You’re just 30 minutes away from the best Vegetable stir-fry. I love a good Chinese stir fry for a quick meal, and this one is so versatile – cook whatever veggies you have on hand until they are crisp-tender, then add a quick stir-fry sauce to flavor every bite. It’s perfect as a meatless main course or a side dish.
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Helpful Reader Review
“Perfect exactly as created! My family loved it and fought over the leftovers.” – AJ ★★★★★
Easy Vegetable Stir Fry
A stir fry is a great option when you’re in the mood for Asian food but don’t want to order takeout, and I have found this to be an easy way to get my kids to eat more veggies! Whenever I have vegetables I need to use, I love to throw in whatever I have leftover for a filling and nutritious dish, served over steamy white rice.
This basic vegetable stir fry recipe is perfect on its own with an authentic stir fry sauce you’ll want to drizzle over everything on the plate. You can easily add protein, whether it’s leftover baked chicken breast, pork, pan-seared steak, shrimp, or even tofu–and have a complete dinner on the table. 30 Minutes, friends–that’s all it takes!
Ingredients for Vegetable Stir Fry
You can either stick to the vegetables I used or throw in whatever you have on hand (or see the variations below) to make this simple vegetarian stir-fry recipe.
- Vegetables – carrot, broccoli, baby corn, mushrooms, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger. Cut each veggie into equal-sized pieces so it all cooks at the same time. Note: I prefer using fresh veggies rather than frozen. Frozen vegetables tend to turn mushy and water down the sauce.
- Chicken Broth – Store-bought or Homemade chicken broth works here. It adds flavor to the sauce, but you can use water in a pinch. For a vegetarian stir fry, use vegetable stock.
- Cornstarch – this thickens the sauce. Make sure to add it to cool liquids so it incorporates properly without clumping.
- Low-sodium soy sauce – I prefer using low-sodium soy sauce so I can control the sodium level. For gluten-free, swap this 1-1 with a gluten-free Tamari. If using regular soy sauce, start with 2 Tbsp and add more to taste since it will be noticeably saltier.
- Honey – the sweetness of honey complements the savory flavors, but it’s not too sweet. It makes the perfect vegetable stir-fry sauce, but you can swap it with half the amount of brown sugar or maple syrup.
- Hot sauce – this is optional, but adds a nice kick of heat! Try a 1/4 tsp of Sriracha or Frank’s hot sauce
Variations and Substitutions
- Protein – Add cooked shredded chicken, shrimp, ground beef, ground pork, or tofu to the vegetables for a higher protein dish.
- Nuts – throw in unsalted peanuts, cashews, or almonds for added crunch and flavor
- Veggies – swap the veggies with whatever you like the best. Try onion, asparagus frozen corn, green beans, bean sprouts, water chesnuts, or even kale.
- Heat – add red pepper flakes or hot sauce for more kick
How to Make Vegetable Stir-Fry
A recipe doesn’t get much easier than this one. Don’t forget to get started on your side dish before beginning this recipe, since this vegetable stir fry comes together so quickly.
- Make stir fry sauce by whisking together all of the ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside so it’s ready when you need it.
- Sauté the veggies – Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add cooking oil. Add veggies and sauté for 3 minutes until barely crisp tender (do not overcook).
- Add Aromatics – Reduce to medium heat and add the butter, garlic, and ginger, and stir until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
- Add the stir-fry sauce – pour the sauce over the sautéed veggies and stir to coat. Cook on medium-low for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens. Serve immediately!
What to Serve with Vegetable Stir Fry
This vegetable stir fry is a filling and delicious meal, and because it’s versatile, it will fit right into your menu on weeknights or weekends. Here’s how I’ve served this stir-fry recipe:
- As a main dish with a side of White Rice, Quinoa, Bok Choy, egg noodles, or ramen noodles.
- Served inside lettuce as a lettuce wrap
- Paired with General Tso’s Chicken or Teriyaki Salmon.
- With added protein such as chicken, shrimp, or beef for a hearty meal. If adding protein, as we did with our Chicken Stir Fry, you’ll want to double the sauce and add it to taste.
This vegetable stir fry is so easy and good. The sweet and savory homemade stir fry sauce with ginger and garlic adds so much authentic flavor to the sautéed veggies. This recipe is an easy and fast 30-minute meal your whole family will love. Try this meatless meal today!
Make-Ahead
This vegetable stir fry can easily be prepped in advance, and then it will come together in 15 minutes when ready to serve. It tastes great as leftovers as well!
- Prep the veggies: Chop, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days until ready to use. Keep the mushrooms, garlic, and ginger separate since they can release moisture.
- Make sauce ahead: Mix the sauce (except the starch) up to 3 days ahead and store in a separate container. Add the cornstarch just before cooking to prevent settling or clumping.
- To Refrigerate: Cool leftovers completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Freezing: I prefer not to freeze since the vegetables can turn mushy.
- To Reheat: Reheat in a skillet over low heat until heated through. You can add a little more chicken stock or water if needed.
Vegetable Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce:
- 1/4 cup chicken broth, (or vegetable broth for vegetarian)
- 3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, (use Tamari for gluten-free), or 2 Tbsp regular soy sauce
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 2 Tbsp honey
- ¼ tsp hot sauce, optional (Frank's or Sriracha work great)
Vegetable Stir Fry:
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 2 cups medium broccoli florets
- 8 oz can baby corn spears, drained
- 8 oz mushrooms (white or brown), sliced or quartered
- 1 whole pepper (red, yellow, or orange), seeded and sliced
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil , (extra light olive oil or canola)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tsp ginger, minced
Instructions
- Make stir fry sauce – In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the stir fry sauce and stir to incorporate the corn starch, and set it aside until ready to use.
- Saute the veggies – Set a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat then add the oil. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the vegetables and stir-fry for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are just crisp-tender – do not overcook them.
- Add Aromatics – reduce the heat to medium and add the butter, garlic, and ginger, and stir constantly for 30-60 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the stir-fry sauce – If the sauce has separated, stir it and stir it into your vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium/low and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce thickens and vegetables reach your desired tenderness.
Notes
- Protein – add cooked chicken, shrimp, ground beef, ground pork, or tofu
- Veggies – swap with whatever veggies you prefer, but avoid frozen vegetables since they tend to get mushy and can water down the sauce.
- Nuts – add nuts like peanuts or cashews, or seeds to your liking
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Popular Asian Dishes to Try Next:
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Asian Chopped Salad
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Mongolian Beef
- Teriyaki Meatballs
- Honey Garlic Chicken
Recipe please! I make Stir fry and would love to try your sauce and sequence of addition! Thanks for highlighting the salt tip too!
Hello! The sauce recipe is also in there, you can click Jump to recipe for the recipe card.
I made this with my version of veggies, its so yummy, thanks for sharing the recipe🙏
Sounds so delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
Made this for supper. Absolutely delicious, easy to make, and came together quickly. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that you loved the recipe so much! Thanks for the wonderful review.
If I had found this recipe sooner I would have eaten more vegetables in my life! I made a few modifications: added toasted sesame seed oil to olive oil at the start, added Umami powder to the sauce, used red pepper flakes instead of hot sauce, and reduced soy sauce to 2 spoons and honey to 1 spoon.
I’m so glad you loved the stir fry and thanks for sharing your creative ideas.
I really liked this! It’s a great base recipe you can do so much with. It’s a little bit on the sweet side, but that can be adjusted. I didn’t find it off putting. The fresh ginger really makes it! I did add some yellow squash and zucchini just because I like it and wanted more veggies. I also cut up and cooked some chicken tenders first that I removed from the pan before cooking the veggie mixture. Added that back in when adding the sauce. That was more for my husband. It really doesn’t need it, but if you prefer meat you could add any protein to it and it be great.
Am I the only person the sauce didn’t thicken up for? I followed the recipe to a t – no subs or improvising! My vegetables ended up soggy because I cooked everything too long waiting for the sauce to get thick! I do agree with another review that said it needed more seasoning though.
Hi Ana, did you possibly use frozen vegetables? That can end up in a watery sauce.
You can always reduce the sauce in a separate saucepan while the veggies saute. I did and it clung nicely when added to the veggies. I also added just a bit more seasoning to round it out.
It’s a good base recipe, but it needs more flavor. After I finished the recipe and tasted it, I added salt, pepper, scallions, and garlic powder. I also added msg and gochugaru.
I had high hopes after reading the reviews and this recipe did not disappoint! I made a super huge batch with eight different vegetables including purple cabbage. I substituted some of the honey for Thai chili sauce and added a tbsp of miso. OMG, I will make this repeatedly because it is absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for this amazingly, easy recipe.
Follow the recipe as directed except left out Babycorn….next time I think I’ll substitute Thai Chili Sauce in place of the honey, as we like it a bit spicy! A great HomeMade recipe…😁
Sounds good, we’d love to know how it you liked that version!
Excellent recipe. No cook times allow for the correct tenderness of vegetables. Scrumptious!!!
Easy recipe and full of flavor. I substituted the vegies since I didn’t have carrots on hand and used green beans, and added green onions. It was delicious. My family thinks I’m an amazing cook now. Thank you.
That’s great, Shawn!
Hi. If we don’t want the dish sweet, can we not add the honey?
Hi Mary Jane, this recipe is intended to be sweet and savory, if you try it without the honey it may be a little different and missing something, but it may work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi Natasha, will a well seasoned cast iron skillet work to make this?
Hi Dave! We prefer to work with a non-stick skillet or wok but feel free to experiment with it.
I’m 8 months pregnant and was craving a greasy burger with fries. This simple recipe saved the day ❤️ thank you for making it easy to make healthy choices
Hi Vanessa! Congratulations on your pregnancy! I’m so glad this recipe did the trick!
Loved making this simple yet very flavourful recipe. I switched up some veggies based on what I had and added cooked chicken at the end. I also added 1 finger green chili to the sauce along with a little Sriracha. Was a nice medium spiciness level. This is my first time commenting on any recipe. I have a pic too but can’t figure out how to post it! Lol
Sounds yum! I’m so glad that you tried and loved our Vegetable Stir Fry! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we appreciate it!
I’ve been looking for a stir fry seasoning that my host-mum used to make when I was an exchange student in Australia a few years back. This is just that! Took me back to my high school days. Thank you, will definitely make again!
So glad that you found our recipe, Sasha!
Made this last night and it was delicious. We also added tofu for protein and some peanuts for crunch.
That sounds great, Jackie! Thank you for sharing.
I loved it but would double the sauce. I also added a bit of hoisin for a bit of sweet at the end. I toasted some sesame seeds and sprinkled with parsley.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Susan!
Perfect exactly as created! My family loved it and fought over the leftovers.
That is the best when the family loves what we parents make. That’s so great!
I plan to make this tonight or coming weekend with some tweaks. First, omitting the oil and stir fry using broth or water. Second omitting the honey and using Walden Farms Maple Syrup. Doing this to lower the WW point value. It also lowers the fat, calories, carbs.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!