This stir fry is super delicious and healthy, but made from frozen vegetables and pantry staples. It's extremely versatile and includes many substitutions!
I've been trying to limit grocery trips as much as possible, but its so. hard. I obviously cook a lot, so I run out of ingredients fast.
In an effort to stay home, I decided to make dinner from frozen vegetables and shelf-stable ingredients. It was actually a lot easier than I thought!
I think the fact that most of the ingredients are frozen really makes things easier because there's almost no prepping. This recipe is also made entirely in one pan!
This dish is extremely versatile and you can swap out almost every ingredient, including options to make it vegan or vegetarian!
Ingredients and Substitutions
There are many ways to change up this recipe, whether it be for limited ingredients or just preference.
- Chicken breast: I used frozen tenderloins. Tenderloins are much softer than a regular chicken breast, but regular works fine too. If you use frozen, make sure it is fully thawed before cooking. If you want to make it vegan or vegetarian, the easiest way is to just skip it. If you want, you can replace it with any plant based protein.
- Frozen vegetables: feel free to use fresh if you have it! Whether you choose to let them defrost beforehand or cook straight from the freezer is up to you. If they are still frozen, there will be more water in the pan and the vegetables will be softer than if you defrost them. I personally like my veggies super soft, so I have no problem using them frozen. To substitute, use any vegetables you have and feel free to just skip one you don't have.
- Onions and green onions: Onions last a while at room temperature, so I consider it to be a pantry ingredient. However, if you don't have it, it's okay to skip, but I recommend putting a bit of onion powder to add flavor.
- Garlic and ginger: you can substitute for garlic paste and ginger paste, or just put garlic powder. Whatever you have works.
- Soy sauce and broth: I always like to use low sodium soy sauce, but full sodium is okay if that's all you have. If you do, I would just use water instead of broth because otherwise it would be way too salty. Even if you use low sodium, water is always a good option 🙂
- Honey: if you want it to be vegan, or you don't have any, you can use brown sugar, cane sugar, or another sugar substitute.
- White whole wheat flour: I like white whole wheat because it has more fiber than white and a light taste. To substitute, use any other flour.
- Sesame seeds: it's not a big deal, just skip if you don't have it.
To serve, I used brown rice. Cauliflower rice and quinoa are also good options.
The most important thing is stay home. Don't go shopping more than you need to, but also don't hoard all the groceries. Please stay safe everyone!
If you make this recipe, share a picture to Instagram and tag me @nutritiousdelights so I can see!
Frozen Vegetable Stir Fry
This stir fry is super delicious and healthy, but made from frozen vegetables and pantry staples. It's extremely versatile and includes many substitutions!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons sesame or olive oil divided
- 1.5 lb chicken breast cut into 1" cubes*
- 2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli* *
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cauliflower* *
- 1 cup fresh or frozen carrots* *
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas* *
- 1 cup fresh or frozen green beans* *
- 2 sprigs green onion sliced* *
- 1 large onion cut into thin strips* *
- 4 cloves minced garlic* * *
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- 2 tablespoons garlic herb seasoning* * * *
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce* * * * *
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons low sodium broth or water
- 1 ½ tablespoons white whole wheat flour* * * * * *
- 2 tablespoons honey* * * * * * *
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger optional
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- In a large nonstick pan, heat up a tablespoon of oil on high heat. Add the chicken with ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and a tablespoon of garlic herb seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes or longer, until they are fully cooked (internal temperature of 165). Remove from the pan.
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and add the onion. Cook for 2 minutes, then add carrots. After a minute, add cauliflower and broccoli. Cook for another minute before adding green beans, peas, and green onions. If the pan starts to dry up, add a splash of oil or water. If you like your vegetables to be firm, cook for 1-3 minutes. If you like them softer, cook for 4-7 minutes (or even longer--It's all up to preference!). If you are substituting any ingredients, keep in mind that this may adjust the cooking time. Remove the vegetables from the pan.
- Add the third tablespoon of oil on the pan and lower the heat to medium high. Cook the garlic and ginger for a minute, then whisk in the flour. Slowly whisk in the soy sauce , then broth/water. Add honey/sweetener. Add the chicken and vegetables back in with the sesame seeds and combine.
- Serve with brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa, or anything you want 🙂
Notes
SUBSTITUTIONS
*for the chicken, you can use fresh or frozen. If you use frozen, make sure it is fully thawed before cooking. If you want to make it vegan/vegetarian: omit the chicken (there is enough protein from the vegetables) OR use your favorite vegan protein source such as tofu.
**you can substitute/omit these vegetables with any other you have.
***if you don't have garlic, you can substitute for ½-1 teaspoon garlic powder.
****if you don't have garlic herb seasoning, substitute with garlic powder, salt, and any dried herbs.
*****you can substitute low sodium soy sauce for full sodium, but I would then recommend using water instead of broth because otherwise it may be too salty.
******you can substitute white whole wheat flour with any other flour you have
*******to make this vegan (or if you don't have honey) substitute for any other sweetener of choice, such as brown sugar.
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