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Chicken Stir Fry

This quick and easy Chicken Stir Fry recipe, loaded with zucchini and mushrooms, is a flavor-packed dish that will wow your tastebuds! You only need one skillet, 20 minutes, and just a handful of pantry ingredients to make this delicious takeout-fakeout.

close up photo of wooden spoon stirring through chicken stir fry with zucchini and mushrooms.

Easy Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

Who can resist the allure of Chinese takeout? I know I can’t! But let’s be honest, those pesky calories and sodium levels? Not so much a fan of those. Here’s the game changer though – we’ve got a home-cooked version that’s about to give your favorite Chicken Stir Fry takeout a run for its money. Yup, get ready to outshine that quick dial option with something way tastier and healthier, made right in your own kitchen! Chicken, zucchini, mushrooms, and the flavors of Panda Express come together in this recipe that’s about to become your family’s favorite take-out fake-out! This is a simple stir fry of juicy chicken bites prepared with tender mushrooms and zucchini coated with the most amazing sweet and savory stir fry sauce. A delicious dinner recipe that is wholesome, faster than takeout, and much healthier.

Zucchini mushroom and chicken stir fry served in a bowl with a fork placed through it.

Why You’ll Love This Stir Fry Recipe

  • Quick and Easy: With a total prep and cook time of 30 minutes, this chicken stir fry is your answer to a delicious and hassle-free meal.
  • Fresh and Nutritious: Packed with lean chicken and various fresh veggies like zucchini and mushrooms, this stir fry isn’t just delicious but also a flavorful way to get a hearty dose of nutrition.
  • Restaurant-Quality, Homemade: Who needs takeout when you can whip up this savory, umami-rich dish at home? Control the ingredients to suit your dietary needs and savor the perfect blend of saucy chicken and veggies, all made fresh in your kitchen.
Stir frying sliced zucchini and mushrooms in a skillet.

How To Make Chicken Stir Fry

This is a tasty and easy clean-out-the-fridge-type meal. Quick, simple, and completely customizable to what you have on hand. However, mushrooms and zucchini are best if you’re trying to recreate Panda’s dish. To make it a complete meal, you can serve it over rice, pasta, or even mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

  • Chicken Breasts: Cut into bite-sized pieces for quick, even cooking, offering tender, juicy bites.
  • Cornstarch: Coats the chicken for a light, crispy texture and helps to thicken the sauce.
  • Vegetable Oil: Used for sautéing the chicken and veggies.
  • Minced Garlic & Minced Ginger
  • White Button Mushrooms & Zucchini
  • Soy Sauce: Contributes to the savory, umami-rich base of the sauce without an overly salty taste.
  • Rice Vinegar: Adds a touch of acidity to balance the flavors and enhance the overall taste.
  • Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness to contrast the savory and acidic elements.
  • Toasted Sesame Seed Oil: Drizzled as a finish to enhance the flavor.
  • Sesame Seeds & Scallions: Served as garnish.

Directions

  1. Prepare the Chicken: Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size cubes. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl, sprinkle with cornstarch, and toss to coat. 
  2. Cook the Chicken: Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or a wok; add chicken pieces to the hot oil and cook until browned on both sides – this should take about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
  3. Cook the Veggies: Add garlic and ginger to the skillet, then stir in the mushrooms and zucchini; cook for 4 minutes or until fork tender. 
  4. Make the Sauce: In the meantime, prepare the sauce by whisking together soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar.
  5. Pull it all together: Stir the chicken back into the skillet. add in the sauce; stir to coat the chicken and veggies. Stir and cook for 30 seconds, until everything is heated through. Remove from heat; sprinkle with sesame oil and sesame seeds. Garnish with scallions and serve.
Photo of a skillet with stir fry chicken, mushrooms, and zucchini.

Tips for Making Chicken Stir Fry at Home

  1. Prep beforehand: Cut, chop, and prepare everything before you get started. Stir fry meals come together super fast so you want to be ready.
  2. Cooking Pot: Use a Wok OR a large skillet. Anything that is 12 inches or over should be good. You want those ingredients to fit in comfortably and in one layer. 
  3. Cooking Oil: Always use an oil that can withstand high heat, like Vegetable Oil or Canola Oil. Don’t use Olive Oil because it has a low smoke point.
  4. Cooking Veggies: The vegetables should be cooked over high heat, while aromatics, like ginger and garlic, should be cooked over lower heat. 
  5. Stir, stir, and stir often! Hence the term stir-fry!

Can I Use Different Stir Fry Vegetables?

  • Of course! If you don’t want to use zucchini and mushrooms, you can toss in whatever vegetables you have on hand. Use broccoli, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, and onions, to name a few.
Overhead shot of zucchini mushroom and chicken stir fry served in a bowl with a fork placed through it.

Serving Suggestions

I love this copycat Panda Express Chicken, which tastes even better when made at home! You can serve this stir-fry over kimchi fried rice, lo mein noodles, or cauliflower rice. Another great option is a side of this soba noodle soup or these air fryer vegetable spring rolls.

How To Store Leftovers

  • Store completely cooled chicken and veggies in an airtight container, and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More Stir Fry Recipes

ENJOY!

photo of a Skillet with stir fried chicken, mushrooms, and zucchini.

Zucchini Mushroom Chicken Stir Fry

Katerina | Diethood
This easy Zucchini Mushroom Chicken Stir Fry recipe is bursting with flavor in each and every bite! All you need is one skillet, 20 minutes, and just a handful of pantry ingredients. 
4.72 from 59 votes
Servings : 4
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized cubes (you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ tablespoon fresh minced ginger, OR 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 8 ounces white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick half moons
  • 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • sprinkle of toasted sesame seed oil, for garnish, optional
  • sesame seeds, for garnish
  • scallions, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Place chicken pieces in a bowl and sprinkle with cornstarch; toss to coat.
  • Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or a wok set over medium-high heat; add chicken pieces to the hot oil and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned on both sides and cooked through.
  • Remove chicken from wok or skillet and set aside.
  • Turn down heat to medium-low and add garlic and ginger to the skillet; cook and stir for 15 seconds or just until fragrant.
  • Turn up the heat to medium-high and stir in the mushrooms and zucchini; cook for 4 minutes or until fork tender and browned. Stir frequently.
  • In the meantime, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar.
  • Stir chicken back into the skillet.
  • Add in the prepared soy sauce and stir to coat chicken and veggies.
  • Stir and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until everything is heated through and sauce has slightly thickened.
  • Remove from heat; sprinkle with sesame oil and sesame seeds.
  • Garnish with scallions and serve.

Notes

  • Chicken: This Panda Express “copycat” uses chicken breasts, but you can also use chopped chicken thighs. Chicken breasts and chicken thighs are both commonly used in stir-fry dishes. The main difference between the two cuts of chicken is the amount of fat they contain. Chicken breasts are leaner and have less fat, while chicken thighs are slightly fattier and have more flavor but will take a minute or two longer to cook through. 
  • Zucchini and Mushrooms: Again, keeping with the original recipe, I suggest cutting the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick half-moons and slicing the mushrooms about the same size. 
  • Stir Fry Vegetables: If you don’t want to use or don’t have the mushrooms and zucchini on hand, you can substitute them with sliced bell peppers, broccoli florets, snap peas or snow peas, onions, etc. However, it’s important to note that not all vegetables cook at the same time and temperatures. Veggies like onions, carrots, and bell peppers take longer to cook than, say, bok choy, mushrooms, or spinach. 
  • Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is a type of vinegar made from fermented rice. It is a popular ingredient in Asian cuisine. If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot find rice vinegar, white vinegar or apple cider vinegar are suitable substitutes.
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVERS
  • Store completely cooled chicken and veggies in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 6 ounces | Calories: 184 kcal | Carbohydrates: 11 g | Protein: 28 g | Fat: 3 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g | Trans Fat: 0.01 g | Cholesterol: 73 mg | Sodium: 571 mg | Potassium: 782 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 132 IU | Vitamin C: 12 mg | Calcium: 23 mg | Iron: 1 mg

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
Keyword: chicken stir fry, chicken stir fry healthy, chicken stir fry recipe, easy zucchini recipes, mushrooms recipe, panda express copycat, sauteed zucchini recipes, stir fry chicken, stir fry sauce
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68 comments on “Chicken Stir Fry”

  1. Doubled the sauce, other wise followed the recipe. Very bland. Disappointed after seeing so many positive reviews

    1. Hi! You might find that adding some salt is sufficient to enhance the flavors and prevent the dish from tasting bland.

  2. Avatar photo
    John Anthony Mavilio

    Your recipe has 2 of my favorite foods in it.I use oyster mushrooms (pink, yellow and blue ) that I grow in my basement. Zucchini I grow in my garden on my property in Vermont with organic potatoes. Many men prefer an earthy taste for this recipe especially if a side for steak. What I call a perfect, healthy meal which is packed with protein and essential vitamins for active adults, especially if your weight is a factor.Hope you like my feedback.

  3. This was an excellent use of things I had on hand. I also threw in some asparagus and it was very tasty!

  4. I love the flavors of this recipe, but I have a lot of trouble with the cornstarch sticking in the pan. What am I doing wrong?

    1. You may want to lower the heat a little. I personally love the browned bits on the bottom of the pan because they add lots of flavor to the sauce.

  5. Husband said as good as Panda Express! I doubled mushroom (we love) and chicken. Made large deep pan full! A 5 star recipe!

  6. Fantastic! Just made it for lunch with rice and it was delicious!! Adding this recipe to my lunch rotation. Thank you!

  7. I am usually terrible at making stir fry. This was easy and came out really well. Thank you for the recipe!

      1. Made this for supper. I had frozen mushrooms and also frozen zucchini from the garden. Which had a lot more water. So I added 1 more tablespoon cornstarch. I added a onion and also some spicy mustard. So it had a nice amount of gravy. So I served it over rice. My husband said I can make this again. Thank you for the recipe.

  8. I made this dish while camping. Great dish since it only uses 1 pan. I forgot the soy sauce so used worhestershire sauce and hubby said it had a very good flavor and had 2 helpings. I used skinless boneless thighs. Will be making this again.

  9. I love the sound of this recipe but am doing most of my cooking in my new air fryer. Can this be converted? I’ll be making it if it can be air fried. Thanks.

  10. Zucchini Mushroom Chicken Stir Fry is so good! San-J Tamari is definitely flavorful the same with Kikkoman Manjo Aji Mirin. Yummy! Parents loved it, too!

  11. Easy to prep and make. And so very delicious! My hubby, 7 and 3-year old all said they loved it and want me to make it again. We added sugar snap peas to the original recipe, along with the optional dash of sesame seeds at the end. We doubled the soy sauce mix and it was perfect. My husband cooked the recipe for us directly on the Blackstone grill versus us doing it on the stove top – we did not have issues with burning on the chicken, in fact it was incredibly tender. I recommend cooking it this way for anyone thinking of trying it. I served it with rice – and loved that my whole dinner came in under 10 points and I was full. Thank you for creating this recipe!

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      That’s so awesome to hear! I am very happy everyone enjoyed it! Thank you for chiming in! 🙂

  12. Quick and easy. I didn’t have enough mushrooms so I added some eggplant and green and orange bell pepper. And I doubled the sauce, which I pretty much always do. Served it over brown Basmati rice and topped it with some House of Tsang Mongolian Fire Oil. Delish!

  13. I made this last night for meal prep. My daughter commented that it smelled exactly like Panda! It was so good and I’ll be adding it to my meal prep rotation.
    Thanks!

  14. The dish turned out fabulous. But the recipe was very hard to follow with the ads and the recipe video running with no way to shut it off. It left me very little room on my phone for the recipe. It felt very cumbersome.

  15. Avatar photo
    Megan prichard

    The corn starch completely stuck to the oil on the bottom of the pan & burned. Chicken took forever to cook on top of that layer. Had to switch pans so the whole thing didn’t taste burnt.

  16. Most definitely going into the dinner rotation. Very very good! Easy and quick and we made rice in the rice cooker to put it over top. And a little air fried egg roll on the side.

  17. I made this last night for dinner since I have several zucchini from my garden. I added udon noodles and doubled the sauce. Absolutely delicious!! One of the best recipes I’ve tried. Definitely a keeper!

  18. I made this last night for dinner since I have several zucchini from my garden. I added udon noodles and doubled the sauce. Absolutely delicious!! One of the best recipes I’ve tried. Definitely a keeper!

  19. My son told me he thought this was the best thing I have ever made for him, honest. I made minor changes such as replacing 1.5 tsp of the vegetable oil with sesame oil, and used 2T soy sauce and 1T oyster sauce instead of 3 T soy sauce. I also thinly sliced the chicken instead of using chunks. The cornstarch gave a nice golden coat to the fried chicken pieces. Thanks for the recipe.

  20. Great meal. I added onion to the mix and served over cauliflower rice. This one goes into the rotation. – Thanks!

  21. This was a fantastic recipe! This will be a must in my household for sure. Thank you so much for posted it!!

  22. I’m not sure you can call this healthy when the ingredients include, soy, canola oil, cornstarch and sugar… but recipes are guidelines so this would be a good starting point to create a dish that omits the bad stuff.

  23. Why toss the chicken in corn starch rather than put the corn starch in with the soy sauce mixture? Adding it to my chicken just made the chicken and corn starch stick to the pan, burning and infusing burned flavor to the entire dish. Not impressed.

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi!
      Adding cornstarch to the chicken provides a light coating to protect it from the high heat of the wok, which helps prevent overcooking and toughening of the outer layer of the chicken.

    2. That’s hilarious! Like why would you burn your chicken and then keep it to finish the whole dish with? 😆

  24. Avatar photo
    Jacque Hastert

    I made this last night and it was perfect! I have no more need to run and grab it through the drive-thru. Perfect way to use up some of this abundance of zucchini I still have.

  25. What an amazing dish! Looking forward to enjoying this for dinner tomorrow; so beautifully delicious!

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