This chicken stir fry is a simple, balanced meal prep option with sesame chicken, crisp vegetables, and rice that makes four ready-to-go lunches.
It's my favorite time of the year! We are finally able to go for after dinner park adventures, it's warm enough to leave the house without a wind breaker, and the tulips are in full bloom.
This was a long, brutal winter, and we have earned this weather, that's for sure!
Today I'm sharing one of my favorite recipes with you guys...I'm kind of cheating because technically these maple ginger chicken meal prep lunch bowls are already on this site, but I wanted to show you the versatility of this recipe...for meal prep lunches! Plus, I wasn't loving the old photos.
Don't forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!
reasons you'll love this meal prep chicken
- Balanced - Lean chicken is paired with vegetables and rice that keeps the meal satisfying. If you are low carb you can easily skip the rice.
- High Protein - Each serving has 35 grams of protein to keep your body fueled and satisfied.
- Meal Prep Friendly - Makes four complete lunches that reheat well without getting soggy or dry.
Ingredients for Chicken Stir Fry
- Chicken breasts: you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Vegetables: carrots, snap peas, asparagus, and garlic
- Stir Fry ingredients: soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, maple syrup and corn starch
- Optional add ins: rice, and cashews for crunch.
How to Make Chicken Stir Fry
- Combine the stir fry ingredients and set aside.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat, cook the vegetables in one tablespoon of olive oil until they are tender, this will take about 5 minutes.
- Remove the veggies from the skillet and cook the cubed chicken until cooked through. Add the garlic and ginger, sauté for one minute.
- Add the stir fry sauce to the pan, cook about 1 minute until it has thickened.
Variations and Substitutions
- Swap the sauce for any of these 7 Easy Stir Fry Sauces You Can Make Ahead
- Swap the veggies for other options like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts or peppers and onions.
- For a vegetarian option, tofu works great!
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped these maple ginger chicken meal prep bowls. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.
Other Stir Fry Recipes
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Chicken Stir Fry
Video
Ingredients
Stir fry
- ¾ cup rice of choice uncooked
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons ginger finely grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 5 cups vegetables carrots, peas & asparagus pictured
- 2 large chicken breasts roughly 1 lb; boneless skinless chicken thighs are also great!
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Optional
- ¼ cup cashews
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions and set aside.
- Shake together all sauce ingredients and set aside.
- In a medium pan or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
- Add the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly tender.
- Transfer the veggies to a bowl.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.
- Add the chicken to the pan, and cook for 5-7 minutes, until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for one minute
- Add the stir fry sauce to the pan (shake it up again first), and cook for 1 minute or until thickened.
- Amongst four storage containers, divide the rice, veggies and chicken. Spoon extra sauce over the chicken.
- OptionalScatter cashews over the lunch bowls.
Nutrition Information
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Hi, I'm Annie. With a Bachelor of Science degree, a minor in nutrition and nearly 20 year of both classical training, and self-taught experience, I've spent my career proving that home cooking can be practical, delicious and inspiring. What started in 2013 as one food blog has grown into a full-time business. Today, my husband Clayton and I run five food websites that connect with millions of home cooks every month.
When I'm not in the kitchen or behind the camera, I'm using fueling my love of travel, or chasing down new ideas that keep food fun and fresh.
Simone says
This is definitely a keeper!
I made it fresh on a home office day and my husband had some the next day. Also one more portion in the freezer. I roughly doubled the recipe (more than double on the veggies and a bit less maple sirup).
Especially good with the asparagus.
Martina Eckert says
Superb fresh and reheats well. Easy to put together too. I substituted broccoli.
Madi says
This was so good! I made 4 servings for 3 days and the meals tasted fresh every time! I just stir fried brocoli instead of the other veggies and they tasted great too! For some reason the sauce was darker and thicker than the one in the video, but it still tasted amazing!
Denise Bustard says
Hi Madi! Woohoo! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to come back and leave a review 🙂
Kelsi says
Wow! Absolutely delicious! I will Definitely be making these again soon!
Denise says
So happy to hear this, Kelsi! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Lauren Shorts says
I just want to say thank you so much for this recipe! Not only was it easy, but it this is the tastiest meal I've ever made! I did things a little differently. I cooked the chicken in my instapot, cooked the veggies in a wok, then combined everything once it was cooked and added the sauce and mixed it up. I used a sugar free maple syrup to save calories. The grated ginger, and raw cashews really kicked this dish up 1000 notches. Awesome recipe
Denise says
WOW, huge compliment! So happy you enjoyed and also great to know you can make it in the IP!
Alyssa says
I wanted to tell you I butchered this recipe. Ground spices instead of fresh, didn't mix the premixed the sauce so was just throwing the powdered spices and pouring the liquids over the chicken while frantically trying to keep it from burning, totally different veggies. There was steam like crazy, a near fire, and I might have cried and cursed. Loudly.
But it's such a versatile, ROCK SOLID recipe that it still tastes amazing.
Thank you for such a solid foundation and great addition to my meal rotation! The sauce was amazing!
Denise says
What an awesome comment! I am happy it turned out for your after everything you wen through 😀
Katie says
Amazing!
Denise says
Thanks so much!
Ann says
When do you add the corn starch? I’ve tried this many times but can never get the sauce to a thicker constancy.
Denise says
Hi Ann, it's mixed in with the stir fry sauce, but you need to make sure you shake it up really well before adding it into the stir fry. If you don't shake it up well, the cornstarch could stick to the bottom of the jar/bowl and it may not thicken. If this is not your issue and it still does not thicken, you could always try adding another teaspoon of cornstarch, but I've made this many times and it should thicken as written. Sorry you're having issues with it!
Stephanie says
Which lunch containers are you using? They look like a great size!
Denise says
Hi Stephanie! I use Snapware 2 cup glass storage containers. They are the BEST!
Deb says
Recipe doesn't show ginger and garlic..how much?
Deb says
Sorry it does..in the stir fry section
Denise says
Glad you found it! I put it in that section because you sautee it before adding the rest of the sauce 🙂
Christa says
this was the first recipe I tried and it's still my fav! I love the versatility of being able to use almost and veg to my preference or what's in the fridge!
Denise says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Christa!
Dorell says
How much chicken do you use? Its not listed in the ingredients.
Denise says
Eek so sorry about that. 2 large chicken breasts or 12 oz. I have also used chicken thighs and I might actually enjoy them even more...they are still moist on day 4.