This quick and easy Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry recipe proves you don’t need eleventy-billion different vegetables and toppings to make a delicious dinner. The sweet-and-savory sauce is PERFECTION!
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
- Simple, Delicious, and Healthy. For this easy chicken and broccoli stir fry, we pare things down to three essential components: protein, vegetable, and sauce. While sometimes more is more, this recipe makes a case for stripping things down and letting each element really shine.
- Faster Than Takeout. Like my Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry, this recipe is ideal for busy weeknights when you want something quick, easy, and low-effort. It takes just 30 minutes, including the prep time.
- Sweet and Savory. It’s not quite as sweet as Orange Chicken or General Tso Chicken, but this healthy chicken and broccoli stir fry has a nice balance of sweetness from honey, combined with umami soy sauce and acidic rice vinegar.
5 Star Review
“I made it for dinner today and it was a hit with the whole family! The sauce was so good.”
— Claire —
How to Make Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
The Ingredients
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Tenders. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be substituted for the chicken breasts if you’d like—just note that the cooking time will be slightly longer.
- Cornstarch. This gives the chicken a crispy coating and thickens the stir fry sauce.
- Stir Fry Sauce. Low-sodium soy sauce, water, honey, and rice vinegar make the base for our sauce, while garlic and ginger make it pungent and flavorful.
- Broccoli Crowns. Cut the broccoli into florets. You can also use bagged broccoli florets and save a little prep time.
- Toasted Sesame Oil. Make sure it’s toasted! You can use regular sesame oil, but it doesn’t have the same flavor.
- Green Onions and Sesame Seeds. For garnishing this Asian chicken and broccoli stir fry.
- Cooked Brown Rice or Quinoa. For serving.
The Directions
- Mix the Sauce. Whisk everything together in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.
- Cook the Chicken. Sear it on all sides.
- Add the Broccoli. Transfer the chicken to a plate, then add the broccoli.
- Cook the Broccoli. Stir fry until it’s tender-crisp.
- Add the Chicken Back. Dump it into the pan, along with any liquid from the plate.
- Pour in the Sauce. Cook until it thickens slightly.
- Finish. Serve the broccoli and chicken stir fry over rice with sesame oil, sesame seeds, and green onions for garnish. ENJOY!
Recipe Variations
- Add Mushrooms. Replace half of the broccoli with quartered cremini mushrooms; add the mushrooms to the pan at the same time as the broccoli.
- Make It With Noodles. Take a cue from my Stir Fry Noodles and add cooked noodles to your stir fry instead of serving it over rice.
- Give It Some Crunch. Add a handful or two of whole raw cashews to the pan during the last minute of cooking time (check out this Cashew Chicken too).
- Spice It Up. Add red pepper flakes to the oil when you add the chicken, salt, and pepper.
- Make it in the Slow Cooker. Check out my Crockpot Chicken and Broccoli.
What to Serve with Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Healthy Grains. In addition to quinoa or brown rice (or Instant Pot Brown Rice!), white rice and even farro are excellent options for soaking up the stir fry sauce.
- Fried Rice. Cauliflower Fried Rice, Egg Fried Rice, Pork Fried Rice are all fabulous with this stir fried broccoli and chicken.
- Salad. For a lighter pairing, serve Asian Cucumber Salad or Asian Cabbage Salad on the side.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Start the Rice First. White rice will take about as long as the stir fry, while brown rice will take a bit longer. Make sure you time everything so the rice and stir fry are done around the same time. (Err on the side of the rice being finished first, as it will be fine sitting covered on the stovetop.)
- Cut the Chicken and Broccoli into Uniformly-Sized Pieces. This ensures that they cook evenly and finish at the same time. I like to make sure each piece comfortably fits on a fork (and into your mouth!) without having to be cut first.
- Prep All Ingredients Before Cooking. Since stir fry is a quick cooking method, you won’t have much time to chop or measure out ingredients once you start the recipe. Have all of your ingredients ready next to the stove.
- Let the Chicken Get a Nice Sear. Before you start stirring, let the chicken sear for a minute or two. This will give it a nice golden crust and add extra flavor to the dish.
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
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Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 teaspoons cornstarch divided
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoons canola oil or grapeseed oil or another neutral oil divided
- 2 broccoli crowns cut into small florets, about 5 to 6 cups
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 3 chopped green onions about 1/2 cup
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- Cooked brown rice or quinoa for serving
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a medium bowl and toss with 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
- In a small mixing bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together the soy sauce, water, honey, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
- In a large nonstick skillet or wok, heat 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the chicken, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Sear the chicken on all sides until it is golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Add another 1/2 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add the broccoli. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pan and pour the sauce over the top. Stir to combine, then let cook until the sauce has thickened a little, about 1 minute. Stir in the sesame oil and green onion. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Enjoy hot with rice.
Notes
- TO STORE: Transfer leftover chicken and broccoli stir fry to an airtight storage container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Gently rewarm leftovers in a large skillet on the stove over medium-low heat. You can also reheat in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Store chicken and broccoli stir fry in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating according to the instructions above.
Nutrition
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This came together quickly and was very tasty. I loved the sauce but I wish there had been more of it. I will double the sauce ingredients next time as I like enough to soak in the rice. I also added some hot chili pepper flakes and it was delicious.
Glad you enjoyed it, Cathy!
Very easy and very flavorful! One thing I have done however, is double the sauce recipe because we really enjoy a lot of sauce—this makes more than enough, especially for leftovers!.
Love that! Thanks Maggie!
I made it for dinner today and it was a hit with the whole family! The sauce was so good.
Looking to increase our vegetable intake so added red, green & yellow peppers. Definitely will be a regular dinner here. Family amazed that we could have a dish this good that wasn’t from a Chinese restaurant!
Glad to hear, thank you Claire!
This was a big hit with the family. I prepared everything earlier in the day and it just came together in minutes. I used asparagus instead of broccoli as I had a Costco sized bag of asparagus and used pasta noodles instead of rice. It turned out delicious . I think rice would have been better than the noodles that I used. Lots of compliments from a bunch of fussy eaters
Thanks for the feedback, Helene!