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Homemade Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

21 Comments

Our never-fail homemade Stir Fry Sauce Recipe can be thrown together in minutes, using ingredients we always have on hand. Stir fry sauce instantly elevates veggies and protein and makes them taste absolutely delicious!

a jar of homemade stir fry sauce with a spoon in front of a pan of stir fry

Why this is the BEST Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

A while back we did an Instagram story featuring Natalie cooking up a stir-fry. So many people asked for the recipe that we thought we would share our go-to stir fry sauce recipe.

Good stir fry sauce is such an essential for family feeding. You can throw in just about any kind of vegetable and protein that you have around and then serve it over rice or noodles. Stir fry is a quick meal, and everyone loves it! (And must we say – it can be really healthy too!!) It’s also a great way to use up leftover produce at the end of the week.

We tried multiple different recipes before landing on this one and making adjustments until it was just right. We wanted an interesting, kid-friendly flavor that wasn’t too sweet. It also had to be easy and use pantry ingredients. This recipe ticks all of those boxes!

a spoonful of stir fry sauce dripping into a glass jar

Ingredients for Stir Fry Sauce:

  • Soy Sauce– we always use low-sodium soy sauce.
  • Chicken (or Vegetable) Broth– we usually use chicken broth (Better than Bouillon is our go-to) but vegetable broth works great too.
  • Honey– we have tried different sweeteners, and honey is our favorite! You could use brown sugar if you prefer, but the honey flavor is not detectable in the final sauce.
  • Vinegar– we usually use apple cider vinegar, but rice wine vinegar or even distilled vinegar will work also.
  • Minced Garlic– fresh is best! We have used garlic powder, and it works but the flavor is much better with fresh.
  • Fresh Ginger– again, ginger powder will work. But we like to keep a knob of fresh ginger in the freezer. Simply grate the frozen ginger directly into the pan whenever you need it and throw it back in the freezer! The flavor is so much better and brighter.
  • Cornstarch– used as a thickener.
ingredients for homemade stir fry sauce

How to Make Stir Fry Sauce:

To make the sauce on its own:

  1. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring continually, until the sauce is thickened.
  2. Serve over cooked protein and veggies or use as a dipping sauce.

To use the sauce in your stir fry:

  1. Cook your desired protein in about 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until nice and browned. Add your mixed vegetables. Continue cooking until the protein is cooked through and the veggies are crisp tender.
  2. Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Pour over the protein and veggies in the skillet and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
  3. Serve over rice or noodles.

We told you it was easy!! As a rule of thumb, I use about 5 cups of fresh veggies and 1 pound of protein with this stir fry sauce recipe. It leaves enough sauce to pour over rice, but not too much.

homemade stir fry sauce in a glass jar with a spoon

What Vegetables should I use for Stir Fry?

Almost any veggies will work! But these are some of our favorites:

  • Bell Peppers
  • Sugar Snap Peas
  • Snow Peas
  • Broccoli
  • Mushrooms
  • Carrots
  • White or Yellow Onions
  • Zucchini
  • Cabbage
  • Asparagus

TIP: If you’re in a particular rush, just throw in a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies! Something is better than nothing, right?

chicken stir fry in a skillet

More Asian-Inspired Dinner Ideas:

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3.6 from 245 votes

Homemade Stir Fry Sauce Recipe

Our never-fail homemade stir fry sauce recipe can be thrown together in minutes, using ingredients we always have on hand. Stir fry sauce instantly elevates veggies and protein and makes them taste absolutely delicious!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 51kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl of liquid measuring cup.
  • Pour sauce over cooked protein and crisp-tender veggies. Simmer over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.
  • Or, pour the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 51kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 0.4mg | Sodium: 794mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Keyword : stir fry sauce recipe

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Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

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21 Comments

I want to make homemade stirfry sauce but I can not eat ginger or garlic in any form. Can I make sauce w/o these powders? Or would be something else I can substitute?]

This turned out really well. I cooked chicken, then put vegetables in that pan, then poured the sauce over it.

I do have a little sauce left over, wonder if it’s not cooked up to thicken yet, could I freeze it? or how long might it keep in the refrigerator?

The sauce came out AMAZING! It was just perfect, and had easy ingredients which I had on hand. I never make stir fry because I could never make the sauce, but now I will be making it more often. Thank you!!

This will be my new go-to recipe. It was fantastic. I only had a quarter cup of soy sauce on hand so I cut the recipe in half and it was actually the perfect amount. We love to put stir fry on top of a pile of shredded spagetti squash and this sauce went great with it. Total keeper. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve been searching for a good stir fry sauce and this is the best one I’ve come across. Finally a go-to sauce!! I used fresh ginger and fresh garlic for more flavour and had leftover pineapple in the fridge which just made the dish even better. Thanks for the recipe and tips!

Hi Katrina,

While I admit that soy tastes great, it is not healthy whatsoever. Even the low sodium. Soy contains high levels of goitrogens and protease inhibitors that can lead to health problems. Not to mention soy raises estrogen levels. And above all else soy crops are destructive to the planet. Try replacing soy with coconut oil or other natural alternatives 🙂 Cheers.

I made this tonight for a tofu stir fry over spaghetti squash and the whole family loved it! So versatile and easy. I used arrowroot instead of cornstarch. Thanks for sharing!

4 stars
Tasty recipe. No need for the fancy shaker though, a clean jam jar with lid does the job just as well for 0 cost.

Hi Susan, thanks for reaching out. This makes about 1 3/4 cups of sauce, and you can store it in the fridge for up to a week.

sodium content listed is clearly wrong, there is no way that the sodium is 2 mg per serving, with low sodium soy sauce and chicken broth , min 1200mg

Something wrong on your nutrition. Impossible to have sodium 2 mgs when using even low sodium soy sauce and then you have a veg stock on top of that.

My family used to love this sauce but something has changed. The only thing I can figure out is that it now calls for less honey. So we added an extra tablespoon but it was still off. What else is different. Is there any way to get the old recipe? Thank you!

Here you go!

1/2 c soy sauce
3/4 c vegetable broth
1/4 c honey
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp cornstarch