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This spicy ground chicken stir fry recipe is a quick weeknight meal with a kick! It has a tasty Asian-inspired sauce that’s made from scratch along with fresh vegetables.
Love skillet stir fry recipes? Try my Ground Beef Lo Mein or Ground Pork Stir Fry next.
Why you’ll love it
I think I’ve outdone myself with this one, you guys. This spicy stir fry is fast becoming one of my favorite ground chicken recipes. The homemade hoisin, sriracha, and ginger sauce packs a punch and is and totally crave-worthy. Like, lick-the-bowl kinda good!
Ground chicken is actually a really underrated ingredient, in my opinion. It’s inexpensive, easy to work with, and it’s lean and tender. That means it’s a no-brainer to use on busy weeknights to get a protein-filled dinner on the table quickly like this simple stir fry.
What you’ll need
For the stir fry
- Ground chicken – I used ground chicken breast
- Olive oil – for stir frying
- Vegetables – my mix is snow peas, red bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, and onion
- Cashews – they add an irresistible crunch and nutty contrast
- Rice – optional, but I like serving it over jasmine rice
For the sauce
- Ginger – always use freshly grated. It adds a zesty quality to the sauce.
- Garlic – use even more than suggested if you’re a garlic lover
- Hoisin sauce, sriracha, soy sauce – you can find this trio in the Asian foods aisle of most major grocery stores
- Brown sugar – it adds a hint of sweetness to balance out the sauce
- Apple cider vinegar – for a little tang and to round it out
- Chicken broth – for deeper savory flavor
- Red pepper flakes – to add even more heat to the sauce
- Cornstarch – a tried and true ingredient to thicken up sauces
Tips for success
- I find it so much easier to prep all the ingredients beforehand. Once the cooking gets going, it goes quickly! You don’t want to be stuck juggling tasks in the middle of everything.
- The key is to cook it at a constant high heat for a great sear on the meat and vegetables.
- If you love tons of sauce, I do recommend doubling the sauce ingredients.
How to make spicy ground chicken stir fry
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Prep all your ingredients before getting started. Add the sauce ingredients to a bowl, and whisk together. Meanwhile, cook the chicken in a skillet, and transfer to plate.
Sauté the onion until softened, and then add in the rest of the vegetables, cooking them until tender-crisp. Take care to not overcook them.
Stir in the cashews, and return the chicken to the skillet. Pour the sauce over top, and let it bubble until it’s thickened while tossing with tongs so everything is coated. Serve over rice or noodles.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Did you know the best way to store fresh ginger is in the freezer in a zip-top bag? It doesn’t spoil as fast, and it’s actually much easier to grate. I use my Microplane to grate it.
- I use this garlic press to mince it effortlessly.
- The skillet I like stir frying in best is this 12″ Staub skillet since it’s got plenty of room to accommodate the meat and vegetables, and pair of cooking tongs makes tossing everything really easy.
Substitutions and variations
- The ground chicken can easily be swapped for ground turkey, ground beef, or even ground pork or veal.
- Feel free to change up the veggies if needed. Just be sure to chop them small so they cook at the same rate. The matchstick carrots could be subbed for very thinly sliced carrots if you can’t find the pre-cut ones in your grocery store.
- This recipe isn’t super spicy, but it definitely has a kick. If you want it more mild, omit the crushed red pepper flakes.
What to serve with it
- I like to serve ground chicken stir fry over a long grain white rice like jasmine, but any kind is good! Brown rice would also be delicious.
- You can also use your favorite noodles. Try rice noodles, Udon, or ramen noodles.
- It’s great on its own too since there’s protein and plenty of veggies, or serve it in lettuce wraps to change it up.
Leftovers and storage
- Keep leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. I like to store it separately and make fresh rice or noodles when reheating.
- Reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat for best results. You could also try microwaving in 30-second increments.
- I don’t recommend freezing this one. The leftover veggies will not stay crisp after thawing.
More Asian-inspired favorites
If you made this easy ground chicken stir fry, leave me a review in the comments below! Questions? I’d be happy to answer. Find me on Instagram as well.
Spicy Ground Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/2 medium onion
- 6 ounces snow peas
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup matchstick cut carrots
- 3/4 cup cashews
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Prep your ingredients before you start cooking – once the recipe is started, it goes quite fast. Be sure to cut the veggies into pieces that are bite-size (make sure that the broccoli is cut quite small) so they cook at a similar rate.
- Add the sauce ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk together.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the ground chicken to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, breaking it up with your spoon as you go along, until it's no longer pink and fully cooked through (about 6-8 minutes), stirring occasionally. Transfer the chicken to a plate or bowl.
- Add the rest of the oil to the skillet, followed by the onion. Cook it for about a minute.
- If the pan is looking dry, add a small splash more oil, then add in the rest of the veggies (peas, peppers, broccoli, carrots) and cook for 3-4 minutes or until they're tender-crisp. If you prefer them to be softer, cook them for a little longer.
- Add the cashews to the skillet as well as the cooked chicken. Pour the sauce into the skillet. Let it bubble until thickened (less than a minute), stirring constantly so everything is coated. Take the stir fry off the heat and serve immediately.
Notes
- I serve this recipe with rice, but that’s totally optional. I typically measure out 1 cup of uncooked rice to serve 4, but feel free to make as much rice as you normally do. Start the rice before the stir fry so that it’s ready at the same time.
- Nutrition info does NOT include rice.
- You can also find this recipe in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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My family likes this and it’s easy and inexpensive!! Try it! I love the cashews!
That’s great to hear! Thank you!!
This was delicious! I didn’t have hoisin, sriracha or hot pepper flakes and it was still super tasty! Used bbq sauce in place of hoisin. Served over rice for the kids and they inhaled it.
Glad the adaptations worked, Lisa! Thanks for your review!
Yum – this was so good! I had made with ground turkey since that’s what I had. It was spicy and delicious. And so easy! Thank you Natasha!
You are very welcome, Jenny!! 😀 Thanks for your review!
I never write reviews because don’t find many recipes worth reviewing. This stir fry was the exception because it is outstanding! The ground chicken is a wonderful texture to complement the vegetables. Chopping the vegetables small and uniformly is the key and I only used half the sauce because we don’t like too much sauce. This will be my go to stir fry! Thank you.
You are very welcome! Appreciate your review, Carina!
OMGosh! Delicious! Thank you! It was really easy, especially when all ingredients were measured and set out first. But it tasted so professional and complex. Husband was very impressed! It’s definitely got some spice. Probably a good thing, or I would have eaten all of it. 😂 I served it Trader Joe’s fried rice.
You are very welcome! 😀
Fantastic flavor! My entire family loved it. This recipe is sure to become part of the regular rotation.
Yay!! That’s great to hear, Kathy! Thanks for your 5-star review!
So delicious
Thank you!
Loved this! Doubled the sauce so we could serve it over rice. Thank you 🙂
You’re very welcome, Deb! Thanks for your review.
This was fantastic! I didn’t have hoisin so I say m substitute it with teriyaki sauce and it was fantastic! Family loved it!
I’m so glad it was a hit, Julian! Thank you! 😀
We really liked it. Swapped out veggies to use what I had – carrots, broccoli, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, yellow pepper, onions. Also left out red pepper flakes – Sriracha, rice, vinegar, and things made it hot enough for me, still had a good kick to it, and I think the red pepper flakes would’ve made it too hot. Liked leftovers the next day even better. Liked using ground chicken too. Will make again.
I’m so glad you liked it, Gail!! Thanks for your review!
We loved this recipe! I used 1 TBS or chili oil and 1TBS of toasted sesame oil (only because I really like the flavor. Before this, I had never used ground chicken in my stir-fry. After making it this way, I won’t go back to chicken breast.
This recipe is spot on! Thanks!
Awesome!! I’m so pleased you now enjoy ground chicken in stir fry, Kim! 😀