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Crispy Chicken Stir Fry

Quick, easy and delicious, this crispy chicken stir-fry with blistered green beans and a garlicky sauce is perfect for a better-than-takeout weeknight dinner!

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Crispy Chicken Stir Fry With Blistered Green Beans in a skillet with a serving spoon

Crispy Chicken Stir-Fry Recipe, Quick, Easy and Delicious.

This crispy chicken stir-fry recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner. A protein and at least one vegetable—the formulaic requirements of every dinner, right? So, we’re obsessed with any kind of stir-fry because they so easily encompass both requirements.

The phrase “stir-fry” is really just an umbrella term hovering over any dish that is cooked at a very high heat (the “fry") and thus requires a lot of stirring (to prevent burning). A stir-fry can be whatever you make it. The options for add-ins are endless! We’ll explore that more later, but first let’s start with this particular, easy-to-love combo of crispy chicken and blistered green beans.

Ingredients laid out for chicken stir fry recipe: Green Beans, chicken breast, cilantro ginger, garlic, sesame oil cornstarch

How Do You Make a Chicken Stir-Fry?

Stir-fries are forgiving, but there is one hard and fast rule: cook the chicken separately from the vegetables. This allows your meat to be cooked perfectly, without overcooking the veggies. An easy chicken stir-fry is just a few quick steps away. Here's how to make stir-fry:

  1. Start with medium heat: because we are working with cubed chicken, you’ll need to start on medium heat instead of high to be sure you don’t end up with dry chicken.
  2. Heat the pan before you add anything else: once your pan is warm add in sesame oil, and let it heat up until the oil is glistening.
  3. Work in small batches! It’s really important not to crowd the pan or the chicken will give off too much liquid too fast and you won’t get crispy brown edges! Add some of the chicken to the hot oil, and stir constantly to ensure an even browning. Once it is crispy and cooked through, remove the chicken and continue with the next batch until all of the chicken is cooked.
  4. Crank the heat! Once chicken is done, turn the heat up super high! You want the pan almost smoking. Obviously, this is not the moment to have little ones near by—super-hot oil is serious business, so work carefully. Add a little more oil to the pan, and once it’s hot, carefully add the green beans. Move them around the high heat for a couple of minutes just until they start to blister—watch the pan closely to ensure that the green beans blister, not burn.
  5. Toss it all together! Once the green beans are done, toss the chicken back into the pan along with the simple, homemade stir-fry sauce, quickly toss everything together and dinner is done!
raw chicken in a bowl with corn starch
crispy chicken in a saute pan

How Do You Cook Crispy Chicken?

Cornstarch and high heat mean super-crispy chicken every time. Before cooking, toss the chicken in cornstarch until completely coated. When the cornstarch hits the hot oil, something magic happens and your chicken with gorgeously golden, crispy edges.

blistered green beans in a sauté pan
chicken starry sauce in a skillet  garlic, soy sauce, chili oil
stir fry sauce in a sauce pan with a wooden spoon
green beans and crispy chicken in a sauté pan for homemade chicken starry recipe

What Goes into This Easy Stir-Fry Recipe?

Any great stir-fry is composed of three elements: protein, veggies and sauce! Here are our favorite stir-fry ingredients.

  1. Protein: We use chicken (specifically chicken breast) for this recipe, but you can use virtually any protein you want. Steak and tofu both are great options!
  2. Vegetables: Blistered green beans are pretty high on our favorites list, but cabbage, asparagus or red bell pepper make great alternatives.
  3. Sauce: as simple as a pour of soy sauce and sesame oil, or as complex as a ten-ingredient swirl of aromatics, oils and acids. Sweet and sticky, or rich and tangy. The sky’s the limit with this starry sauce! Here, we opted for a simple, classic mix of garlic, ginger, soy sauce (or tamari) and chili paste. It’s tangy, vibrant, and we’re in love.
Stir Fry Chicken and vegetables in a pan

What Can I Serve With This Stir-Fry?

The beauty of this stir-fried chicken and vegetables is that it is a stand-alone dish. A little prep, a quick sauté and you’re done. Enjoy this chicken and green bean stir-fry on its own, or serve it over a bowl of steamed brown or white rice.

Tools You'll Need:

close up of crispy chicken and green beans

More Easy Stir-Fry Dinners You'll Love!

Show us Your Dinner!

If you made this delicious chicken dinner, and you think it's the best stir fry recipe ever, we want to hear about it! Feel free to leave a comment below and don't forget to tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper or #themodernproper. Happy eating.

Crispy Chicken Stir Fry

  • Serves: 5
  • Prep Time:  15 min
  • Cook Time:  20 min
  • Calories: 365

Ingredients

  • 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch cubes
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
  • 3/4 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 3" pieces
  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp minced, fresh ginger
  • 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 tsp chili paste, such as Sambal Oelek (or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • sesame seeds, optional
  • minced cilantro, optional

Method

  1. In a medium sized bowl toss together the chicken and cornstarch.
  2. In a large skillet (or wok) heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil over medium heat until glistening, about 2 minutes. Working in small batches, add in the chicken and allow to crisp, about 8 minutes. Turn often until all sides are golden brown and chicken is cooked through. Repeat steps until all chicken is cooked, adding more oil only if necessary.
  3. Once chicken is cooked add remaining 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to the pan and bring to high heat. The oil should be glistening and almost smoking. Add in green beans stirring often until blistered (little dark spots) and just barely tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
  4. Reduce heat to medium-low, allow skillet to cool down slightly. Stir in garlic, ginger, soy sauce, chili paste and salt. Stir until all ingredients are combine and garlic is fragrant. Add chicken and green beans back to the pan stirring until coated in sauce.
  5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro and serve immediately.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories365
  • Protein43 g
  • Carbohydrates11 g
  • Total Fat16 g
  • Dietary Fiber2 g
  • Cholesterol132 mg
  • sodium621 mg
  • Total Sugars3 g

Crispy Chicken Stir Fry

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • Emily Burns

    Can I make this using frozen green beans?

    Sure but you'll probably want to thaw them first before adding them in.

  • Caroline Welden

    Every time I make this the cornstarch is stuck all over the bottom of the pan by the time I get to the second batch of chicken and then green beans. I feel I am stirring very often. Any suggestions?

    Try turning your stove down a bit, it might run a tad hot. Also try adding more oil before the second batch of chicken if you aren't doing that already. Hope this helps Caroline!

  • lauren

    can this be done in the air fryer

    We haven't tried this in the air fryer Lauren, we'd love to hear how it goes if you try it out!

  • Yvette

    Tried this last night! Super easy and my husband liked it! Though I would like the beans to be tasty same with the chicken. is there a way I can make it like that? I noticed all the flavor went to the chicken.

    Hi Yvette! A lot of the green bean flavor here comes from the cooking technique as well as the sauce! Be sure to really 'blister' the green beans—in other words, to cook them over very high heat until you see little dark spots. Enjoy!

  • Thuy Nguyen

    How do we store it? I made it and it is delicious

    In an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or so.

  • Staci

    So easy and delish - definitely a new go-to! And my coworkers are demanding the recipe :)

    Thank you Staci! So happy it's a keeper!

  • Richard Barnard

    Tasty, quick dish. I would add more ginger and soy although I had to use regular sesame oil. Toasted sesame would add more flavor. Use a high rim pan, wok, cast iron or cover while cooking the chicken as it spatters or at least it did for me. It was more work than indicated but generally an easy. Depends on how many batches of chicken you make, how big your pan is, etc.

    Thanks Richard, glad you enjoyed it!

  • Robert J DiPietro

    Excellent. I admit to using chicken thighs instead of breasts, but otherwise this recipe was outstanding and a definite keeper.

    Thanks Robert, so glad you liked it! No harm in changing up the chicken!

  • Randy Eckwall

    Delicious. I did not taken the chicken and beans out of the cast iron pan to add the sauce. I loved how crisp everything was.

    Thanks Randy, we are so glad you loved it!

  • Heather Lawson

    It was amazing yet very simple! I had all ingredients in my pantry, which made it even better. I will definitely be making this again.

    Thanks Heather, so glad you'll be making again!