Chicken Peanut Stir Fry

Chicken Peanut Stir Fry is a super flavorful main dish recipe that can be made in about 30 minutes. It’s loaded with juicy chunks of chicken and a variety of vegetables like broccoli, peppers and carrots all coated in a creamy peanut sauce.

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The inspiration for this Chicken Peanut Stir Fry recipe came from one of the first meals I ever just threw together on a whim. It was a stir fry vegetable and pasta dish with peanut sauce.

Back then I couldn’t cook at all. I used prepackaged vegetables, bottled peanut sauce and pasta. I absolutely love the flavor of peanut sauce, and have now created my own Homemade Peanut Sauce recipe to use in recipes like this one.

Of course you can still use a bottle of store-bought sauce if that makes things easier for you!

The sauce adds a sweet and savory flavor with a touch of spiciness to the dish. It really is what brings everything together.  

Why This Recipe Works

Quick: this meal comes together quickly. Once all of the vegetables are sliced and diced, the actual cooking portion takes less than 20 minutes. Be sure to have your rice or noodles for serving cooking ahead of time.

Flavorful: in addition to the flavors of all of the different vegetables in this dish, the peanut sauce really enhances everything even more. It’s sweet and salty with a hint of spiciness that really brings everything together without being overwhelming.

Versatile: you can swap out any of the vegetables in this recipe for others you might prefer more. 

Step-By-Step Instructions

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (cut into bit size pieces)
• salt
• pepper
• 1 onion (cut into thin strips)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup carrots (sliced thin)
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1 red bell pepper (cut into thin strips)
• 8 ounce can water chestnuts (thinly sliced): you should be able to buy these already sliced.
• 1/2 cup peanut sauce: you can use store bought or make it homemade with this Peanut Sauce recipe.
• 1/4 cup peanuts (chopped)

Chef’s Tip: you can use any combination of vegetables that you like. If there is something on the list that you don’t like you can omit it and add more of something else. Other vegetables that work well in this recipe are cauliflower, mushrooms, bok choy, baby corn, and bean sprouts.

The entire recipe and instructions can also be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. You can also print the recipe from the card, if needed.

Prep!

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.

Mince the garlic and ginger, cut the onion and red bell pepper into thin strips and thinly slice the carrots.

Open and drain the water from the water chestnuts and roughly chop the peanuts.

If you are serving this recipe over rice or noodles, you also want to begin cooking them now.

Create!

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook until done through, about 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Remove to a plate and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.

If needed, add another drizzle of olive oil and the sliced onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until they soften and start to turn translucent. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.

Add the broccoli, carrots, snow peas, red bell pepper and water chestnuts. Cook until crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Stir back in the chicken as well as the peanut sauce and mix to evenly combine.

Present!

Serve over rice or noodles, and top with the chopped peanuts.

Tips and Techniques

• Have the rice or noodles for serving cooking ahead of time.
• Have all your vegetables prepped and ready to go before you begin cooking.
• Swap out vegetables for ones you prefer to suit your own tastes such as cauliflower, mushrooms, bok choy, baby corn, and bean sprouts.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Consume within 3-4 days.

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Print

Chicken Peanut Stir Fry

Chicken Peanut Stir Fry is a super flavorful main dish recipe that can be made in about 30 minutes. It's loaded with juicy chunks of chicken and a variety of vegetables like broccoli, peppers and carrots all coated in a creamy peanut sauce.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 394kcal

Author Lauren Harris

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
• salt
• pepper
• 1 onion (cut into thin strips)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon ginger (minced)
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup carrots (sliced thin)
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1 red bell pepper (cut into thin strips)
• 8 ounce can water chestnuts (thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup peanut sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 1/4 cup peanuts (chopped)

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook until done through, about 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Remove to a plate and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.
  1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, salt, pepper
• If needed, add another drizzle of olive oil and the sliced onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until they soften and start to turn translucent. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
  1 onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger
• Add the broccoli, carrots, snow peas, red bell pepper and water chestnuts. Cook until crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes.
  2 cups broccoli florets, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup snow peas, 1 red bell pepper, 8 ounce can water chestnuts
• Stir back in the chicken as well as the peanut sauce and mix to evenly combine.
  1/2 cup peanut sauce
• Serve over rice or noodles, and top with the chopped peanuts.
  1/4 cup peanuts

Notes

Tips and Techniques

• Have the rice or noodles for serving cooking ahead of time.
• Have all your vegetables prepped and ready to go before you begin cooking.
• Swap out vegetables for ones you prefer to suit your own tastes such as cauliflower, mushrooms, bok choy, baby corn, and bean sprouts.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Consume within 3-4 days.

** Nutritional information is an estimate and may vary.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 394kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 889mg | Potassium: 997mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 6862IU | Vitamin C: 100mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 3mg

This recipe was originally posted on August 13, 2018. It was updated with new images, an improved recipe with step-by-step instructions, tips, techniques and FAQ’s in February 2024.