This Garlic Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe is a super quick 20 minute dinner that’s light, fresh and veggie packed.
This Vegan Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe is my go-to meal for those nights when I just don’t feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. It is so darned fast and unbelievably delish!
Truthfully, when I whipped up this the first time, I was going for a broccoli in garlic sauce kind of dish that would replicate one of my go-to takeout orders.
While it missed the mark on being an exact copycat recipe, it certainly packs a garlicky kick. Combined with the freshness of the veggies, this stir fry is a winner for me. The hint of lime at the end really perks up all of the flavors in this stir fry.
I served this with rice, and since the rice was already made ahead of time, this was such a quick and easy meal. I use my rice cooker to make the rice and I love it because it’s so quick, easy and un-screw-up-able.
To make this even quicker, I took a shortcut and used a 12 oz. bag of fresh steamable broccoli in the produce aisle (not frozen).
Why This Recipe Works
Made in just 20 minutes – You will love how quickly this stir fry recipe comes together. You can spend your time working on other things instead. WIN!
Healthy – Not only will this recipe rock your world in the taste bud department, but it’s also so good for you too. It is absolutely packed with veggies!
Tastes better than take-out – Skip the lines at your local restaurant and make it yourself. It’s so much better and it will be a staple in your weekly meal planning.
🥦 Ingredients
The ingredients in this broccoli stir fry are amazing. The sauce is so good you could eat it with a spoon. Let’s take a look at some of the ingredients you need:
Veggies: Use a combination of broccoli, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, and onions. Fresh broccoli is best for this dish. I added water chestnuts for some crispy texture and loved them too!
Sauce: The sauce is made with garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, vegetable broth, maple syrup, corn starch, and salt and pepper. It’s incredible and tastes fabulous!
Sesame Seeds: Add a few sesame seeds for a fun and tasty texture. This is so yummy you would think it was made in a restaurant.
🍽️ Instructions
Make this broccoli stir fry quickly. It’s practically effortless. The flavor is fantastic, and it tastes like it simmered and cooked for hours. Let’s get started:
Step One: Make the sauce by mixing together garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, vegetable broth, maple syrup, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Mix it using a whisk. Set the bowl aside.
Step Two: Heat the vegetable oil and sauté the onion, pepper, and broccoli at medium-high heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 6-8 minutes.
Step Three: Turn the heat down to medium and add in the sugar snap peas and drizzle with sauce. You’ll need to stir continuously until the sauce becomes thick.
Fourth Step: After the sauce has thickened, remove from heat and add green onions, lime juice, and sesame seeds. Enjoy hot!
📌 Expert Tips and Options
- Substitute the peppers. Use red, yellow or orange bell pepper interchangeably. Green bell pepper can be used, but the other varieties to be sweeter and better suited for this dish.
- Add Baked Tofu. This stir fry is pretty light, so adding in some baked tofu will add some protein. Just add it in towards the end just after adding in the sauce.
- Serve over rice noodles. I do think you’d need to double the sauce (note – I haven’t tried this myself and will update the post after I do!) so that the noodles have plenty of sauce to soak into them, but this meal would be fantastic over rice or lo mein noodles.
🥣 Variations
This is vegan, vegetarian, and completely customizable. If you have something you think would be good in, give it a try! If you don’t eat vegetarian, by all means, add in some meat. The options are endless. Here are a few of our top ideas for you to try:
- Shrimp – Devein and peel jumbo or large shrimp. Add it to the stir fry when it’s almost done because they will only take a couple of minutes to cook.
- Chicken – Cut up chicken into 1-inch pieces and cook in a little bit of olive oil before you start anything else. Once it’s done, take it out and set it aside. Add it back in the last five minutes of cooking. So good!
- Steak – Buy a good quality steak and cut it into thin pieces. It adds a lot of flavors, and it will be fall-apart tender.
- Carrots – Slice up carrots and toss them into the stir fry. They add a subtle sweetness and a little bit more crunch.
- Mushrooms – Add some fresh sliced mushrooms to the stir fry to add some earthy flavors.
Recipe FAQs
The dish needs that sweetness to offset the saltiness from the soy sauce. If you don’t like maple syrup or are just out of it, use honey instead. It’s a similar flavor and will taste great in this sauce.
No, this isn’t a spicy stir fry recipe. So, if you are looking for lots of flavors and not heat, then you are in luck! However, if you want to make it a little spicy, then add some red pepper flakes and a dash of cayenne pepper. I don’t recommend adding a ton of red pepper flakes because once it gets too hot, there isn’t much you can do. Just a sprinkle or two is good.
No, you don’t have to have a wok to make this stir fry. A non-stick skillet will work well. I do like using a wok because the heat seems to be more even as it cooks. Plus, you don’t need to use as much oil, and it will cook a little faster because woks tend to be thinner than a skillet. It’s by no means required, but it is helpful.
Yes, you can use frozen broccoli, but I recommend defrosting them first. The texture of frozen broccoli is a little bit different. The flavors will be the same. To defrost the broccoli, put it in a glass microwave-safe bowl and heat it for a couple of minutes. You aren’t trying to cook it, just defrost. Once it’s defrosted, for the most part, you can follow the directions and prepare as instructed.
There are several items complement this stir fry. It’s actually so good you could eat it on its own, but I often like to serve it with something else. Try some of these ideas out:
Quinoa – Add some extra nutrition to the meal by serving it over a bed of quinoa.
Cauliflower Rice – Use simple cauliflower rice or try my cauliflower fried rice recipe. They both go perfectly with this recipe.
Rice – Use your favorite rice and add the stir fry on top. Wheat, jasmine, white rice, they are all good!
While stir fry is better when eaten fresh, it can be refrigerated. First, let the stir fry cool down after it’s been cooked. Then, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
Yes, absolutely, you can freeze broccoli stir fry. After it cools down, add it to a freezer-safe bag or container. It will last in the freezer for around three months. To serve it, thaw the stir fry in the refrigerator or microwave. Then toss it in a skillet to warm it up and reheat it or microwave.
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Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- ½ Red Onion thinly sliced
- 1 Orange Bell Pepper thinly sliced
- 12 oz Broccoli Florets Fresh (I used bagged, fresh from produce section)
- 1 cup Sugar Snap Peas
- 1 Green Onion chopped
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Juice of half a lime
Sauce:
- 5 Garlic Cloves minced
- 2 tsp Sesame Oil
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce low Sodium
- ½ cup Vegetable Broth
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 tsp Corn Starch
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, vegetable broth, maple syrup and corn starch. Mix well and set aside.
- Add vegetable oil to a pan over medium high heat. Add red onion, bell pepper and broccoli florets. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Reduce to medium heat. Add sugar snap peas and the sauce. Stir constantly and cook for another three minutes or so until sauce thickens slightly and all the veggies are coated in the sauce.
- Remove from heat. Stir in green onion, juice of half a lime and sesame seeds.
- Serve immediately over rice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
For how long do you think the sauce lasts in the fridge?
I would keep a sauce like this in the refrigerator for up to 5 days is all. Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!
Jordan, I only keep sauces like this in my refrigerator up to bout 3-5 days top! 🙂
I made this tonight with honey instead of maple syrup and reduced the amount of soy sauce a little, adding more sesame oil instead. It was the best stir fry sauce I’ve made yet, and I’ve made a lot! Thanks so much for providing 🙂
Olivia! Thank you for stopping by and letting me know! I really appreciate it! I’m so glad you liked it. I love sesame oil as well!!
FYI – first time visitor…just to let you know that there are so many pop ups that it makes it almost unreadable. If things aren’t popping up, the page keeps shifting. I was lucky enough to quickly be able to push the print button so it opened up a new window. I also copied the link and tried to pin it on Pinterest but it froze my Pinterest app numerous times. I just bookmarked it in my browser.
In fact, I just had to X a pop up just now trying to write this comment. Not complaining, just giving feedback. 🙂 I’m using an iPhone with safari browser…not sure if that means anything
All that being said, I did print it and I’m making it this week :). It looks really good.
This is delicious. O e of my new favs. I used quinoa instead of rice. Yum!
I added some unsalted peanuts along with the sugar peas and sauce – also added some cooked whole wheat thin spaghetti instead of serving on brown rice. I break the spaghetti before cooking (you wrap it in a towel and break on the edge of a table).
I also used more sauce as you suggested, with some chili paste added.
Great recipe – yummy! Thanks!
Sarah that is awesome!! I love it when people make it their own!
This Stir Fry was so good. My meat eating husband loved it. I served it over cauliflower rice.