Walnut Chicken Stir Fry! This easy meal takes under 30 minutes and is full of flavor! You'll love this time-saving way of making this satisfying dish.
This post is sponsored by the Be Heart Healthy promotion at Publix. All thoughts and text are my own.
"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live."
Jim Rohn
One of the biggest challenges in looking after one's wellbeing is often finding the time to create healthy habits. The good news is, making mindful decisions in the kitchen that can positively impact your body doesn't have to be difficult or time consuming!
This month, head to Publix supermarkets and stock up on products that are both delicious AND heart-healthy with their "Be Heart Healthy" promotion, running through February 25! Whether you swap out your usual picks with plant-based options like Elmhurst Unsweetened Plant Based Milk ($4.49), or add Nature's Bounty Vitamins or Supplements to your daily routine ($3 Off Any 1 during promotion!), you'll be nurturing your wallet while you nourish your body.
My Walnut Chicken Stir Fry is a spin-off on restaurant take out, that takes no time at all to make thanks to convenient, store-bought ingredients like crispy Caulipower Chicken Tenders ($6.99 during promotion) and Fisher Chef's Naturals Walnuts ($4.79).
Tossed together with veggies and a simple yet flavorful sauce, this will earn a top spot in the weeknight dinner rotation!
This recipe is naturally gluten free (if made with tamari) and dairy-free and can be made vegetarian or vegan. (See Variations & Substitutions area below.)
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Ingredients
One of the best things about making stir fry is that it is easy to change up with your favorite ingredients or whatever you have on hand. It's often what I make when I need to clean out the fridge!
For this Walnut Chicken version, I used the following ingredients:
- Store-bought chicken tenders. I used Caulipower Spicy Chicken Tenders because I love that they have a gluten-free cauliflower coating. They take just a few minutes to cook and crisp in the air fryer or the oven.
- Sesame oil. I love the toasty flavor that sesame oil imparts on any dish. It also happens to be a heart healthy oil! If you don't like or have sesame oil, use your preferred oil.
- Vegetables. Broccoli, bell peppers, onions and snow peas were my choice for this recipe, but you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand.
- Soy sauce or tamari. This will create a sauce with a salty, umami flavor to season the ingredients.
- Honey. A touch of sweetness helps to offset the spicy flavors from the chicken.
- Garlic. Not only is garlic good for the heart, but it adds a punch of flavor!
- Ginger. Aromatic and mildly spicy, fresh ginger is so delicious, especially in Asian-inspired dishes. If you don't have fresh ginger, you can use store-bought ginger paste that is often found in the produce section of the grocery store.
- Lime juice. Fresh lime juice is best if possible.
- Corn starch. Corn starch acts as a thickener and helps make the sauce "sticky" rather than runny.
- Walnuts. Another ingredient with heart-healthy fats, walnuts add a nice flavor and wonderful crunch.
Instructions
Make Chicken
You can certainly cook up your own chicken if you'd like, but for this stir fry, I used frozen chicken tenders made according to the package directions. It's a guaranteed addition of flavor and crunch without having to mess with raw chicken!
Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove from the oven or air fryer and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Make Sauce
While the chicken cooks, whisk together the sauce. In a small bowl or a measuring cup with a spout, whisk together the soy sauce or tamari, honey, garlic, ginger, and lime juice.
In another small bowl, whisk together corn starch with 3 tablespoons of water until no lumps remain. Add the corn starch mixture to the soy sauce mixture and whisk to fully combine.
Make Stir Fry
Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons of sesame oil in a large skillet or wok. Add in the onions, broccoli and peppers and cook until tender-crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Toss in the snow peas and cook for about a minute.
Toss in the chopped chicken and stir to combine.
Pour the sauce mixture over the stir fry and toss to coat. Allow the sauce to simmer until thickened and sticky, stirring often. (The high sugar content in honey can make it easy to burn, so keep things moving.)
Once the sauce is thickened and the stir fry is coated, sprinkle in the toasted walnuts; stir well to combine.
Serve the stir fry over brown rice and garnish with extra toasted walnuts if desired!
FAQ's
Yes. It's best to flash freeze your stir fry ingredients and then cook everything when you're going to serve it, but you can also freeze stir fry leftovers.
If you're planning on freezing cooked stir fry, try to keep the vegetables slightly crisp so that they don't get mushy when you cook them again. Cool the cooked stir fry completely then place it in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 weeks.
Absolutely! A high-sided wok makes it easy to quickly toss and cook ingredients in hot oil, but if you don't have one, you can just use a large skillet instead.
Variations & Substitutions
Try these variations on Walnut Chicken Stir Fry if you want to change things up!
- Change the protein. Use shrimp, pork or tofu instead of chicken.
- Swap out the veggies. Try using whichever vegetables are in season or you have on hand.
- Go nuts. Swap walnuts for cashews or peanuts for a different flavor.
- Get saucy. Use your favorite store-bought Asian dressing or stir fry sauce for an even shorter short cut!
Diet-Specific Substitutions
Vegetarian or vegan: Use a breaded vegan chicken tender substitute or use seared tofu instead, or simply omit the chicken and add extra vegetables.
Walnut Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
For Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
- 2 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated or minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 3 tablespoons water
For Stir Fry
- 1½ cups cooked chicken tenders chopped
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion sliced
- 2 medium bell peppers seeded and sliced
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- ½ cup snow peas
- ⅓ cup toasted walnuts chopped
Instructions
Make Chicken
- Cook chicken tenders according to package directions in the oven, toaster oven or air fryer.
Make Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce or tamari, garlic, ginger, and lime juice.
- In another small bowl, whisk together corn starch and water. Add to the soy sauce mixture and whisk to fully combine.
Make Stir Fry
- Heat sesame oil and olive oil in a wok or a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, bell peppers and broccoli and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes or until tender-crisp.
- Add snow peas and cook for about a minute.
- Add chopped, cooked chicken and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Pour sauce mixture over the vegetables and chicken and toss to coat until the sauce is thickened and the ingredients are coated.
- Add walnuts and toss to combine.
- Serve hot with brown rice or on its own.
Notes
- Change the protein. Use shrimp, pork or tofu instead of chicken.
- Swap out the veggies. Try using whichever vegetables are in season or you have on hand.
- Go nuts. Swap walnuts for cashews or peanuts for a different flavor.
- Get saucy. Use your favorite store-bought Asian dressing or stir fry sauce for an even shorter short cut!
- Vegetarian or vegan: Use a breaded vegan chicken tender substitute or use seared tofu instead, or simply omit the chicken and add extra vegetables.
