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This broccoli stir fry makes this green vegetable taste irresistible! Serve it as a tasty side dish, or add a protein and you’ve got dinner.
Want to make broccoli taste irresistible? Try this broccoli stir fry! This healthy green veggie is covered in a sauce that’s so flavorful, you’ll forget that it’s good for you. Really, Alex and I couldn’t stop sneaking bites out of the pan (that’s how tasty it is).
The broccoli is accessorized with a few other veggies, garlic and ginger, and an incredibly savory sauce. There’s so much flavor going on, it’s one of the best ways to eat your colorful veggies. You can serve it two ways: as a side dish, or add a protein and serve with rice, and you’ve got dinner!
Ingredients in this broccoli stir fry
This broccoli stir fry stars not only broccoli, but three more of the best vegetables you can eat. It’s a vegan recipe that’s full of all the nutrients those colorful veggies bring. Here’s what you’ll find in this recipe:
- Broccoli (including broccolini if you can find it: see below!)
- Orange pepper
- Red onion
- Portobello mushrooms
- Garlic and ginger
- Stir fry sauce with mirin, rice vinegar, and soy sauce
The most time involved in the recipe is chopping all the vegetables! It will take a few minutes to complete, but don’t worry: all that chopping is worth it. Once you’re done chopping, the cooking is a breeze: you’ll stir fry the veggies for about 6 to 7 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger for 1 minute more. Then remove the heat, add the sauce, and you’re done!
Add broccolini if you can find it!
What’s broccolini? While it looks like baby broccoli, it’s actually not! Broccolini is a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli. The cross combines the long stems of Chinese broccoli with the florets of broccoli, and has a milder flavor than broccoli. Did you know broccolini was invented in 1993? And here we were thinking it was an ingredient with hundreds of years of history. It’s not even 20 years old!
Broccolini is not carried in all grocery stores, but it’s becoming more commonplace. It’s usually by the broccoli, so look for a very small bunch of broccoli with long stems. The bunch will feel small, and that’s okay: you’re using it for a fun texture contrast and its elegant look. If you can’t find it, substitute one additional head of standard broccoli into this dish.
Option 1: Broccoli stir fry as a side dish
This broccoli stir fry we designed to work in two ways: as a side dish, or as a main dish when served with a protein! What meals would it work with as a side dish? Here are a few ideas:
- Salmon: It’s perfect with teriyaki salmon or baked salmon.
- Fried rice: It makes fried rice into more of a filling meal. Try homemade fried rice or shrimp fried rice.
- Noodles: It would be fantastic to add more veggies to these peanut noodles or soba noodles.
- Tofu: Serve with baked tofu, crispy tofu, or breaded tofu.
Option 2: Make it into a main dish
If you wanted a broccoli stir fry that makes a main dish, this recipe works too! Because it doesn’t have any filling protein in it, you’ll need to add a protein. Here are some ideas:
- Cashews: Throw in ¾ cup cashews to this stir fry when you add the broccoli to make a main dish of about 2 to 3 servings.
- Tofu: Try it with marinated tofu, baked tofu or crispy tofu. Or, go to Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry to make them together.
- Shrimp: Add sauteed shrimp, use sesame oil instead of olive oil and maybe a splash of soy sauce.
- Rice: Serve each of the variations above with rice! We like brown rice because it has more fiber and nutrients. Try our white rice, brown rice, or Instant Pot rice.
Broccoli nutrition
Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable, part of the plant family that includes cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kale. Here’s what’s great about broccoli, according to Healthline:
- It’s a good source of fiber. 1 cup of raw broccoli has 2.3 grams of fiber, or about 5 to 10% of your daily need.
- It’s high in protein for a green vegetable. 1 cup of broccoli has 3 grams protein, a similar level to asparagus and potatoes.
- It’s high in Vitamin C. ½ cup of broccoli has 70% your daily value of Vitamin C.
Dietary notes
This broccoli stir fry recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Broccoli Stir Fry (Side or Main!)
This broccoli stir fry makes this green vegetable taste irresistible! Serve it as a tasty side dish, or add a protein and you’ve got dinner.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 as a side, 3 to 4 as a main with added protein 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds (2 large heads) broccoli
- 1 head broccolini (or 1 additional head of broccoli)
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 2 portobello mushroom caps
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons ginger, grated (about a 2-inch nub)
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil (regular, not toasted)
- Kosher salt
- For the garnish: sliced green onion, sesame seeds (optional)
- To serve as a main dish: Add ¾ cup cashews with broccoli*, or make Marinated Tofu or Sauteed Shrimp (with sesame oil and lime) and serve with rice
Instructions
- Chop the broccoli and broccolini into large florets (about 6 cups florets total). Chop the red onion into bite sized squares. Dice the pepper into bite sized squares. Remove the stems from the portobellos (if necessary), slice them into strips, then cut the larger pieces in half. Place all of the vegetables in a large bowl.
- Mince the garlic. Peel the ginger and grate it. Place them together in a small bowl.
- Stir together the mirin, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and Sriracha in a small bowl.
- In a large skillet over high heat, and heat the oil. Add the broccoli, broccolini (if using), red onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms and cook 6 to 7 minutes until just starting to brown on edges, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and ginger cook for 1 minute more, until broccoli is crisp tender but still bright green. Turn off the heat and add the sauce, stirring until combined. Taste and add additional pinches salt as necessary. Serve immediately. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onion (optional).
Notes
*Adding cashews would serve about 2 to 3 as a vegetarian main; adding tofu can stretch it to 4.
More broccoli recipes
Finally: do you love broccoli? Outside of this broccoli stir fry, here are some of our favorite broccoli recipes:
- This roasted broccoli is as irresistible as French fries!
- This broccoli and cheese is the best fast and easy side dish!
- Steamed broccoli is an easy, healthy side dish that turns out bright green and crisp tender every time.
- This sauteed broccoli highlights its fresh flavor and comes out perfectly crisp tender.
Why did you not list sodium with the nutritional facts? That’s a very important component of nutritional facts for health reasons, for myself and many others as well. I want very much to make this broccoli stir fry recipe you show, but now I hesitate because I can’t be sure of the sodium content. Thank you, though, for your vegan recipes. My daughter is vegan and I like to make dishes we can both enjoy!
Hi! We omit the sodium from our card because many ingredients we use such as beans, soy sauce or broth can have vastly different amounts and we don’t want to give false information. Even different brands of kosher salt can vary. A teaspoon of Morton kosher salt has 1920 mg of sodium.
We cook this on a regular basis. Very nice!
It was delicious.
Thanks for this delicious recipe. I made it with shrimp as a stir fry and I will be making it again!
Are the stems from broccolini not used?
You can use the tender part of broccolini stems — all but the very bottom.
Excellent! So tasty. Didn’t need salt. Thank you!!!