This Chicken and Broccoli recipe is ultra-quick and easy to make, and tastes SO delicious!
For those nights when you just need dinner on the table…like that…this easy chicken and broccoli recipe won’t let you down!
It’s been one of my go-to quick and healthy dinner standbys for years and years now. And, since I first posted this recipe on the blog four years ago, thousands of you have now also made and loved it, and reported back that it’s one of your faves too. Understandably! This one is incredibly quick and easy to make, the zesty stir-fry sauce is made with simple ingredients you like keep stocked your pantry, and that classic duo of chicken and broccoli always has a way of hitting the spot. Simple and healthy stir-fry FTW!
That said, as much as I love the classic chicken and broccoli combo, I should note that this recipe’s incredibly versatile if you want to mix things up. For example, feel like subbing in a different protein? Go for it. Have some leftover zucchini or onions or bell peppers or other veggies on hand? By all means, toss ’em in too. Feel like serving it up over quinoa or noodles, or even just some sautéed greens? Use whatever you have! The sky’s the limit for customizing here. But…this base recipe is an excellent one to bookmark as a good place to begin.
So that when life gets busy, yet you still want a healthy homemade dinner you can feel good about, this winner winner of a chicken dinner can be on the table in no time.
Chicken and Broccoli | 1-Minute Video
First, a quick tutorial on how to chop broccoli, in case you need a refresher.
As you can see, there’s not much to it. Just cut up a few chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Sauté them in a skillet until cooked through. Then add the chopped broccoli and sauté for a few more minutes with the chicken, until it turns bright green and slightly tender (but I like mine to still be very crisp).
Then meanwhile, as the chicken and broccoli are cooking, whisk together a simple stir-fry sauce. As I mentioned above, I’ve kept the ingredients for this one limited to a short list of pantry staples. So (hopefully!) it should be an easy one to whip out, without having to make an extra trip to the store. Just stir it in at the last second and stir for a minute or so, until thickened.
Then this quick and easy dinner will be ready to go! Enjoy, everyone!
Chicken and Broccoli
Ingredients
Stir-Fry Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- salt and pepper
- 1 batch Stir-Fry Sauce (see below)
- 1 bunch broccoli, chopped into small florets, stem discarded
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- toppings: sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds
Stir-Fry Sauce Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
To Make The Stir-Fry:
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and mostly cooked through.
- While the chicken is cooking, make your sauce. (See below.)
- Once the chicken is browned, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and broccoli, and stir to combine. Continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green. Stir in the sauce, and cook for an additional 1 minute until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil until combined.
- Serve warm, garnished with green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Or transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To Make The Sauce:
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Made this with some mods – added a sliced onion to the stir fry and red pepper flakes too. Added extra garlic cloves to the sauce. Fussy kids loved it. Well done! They said I could make it again. That’s big. And the recipe was easy to follow, and quick to make. A real school night winner. Thanks!
This has been one I have consistantly made over the past few years. Soooo good, quick, and easy!!! Love this one, Ali!!!
You are my go to recipe ‘book’. Everything we have tried my family and I have loved!!!! Fresh, tasty and easy to make. The absolute trifecta. I stumbled upon your website about a year ago and have several staple meals we use every month. Keep up the great work!! One comment would be that if you have a couple of growing teens, there aren’t leftovers, which is good, but I’d recommend if you are cooking for a couple of days of meals, double a couple of the recipes. Kathy from St. Louis
Love this!! Used a combo of broccoli, onions and bell peppers to add more veggies and use up what I had on hand. Super quick, super simple, nice and light, looking forward to having my leftovers for lunch.
What a delicious dish and fast too? Yum!
I made a low carb version of this substituting liquid Splenda for the honey and Xanthar Gum for the cornstarch. I also added the garlic and fresh, minced ginger to the chicken just before adding the broccoli. This is a very tasty recipe…definitely helped to curve a craving for Asian food! Will certainly make again.
i don”t have rice vinegar or sesame oil. what can i substitute/
This is one of my favorite recipes of yours. We’ve been making it for years, and love it with your fried rice!
Hi! Did you change your recipe? I’m used to doing it, and I don’t remember the 2/3 cup of water.
It is one of our favorites in our family :)
She did! There is note at the bottom of the instructions. I have his recipe bookmarked in my phone and I was thrown off by the water too. I just made it per the new recipe and it tastes exactly the same, but had a little bit of additional sauce which is great if serving over rice!
Really good and really 12 minutes! I might do two teaspoons of rice vinegar instead of threee next time. I will be making this again.