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Easy Vegetable Stir Fry is a mixture of colorful vegetables sautรฉed in a sweet and savory sauce that makes for a simple weeknight meal! Less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish!

Quick and simple recipe that can be made to your liking! If you love stir fry as much as we do try this Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry, or Slow Cooker Cashew Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry.

Vegetable Stir Fry

Easiest Vegetable Stir Fry

This is it! This is the recipe that gets me through the week! I love how simple and easy it is to cook and how delicious it tastes. There are so many variations to this recipe that it is perfect to make with a family.

Busy weeknights has me making 30 minutes or less recipes. They are easier and turn out to be, oh. so. good!

This past month I have been doing some meal prep and I decided to try this as well. I cooked it up on Sunday and added it into 5 days of lunches for me. It was simple to warm up and was filling all day.

The colors from the vegetables are so vibrant and blend so well together. You have a crunchy, soft and sweet texture that blends so well together leaving you wanting another bite.

My kids loved every bits of it and even asked for seconds. They loved it and wanted to

You can make this ahead, prepare it for dinner or freeze it for later. It is one stir fry that is simple, easy and delicious!

What is stir fry?

Stir frying is a Chinese cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred in a wok.

The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and the West.

Stir fry ingredients

I like to stir fry the vegetables that take a little longer to cook first. Like the carrots, mushrooms and baby corn. Then I add in the remainder ingredients. Broccoli, snow peas and the bell peppers do not take as long to cook.

  • Olive Oil
  • Vegetables: red bell pepper, yellow bell peppers, sugar snap peas, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, baby corn, water chestnuts.
  • Sauce: soy sauce, garlic cloves (minced), brown sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, cornstarch
  • Garnish: green onions and sesame seeds

How to make vegetable stir fry?

The first step is to cook up your veggies. I used a combination of red and yellow peppers, snow peas, broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms. I also added some baby corn and water chestnuts into the mix for variety. While the veggies are cooking, I make a simple garlic sauce. The sauce gets poured over the veggies then is simmered until thickened. You can enjoy your veggie stir fry as-is, or over rice.

  • Sautรฉ: In a wok or large skillet add 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add bell pepper, peas, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, baby corn, and water chestnuts. Sautรฉ 2-3 minutes until veggies are almost tender.
  • Whisk: In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, and cornstarch.
  • Mix: Pour over veggies and cook until the sauce has thickened.
  • Garnish: add chopped green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
vegetables cut in a bowl

Other variations of stir fry

There are so many different ways to customize your veggie stir fry, the combinations are endless!

  • Meat: add in some chicken, pork, shrimp, beef or tofu.
  • Vegetables: asparagus, bean sprouts, celery, zucchini, cauliflower, onions or tomatoes add more of variety of vegetables.
  • Nuts: almonds and cashews are great to stir in as well.
  • Spicy: make it spicy by adding some heat with sriracha or crushed red pepper flakes.

Are stir fry vegetables healthy?

Stir-frying is a fast way to cook small pieces of food in a hot skillet or wok. In addition to being quick and easy, stir-frying is also healthy.

It results in tender-crisp vegetables that retain more nutrients than if they were boiled.

And since stir-frying requires only a small amount of oil, the fat content is low.

vegetable stir fry

Tips for stir fry

  • To help cook the vegetables at the same rate, make sure to cut into similar and smaller sized pieces.
  • Store your vegetable stir fry in the refrigerator for 5 days. You can even meal prep!
  • Baby corn and water chestnuts are found in cans down the ethnic food aisles.
  • Make ahead the sauce for this vegetable stir fry. It will last in the refrigeratior for 3 days. You can freeze this for later use if needed.

What goes well with stir fry?

  • White, brown or Fried Rice
  • Noodles
  • Ramen
  • Lo Mein
  • Zoodles
  • Spinach
vegetable stir fry with noodles

Looking for more stir fry recipes? Try these!

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The Easiest Vegetable Stir Fry

4.81 from 86 votes
By: Alyssa Rivers
Easy Vegetable Stir Fry is a mixture of colorful vegetables sautรฉed in a sweet and savory sauce that makes for a simple weeknight meal! Less than 30 minutes to make from start toย finish!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Add one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet. Add bell pepper, peas, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, baby corn, and water chestnuts. Sautรฉ 2-3 minutes until veggies are almost tender.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, and cornstarch.
  • Pour over veggies and cook until the sauce has thickened. Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds if desired

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 152kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 643mgPotassium: 489mgFiber: 4gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 4701IUVitamin C: 104mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Asian American, Chinese
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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196 Comments

  1. 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.

    1. 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!

  2. 5 stars
    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!

    1. 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!

  3. 5 stars
    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.

  4. In a small whisk together soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, chicken broth, and cornstarch

    Put bowl between small and whisk