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You all love this vegetable stir fry, and I don’t blame you. It’s fast, flexible, and that sauce? So addicting! Toss in whatever veggies you have and dinner’s done.
A Reader’s Review
This recipe was very easy to follow and it turned out excellent.
First time I used your recipes and I want to do more.
Cheers
Why This Stir Fry Works for Real Life
- It’s the “I have 20 minutes and zero brainpower” dinner: When the day’s been chaos and takeout isn’t an option, this stir fry saves you!
- Your kids will actually eat it! Mine licked their plates and asked for seconds. That never happens unless there’s sugar involved.
- It’s a fridge-clean-out hero! Have random veggies hanging out? Toss them in! Which means food waste and no extra shopping trips. Winning!
Vegetable Stir Fry Ingredients
- Grocery Shopping Tip: Baby corn and water chestnuts are found in the ethnic food aisles.
- Meat: Want to get your protein? Add in some chicken, pork, shrimp, beef, or tofu.
- Vegetables: You can use what you have on hand; other ideas include asparagus, bean sprouts, celery, zucchini, cauliflower, onions, or tomatoes.
- Nuts: Almonds and cashews are great to stir in as well.
- Bring on the Heat: Make it spicy by adding some sriracha or crushed red pepper flakes.
How to Make Vegetable Stir Fry
I recommend having all the veggies cut before you start cooking. And try to cut them into similar-sized pieces so they cook evenly. Stir frying happens fast, so it’s important to have your veggies, sauce, and add-ins prepped and ready to go.
- Cook Vegetables: Add olive oil over medium-high heat in a wok, which is ideal, but a large skillet will work as well. Add red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, zucchini, sugar snap peas, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, baby corn, and water chestnuts. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until the veggies are almost tender.
- Make the Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, minced garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, and cornstarch.
- Cook: Pour the sauce over the veggies and cook until the sauce has thickened and the veggies are tender.
- Garnish and Serve: Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired, and serve with noodles or rice.
Alyssa’s Pro Tip
Don’t overcrowd your pan! Too many veggies cause steaming instead of searing, resulting in mushy veggies.
Make Ahead, Storing, & Reheating
Unlike sad leftovers, this vegetable stir fry tastes just as good (maybe better?) the next day. Meal prep lunch wins all week long.
- Make Ahead: You can make the stir fry sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze it for later if you want dinner even faster next time.
- In the Fridge: Store your leftover vegetable stir fry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheating: Reheat leftovers on the stovetop over medium heat in a wok or skillet until heated through.
More Stir Fry Recipes To Try
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Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
Veggies
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 sliced red bell pepper
- 1 sliced yellow bell pepper
- 1 small sliced zucchini
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 cups broccoli
- 1 (15-ounce) can baby corn drained
- 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts drained
- green onions for garnish
- sesame seeds for garnish
Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet. Add 1 sliced red bell pepper, 1 sliced yellow bell pepper, 1 small sliced zucchini, 1 cup sugar snap peas, 1 cup sliced carrots, 1 cup sliced mushrooms, 2 cups broccoli, 1 (15-ounce) can baby corn, and 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until the veggies are almost tender.
- In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup soy sauce, 3 garlic cloves, minced, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ cup chicken broth, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
- Pour the sauce over the veggies and cook until the sauce has thickened and the veggies are tender. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
One of my favorite recipes.
This was so delicious! I used a package of pre-sliced veggies. The sauce made them so yummy! Thank you! My new go-to for gatherings.
Made the sauce today in a hurry. It turned out really runny. I didnt want to over cook the veggies (stir fry kit from Trader Joe’s)
The flavor was pretty good, so I will make it again for sure. But will start the sauce first, then toss in the veggies. Maybe the broccoli had a larger water content? It was a refrigerated stir fry mix.
Hubby and I both enjoyed it! Will make again
Great recipe! I used carrots, broccoli, red bell pepper, cauliflower, & onions as vegetables bc that’s what I had in my frig. Served it over brown rice. My husband and I really enjoyed it. Next time, I may try using 2 TBSP of brown sugar instead of 3. This is my new “go to” recipe. So yummy!!!!
Judith, I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and comment!
I made this in a hurry using what I had.
For the marinade, I used 1 rounded tsp dry minced garlic instead of 1 TBS
I did not have sesame oil; so I used EVOO– was grest
I did not have fresh ginger; so I used 2 tsp dry ginger
I used 1/2 tsp of chilies instead of 1/4 tsp
I had a pkg of frozen Walmart brand deluadding the frozen veggiesxe stir fry that I had bought because the package picture looked nice. I used that.
I thinly slice 1/4 red onion, 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 red pepper and fried them in 1 TBS EVOO before adding the frozen veggies
Amazingly, after all that itwas delicious. Next time I’ll try the real recipe
I have a question, I only have light and dark soy sauce, which one is better to use for this recipe?
Hey Heidi, it all depends on your preference. Dark soy sauce might have a richer depth of flavor.
Thank you Alyssa
Can I use beef broth instead, and a flour slurry in the sauce and hoisin sauce
Isaac, I think that would work great! You can use whatever sauce works best for you in this recipe.
I made this recipe tonight and it turned out wonderfully. My husband really liked it.
This recipe was very easy to follow and it turned out excellent.
First time I used your recipes and I want to do more.
Cheers
It was delicious!
Thank you for sharing;)
The only thing wrong with this recipe is the olive oil. I’ve been eating and cooking Chinese food since the 1970s and this is the first recipe I’ve seen with olive oil. It NEVER belongs in Chinese food, no matter how healthy it’s supposed to be. It’s too heavy and too strongly flavored. Peanut oil is fine. So is cannola oil, corn oil or the like.
Hi Kathleen, thank you for your comment. What I love about cooking is how versatile it is. You can typically change things up to use what you have on hand. I know most people have olive oil, and that is why I used it. You can of course use peanut or canola if you have that on hand. Thanks again! I hope you like it!
I don’t cook. My husband is an amazing chef and cooks for us almost every night. I bake sometimes but I do not cook dinner. The entire process is completely overwhelming and uninspiring for me. This one particular evening we had a fridge full of vegetables and he wasn’t feeling well. I reluctantly searched the web for a stir fry recipe, found this and made the yummiest stir fry ever! This is one of the few things I will make again and again. I am so grateful for this recipe! It’s delicious!
Hi Lucy, thank you so much for your comment and review! I’m so happy to hear of your successful cooking! I’m all about simple and easy and of course delicious! You got this!
Delish! Used an array of vegetables I had on hand, including some fresh spinach, which I stirred in and left to wilt with lid on after heat was off. I added a glug of oyster sauce because I had it on hand. Served with coconut rice and teriyaki chicken.
In a small whisk together soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, and cornstarch
Put bowl between small and whisk
Haylee, wow, thank you so much for catching my mistake! I appreciate you helping me out!