This chicken and green beans recipe is an easy and healthy stir fry with seared chicken breast and fresh green beans, all tossed in a honey garlic sauce. The perfect quick dinner or meal prep option!
I make stir fry at least once a week, my family loves chicken and asparagus stir fry, moo goo gai pan, and this simple yet satisfying chicken and green bean version.
You can never go wrong with a stir fry at dinner time – they’re fresh, relatively healthy and super speedy to make. This chicken and green beans stir fry gets made constantly at my house. It’s got protein and veggies all in one place. Start a pot of rice at the same time as you make your stir fry, and you’ll have a complete dinner on the table in 30 minutes.
How do you make chicken and green beans?
The first step is to cook your green beans until they’re crisp yet tender. The green beans are removed from the pan, then bite sized pieces of chicken get seared to golden brown perfection. Combine your green beans and chicken, then add a honey garlic sauce to the pan. Simmer until thickened, then serve over rice and enjoy!
HOW DO YOU COOK CHICKEN FOR STIR FRY?
The best way to cook chicken for stir fry is to cut it into 1 inch pieces, season it with salt and pepper, then sear it in vegetable 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. I typically cook my chicken in two batches.
WHAT KIND OF SAUCE DO YOU PUT IN A STIR FRY?
Most stir fry sauces are made with soy sauce, minced garlic, and other seasonings such as sesame oil, fresh ginger, rice vinegar, chicken broth, sugar 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 is written for garlic lovers with 2 teaspoons of garlic in the dish. If you prefer you can cut that amount down to 1 teaspoon and it’ll still be delicious. Serve your chicken and green bean stir fry over rice for a quick meal that’s sure to please the whole family.
Chicken and Green Beans variations
You can make this dish with just chicken and green beans as written, or you can add a variety of other veggies to the mix for a different flavor combination. You can substitute up to half of the green beans with any of the following vegetable options.
- mushrooms
- bell peppers
- onions
- carrots
- snow peas
- broccoli
- asparagus
While this chicken and green bean dish is great for dinner, it’s also perfect for meal prep. Divide your stir fry into 4 portions, then place into meal prep containers with a side of rice. You’ll be able to enjoy it all week long!
MORE STIR FRY RECIPES
- Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Teriyaki Shrimp Stir Fry
- Orange Beef Stir Fry
- Mongolian Chicken
Chicken and Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon +1 teaspoon vegetable oil divided use
- 2 1/2 cups green beans trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth or water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add the green beans and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes or until beans are tender.
- Remove the green beans 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 garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the green beans back to the pan and cook for 2 more minutes or until the green beans are warmed through.
- In a bowl whisk together the chicken broth, honey and soy sauce.
- In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water.
- Pour the soy sauce mixture over the chicken and green beans; cook for 30 seconds.
- Whisk in the cornstarch and bring to a boil; cook for 1 more minute or until sauce has just started to thicken, stirring constantly.
- Serve immediately, with rice if desired.
Can you use Hot honey instead?
Yes that’s fine!
Just made this for dinner. Had a surplus of green beans and decided on this. Was quick, easy and delicious!
Really good. Simple, flavorful, will definitely add in my family dinner rotation. I used it with frozen strong beans too.
Delicious! Added just a little Sriracha sauce to the recipe, because we like a little extra heat, after doubling the sauce ingredients. Amazing!
again another winner from dinner at the zoo! i share soooo many recipes from this site- and this one can be made with green beans from the garden or frozen in the winter– i cant get enough of her recipes
I have an abundance amount of string beans from my garden and was looking for a recipe to use some tonight. I’m so happy I stumbled upon this recipe. Flavors were amazing and best of all came together super easy. I did have to cook the string beans a little longer, added some water to pan to speed up the process. Thank you once again for a keeper recipe.
I am always successful when making a Dinner at the Zoo recipe.
I did add carrots, yellow peppers abd 1/4 red onion. Love how this dish turned out. Definitely a keeper!!!
This is delicious! Measurements to flavor are on point. This will definitely be going into regular rotation. Thank you for sharing!
This was great! Even the 3 and nearly 2 year old gobbled it all up (and the 3 y/o isn’t usually a big green bean eater). I did add a little ginger, but that’s a preference – we love ginger in our stir fry dishes. Next time (and there’ll definitely be a bunch of next times for this dish) I’ll up the bean and chicken portions a bit so we can have some leftovers for lunch. Served it over sticky rice. Super yummy.
This is a keeper. My husband and I loved this recipe.
Hi! I have about 1tbsp of honey. Is there any substitute I can use?
You could do brown sugar instead!
Delicious as written, I didn’t change a thing! I’ll definitely be making this again 🙂
So tasty with few ingredients!
Made this recipe last night. Absolutely delicious. Will definitely make again
I followed this recipe other than subbing for pork. Delicious!! Definitely making again!