This chicken green bean stir fry makes a simple, delicious dinner. In this recipe, chicken breast and fresh green beans are combined with a savory homemade stir fry sauce. This is a quick dinner with minimal prep work and affordable ingredients.
Finding quick, easy recipes is important if you want to serve home-cooked meals, even on busy nights. This shrimp lo mein is simple and delicious. And this ham fried rice is so satisfying.
Recipes like beef and vegetable stir fry and turkey stir fry are great to get a wholesome dinner on the table in no time.
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Ingredients
- Stir fry sauce – low sodium soy sauce, hoisin sauce, cornstarch, brown sugar, garlic, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper. For the low sodium soy sauce and hoisin sauce, look in the international section of large supermarkets, a specialty market, or online.
- Chicken – use boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs.
- Green beans – fresh is best for this stir fry. If you need to use frozen, cook them just enough to defrost, then remove them from the heat, drain and rinse with cold water or arrange on a plate or pan so they cool quickly and do not overcook.
- Garnish – garnish options include chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, green onions or crushed red pepper.
- See the recipe card for quantities and preparation.
Instructions
Make the stir fry sauce: Add the water and cornstarch to a canning jar or a medium bowl. Use a fork or a small whisk to stir the mixture until the cornstarch dissolves.
Next, add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger powder, and crushed red pepper (if using). Stir well, cover and reserve for later. Stir the sauce well right before using because the cornstarch settles at the bottom.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, deep non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the green beans and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Cook them until they are crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir and toss frequently. Remove the green beans from the skillet to a bowl.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the same skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Arrange it in a single layer, cook for 1-1½ minutes until browned on the bottom.
Turn each piece and cook another 1-1½ minutes until browned on both sides. Continue to cook the chicken pieces for 2-3 minutes until cooked through, stir almost constantly.
Next, add the green beans and the stir fry sauce to the skillet. Stir well to coat the ingredients. Lower the heat and cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens. Stir frequently.
Taste and add salt if needed. As a reference we did not add extra to ours.
Recipe tips
- Have the ingredients prepped and ready to go. This recipe moves along quickly, and we are cooking at high heat. There is no time to stop and prep.
- Make the chicken pieces roughly the same size so that they cook at the same rate.
- The green beans in this recipe will be snappy. If you prefer them tender lower the heat to low, cover the skillet, and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Go easy on the salt. The prepared sauce is salty, and the ingredients will be coated with it. You can always taste at the end and add more if needed.
- If you are serving this dish with rice or noodles start them first so they are ready when the stir fry is done.
Serving and storing
Serve the chicken and green beans with white rice or noodles, if desired. Garnish with sesame seeds, extra crushed red pepper, cilantro, or use your favorite.
Store leftovers in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a non-stick skillet or the microwave until heated through.
For more information on food storage and safety guidelines visit U.S. Department of Agriculture and foodsafety.gov.
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Check out the Web Story for this green bean chicken stir fry for a quick visual on making this easy recipe.
📖 Recipe
Chicken Green Bean Stir Fry
Ingredients
Stir fry sauce Ingredients
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- ¼ cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 2 Large Garlic Cloves grated or minced
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Powder
- Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper or to taste – leave it out if you don’t like spicy
Chicken and Green Beans Ingredients
- 3 – 4 tablespoons Oil divided (2 tablespoons for the green beans and 1-2 for the chicken) use a neutral oil with a high smoke point (we use canola oil)
- 12 ounces Fresh Green Beans trimmed, washed and patted dry
- ½ teaspoon Salt divided (¼ teaspoon for the green beans and ¼ teaspoon for the chicken)
- 1 – 1¼ pound Chicken Breast boneless, skinless and cut into bite sized pieces
- Chopped Cilantro for garnish – optional
- Sesame Seeds for garnish – optional
- Crushed Red Pepper for garnish – optional
Instructions
- Make the stir fry sauce: Add the water and cornstarch to a jar or a medium bowl. Use a fork or a small whisk to stir the mixture until the cornstarch dissolves. Then add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger powder, and crushed red pepper (if using). Reserve the sauce for later. Store it in the refrigerator if not using right away. Stir well just before using.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, deep, non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and slides around the skillet easily, add the green beans and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Cook the green beans until they are crisp-tender, about 3 – 4 minutes. Stir and toss them often to prevent the beans having direct contact with the bottom of the skillet from burning.
- Remove the green beans from the skillet to a bowl.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the same skillet or wok over medium-high heat. (If there is still some oil left from the green beans use only one tablespoon of oil, if not use two.)
- Add the chicken and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Arrange it in a single layer and cook for 1 – 1½ minutes until browned on the bottom.
- Turn each piece and cook another 1 – 1½ minutes until browned on both sides.
- Continue to cook the chicken pieces for 2-3 minutes until cooked through, stir almost constantly. Cut one of the larger pieces in half to make sure it is opaque all the way through and no longer pink in the middle.
- Next, add the green beans and the reserved stir fry sauce to the skillet. Stir well to coat the ingredients.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 1-2 minutes until everything is coated and the sauce thickens. Stir frequently.
- Taste and add salt, if needed. As a reference we did not add extra to ours.
- Serve the chicken and green beans with white rice, noodles or on its own. Garnish with a pinch of chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, or extra crushed red pepper if desired.
Notes
- The green beans in this recipe will be snappy. If you prefer them tender, lower the heat to low at the end and cover the skillet or wok so that they steam for a 2-3 minutes.
- If you are serving the stir fry with rice or noodles start them first so they are ready when the stir fry is done.
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
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