Healthy Vegetable Stir Fry

This healthy vegetable stir fry recipe uses a blend of colorful veggies cooked in a savory stir-fry sauce. It’s quick, simple, and flavorful! 

How many of you are trying to eat healthier?! *Raises my hand!!*

Well, I promised I’d start to share some healthy recipes y’all can enjoy. I’ve previously shared a recipe for cabbage soup (known as the “cabbage soup diet”). I’ve made a grilled veggie quinoa salad, healthy salmon foil packs, and even a blueberry strawberry salsa recipe.

This time around, I’m sharing a super simple vegetable stir fry recipe that you can whip up in minutes!

Why You’ll Love this Healthy Vegetable Stir Fry

What’s not to love about a blend of crisp-tender veggies, a savory sauce, and fluffy white rice? There are so many reasons to love this Asian-inspired dish!

• You can make this veggie stir fry as an easy side dish or a main course (perfect for vegetable lovers or Meatless Mondays).
• It’s a great way to use up leftover vegetables. Everyone has those odds and ends in their fridge at the end of the week. Chop ‘em up and use them all in this simple recipe!
• You can use your favorite vegetables. The sky’s the limit, Cousins! Whatever you like, toss it in.

What are stir-fried vegetables?

Stir-frying is a popular Chinese cooking process used just about everywhere. Traditional stir-fry is cooked in a wok with light oil, constantly stirring and tossing the vegetables over medium-high heat. The ingredients fry to tender, crispy perfection with a sweet, spicy sauce.

Can you cook stir-fry without a wok?

Yes! A wok might be the traditional way to make stir fries, but it’s not required. If you don’t have a wok to make veggie stir fries, you can use a heavy skillet, such as a nonstick stainless steel skillet or a large cast iron skillet. Pick a skillet that’s large enough to fit all your veggies and has slightly slanted sides to stir everything without overflowing.

How to Make Simple Vegetable Stir Fry

Ingredients

This easy vegetable stir fry recipe requires just a few key ingredients—the rest is up to you! I use a combination of fresh and canned vegetables. This veggie stir fry recipe does not contain meat, but you can easily add some chicken, beef, or shrimp. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for exact measurements of everything I used!

Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients: 

• Brown Sugar: makes the stir fry sauce a bit sweet and thickens it up.
• Soy Sauce: use low-sodium soy sauce for a less salty stir-fry.
• Sesame Oil: this is the oil I use to “fry” the vegetables. You only need a little bit since it’s a very strong flavor.
• Garlic: minced garlic adds flavor to the whole dish.
• Red Pepper Flakes: adds a kick of heat. If you don’t like spicy stir fry, you can leave these out!

Stir Fry Veggies: 

• Baby Corn (I used canned)
• Canned Water Chestnuts
• Broccoli Florets (I use frozen, but you can use fresh)
• Red Bell Pepper
• Yellow Bell Pepper

What are the healthiest vegetables for a stir-fry?

Basically… you name it, you can stir fry it! I like to keep my vegetable stir fry super simple with minimal ingredients. However, the sky is the limit when it comes to what veggies to include in stir fry.

If you want even more veg in your stir fry, use snow peas or sugar snap peas, bok choy, bean sprouts, green beans, carrots, or mushrooms. If you like onions, yellow onion, white onion, or green onions all work in stir fry. White onions are a bit sweeter and crispier than yellow ones and are often used in stir fry. Green onions are smaller, lighter, and best for garnishing your stir fry.

Instructions

Good news, Cousins – you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make this recipe!! There are only a few steps, but there are some key things to know about each step. So, let’s get into how to make a healthy, easy vegetable stir fry!

1. Sauté the Vegetables

The first step is to sauté the vegetables in a large skillet with sesame oil and garlic. Now, in my recipe, since I’m only using a handful of veggies, I cook everything at the same time. But if you add more veggies, you might have to add them at different times.

• If you’re using frozen vegetables, cook them first, as they will take a little bit longer to cook. You could also thaw them beforehand—but dry them off so there’s no extra moisture in your skillet!
• Larger vegetables take longer to cook than smaller ones. Veggies like mushrooms and onions take longer to cook/soften than other vegetables.
• Try to cut everything to relatively the same size so everything cooks evenly!

2. Add the Sauce

Next, whisk together the simple sauce in a small bowl – it’s just soy sauce, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes! That’s it! Pour the sauce over the sauteed veggies and stir to make sure everything is well combined.

• For more flavor, you can certainly add some extra ingredients. Typical stir-fry sauce ingredients include rice vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, and grated or fresh ginger.
• Don’t want to make homemade sauce? Use your favorite store-bought sauce! You can toss your veggies with bottled teriyaki sauce (which is sweeter and usually stickier) or a more traditional stir-fry sauce (usually more savory and garlicky).

Let the veggies cook for about 10 minutes until all the vegetables are tender and the sauce thickens up.

3. Serve it Up!

The last and most important step is serving your tasty vegetable stir fry! I personally like to serve my stir fry over white or brown rice, but basmati or jasmine rice would work, too. However, you can also serve this vegetable stir fry with Asian noodles (chow mein noodles, rice noodles, or even ramen noodles), quinoa, or even cauliflower rice!

Have leftovers? This easy vegetable stir-fry is best enjoyed freshly made. After a few days in the fridge, the veggies will be softer and less crisp-tender. I do not recommend freezing leftover vegetable stir fry since cooked vegetables will become mushy and water-logged once thawed. You can store leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days and reheat them on the stovetop to crisp them back up. Or toss them into a simple fried rice or a cold rice salad.

Other Variations of Vegetable Stir Fry

If this tasty, sweet, savory, healthy vegetable stir fry isn’t satisfying enough for you, kick it up with some additions. Even when you add protein, this recipe is still packed with healthy ingredients!

• Shrimp Stir Fry: Tender, juicy shrimp is perfect in stir fry. Shrimp cook in a flash, so you’ll want to toss these little guys in towards the end of the cooking time.
• Chicken Stir Fry: I made a mean chicken stir fry with a sweet honey sauce! I used chicken thighs since they’re more tender and juicier, but you can use cut-up chicken breasts in stir fry, too.
• Beef Stir Fry: Some marinated flank steak is all you need to create a delicious beef stir fry.
• Tofu Stir Fry: Keep it vegetarian and use tofu! The tofu absorbs the stir fry sauce, giving it so much flavor.
• Add Eggs: Echo the flavors of fried rice by scrambling a few eggs into your stir-fried veggies. Scramble the eggs at the end of cooking so you don’t overcook them. They absorb some sauce, mix with the veggies, and add more protein to the meal!

There you have it, cousins – a crazy simple, healthy vegetable stir fry recipe! You can make this easy recipe many different ways, with a variety of veggies and flavors. It’s so quick, too, perfect for busy weeknights or when you just need something healthy!

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