Healthy Chicken Stir-Fry Recipes Anyone Can Make for Dinner (2024)

FAQs

Is stir-fried chicken healthy? ›

Chicken stir-fry is a speedy dinner that's jam-packed with flavor! Just grab a large pan and watch how juicy chicken, loads of veggies, and a savory-sweet sauce quickly come together in this colorful, healthy meal.

This one-pot dish is packed with fresh veggies and proteins that make a delicious and filling meal. Plus, not only are stir fries a healthy alternative to heavy dishes such as spaghetti and potatoes, but they can also help you reach your weight loss goals due to the low number of calories in each serving.

Ketchup could be used to enhance store-bought stir fry sauces as well. It will give them a flavor boost and a bit more richness, too. You can also try mixing a few tablespoons in with some teriyaki sauce to create a more complex flavor.

Stir-frying is a healthful cooking technique because you just add a small amount of fat. Some people skip the fat altogether and stir-fry in broth. I used canola oil because it's high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and it doesn't add a particular flavor.

The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.

Stir-frying and stir-frying/boiling, the two most popular methods for most homemade dishes in China, cause great losses of chlorophyll, soluble protein, soluble sugar, vitamin C, and glucosinolates, but the steaming method appears the best in retention of the nutrients in cooking broccoli.

On the plus side, it's high in dietary antioxidants and it has some antimicrobial properties, says Schmidt. "At high levels of consumption, soy sauce can also have an anti-inflammatory effect," she adds. But such nutritional value is minimal, so soy sauce should primarily be enjoyed for taste or as a salt substitute.

Is rice good for weight loss? Rice also has the benefit of expanding to three times its original volume, so it can be quite filling. This can help one eat less overall - a strategy some use to support weight management when rice consumption is paired with a healthy diet.

"Tomatoes should never go in a stir fry — not at all." Chef Natasha Ford adds that they're too mushy. "They would just make your stir fry soupy," she says. "If you really want to use them, keep them as fresh and uncooked as possible.

Aromatic ingredients like garlic, ginger, green onions, chilies and spices. These ingredients are typically added to the oil first to infuse it with flavor. You won't need much; a few teaspoons to a tablespoon of total aromatic ingredients per person adds a serious amount of flavor.

What thickens stir-fry? ›

Cornstarch! In his book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Mark Bittman recommends mixing 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with the same amount of water, and tossing this into the stir fry just when it's almost done. It thickens in seconds, picking up the flavors of everything already in the dish and coating evenly.

So many different oils, the good news is you can stick with what you know – canola is great! The best oils for stir frys are the oils with the higher smoke points. These tend to be the “thinner” oils such as peanut, grapeseed or canola.

Rustle up a vegan stir-fry for a quick and tasty dinner. Pack in the vegetables or mix it up with a meat substitute such as seitan or tofu.

But there's a healthier, equally delicious way to eat comfort food like fried chicken. And it's all thanks to your oven. By cooking chicken in the oven, you'll use little oil, which will minimize heart health risks. Aside from being healthier for your heart, this chicken is also high in protein (8 g per serving).

Eating a stir fry may be a healthy option, but cooking it could be bad for your health because it shoots microscopic particles of fat into the air, which could be hazardous if inhaled, scientists have warned.

Stir frying (Chinese: 炒; pinyin: chǎo; Wade–Giles: ch'ao³; Cantonese Yale: cháau) is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok.