Honey Chicken Stir-Fry

Stir-fry dishes are great to have on rotation for weekly dinners. They’re fast, economical and super adaptable, plus, with so many stir-fry recipes out there, you’ll never get bored. This honey chicken stir-fry hits all the notes you’re looking for: Savory, a little sweet, full of vegetables and protein, and it all comes together quickly.

When making a stir-fry, it’s always good to start with quality ingredients. This honey garlic chicken stir-fry recipe calls for a frozen vegetable blend, but you can easily use fresh veggies instead. Chicken can be white or dark meat, and even frozen if that’s what you have. Honey and soy sauce make the delicious sauce—it’s so good, many commenters say they double or even tripled it.

Easy chicken dinners like this make it easy to skip takeout. Everyone in the family will love it, and you might even get leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

Ingredients for Honey Chicken Stir-Fry

• Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are easy to prep for this stir-fry. If you prefer dark meat, use chicken thighs. Just be sure to slice it thin or in small chunks.
• Garlic: Don’t forget the garlic! It only calls for one clove, but if you’re a garlic enthusiast like me, you can always add more. Fresh garlic always tastes better than prepared garlic, but if dealing with the papery skin is annoying, we have easy tips on how to peel garlic.
• Honey: Honey doesn’t just provide a little sweetness. It acts as a thickener, helps with the viscosity and even slightly caramelizes as the sauce cooks down. Does honey ever expire? No, which is why we love always having it around.
• Soy sauce: Soy sauce is a key ingredient for this dish, though you could always substitute tamari or shoyu for a gluten-free version.
• Vegetables: This recipe calls for a frozen broccoli vegetable blend, which is super convenient. It might include carrots, edamame and snow peas. But use whatever vegetable combo you love! If you prefer fresh vegetables, they may take a few extra minutes to cook through.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch is a key thickener in stir-fries and other dishes. But you can’t just add raw cornstarch—it needs to be activated in water to make a slurry, or else it will not thicken properly when added to the pan.
• Optional rice: What stir-fry doesn’t go with rice? I recommend cooking off some white or brown rice alongside the stir-fry. You could also enjoy it over noodles if you prefer, anything from ramen to angel hair pasta. Or go low-carb and make cauliflower rice.

Directions

Step 1: Make the sauce and chicken

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Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add the honey, soy sauce, salt and pepper and mix well. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, two to three minutes, and remove from the pan.

Editor’s Tip: How do you know when the chicken is done? Use a thermometer to check for doneness. It needs to read at least 165°F.

Step 2: Stir-fry the vegetables

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In the same pan, cook the vegetable blend in the remaining oil and stir-fry just until tender, four to five minutes. Return the chicken to the pan, and pour in the cornstarch slurry.

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Stir until everything is fully combined. Bring the pan to a boil, and cook and stir until the sauce has thickened, about one minute. Serve immediately, with rice if desired.

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Recipe Variations

• Use other meats: Use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, or try pork tenderloin, which can be cut up into small chunks or strips, or shaved beef.
• Add other vegetables: You can always doctor up this dish according to whatever vegetables you prefer. I like to add things like cauliflower, asparagus and snow peas to stir-fries.
• Try it with ginger: For some added flavor to the sauce, try adding freshly grated ginger. This will bring a slightly spicy, sweet addition. If you don’t have fresh ginger, a dash of ground ginger will work as well. It’s hard to buy a small quantity of ginger, so here are some fresh ginger recipes for using up any extra.
• Make it vegetarian: You can easily make this a vegetarian or even vegan stir-fry. Use tofu instead of chicken, cooking it off before the vegetables, then adding it back in at the end. Here’s an easy crispy baked tofu recipe if you want it to have a little texture and crunch.

How to Store Honey Chicken Stir-Fry

Store leftover honey chicken stir-fry in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days. If you do make rice, store that separately. We don’t recommend freezing this dish since the vegetables tend to get mushy from re-freezing and thawing.

Honey Chicken Stir-Fry Tips

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What’s the secret to a good stir-fry?

The secret to a good stir-fry is to cook everything on high heat, quickly. If you have a wok, that’s ideal for this type of cooking, but a hot pan will work as well. Make sure to let your chicken come to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking in order to get a good sear on it. And don’t skip the cornstarch slurry step, because that’s the key to getting a thick sauce that will stick to the vegetables.

How do you make sure stir-fry chicken stays tender and juicy?

One way to make sure the chicken stays tender and juicy is to salt it ahead of time, at least 30 minutes before cooking. Make sure not to overcook it or else it will dry out. Employing a digital thermometer to make sure it hits the right temperature (165°) is helpful.

What can you serve with honey chicken stir-fry?

This dish is great served with plain rice or noodles to absorb all that delicious sauce. You could also enjoy it with vegetable fried rice for some added flavor and texture and a side of pork and vegetable spring rolls.