Ground Chicken Stir Fry
Ground chicken stir fry is great for busy weeknights or when you don’t feel like cooking! This healthy stir fry with ground chicken recipe is ready in just 10 minutes and is packed with flavor and is so easy to make.
The Asian inspired stir fry sauce is made with simple pantry ingredients and the perfect balance of sweet, savory and salty.
Why you will love this recipe
- Quick and easy – this healthy ground chicken stir fry is quicker than takeout and so simple. The stir fry sauce comes together in just a minute and the ground chicken only takes minutes to cook. Add some veggies to the stir fry for a quick and filling meal to be served along side of rice, noodles, in lettuce wraps or on salads.
- Simple, pantry ingredients – the gluten free stir fry sauce is made with ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, making it perfect for those days when you aren’t sure what to make for dinner.
- Great for meal prep – leftovers of this easy ground chicken stir fry are so good, you can double or triple the ingredients and make this for your weekly meal prep.
Ingredients
- Ground chicken – ground chicken is easy to find. Use whatever ground chicken you can find (it can be lean, dark or a mix). The leaner the chicken, the bigger risk of it drying out when cooking, so be sure not to overcook if you are using very lean chicken.
Stir fry sauce
- Coconut aminos – coconut aminos are the gluten free, soy free alternative to soy sauce. They provide a salty element to the dish as well as an umami flavor. You could also use gluten free tamari if you can tolerate soy.
- Rice wine vinegar – the rice wine vinegar helps to balance out the flavors of the dish and give it a pop of tanginess. You could also use lime juice or apple cider vinegar.
- Maple syrup (optional)– a good stir fry sauce has a bit of sweetness to help balance out the salty, savory flavor from the coconut aminos. You could also use honey or pitted dates (soak in water, then blend the sauce – this would make the recipe Whole30 friendly).
- Fresh grated ginger (or dehydrated ginger) – ginger adds it’s own flavor and a slight spice/heat to the recipe. I usually use dehydrated ginger because it’s easier than peeling and finely chopping the ginger. Use whatever you have on hand. You could also use dried ginger (about 1 teaspoon).
- Spice: Salt, dried chives, garlic powder (optional) – these help to add more depth of flavor to the stir fry sauce. Garlic powder provides umami. Salt helps bring out all the other flavors and balances out the sweetness from the maple syrup. Dried chives provide a onion flavor without having to cook onion.
- Arrowroot powder – this is used to thicken the stir fry sauce. You can also use tapioca or cornstarch. It’s important to fully dissolve the arrowroot into cold or room temperature liquid before adding it to anything hot, as the arrowroot will clump if added directly to hot liquid.
How to make ground chicken stir fry
Start by preheating a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.
While skillet is preheating, make the stir fry sauce by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well ensuring the arrowroot powder is well dissolved.
When the skillet is hot, add the ground chicken and cook 4-6 minutes, stirring regularly until the chicken is fully cooked through (no longer pink).
Add the stir fry sauce and stir well, cooking 3-4 minutes until it reaches the thickness you desire.
Top with optional chopped green onions, sesame seeds, cashews, peanuts or cilantro for added color, flavor and crunch.
Top tips
- Stir the arrowroot (or tapioca or cornstarch) into cold or room temperature ingredients and whisk until dissolved. The arrowroot will clump if you add it directly to hot liquids.
- You can also make veggies with this ground chicken stir fry – check out the instructions below. Note that you will want to double the stir fry sauce ingredients to make sure the veggies are coated in sauce too!
- Cut the veggies into small pieces to cook them faster. Be sure to cut up the veggies before you start cooking as the ground chicken cooks quickly when you are stir frying it.
- Double or triple the ground chicken teriyaki recipe for meal prep or to freeze leftovers for later in the month.
- Make this with ground turkey or ground beef as well. Be sure to drain off excess fat if you are making this with ground beef.
Other additions
- Veggies: Onions, bell peppers, broccoli, broccolini, snow peas, peas, carrots, mushrooms, napa cabbage
- Spice: Red pepper flakes, sriracha or drizzle with garlic chili oil
- Crunch: cashews, slivered almonds or peanuts, water chestnuts
- Extra flavor: Drizzle vegan sriracha mayo over top
How to serve ground chicken teriyaki
- With rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice
- In lettuce wraps (for a keto friendly meal)
- In Chinese chicken salad with sesame ginger dressing
- With noodles: gluten free Udon noodles, gluten free ramen (Lotus Foods is a great option for this – you can find them on Amazon or Thrive Market)
- Serve with sesame ginger broccoli, Asian Broccoli Slaw or Spicy Asian Slaw for a low carb veggie packed meal
- With Creamy Asian Spaghetti Squash
Common questions
How to make ground chicken stir fry with vegetables
Stir fries are great because you can cook the meat and veggies in the same skillet, to reduce the amount of dishes you have to do. To add veggies to this stir fry with ground chicken recipe:
- Start by cutting up the vegetables into small bite size pieces before you start cooking everything (this helps them cook quicker).
- Preheat the skillet over medium to medium high heat. Make the stir fry sauce.
- Cook the chicken until no longer pink. Remove the chicken to a bowl.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of oil (avocado oil is great for this). Add onions, cook 1-2 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet along with the stir fry sauce (double the stir fry sauce ingredients to account for the veggies). Add the stir fry sauce and stir, cooking 3-4 minutes until thick.
What should you cook your ground chicken stir fry in?
Typically stir fry is cooked in a wok to account for the large volume of veggies and meat. However, not everyone has a wok or room to store a wok, so I suggest using a large stainless steel skillet or cast iron skillet.
Can you make this with ground turkey?
Yes you can make this healthy stir fry recipe with ground turkey instead of ground chicken without any other substitutions.
Can you double this recipe?
Yes! This recipe is easy to double or even triple without adding much more cooking time (depending on how big your skillets are).
Note: You may need to divide the meat between 2 skillets or cook in batches if you are cooking more than 2X the meat at once.
Does this Chinese ground chicken recipe freeze well?
Since the main recipe does not include veggies, it’s great for freezing. You can even freeze it with rice for a quick and easy meal that will heat up well. I suggest freezing leftovers in single serve portions to make it easy to defrost and use anytime you have a craving for stir fry.
I recommend using Soupercubes, as you can freeze leftover ground chicken stir fry in ½ cup or 1 cup portions. Defrost in the fridge overnight or in the microwave or on the stove over low heat, covered until warmed through.
How to store leftover fresh ginger
Fresh ginger can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can peel the ginger and pulse it into small pieces using a small food processor. Portion out the chopped ginger into 1 teaspoon portions using a ice cube tray.
What to use instead of fresh ginger
Instead of always relying on having fresh ginger on hand, I always have this freeze dried ginger, which is what I use most often because it has the same flavor and doesn’t require me to have to peel and grate fresh ginger.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: Store leftover ground chicken stir fry in a airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer: Freeze leftovers in a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Be sure to write the name of the recipe and the use by date on the leftovers before freezing.
Substitutions
- Ground chicken – you can also use ground turkey, ground beef (be sure to drain off excess fat before adding the stir fry sauce) or even make this with chicken cubes if you don’t have ground chicken on hand.
- Coconut aminos –A good alternative to coconut aminos is gluten free tamari (not soy free). You could also use soy sauce if you don’t need this recipe to be gluten free. Note: Coconut aminos are slightly sweeter than soy sauce (and less salty) so you may need to add an extra 1-2 teaspoons maple syrup if you use tamari or soy sauce.
- Rice wine vinegar – you could use lime juice (the juice from 1 lime should work fine) or apple cider vinegar in place of rice wine vinegar.
- Maple syrup (optional) – the maple syrup is optional and is not needed for the recipe unless you like a bit of sweetness in your stir fry. Use your favorite liquid sweetener in place of the maple syrup. You can use honey or even a low carb maple syrup alternative if you are trying to keep the carbs down. If you want this recipe to be Whole30 friendly and slightly sweet, you can soak 2-3 pitted dates in boiling water for 5-10 minutes then drain the dates and blend the sauce up in a high speed blender until smooth.
- Fresh ginger – if you don’t have fresh ginger on hand, you can use freeze dried ginger or ground ginger. You will need about 1 teaspoon ground ginger (or use less if you don’t love ginger).
- Spices – if you don’t have garlic powder on hand, you can use 1-2 fresh garlic cloves (be sure to add them after the chicken is done cooking but before you add the stir fry sauce so they can cook 1-2 minutes without burning. If you don’t have dried chives, add some green onion instead.
- Arrowroot powder – this is what thickens the stir fry sauce. You can also use cornstarch or tapioca powder instead. If you don’t have any of these on hand, you can omit the arrowroot, just note that the sauce will not cling to the ground chicken like it would with the arrowroot.
If you love this recipe, you should try
Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
Asian Chicken Pasta (Instant Pot)
Teriyaki Salmon Sheet Pan Meal
Ground Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
Stir Fry Sauce
- 1/3 cup coconut aminos
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (or freeze dried)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp dried chives
- 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder
Instructions
- Preheat a large skillet over medium to medium high heat.
- While skillet is preheating, make the stir fry sauce by combining the ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well to ensure all the arrowroot powder is dissolved into the ingredients.
- When the skillet is preheated, add the ground chicken and chop it up. Cook 4-6 minutes until cooked through.
- Once the chicken is cooked (no longer pink), add the stir fry sauce and stir well. Cook 2-4 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Add any additional toppings like green onions, cashews, peanuts, sesame seeds or cilantro before serving.
Notes
- Veggies: Onions, bell peppers, broccoli, broccolini, snow peas, peas, carrots, mushrooms, napa cabbage
- Spice: Red pepper flakes, sriracha
- Crunch: cashews, slivered almonds or peanuts, water chestnuts
- Extra flavor: Drizzle vegan sriracha mayo over top
- Start by cutting up the vegetables into small bite size pieces before you start cooking everything (this helps them cook quicker).
- Preheat the skillet over medium to medium high heat. Make the stir fry sauce while skillet preheats.
- Cook the chicken until no longer pink. Remove the chicken to a bowl.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of oil (avocado oil is great for this). Add onions, cook 1-2 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies and cook 5-7 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the chicken back to the skillet along with the stir fry sauce (double the stir fry sauce ingredients to account for the veggies). Add the stir fry sauce and stir, cooking 3-4 minutes until thick.
- Fridge: Store leftover ground chicken stir fry in a airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Freeze leftovers in a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Be sure to write the name of the recipe and the use by date on the leftovers before freezing.
This is so easy and delicious! My whole family loved it.
Dara thank you so much for stopping by to leave the review! I love hearing that your whole family enjoyed this dish :) Happy cooking