This easy stir fry recipe features colorful veggies in a delicious sweet and savory sauce. Ready in 20 minutes, it's a quick, healthy, and flavorful meal!
This easy stir fry recipe is the ultimate weeknight dinner. It’s quick, flavorful, and healthy too, packed with colorful vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and peppers. Add your favorite protein and serve it over rice for a satisfying 20-minute meal!
Years ago, when I first started cooking for myself, I made a veggie stir fry nearly every night. It was the easiest (and cheapest) thing I knew how to make, so I put it on repeat. Fast forward to now, and stir fry is still a staple in my weeknight rotation…but it’s gotten a lot tastier. I’ve perfected my sweet and savory stir fry sauce and learned to cook the vegetables so that they’re crisp-tender, not mushy.
I’m sharing my best tips and tricks for making a simple stir fry below, along with my go-to stir fry recipe. Try it the next time you need a fast, delicious dinner. On a busy weeknight, it always hits the spot!
Vegetable Stir Fry Ingredients
The best thing about this vegetable stir fry recipe? It’s super flexible.
I call for these vegetables:
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Bell peppers
- Sugar snap peas
- Mushrooms
But you could swap in any of these:
- Celery
- Snow peas
- Green beans
- Asparagus
- Napa cabbage
- Baby corn
- Water chestnuts
You can scale this recipe up or down as needed—one batch of sauce works nicely with about 8 cups raw vegetables. Feel free to add a cooked protein like baked tofu or tempeh too!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
My Easy Stir Fry Sauce
In addition to the vegetables and optional protein, you’ll need my easy stir fry sauce. It comes together in 5 minutes with these basic pantry ingredients:
- Low-sodium soy sauce – I HIGHLY recommend using a low-sodium option here. It will give the sauce a nice savory flavor without making it too salty. To make this recipe gluten-free, use low-sodium certified gluten-free tamari.
- Honey or brown sugar – For sweetness. Use brown sugar to make the sauce vegan.
- Rice vinegar – It adds tangy flavor. Marukan is my favorite brand.
- Toasted sesame oil – For nutty richness. I love the La Tourangelle brand.
- Fresh garlic and ginger – They give the sauce a savory, spicy kick.
- Cornstarch – It helps the sauce thicken as it cooks.
- And water – It balances the bold flavors in the sauce.
You can also add a pinch of red pepper flakes if you’d like the sauce to have some heat.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Stir Fry
This stir fry recipe is quick and easy to make!
First, make the sauce. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, cornstarch, water, and red pepper flakes, if using.
Next, cook the vegetables. Heat a drizzle of olive oil or neutral oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. I want to call out that stir frying is a traditional Chinese cooking technique, and a true stir fry would be cooked in a wok. That said, for a quick weeknight dinner, this recipe works just fine in a large nonstick or cast iron pan.
Add the veggies to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until they just start to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the sauce and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, or until the sauce thickens. The veggies should have a nice crisp-tender bite.
Season to taste and serve! I love this vegetable stir fry over fluffy white rice or cooked noodles with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and green onions on top.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Recipe Tips
- Use high heat to cook the veggies. It’s essential for getting some browning on the vegetables without overcooking them. You don’t need to cook them very long—you want them to be crisp-tender, not soft. 3 to 4 minutes before you add the sauce usually does the trick.
- Cut the veggies into similar-sized pieces so that they cook evenly. Leave the peas whole, and cut the bell peppers into thin strips. Thinly slice the carrots and mushrooms, and cut the broccoli into small florets.
- Add a protein. I don’t call for a protein in this recipe, but you could certainly add one! I often toss in some baked tofu at the end. Baked tempeh and edamame are also great.
- Get ahead. This recipe comes together quickly, but if you want to make it even quicker, there are a few ways you can get ahead.
- Make the sauce in advance. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.
- Chop the veggies ahead of time. Store the pre-cut vegetables in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More Easy Dinner Recipes to Try
If you love this easy vegetable stir fry, try one of these quick dinners next:
- Thai Red Curry
- Dumpling Soup
- Sesame Soba Noodles
- Or any of these 60 Easy Dinner Ideas!
Easy Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- 3 cups small broccoli florets
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Stir Fry Sauce
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Make the stir fry sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, cornstarch, and red pepper flakes, if using.
- Make the stir fry. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add the red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, snap peas, and carrots and toss. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the vegetables soften slightly.
- Reduce the heat to medium and pour in the stir fry sauce. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are crisp-tender. Season to taste. Top with the green onions and sesame seeds and serve.
I followed this recipe exactly and found it to be not only on the blander side but also far less interesting in flavor when compared to some simpler versions of veggie stir fries that I have done before. Underwhelming.
I found the stir-fry sauce abit sour from the rice vinegar. Maybe it’s my tastebuds.
I think you have a great site and will keep using other recipes. Thank you
Great sauce! I made this with celery, sugar snaps, carrots, red bell pepper, and baked tofu and was delicious. Thank you
Loved reading this post! Finding gluten free food recipes that are both nutritious and family-friendly can be a challenge, so this was super helpful. I’ve been posting some of our go-to gluten free super recipes and breakfast ideas on the GrubAllergy blog — feel free to stop by if you’re looking for more gluten free meals and inspiration! 😊
This was very good! Was looking for a new stir fry with different veggie combinations and this didn’t disappoint! Served with jasmine baked rice and tofu dumplings. Will make again for sure with soy curls.
Hi Malinda, so glad you enjoyed it!
It looks very tasty, thanks for sharing.