thank you!!
Sounds yummy! I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for sharing that with us.
Super tasty!! Thank you!! Can you freeze it?? Thanks
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Denise! I haven’t tried freezing this to advise.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Denise! I haven’t tried freezing this to advise.
Thank you for the recipe! I added cashews at the end. Really tasty!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
This is a delicious recipe! I made it tonight with carrots, red peppers, broccoli, asparagus and onions. I added fresh ginger and garlic and made twice the sauce. I would have taken a picture but it was gone so fast I didn’t think of it in time. I will make this again and again!
That’s wonderful! I’m happy that you enjoyed this recipe, Colleen. Thank you for sharing that with us.
I always add chopped water chestnuts to the mix (canned or fresh if you can get them) it gives a nice crunch to the stir fry. Hoisin sauce and Sesame oil go well in this sauce. I also use Sambal Olek instead of a hot sauce as I think it adds more flavour. We have stir fry vegetable at least once a week to clean out the fridge of vegetables (before they start going off).
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Looking forward to making this!
Can I use frozen vegetables for this? Would it change anything?
Hi Helen, I think it would work great but keep in mind frozen vegetables release more liquid, so you might give them a little extra time to release extra moisture, or the sauce might be thinner.
Made this with frozen vegetables: what I did was scoop out the water released by the vegies before adding the garlic, butter, and ginger. Really yummy! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Dyan! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! I also made more sauce than the recipe calls for. I was a little shy on broccoli so I added cauliflower too. It probably will be delicious with any vegetable you put in.
Hi Colleen, thanks for leaving a great review here. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I made this last night, it was delicious & had to put the remaining half out of sight as I could have just kept eating. It’s easy and the perfect sauce to give an authentic & flavoursome taste. Can’t wat to try your Chicken Chow Men recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Delicious! I’ve never added honey before. Great idea.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Could you use beef broth instead of chicken broth?
Thank you kindly!
Hi Monica, yes, that would be ok.
I just glanced at 440 mg sodium and 14 mg fat per serving. Shocked, even for Asian food.
Still plan to make it this weekend, though.
Thanks.
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
It’s yummy but the sauce didn’t thicken not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Marina, the sauce isn’t normally very thick, but make sure you add the corn starch and you can add a little more to thicken the sauce up a bit more.
Delicious! Husband took one bite and said it was ‘tasty.” Will definitely make again. Thank you for the recipe.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing that with us, Jackie. We appreciate it!
made this stir fry tonight…wow, a keeper!!
I added 1 1/2# chicken breast, cubed & sauted in addtl oil. Added just before the garlic ginger & butter.
Made 3X sauce, it was all perfect over white rice🌟
Thanks!! ✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟
Sounds yummy and yes, this is perfect with rice! I’m so glad you loved it.
The veggies definitely took way more ime for me to be ready, but once it was done it was as I expected – really nice.
At first I was a bit scared to add the soya mix (as the ginger/garlic already smelt so good), but it was super tasty, saved it for later.
I’m so glad you enjoeyd that Agnes!
Do you have a video for this recipe?
Hello Oma, there’s no video for but everything is also written in the recipe including the ingredients and complete instructions.
This looks amazing. It would be really nice if you posted more instant pot recipe as we are approaching a busy back to school via online with our kids.
Thank you so much for that suggestion, Sarah! We do enjoy our Instant Pot recipe and plan to create more in the future.
Can you also use frozen vegetables for this recipe?
Hi Kathryn, I think it would work great but keep in mind frozen vegetables release more liquid so you might give them a little extra time to release etra moisture or the sauce might be thinner.
one of our go to dinners. we love stir fry and a veggie stir fry you just can’t go wrong with
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Rachael!
We love all the veggies in this recipe, but we added chicken for a little protein. Turned out great!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Erin!