Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

This easy recipe for Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry is a classic restaurant-style dish made with chicken breasts in a simple sauce with lemon honey flavor and paired with broccoli. This tasty dinner and comes together in just 30 minutes and is much healthier than take-out! 

Chicken and broccoli stir fry is a classic Chinese-American dish. We add our own fun twist and use fresh lemon and honey to create fresh and healthy flavors. Danae from Recipe Runner here today with an easy and tasty weeknight dinner. Yes, we’re making our own takeout!

Homemade takeout is better than anything you order at your favorite Asian restaurant. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love eating the fried, crispy Chinese food as much as anyone. But, when you finish eating takeout you often don’t feel very good. So we created homemade versions of our favorite takeout dish.

This homemade version of a classic takeout favorite combines fresh lemon flavor with sweet honey. The sauce is thickened with a little cornstarch, but don’t expect it to be that ultra-thick sticky coating like you find on your takeout. It’s a lighter, healthier version that everyone will enjoy! 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• You’ll get a restaurant-style classic dinner right at home that takes just 30 minutes to make. 
• This recipe is much healthier to make at home instead of ordering out because it contains no MSG or preservatives. It’s made with all clean ingredients. 
• The sauce has a great balance of savory and sweet coming from a touch of honey that pairs perfectly in this chicken stir fry. 
• Customize it by adding in your favorite stir fry vegetables or switching up the protein. 
• Serve this stir fry with quinoa, rice, your favorite noodles, or even on top of a green salad. 

Ingredients You Need

• Chicken Breasts – You’ll need a mix of boneless, skinless chicken breast diced into bite-sized pieces to add protein and flavor. 
• Soy Sauce – Gives the stir fry a salty umami bite. Use tamari if gluten-free. 
• Rice Vinegar – Adds a great tangy acidity that pairs well in stir fry dishes. 
• Sesame Oil – Gives a toasty sesame flavor throughout. 
• Broccoli Florets – This classic stir fry vegetable is the perfect green because it’s sturdy and is great at soaking up flavors. 
• Salt & Pepper – Balances out all the flavors in the dish. 
• Rice, Quinoa, or Noodles – Serve this chicken and broccoli stir fry on a bed of your favorite grains or vegetables.

Honey Lemon Stir Fry Sauce

• Low Sodium Chicken Broth – Helps emulsify the sauce and bring all the flavors together. 
• Lemon Juice & Zest – Gives a bright fresh flavor and acidity. 
• Honey – Sweetens up the sauce and gives it a bit of thickness. If you don’t have honey on hand, use agave or brown sugar to sweeten the sauce.
• Ginger & Garlic – Infuses the sauce with aromatic ginger and garlic flavors. 
• Sriracha – Gives the sauce a kick of spice. 
• Cornstarch – Helps thicken up the sauce so it sticks to the chicken ad broccoli. 
• Salt & Pepper – Balances and enhances all the stir fry flavors. 

How to Make Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

This recipe is easy to do, less expensive than takeout and contains only a fraction of the calories. It’s fresh and always delicious.

• Step 1: Prepare the chicken. Whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt and pepper.
• Step 2: Add the chopped chicken to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for at least 15 minutes or even a few hours in the refrigerator.
• Step 2: Prepare the stir fry sauce. Whisk together chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, ginger, garlic, sriracha, cornstarch, salt and pepper.
• Step 3: Cook the broccoli. Preheat a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add oil and chopped broccoli. Str fry for about 2 minutes until the broccoli is bright green, but still crisp. Transfer to a plate.
• Step 4: Cook the chicken. Add another teaspoon of oil to the skillet and add the chicken (leaving the marinade liquid in the bowl.) Cook the chicken until cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Step 5: Combine everything together. Add the broccoli back to the skillet with the chicken. Pour in the stir fry sauce and cook until it starts to thicken, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with rice or quinoa.

Double the recipe! Make a double or triple batch of this stir fry as it makes great leftovers for lunches. The flavors are even better the next day.

Variations

• Change up the proteins. You can use chicken thighs, thinly sliced steak, or shrimp in this classic dish.
• Make it vegan or vegetarian. Try using shrimp or marinated tofu as the main protein to keep it vegan or vegetarian.
• Use orange instead of lemon. Add the juice and zest of a freshly squeezed orange for a healthy orange chicken and broccoli stir fry.
• Pile on the veggies. In addition to broccoli, you can also use shredded carrots, cabbage, radish, mushroom, asparagus, or sliced bell peppers in this dish.

FAQs

Other Stir Fry Dinners

Shrimp Stir Fry with Lemon & Ginger

Garlic Sesame Chicken Stir Fry

Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry

Salmon Stir Fry

Beef and Broccoli Skillet

Did you try this Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry recipe? Leave a recipe review below.

This recipe was originally published in 2015 by Danae of Recipe Runner. It was updated with new process photos and tips in April 2021.