Vegetable Stir Fry is a go-to recipe when you’re craving a meal packed with fresh veggies or want to serve something easy, flavorful, and colorful that everyone will love. The soy, honey, sesame, and ginger stir fry sauce delivers big on a classic stir fry flavor that’s easy to achieve at home. This recipe is simple to adapt to include leftover fresh vegetables or using a favorite ingredient!
This easy vegetable stir fry is a quick recipe that is perfect for including friends or kids in the cooking process because everyone will get a turn to chop or stir, but it’s also ready in just minutes. The secret to perfect stir fry is adding each vegetable at the right time, so they get tender but are never overcooked! So, be sure to prep everything before you start. For more easy dinner recipes, try my shrimp fried rice, kung pao chicken, or moo goo gai pan.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Soy sauce – soy sauce offers full flavor in one simple ingredient. Choose traditional or low-sodium soy sauce.
Chicken broth – a bit of broth helps all the stir-fry sauce ingredients come together at the ideal consistency while adding savory flavor. You can also use chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water.
Sesame oil – a small amount of sesame oil adds the rich taste of sesame into every bit of the sauce. Use toasted sesame oil for a bolder flavor. I love how this oil makes the kitchen smell amazing as the vegetables sizzle!
Ginger and garlic – fresh minced ginger and garlic give the best flavor. You’ll need just a couple of teaspoons of ginger, so store the remaining fresh ginger root in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Vegetables – I like to use a combination of broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onion, sugar snap peas, red bell pepper, baby corn spears, and water chestnuts. You can use any combination of these vegetables; add in one of your other favorite vegetables, or use what you have leftover from another meal!
How to Make Vegetable Stir Fry
1. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and carrots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the mushrooms and onion and cook for 2 minutes more.
4. Add the sugar snap peas, bell pepper, baby corn, and water chestnuts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the peas turn bright green and start to soften.
5. Stir in the stir-fry sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and the vegetables are well coated 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and immediately serve over hot rice.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together well. The cornstarch is a key component in the sauce as it plays a vital role in thickening, and the honey is a bit sticky, so make sure to whisk well to combine all the ingredients and distribute and dissolve the cornstarch.
- Drain the canned vegetables. If using canned baby corn spears or water chestnuts, make sure to drain them well before stir-frying.
- Add vegetables in the order of the recipe. Make sure to stir fry the vegetables in the order listed in the recipe method, so they cook evenly and are crisp-tender by the end of the cooking time.
- Use a wok or large pan. A wok or larger skillet will provide plenty of room for stirring and help distribute the heat well to stir fry veggies quickly.
- Cook over medium-high heat and stir as needed. Strong heat produces the most tender-crisp vegetables with slight browning on the edges (which makes the best flavor!). Stir occasionally, or even frequently, to cook the veggies evenly and to prevent burning.
- Utilize what you have on hand, or include a favorite veggie. This veggie stir fry recipe is perfect if you have leftover vegetables from a party tray or an abundance of something from your garden. Personalize this recipe using the vegetables you have in the crisper, your preferred color of bell pepper, or your favorite vegetables or stir-fry ingredients. Cauliflower, snow peas, green beans, bok choy, edamame, or green onions would all be great additions. Oyster sauce is also a great addition to the stir-fry sauce! If you don’t have honey, swap it with an equal amount of brown sugar. For an added kick of heat, throw in a few pinches of red pepper flakes.
- Simmer until the sauce thickens. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the sauce and continue cooking long enough that the sauce simmers and thickens. The cornstarch will thicken when it simmers, so make sure to keep cooking until that occurs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat vegetables in a large pan with a swirl of vegetable oil and cook until just heated to prevent the veggies from becoming too soft. You can also reheat the dish in the microwave on medium heat. Always store the rice and vegetables separately for the easiest reheating.
Serve with white or brown rice, sesame seeds, and extra soy sauce on the side. If you’d like to include protein alongside your vegetables, serve with honey garlic chicken, sirloin tips, or leftover air fryer steak. This recipe is also great when served alongside air fryer egg rolls!
Yes, stir fry recipes can be great options to meet a variety of dietary preferences or allergies, as a homemade sauce is easily adaptable. If you’d like to make this a vegetarian-friendly recipe, use vegetable stock or water in place of the chicken broth. To make it gluten-free, use coconut liquid aminos or tamari in place of the soy sauce.
The best stir fry vegetables are ones that offer a variety of colors, flavors, and textures. Always include onions, garlic, and ginger and a mixture of colorful vegetables that have softer and firmer textures. Carrots and mushrooms soften well when stir-fried and heartier veggies like broccoli and snap peas will maintain their shape and brighten in color when cooked.
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If you’ve tried this vegetable stir fry recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the Stir Fry Sauce:
- ⅓ cup soy sauce (80mL)
- ¼ cup chicken broth (or vegetable stock, water) (60mL)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 3 garlic cloves minced
For the Vegetables:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups broccoli florets (147g)
- 2 carrots sliced (164g)
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms (147g)
- 1 small onion sliced (150g)
- 1 cup sugar snap peas (85g)
- 1 bell pepper seeded and sliced (red, yellow, green) (218g)
- 1½ cups baby corn spears drained (225g)
- 1 cup sliced water chestnuts drained (142g)
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
For the Stir Fry Sauce:
- Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
For the Vegetables:
- Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and carrots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the mushrooms and onion and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the sugar snap peas, bell pepper baby corn, and water chestnuts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the peas turn bright green and start to soften.
- Stir in the stir-fry sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and the vegetables are well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and immediately serve over hot rice.
Notes
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together well. The cornstarch is a key component in the sauce as it plays a vital role in thickening, and the honey is a bit sticky, so make sure to whisk well to combine all the ingredients and distribute and dissolve the cornstarch.
- Drain the canned vegetables. If using canned baby corn spears or water chestnuts, make sure to drain them well before stir-frying.
- Add vegetables in the order of the recipe. Make sure to stir fry the vegetables in the order listed in the recipe method, so they cook evenly and are crisp-tender by the end of the cooking time.
- Use a wok or large pan. A wok or larger skillet will provide plenty of room for stirring and help distribute the heat well to stir fry veggies quickly.
- Cook over medium-high heat and stir as needed. Strong heat produces the most tender-crisp vegetables with slight browning on the edges (which makes the best flavor!). Stir occasionally, or even frequently, to cook the veggies evenly and to prevent burning.
- Utilize what you have on hand, or include a favorite veggie. This veggie stir fry recipe is perfect if you have leftover vegetables from a party tray or an abundance of something from your garden. Personalize this recipe using the vegetables you have in the crisper, your preferred color of bell pepper, or your favorite vegetables or stir-fry ingredients. Cauliflower, snow peas, green beans, bok choy, edamame, or green onions would all be great additions. Oyster sauce is also a great addition to the stir-fry sauce! If you don’t have honey, swap it with an equal amount of brown sugar. For an added kick of heat, throw in a few pinches of red pepper flakes.
- Simmer until the sauce thickens. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the sauce and continue cooking long enough that the sauce simmers and thickens. The cornstarch will thicken when it simmers, so make sure to keep cooking until that occurs.
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