This healthy and easy Asian-inspired chicken and broccoli stir fry is a quick weeknight dinner that will not disappoint. This stir fry has it all – tender chicken, crisp broccoli, and flavorful sauce that comes together in under 15 minutes. It’s one of those recipes I return to often when I need something easy and can’t figure out what to make for dinner. Serve the stir fry on its own or with white rice for a delicious dinner that everyone will love!
Quick, Simple, and Delicious: Sweet and Spicy Stir Fry with Chicken and Broccoli
This quick and easy Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry has everything you are craving in a good stir fry:
- Tender flavorful chicken
- Crisp veggies
- An extra yummy, slightly sweet and sticky stir fry sauce that you just can’t seem to get enough of (the most important part!)
This recipe has it all and, in addition to being ridiculously tasty, the best part of this recipe is that it truly is QUICK. I’m talking fifteen minutes, or less, and you have a healthy filling dinner on your table. While it’s not the exactly the same as your favorite takeout restaurant, it’s a simple healthy meal that everyone will love.
Why I Prefer to Use Chicken Thighs in This Recipe
While a lot of chicken stir fry recipe calls for chicken breast, I prefer to use boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. Chicken thighs are more tender, more flavorful, and also a lot easier to cook in my opinion.
Chicken thighs typically stay tender and juicy even if you cook them a little longer than what is really necessary. Essentially, they are hard to “mess up”.
While I love using chicken thighs in this recipe, feel free to use chicken breast instead if you prefer. Just make sure to watch them carefully so they don’t overcook and become tough.
The Simple Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients
While most stir fry sauces are filled with sugar, this easy sauce is completely sugar free and using just a few simple ingredients to achieve maximum flavor.
- Coconut Aminos: The base of the sauce in this stir fry is a substitute for soy sauce called coconut aminos. Coconut aminos are made from the sap of the coconut palm tree and are commonly used as an alternative to soy sauce in Paleo and Whole30 compliant dishes. Unlike traditional soy sauce, they also have a slightly sweet flavor which works to give the sauce a slightly sweet flavor without any added sugar.
- Sesame Oil: Sesame oil is another key ingredient in this sauce and gives it that traditional stir fry flavor. A little sesame oil goes a long way.
- Fish Sauce: Fish sauce is made from fermented anchovies and sea salt and gives the sauce a savory depth of flavor. If you don’t have a bottle of fish sauce, I highly recommend grabbing some to have on hand for curries or stir fry recipes like this one.
- Arrowroot Starch: Arrowroot starch is a grain free alternative to cornstarch. It can replace cornstarch 1 to 1 in most recipes and slightly thickens this sauce to help it stick to the chicken.
How to Make Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Step 1: Prep Your Chicken
- Step 2: Stir Fry the Chicken and Veggies
- Step 3: Add the Sauce and Serve
How to Serve Your Stir Fry
This hearty stir fry is really great all on its own but it also pairs nicely with garlic rice to soak up all of the yummy stir fry sauce. You could also use cauliflower rice if you prefer!
A Few Other Homemade Takeout Recipes You’ll Love!
- 30 Minute Wonton Soup
- Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Crispy Orange Tofu
- Healthy Orange Chicken
- Whole30 Pepper Steak Stir Fry
- Easy Sausage and Pepper Skillet
- Whole30 Sweet and Sour Chicken
Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry (Whole30, Gluten-Free, Low Carb)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This healthy and easy chicken and broccoli stir fry is a quick weeknight dinner that will not disappoint. This stir fry has it all – tender chicken, crisp broccoli, and flavorful sauce that comes together in under 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 ½ tsp sesame oil
- ½ tbsp arrowroot starch
- Green onion, for garnish
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Add the chicken thighs, garlic, ginger, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to a small bowl and stir until well combined.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, coat the pan with oil and then add in the chicken. Cook the chicken for 6-8 minutes until browned and cooked through. Once cooked, remove the chicken from pan and set aside.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. Add the coconut aminos, fish sauce, sesame oil and arrowroot starch to a small bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Next, add in the broccoli florets and ⅓ cup of water. Cook the broccoli until it is bright green and slightly tender, around 4-6 minutes.
- Next, add the chicken back to the skillet and then add the sauce. Give everything a stir to combine chicken, broccoli, and sauce are all well combined and cook for one more minute. The sauce should thicken a bit as it heats.
- Remove the skillet from the heat, finish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds, and then serve the stir-fry immediately. Enjoy!
Excellent…I added a side of rice for my hubby while I just ate this from a bowl! Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
We didn’t have all the ingredients but it still turned out super good. Will make again!
Great flavor and easy to make. We added 1 sweet onion, 2 green peppers, half lime, and a little extra ginger. Turned out perfect!!
I made this tonight but the sauce was too thick…almost gelatinous. Should I cut down the amount of arrowroot starch? Have you ever had this issue? Thanks for the help!
Both my husband and I really enjoyed this recipe! I’m glad we can add this to our weekly rotation.
Super good….super easy!
This is the first recipe I have made after following on Instagram for awhile. I have been craving Chinese for awhile, and this hit the spot – in a much healthier way. Limited prep time, quick cooking, easy ingredients and instructions – all a win in my book. As someone else previously said, I will double the recipe next time!
This has become a staple in our dinner rotation! I have made it 3 times in the past 2 weeks and keep stocking up on ingredients to make it again! So delicious, so easy, and so healthy. I love adding roasted cashews as well. Have sent it to multiple friends… can’t recommend enough!
Just had this for dinner tonight and it was great! I’ve tried several asian-inspired Whole 30 recipes and this was the easiest and tastiest so far. My husband declared it was good enough to be in the “regular” non-Whole 30 rotation (when we’re not doing a Whole 30).
Just made this for dinner and WOW! Great flavors that come together beautifully. I added some sautéed mushrooms and it’s was a match made in heaven. We’ve already made you egg roll in a bowl and buffalo cauliflower and those were also delicious. My husband and I keep saying “thanks Ashlea!” before we dig in. These recipes have been giving us life on Whole 30. Thanks Ashlea!!
Great recipe! Easy to follow directions and an awesome taste.
I made this recipe for my family tonight and it was a hit! Even my kids liked it! So good. I didn’t have any fish sauce, but it was still delicious. Served it with rice and a side of snow peas.
I’m a new follower of yours and I’m so excited to try your recipes! This one was amazing and we will definitely be making it again!
Just made this recipe for the first time and it was so easy and so delicious. Even my husband loves it!!!
I made this for the family tonight and it was a hit! The kids kept running into the kitchen asking what smelled so good! I dialed the red pepper back to 1/4tsp (because kids) but otherwise made as directed. I think that next time I make this I’ll throw in some toasted cashews. And also double the recipe because it’s gone and I don’t have any leftovers lol. Thank you for a delicious, healthy recipe that the whole family enjoyed!
I’m so happy you and the kids loved it, Rebecca! I love that you made a double batch. Such a good idea!
This is super easy & delicious! Way simpler than a recipe for the same dish in a diff paleo cookbook I’ve made before. Way to go!
This was a great recipe! Was looking for a quick and healthy meal to make tonight, and this was exactly what I was looking for. Simple ingredients and great flavor. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
This was outstanding. I quadrupled the recipe and made some for my niece who just had a baby. Her words, ate it all in one sitting it was so good. I marinated the chicken overnight as recommended and it came out fantastic. My family loved it. This is a keeper!