This easy Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with snap peas and carrots is perfect for a quick, healthy weeknight meal!
Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry
What’s better than throwing chicken and veggies into a wok and having dinner ready in minutes? I love making chicken vegetable stir-fry recipes for dinner and usually use whatever vegetables I have on hand. They’re a great way to clean out the refrigerator! The crunch of the sugar snap peas with the chicken is so good, and my daughter enjoys munching on them raw while I’m cooking. Homemade stir-fry chicken is an excellent way to satisfy those takeout cravings while keeping it light. For more easy stir-fry recipes, I love this Broccoli Beef Stir-Fry, 10-Minute Soba Noodle Stir-Fry, and this popular Orange Chicken.
Chicken Stir-Fry Ingredients:
For The Chicken Stir-Fry Sauce:
- Soy Sauce: You have options here! For soy sauce, I like the low-sodium kind; for gluten-free, choose tamari; and for Whole30, coconut aminos are great.
- Lime Juice gives the sauce a burst of bright citrus.
- Water helps combine and balance the other flavors in the sauce.
- Cornstarch or arrow root thickens the stir-fry sauce.
Chicken Stir-Fry and Vegetables:
- Chicken Breast: I slice skinless, boneless chicken breasts into thin pieces. Below, I give more details about the best way to do it.
- Salt seasons the chicken.
- Oil: Use an oil with a high smoke point, like canola or avocado oil.
- Garlic infuses the stir-fry with its aromatic, complex flavor.
- Ginger: Peel the skin off the fresh ginger with a spoon, and grate a teaspoon of fresh ginger.
- Vegetables: I used sugar snap peas and carrots in this chicken stir-fry, but you can use whatever you have in your fridge.
- Scallions: Slice scallions and sprinkle over the stir-fry.
How to Make Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry:
- Chicken Stir-Fry Sauce: Whisk the soy sauce, lime juice, water, and cornstarch in a small bowl.
- Season the chicken with salt.
- Cook the Chicken: Set the wok on high heat. When very hot, add half the oil and then the chicken. Cook for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through and browned. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Garlic and Ginger: Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining oil, and sauté the garlic and ginger for 20 seconds.
- Stir-Fry the Vegetables: Add the carrots and sugar snap peas and cook for a few minutes.
- Sauce: Return the chicken to the wok with the soy sauce mixture, mix well, and cook for another minute. Top with scallions when serving.
Variations
- Snap Peas: Substitute snow peas.
- Vegetables: Swap the veggies with bell pepper, mushrooms, onion, or broccoli.
- Protein: Replace chicken with shrimp or sliced pork chops.
- Vegetarian Stir-Fry: Omit the chicken and add tofu or an extra vegetable.
- Garnish with sesame seeds or cilantro.
- Pan: Use a large skillet if you don’t have a wok.
What to Serve with Chicken Stir-Fry
You can eat this healthy chicken stir-fry by itself or add a noodle or grain to soak up the sauce for a more filling meal. Here are some ideas for what to serve with your stir-fry chicken.
- Brown Rice or White Rice
- Noodles, like udon, soba, or rice noodles
- Quinoa
- Cauliflower Rice
Storage
Leftover stir-fry chicken will last in the refrigerator for 4 days and can be reheated in the microwave.
What is the secret to a good stir-fry?
- A Hot Pan: When you are ready to cook your meat, make sure the wok is already very hot.
- Slice Thinly: When making an authentic Chinese stir-fry, one of the most important things is how you slice your chicken. The thinner the chicken, the more tender it becomes and the better it is for reheating.
- Cut Evenly: Uniformly cut your vegetables to ensure they cook in the same amount of time.
- Have Everything Ready: Before you start cooking, have all your ingredients prepped and cut.
Chicken Stir Fry FAQs
Freeze the chicken for about one hour before slicing. When partially frozen, it’s easier to thinly slice the chicken against the grain. Don’t worry about the chicken being frozen. Since the slices are so thin, they will thaw out in just a couple of minutes. Cutting against the grain makes the bites very tender to chew, especially when reheating.
Yes, you can definitely swap snow peas for snap peas in this stir-fry
Since stir-fries are cooked on high heat, you need an oil with a high smoke point. Refined coconut, avocado oil, or canola oil would all work.
When cooking a stir-fry, add the sauce at the end.
More Asian Chicken Recipes:
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Filipino Adobo Chicken
- Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
- Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Korean Grilled Chicken
Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe
Equipment
- large wok or skillet
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or GF tamari, or Coconut Aminos for W30
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot
For the Stir Fry:
- 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, sliced thin
- salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp canola or coconut oil
- 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 1 cup carrots, sliced diagonally
- scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Combine soy sauce, lime juice, water and cornstarch in a small bowl, mix together and set aside.
- Season chicken lightly with salt. Heat a large wok over high heat.
- When the wok is very hot, add half of the oil, then add the chicken. Stir fry, stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked through and browned, about 3-4 minutes.
- With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. Reduce heat to medium.
- Add the remaining oil to the wok; add the garlic and ginger, stir for 20 seconds. Add the sugar snap peas and carrots, stirring over medium high heat until tender crisp, about 3-4 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the wok, add the soy sauce-lime mixture, mix well and cook another 30 seconds to one minute.
- Serve immediately and top with fresh scallions.
