Four alliterative words for you: MAKE THIS MEAL, MAMA!
Yep, if you are a busy mom (who isn’t?) looking for an easy, healthy, simple ingredients meal, then make this. It’s name will not let you down–it’s Easy Chicken Stir Fry and you can have it on the table in 20 minutes or less.
Want to make it easier on yourself? Do a little prep ahead of time. Freeze your cubed meat with the marinade in a plastic ziplock baggie. I currently have two of these in the freezer ready for my next impromptu Easy Chicken Stir Fry dinner. It’s so easy and it has such simple, healthy ingredients!
How can I make this Whole30 compliant?
Need to modify Easy Chicken Stir Fry for Whole 30? That is easy, too! Replace the soy sauce with Coconut Aminos. Skip the maple syrup. Replace the rice with cauliflower rice. The ingredients are healthy and modifications for Whole30 are very simple and the flavor is not lost.
How do I make the sliced veggies easy?
My favorite life hack, at the moment, is using frozen veggies for all the things.
Grab a bag of the Asian Stir Fry Veggies from Costco. I use about 1/3 of a bag for each recipe. I know each time I buy a new bag, I can get three meals out of that bag of veggies for two adults and two kids. Frozen veggies are a busy woman’s best friend when cooking simple and healthy meals.
How can I get this on the table in 20 minutes?
Alright, so there is a little strategy to consider when making this Easy Chicken Stir Fry meal happen in 20 minutes.
I begin by popping my rice into the Instant Pot and placing that on the rice setting which warms up and completes in about 15 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, I slice my chicken and throw the marinade in with that and get it cooking right away. I use my 8 qt dutch oven to cook everything. This cooks about 8 minutes on each side. You’ll have to chop that chicken fast or have it prepped ahead of time. Or, better yet, buy it already cubed! The goal is simple and easy.
Last of all, if you really want dinner in 20 minutes, you will have to steam the veggies separately. Otherwise, when combined with the chicken, it takes an extra 5-10 minutes. Have those veggies going while the rice is cooking and while you are cooking the chicken.
Do kids like this Easy Chicken Stir Fry meal?
My kids love this. I can’t guarantee they’ll eat every scrap of it, but it’s all about the presentation at our house. For this meal, I serve it to the adults in a rice bowl like the photos show. For the kids, I break it down into the components. They have their items separated —vegetables, the meat with ketchup, and the rice with as much added soy sauce as they can handle.
That’s it! You CAN create simple, healthy, and delicious meals in a short amount of time! This Easy Chicken Stir Fry recipe would go really well with the Cucumber Gin Fizz Cocktail or Mocktail to spruce up the simplicity of this meal a bit!
Enjoy!
Easy Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
Instant Pot Rice (use IP rice setting)
- 2 cups dry white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp oil
Chicken & Marinade
- 1/3 cup soy sauce sub coconut aminos for whole 30 compliance
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- half of one clementine or a wedge of an orange
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 large Chicken breasts diced
Additional Ingredients
- 16 oz mixed asian vegetables
Instructions
- Start by getting the rice cooking. Whether you use your instant pot/pressure cooker or another method, always get your rice going first.
- While the rice is cooking, dice your chicken and throw in the marinade ingredients. (This meal is better if you dice your chicken and marinate it in the marinade for a minimum of a couple hours.)
- Cook the chicken in a dutch oven, cast iron skillet, or frying pan for 7 minutes on each side or until the inside is no longer pink.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked you can either throw your veggies on top and cover until the veggies are soft OR, if you are short on time, cook the veggies separate while the chicken is also cooking. (I like to add some extra soy and maple syrup toward the end of the cooking process)