Quick Stir Fry Recipes for Healthy Spring Eating
Grab some veggies, your favorite protein, and a few simple seasonings — dinner is almost ready! Here are your back-pocket recipes for fresh weeknight meals.
Stir frys are a weeknight standby — and it always pays to have a few quick stir fry recipes on hand, whatever the season. But if it’s spring, you’re truly in luck. Tender spring vegetables — think asparagus, bok choy, spring onions, leeks, and snow peas — are tailor-made for a quick kiss in the wok (or large skillet). The familiar flavors of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil hold the dish together. (If you don't like sesame oil, you can use vegetable oil; just don't use olive oil, as its smoking point is too low to withstand the high heat.) Serve over white rice or noodles of your choice, or simply enjoy in a small bowl without any starch at all.
Asparagus Stir-Fry
Tender young asparagus is a sure sign of spring, and this quick stir fry recipe, by 101 Cookbooks, takes it up a notch with the addition of untraditional accents like basil, mint, and lime, plus the more expected tofu and cashews. The key? Use your prep time wisely to make sure all ingredients are prepped and ready to go before you start to stir fry. Then, it comes together in a flash.
Soba Noodle Stir Fry with Tofu, Mushrooms, Broccoli and Bok Choy
Not only is this stir fry by Avocado Pesto quick and easy, it’s also vegan and gluten-free (just check that your buckwheat soba noodles are in fact gluten-free — not all are). Sugar snap peas, green onions, and bok choy herald spring; the fresh herbs make it feel a bit more modern; and the base of garlic, ginger, and shallots with a tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and chile-garlic sauce gives it the full Asian flavor everyone loves.
Spring Vegetable Stir-Fry
This stir fry recipe from Williams Sonoma doesn’t mess around — it features asparagus, two kinds of peas and leeks, and little else. After you prep, total cook time is just 15 minutes. As always, feel free to substitute low-sodium soy sauce in this recipe if you're watching your salt intake.
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
Okay, fine — broccoli isn’t technically a spring vegetable. Most everywhere, it’s available almost year-round. But since it’s the backbone of so many quick stir fry recipes, it would be impossible not to include it here. In this insanely popular chicken stir fry recipe from Dinner with Tayo, chicken breasts and broccoli come together with just five other ingredients — one of them being the magic Maggi seasoning. It may be unexpected for a Chinese recipe, but adds a lot of flavor. And the total time clocks in at 30 minutes.
Ginger Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
For a slightly more complex yet still quick stir fry recipe, this take on chicken and broccoli uses arrowroot to thicken the sauce, which is a familiar blend of rice vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce, plus oyster sauce for extra flavor. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, instead of chicken breast, make for a juicer, tastier meat that's still healthy.
King Prawn & Edamame Stir Fry
King prawns are a quick, easy, and beautiful protein in any stir fry, and here they are paired with protein-rich edamame and soba noodles. Fish sauce, lime, and tamari provide a slightly more Southeast Asian flavor profile to this dish — and it’s flexible enough to be served hot for dinner or cold for lunch the next day. Another win: The total time comes in at under 30 minutes.
Zesty Mushroom Tofu Stir Fry with Spring Greens
This stir fry recipe from PBS helps you make the best of spring greens like young kale, spinach, dandelion greens, and bok choy. “It’s so easy I would hardly call it a ‘recipe,’” says Aube Giroux of Kitchen Vignettes.
Spring Noodle Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Walnuts
Walnuts aren’t the first thing I think of when I think stir fry, but here they add a welcome texture and interesting note of flavor to a fairly straightforward spring stir fry of asparagus and sugar snap peas.
Flank Steak Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Red Pepper
Red pepper and flank steak do a lot to dress up this stir fry from Simply Recipes. (And of course, you could sub in a different color of bell pepper if that's what you have on hand.) Pro tip: Freeze the steak for 15 minutes to make it easier to cut it as thin as possible.
Pork & Broccoli Stir-Fry
Pork & Broccoli Stir-Fry by Everyday with Rachael Ray
From Every Day with Rachael Ray, this seven-ingredient stir fry couldn’t be more simple. Pork and broccoli florets are combined with a quick stir fry sauce of oyster sauce, garlic, and ginger for a simple recipe with complex flavors. Garnish with a combination of white and black sesame seeds for a beautiful finish.
Garbage Stir-Fry With Curried Cabbage
Garbage Stir-Fry With Curried Cabbage by Nom Nom Paleo
With a name like that, how can you resist this stir fry recipe? From Nom Nom Paleo, it comes in handy if spring hasn’t quite sprung where you are — or if you’re plum out of fresh veggies and the farmers' market doesn't open for a few more days. Cabbage, plus curry powder, plus your emergency protein of choice, and voila! One person’s garbage is another’s delicious treasure.