Easy Stir-fry Recipes

A stir-fry has got to be one of the easiest, healthiest and most satisfying meals going. You get your pan nice and hot, throw all your favourite ingredients in, and in no time at all you’re sitting down to eat. 

Stir-fries are well known for using plenty of veggies, so they’re low in calories and just what you need when you’re watching what you eat. 

You might think that once you’ve tried one stir-fry, you’ve tried them all – but we’re here to prove you wrong! We’ve rounded up our favourite easy stir-fry recipes and each one brings something different to the table.  

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Broccoli and Mushroom Stir-fry

We’re starting off with a vegetarian recipe that proves simple meals can still be bursting with flavour. Our Broccoli and Mushroom Stir-fry is ready in under 30 minutes, and there’s just 222 calories in each serving (that’s even including the noodles!). 

Everything gets coated in a homemade sauce that mixes sweet honey, salty soy sauce and spicy sriracha with tangy oyster sauce and Chinese five spice powder. This creates a perfect balance of Chinese-inspired flavours that you can have on the table so much faster than ordering a takeaway. 

Just remember not to cook your broccoli for too long – you’ll get the best results if it still has a lovely crunch to it when you take that first bite. 

Stir-fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion

If you’ve been thinking about a takeaway all day, the last thing you’ll feel like doing is going home and cooking something healthy. We know that feeling all too well, and it’s the whole reason we started making our fakeaway recipes. 

There’s no reason to feel like you’re missing out when you dish up a plate of something that tastes as good as this Stir-fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onion. 

It only needs 15 minutes in the pan to get the beef nice and brown and the vegetables cooked, but still with a bite to them. The sauce will thicken and get all syrupy, with a nice subtle heat from the ginger. 

We’ve made this recipe with beef but any kind of meat would work well – you could even try it with prawns if you wanted!

There are lots of fresh veggies to chop for this recipe, and the job will be so much easier with a good set of sharp knives. This set that you can pick up from Amazon includes a handy sharpener so you can always keep your knives in tip top shape. 

Beef and Broccoli Noodle Bowls

Love beef AND love broccoli? Easy – put them both together and make these Beef and Broccoli Noodle Bowls. Even counting the noodles, a serving of this speedy stir-fry comes to just 269 calories. Midweek meals don’t get much more slimming friendly than that!

The sauce for this one is a fragrant, sticky mixture of soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger and sweetener. It cooks down to release deep, moreish flavours that give the takeaway a run for its money.

Delicious on its own, this recipe is also great for serving with all your favourite Chinese-inspired side dishes. We can’t resist adding some Sesame Chicken Toasts on the side of ours. 

Hibachi Chicken with Yum Yum Sauce

Inspired by a popular Japanese dish, this chicken stir-fry is a quick, tasty meal that you’ll want to plan in every week once you see how easy it is! Our Hibachi Chicken with Yum Yum Sauce is made from tender pieces of chicken, lots of crunchy fresh vegetables and a sweet, slightly spiced sauce that’s just as yummy as the name suggests. 

Our lighter version of Yum Yum sauce is made using common ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. All you need to do is mix them all together and then drizzle them over your stir-fry to add bags of flavour. This dish can either be served with a side of boiled rice or plain noodles – whichever you prefer!

Hibachi traditionally means ‘fire bowl’ because this dish is designed to be cooked quickly, over a high heat. You can get the same results with a good wok, which spreads heat evenly to help food cook faster. This one is super durable and works on all kinds of hobs, including induction. 

Chicken Mushroom Fakeaway

How does a stir-fry with a savoury, rich sauce sound? We’ve packed plenty of veggies into our Chicken Mushroom Fakeaway, making it super filling yet low in calories. It’s a great way to use up any spare veg that’s laying around – there’s no need to follow the recipe to a tee, you can throw in whatever vegetables you prefer. 

Stir-fry the chicken and veggies together with that savoury mixture of soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar and black pepper before adding some beef stock. This really gives the sauce some body and deepens the flavours. Simple but effective, this has a real taste of the takeaway (with half of the calories). 

Chicken Pad Thai

Ready in just 20 minutes, this Chicken Pad Thai brings together tender chicken and crunchy veg with rice noodles and a tangy, nutty sauce that has an unusual secret ingredient! 

Before you start stir-frying, prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients together, including a good dollop of tomato ketchup – yes, really! We prefer to use Hellman’s Ketchup sweetened with honey, but any will do if you can’t get your hand on this exact one. 

It’s best to stir-fry your ingredients in separate steps for this dish. Get your chicken in there first, then remove it from the pan when it’s nearly cooked. Next, give your vegetables a couple of minutes over the heat before setting them to one side while you cook the eggs. 

Just wait until everything comes together – this has so much flavour, it’s hard to believe each serving comes in at just 276 calories. 

Bang Bang Noodles

A vegetarian stir-fry with a kick, these Bang Bang Noodles build up so much flavour in so little time. Salty halloumi and sweet chilli are a dream when you put them together, so it’s no wonder this is one of our favourite noodle dishes!

Halloumi is super quick to cook, taking just a few minutes to get nice and golden brown on each side. If you’re not cooking for any vegetarians you can swap this to any meat of your choice, just remember to adjust the nutritional info if you’re counting calories or following a diet plan like Weight Watchers. 

This recipe can be as spicy as you like it – throw in more chilli flakes or leave the seeds in your chillies if you can handle the heat. 

What are your favourite stir-fry recipes?

We’d love to hear which speedy recipes you turn to on busy days! Join the discussion over in our Facebook group where we have almost 1 million members waiting to support you on your slimming journey. 

Did you know that you can now share your hints, tips, quotes and photos in our PON Gallery too? Go and have a scroll through all the submissions from the lovely Pinch of Nom community if you’re looking for some inspiration for dinner tonight!