This recipe for chicken and broccoli stir fry is a classic dish of chicken sauteed with fresh broccoli florets and coated in a savory sauce. You can have a healthy and easy dinner on the table in 30 minutes!
There’s nothing better than a good stir fry, I always make honey garlic chicken stir fry, teriyaki shrimp and this easy chicken and broccoli dish. Serve up some pan fried noodles on the side, and watch the rave reviews come in!
There’s nothing better than a quick and easy dinner recipe for when you don’t have a lot of time to cook, and this chicken and broccoli stir fry definitely fits the bill. This dish tastes like something you’d order at a Chinese restaurant, except it’s better for you than takeout (and cheaper!).
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need chicken breast, oil, broccoli, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, chicken broth, sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, cornstarch, salt and pepper.
How do you make chicken and broccoli stir fry?
This recipe starts with broccoli and mushrooms, which are sauteed to tender perfection in a large skillet along with some garlic and ginger. After the veggies are cooked through, the chicken goes into the pan to brown. The final step is an easy sauce which gets poured over the chicken and vegetables to simmer. Add some steamed rice on the side and dinner is served!
Tips for the perfect dish
- I like to start a pot of rice at the same time as I start my chicken stir fry. The rice will be done at the same time as your meat and veggies and you’ll have a complete meal in 30 minutes.
- Leftover broccoli chicken will stay fresh in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- This recipe is a great option for meal prep. You can divide the chicken and veggies into smaller containers and add a scoop of rice for a satisfying lunch or dinner.
- You can use frozen broccoli if needed with great results.
- Be sure to cut your chicken into similar bite-sized pieces so that it will all cook at the same rate.
Recipe FAQs
The best way to cook chicken for stir fry is to season it with salt and pepper, then sear it in oil in a hot pan until browned and cooked through. Be careful not to overcrowd your pan; if you add too much meat at once, the chicken will steam instead of brown.
Most stir fry sauces are made with soy sauce, garlic, and other seasonings such as sesame oil, ginger, rice vinegar, chicken broth or chili sauce. One important component of stir fry sauce is a thickening agent, such as cornstarch. A thicker sauce will cling better to your chicken and vegetables. This recipe calls for oyster sauce, which is a salty Asian sauce that can be found in the ethnic aisle of most grocery stores. If you can’t find oyster sauce or prefer not to use it, you can substitute hoisin sauce.
You do not need to pre-cook your broccoli, it will become plenty tender as it cooks in the stir fry pan.
Flavor Variations
This recipe is great as-is, but you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Protein: Swap out the chicken breasts for chicken thighs, pork tenderloin, shrimp or thinly sliced flank steak.
- Veggies: You can add other vegetables to the mix such as bok choy, snap peas, carrots, green beans or asparagus.
- Toppings: Finish this dish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, green onions, cilantro or a drizzle of sriracha.
- Grains: Instead of white or brown rice, try serving your stir fry with noodles, cauliflower rice or quinoa.
My family has already requested that I make this chicken and broccoli stir fry again soon. I think next time I may switch out the mushrooms for bell peppers to add a little variety. That’s the beauty of this type of dish, it’s so easy to customize to your personal taste!
More great Asian food recipes
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry Video
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups small broccoli florets
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms if you don’t like mushrooms you can add more broccoli instead
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth or water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the broccoli and mushrooms and cook for approximately 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Remove the vegetables from the pan; place them on a plate and cover.
- Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and turn the heat to high. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil.
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pan in a single layer – you may need to do this step in batches. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
- Add the vegetables back to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes or until the vegetables are warmed through.
- In a bowl whisk together the oyster sauce, chicken broth, sugar, sesame oil and soy sauce. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water.
- Pour the oyster sauce mixture over the chicken and vegetables; cook for 30 seconds. Add the cornstarch and bring to a boil; cook for 1 more minute or until sauce has just started to thicken.
- Serve immediately, with rice if desired.
Notes
- Leftover stir fry will stay fresh in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- This recipe is a great option for meal prep. You can divide the chicken and veggies into smaller containers and add a scoop of rice for a satisfying lunch or dinner.
- You can use frozen broccoli if needed with great results.
I really hoped this would turn out for us. I followed the recipe exactly. I prepared all the steps in advance so that I would not have to waste time with steps that would mess up the cooking times. I got all the sauce items together before cooking, had the ginger and garlic chopped and ready to go. Perhaps one of the problems was that I didn’t really know what “medium” or “high” heat for this recipe translated to my stove. I cooked everything according to the times specified in the recipe, using a timer, but everything was over cooked. The mushrooms were shriveled and I recognizable and the sauce was so concentrated that the entire dish was way too salty. I did not use a nonstick skillet so the chicken stuck to the pan and was incredibly dry. I may try this again using lower temperatures and a nonstick pan.
I also need to use up the ingredients I purchased specifically for this recipe.
Any suggestions about what might have gone wrong?
I’m so sorry that this didn’t work out for you. It sounds like it really was an issue with your temperatures. On my current stove beside the knobs it actually says low, med low, med, med high, etc. and on the stove in my previous house it had numbers 1-10 to determine the heat level, so for me a 5 was medium heat for example. If you’d like to try again here are a few suggestions: 1. Use a non stick pan or add more oil to a regular pan so that there’s a thin layer covering the bottom. 2. For your particular stove you should reduce the cook times, it sounds like maybe even as much as cutting the cook time in half. You can cut into a piece of chicken to make sure it’s cooked through, and it’s totally fine to cook the vegetables to your preferred level of doneness, whether that be more or less time than I described. I hope that helps.
Just finished dinner and it was a success with the family! I subbed out mushrooms for yellow & red peppers and baby corn for my youngest emerging foodie! Thank you for sharing this easy and healthy dinner recipe.
Very good, however I added shivered almonds and pineapple chunks.
/Thanks for sharing this receipe love a stir fry…
Minced Garlic is listed twice. Is there an error?
Hi, I have minced ginger and minced garlic listed, but I don’t see garlic in there a second time!
No seafood allergies but the oyster sauce intimidates/scares me. Any folliw up on the difference in flavor if you substitute hoisin sauce. Neither one inmy kitchen so maybe I am being irrational! 🙂
Hoisin sauce tends to be a bit sweeter so you might want to start by omitting the sugar and then adding it later if you think it needs it. I think it would be delicious with hoisin sauce too!
Oyster sauce used to scare me too but it’s really mild and totally delicious!
I don’t like oysters but the oyster sauce doesn’t taste anything like them…..so give it a try!
I have a seafood allergy.. Any substitute recommendations for the oyster sauce???
They do make a vegetarian oyster sauce which has no seafood in it, otherwise hoisin sauce would be a good substitute and you should be able to find that at most grocery stores!
are fish sauce and oyster sauce the same?
No they’re not. Fish sauce is used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking and has a different flavor than oyster sauce. If you can’t find oyster sauce, you can use hoisin sauce instead.
I made it tonight without it, only because it’s not something I had on hand. It was delicious!
Perhaps Hoisin Sauce?
Hoisin sauce would work but it’s a little sweeter than oyster sauce so it’s not exactly the same flavor.
Hi…I was wondering the same! My daughter is allergic to shellfish, so I’m
Assuming Oyster Sauce would be a No No! Maybe the Hoison Sauce would work!
Hoisin sauce will work!
I’m with Rebecca. I could eat this every night for dinner. Quick, easy and healthy is everyone’s dream, lol.
I just love stir fry dishes like this with chicken and vegetables!
This is just beautiful! Who could say no to this amazing pan of chicken and broccoli. Your photos are outstanding and I’m drooling over my keyboard – seriously wonderful dish.
I love your pictures!! I could eat a chicken + broccoli stir fry every single day if it looked like this!
Hi Sara, love stir-frys and this looks delicious. Quick and easy, perfect for week night dinners.
My family loves chicken and broccoli so I’m certain this would be a hit too! Perfect and delicious combination of health and taste!
Awesome looking dish with that glaze and vegetables!
Your pictures look beautiful that chicken looks mouthwatering must try soon =)
I love Stir-fry quick and easy, perfect for busy days!
Pinning this right now because I would LOVE it! I literally love anything with mudrooms, broccoli and chicken!
The glaze on that chicken is to die for! I need a new skillet for stir fry, and it’s important to me that it be deep — don’t want my food flying all over the kitchen while I’m tossing it 🙂
I used my wok. Doesnt let things fly.
Wow….
Yeah that’s why a wok is used
Love a good stir-fry and this is perfect! Everyone in my family loves these flavours 🙂
One word..YUM! I could eat this kind of meal every day!
At one point in my life I did, and want to go back to it. Love stir fry!!!
Everyone in my family LOVED this recipe.