Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry is a quick and easy dinner the whole family will love! Tender chicken and crisp vegetables paired with an flavorful, homemade stir fry sauce. Our little hack: Sometimes we make this recipe with leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken! Just skip the first step where you cook the chicken and add it in at the end.
Our Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Hack!
Stir fry night is a favorite dinner night at hour house and has been for years. If you’re trying to get your kids to eat more veggies (or maybe even a picky adult) try making a recipe like this Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry.
Stir fry is a fast cooking meal (get your ingredients prepped and ready) that packs in protein and vegetables in a way that is so incredibly satisfying. What’s that? You’re super short on time? We’ve got you!
Just grab a rotisserie chicken from the store (sometimes we meal prep and make our own!), dice it up and add it in to this stir fry at the end when you add in the sauce. No one will be the wiser!
Do I Have To Use A Wok To Make Stir Fry?
The reason for cooking stir fry in a wok is that the deep, sloped sides have more surface area. This way the meat and veggies sear instead of simmering in sauce, all bunched together. You can also push the ingredients that you don’t want cooking too long to the sides of the wok, focusing on the ingredients in the bottom of the wok.
Ultimately, no, you don’t need a wok to make a stir fry at all. What you do need is a really large skillet, at least 13 inches, although we prefer a 14 inch skillet, so you can create as much surface area as possible.
Key Ingredient!
The star ingredient for this chicken and broccoli stir fry, like all of our stir fry recipes is our Homemade Stir Fry Sauce. I’m telling you guys, this recipe is a gem. You can make in less than 5 minutes (for the no-cook version) and in less than 10 minutes for the cooked version.
For a recipe like this one, you can use both the cooked and uncooked version. For the uncooked version, you just need to let the sauce simmer for a few minutes after you pour it into your stir fry so that it thickens. For the cooked version of the sauce (which we keep in our fridge at all times) all you need to do is pour it in, toss to warm through and serve.
What Other Ingredients Can I Use?
We’re always swapping out ingredients where we can. Use up whatever’s in the fridge and all that – and NO ONE wants to waste food with the price of groceries these days. So here’s a few ingredient swap outs that you can use:
- Instead of chicken: Add any type of protein you have in the fridge. Steak, pork, turkey, sausage, or even keep it meat free! You can add tofu and some more vegetables for a vegetarian option.
- Different vegetables: Either in addition to or instead of broccoli, try cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, snow peas, scallions, mushrooms and so much more.
- Sauce: Even though we always use our stir fry sauce, sometimes we drizzle peanut sauce over the top, too. Our kids love dipping the chicken and broccoli in Yum Yum sauce, so sometimes we have that on the side.
How To Serve Chicken and Broccoli
Pile big portions on top of fluffy, steamed white rice. That’s the way we do it! Brown rice, of course, works too, whichever you prefer. We often keep packs of frozen rice in our freezer so if we’re really short on time we can pop those in the microwave and dinner is done.
Or have you ever tried cauliflower rice for a low carb recipe option? A great fake out, too for tricking those picky eaters into eating more veggies. Ramen bowls are also a big deal in our house, so if you have some ramen noodles hanging around, add it to this chicken and broccoli recipe. Drizzle on a little more of the stir fry sauce to coat the noodles and away you go.
Looking For More Stir Fry Recipes?
- Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Shrimp and Cashew Stir Fry
- Ginger Beef and Green Beans
- Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry with sausage and peppers
- And don’t forget our homemade Stir Fry Sauce!
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Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis easy chicken stir fry recipe is one of our favorite dinners! You can use chicken breasts or thighs – even leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or boneless, chicken thighs or any leftover chicken you have (for cooked chicken, skip the first step and add it in at the end)
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage, optional)
- Homemade Stir Fry Sauce (The cooked version. For the uncooked version, add the sauce and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes until thickened)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dice the chicken into about 1 inch cubes.
- Heat a wok or a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and then the chicken, stirring and cooking until browned, about 3-4 minutes. (if using cooked chicken, skip this step and add it in step 5)
- Add the broccoli to the skillet, toss together with the chicken and cook 2-3 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth or water, cover and let the broccoli steam for 2 minutes.
- Add the carrots and cabbage to the skillet and stir to combine with the chicken and broccoli. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the carrots and cabbage have wilted slightly.
- Pour about 1/2 cup of the stir fry sauce into the skillet. Toss and adjust with more sauce if needed, depending on how saucy you like your stir fry, just until warmed through.
- Serve with rice, cauliflower rice or ramen noodles.
Recipe Notes
Store: Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. NOTE: If using leftover chicken it’s only good as long as your chicken is good. So if your chicken was in the fridge for 3 days then you only have a day to finish up the leftovers.
Reheat: The microwave does the trick!
- Category: Dinner
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American Asian
