Vegetable Stir Fry
This vegetable stir fry recipe comes together beautifully for home cooks. It's designed for cooking in a large skillet rather than a wok.
Posted by Kathryne Taylor on May 14, 2026
This vegetable stir fry tastes as good as it looks! It features perfectly fork-tender, seared vegetables in a glossy sauce that leans more savory than sweet. I love the vibrant combination of broccoli, bell pepper, carrot and red onion shown here, but you can change up the vegetables with the seasons.
Serve it as a simple side dish, or turn it into a full meal by adding rice and protein, like the crispy baked tofu shown here. Add a sprinkle of green onion and just-toasted sesame seeds, and this healthy homemade dish will taste much fresher than takeout.
This Veggie Stir Fry is a Little Different
Traditional Chinese stir-fries are cooked over high heat in large woks. In fact, the stir-fry technique became popular hundreds of years ago as a way to cook food quickly to reduce fuel consumption. Cooking in a wok over high heat is an art that takes practice and skill.
Since many of us donโt have woks in our kitchens, I played around with the method and came up with an alternative preparation. It works great in a large skillet (I recommend cast iron or stainless steel), and wonโt set off your smoke detector.
Like my Fajita Veggies, it involves covering the pan while the veggies briefly steam. This allows the veggies time to cook over medium-high heat without burning. Iโm honestly surprised by how well this method works!
How to Make This Veggie Stir Fry
Youโll find the full recipe further below, but hereโs a basic preview followed by a brief instructional video:
- Whisk together a simple sauce. Itโs made with tamari or soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, starch, garlic and optional red pepper flakes, and strikes an irresistible balance between savory and sweet.
- Toast raw sesame seeds in your skillet until theyโre turning fragrant and lightly golden. This step brings out so much extra flavorโitโs definitely worth the effort. Weโll save the seeds for garnish and return the pan to the stove.
- Cook the onions and carrots in your preferred oil, adding a pinch of salt to enhance their flavor and help release excess moisture.
- Add the bell pepper and broccoli, plus a splash of water, and cover the pan. The trick is to stir only every minute or so, which allows the veggies time to caramelize against the pan. Theyโll be perfectly fork-tender with beautifully seared edges by the time youโre done.
- Remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the sauce. The starch will thicken the sauce as it warms from the veggies, and youโll end up with a glossy finish. Serve the stir fry in bowls topped with toasted sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion.
Watch How to Make This Stir Fry
Vegetable Variations
Yes, you can change up the veggies! Keep the onion consistent as it offers some welcome aromatic flavor, but the rest are fair game.
Hereโs how:
- Use about 4 cups of tender vegetables, cut into small, evenly sized pieces so they cook evenly. Consider zucchini or yellow squash, asparagus, snap peas, snow peas, cauliflower, baby corn or green beans.
- You can also add 1 to 2 cups chopped greens, like kale, chard or spinach.
- If youโre changing the veggies, cook the onion alone. Then, cook the tender veggies in place of the bell pepper and broccoli used here.
- If youโd like to add chopped greens, add them after uncovering the pan. Cook until wilted while stirring frequently, about 1 minute.
Note that I donโt recommend mushrooms in this recipe, as Iโm not sure the steaming method will work for them.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this stir-fry as written for a lovely vegetable-based side dish. Or, turn it into a main dish by serving it over cooked rice, with crispy tofu or fried or scrambled eggs on top, or your protein of choice.
This dish keeps well for up to four days and reheats easily in the microwave.
Please let me know how your dish turns out in the comments. I love hearing from you.
Vegetable Stir Fry
This vegetable stir fry recipe comes together beautifully for home cooks. Itโs designed for cooking in a large skillet rather than a wok. Recipe yields 4 medium veggie servings; turn it into a full meal by adding rice and protein.ย
Ingredients
- โ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari (regular soy sauce is too salty)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch or 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ยผ teaspoon crushed red pepper (omit if youโre sensitive to spice)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnishย
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil, coconut oil or your cooking oil of choice
- 1 small red onion, root and tip ends removed and cut into ยผ-inch thick wedges (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into very thin rounds (about 1 ยฝ cups)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into ยผ inch strips (about 1 ยผ cup)
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into ยผ inch strips (about 1 ยผ cup)
- 1 cup small broccoli florets (from about 1 stalk)
- 2 tablespoons water
- Thinly sliced green onion, for garnish
Instructions
- In a liquid measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, starch, garlic and red pepper flakes (if using). Whisk until blended and set aside.
- Warm the sesame seeds in a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and turning lightly golden, about 1 minute. Transfer them to a plate and set them aside, then return the skillet to the stove.
- Warm the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and carrots and a pinch of salt. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until the onions have softened, about 4 to 6 minutes. (If at any point you catch a whiff of something burning while making this stir-fry, dial back the heat a bit.)
- Add the bell peppers and broccoli and stir to combine. Pour in the water and immediately cover the pan. Cook, uncovering to stir every minute or so then covering again, until the broccoli and bell pepper are fork-tender and browning along the edges, about 7 to 9 minutes.ย ย
- Uncover and remove the skillet from the heat. Immediately pour in the prepared sauce and stir well to coat the veggies. Taste, and if it needs a little more flavor, stir in a pinch of salt. Serve as desired, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and green onion. Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.ย
Notes
Recipe adapted from myย Spring Veggie Stir-Fry andย Fajita Veggies (Chipotle-Inspired).
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free tamari. Regular soy sauce is not gluten free.ย
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
For the toasted sesame seeds in this recipe, do you like to use the hulled or un-hulled seeds. Thank you in advance for your response.
Hi Linda! I use hulled sesame seeds.
At what point do you put the garlic in?
Hi Brenda, the garlic goes into the sauce in step 1.
Very quick midweek dinner, thanks
The Vegetable Stir Fry was delicious, easy to make and nutritious. Unfortunately there was no left over so next tim plan to double the receipe. The sauce was yummy! I served it with half white and half brown rice. Great recipe!
Thank you! Iโm delighted to hear it.
Great, easy recipe! Added extra vegetables and used more water to compensate. Also added Thai wheat noodles at the end. Had plenty of sauce for all the extra stuff I added. Accidentally used 1/2 instead of 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes and it wasnโt too spicy.
Would absolutely make and recommend this recipe!
Thanks so much, Susan! Your version sounds terrific.
This came out terrific! A great way to do a stir fry without a wok and restaurant kitchen. I used the vegetables I had in the house โ an onion, a red pepper, zucchini, and portobello. I cooked the mushroom first and added it back in just before turning off the heat. Otherwise, I stuck closely to the recipe, served it over brown rice, and we ate every bit. Next time I might add more sesame oil and use chili crisp (out of it right now) instead of the flakes.
Thank you! Iโm glad you were able to use up your veggies with this recipe!
just perfect! i had to resist eating the whole thing tonight. i will love having it again tomorrow. had it with your oven baked tofu. thank you, kate. (so much easier than the wok).
Thatโs fantastic to hear. Thanks, Jude! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.
I just made this tonight for a quick GF dinner. The steaming of the broccoli was an excellent idea; it really helped all the veggies cook to the same level of doneness quickly and easily. I add leftover steak strips (sorry!) and a bit of kale, and served it over rice. A winner! What I like in addition to the ease and flavor, is that it appears to be flexible and can be modified to work with other veggies or leftovers in the โfridge.
I made this last night along with the baked tofu and it was delicious! I used broccolini as I had that on hand, which I tend to enjoy more that regular broccoli. The only change I did was I added some Thai Chiliโs as I love spice. Definitely a keeper in the dinner rotation, it was super easy to prep and cook. Thank you for getting me out of my โI donโt know what to cookโ rut.
Great recipe! Easy, quick and tasty. We are always looking for extra protein, so I added a can of lentils and served the stir fry over brown rice and air fried chicken breasts. Will be making this again and have also added your Spring Stir Fry to the list. Thank you for the healthy recipes!
Wonderful! Thank you, Kap!
Absolutely delicious! Pulled out my cast iron for this one and the results were outstanding.
Best stir fry Iโve ever made! I substituted fresh ginger (~2 inch chunk) for the red pepper flakes. I also doubled the sauce so Iโd have extra to pour over rice. Loved it. Will make again and again.