Quality keto cooking doesn’t have to be a time-consuming chore. Though some recipes recommend special gadgets, multiple pans, and uncommon ingredients, these are not essential for a delicious keto-friendly meal.
All it takes is the right combination of low-carb ingredients and simple steps to create a satisfying and healthy keto dish in 30 min or less. We’ll show you how with this keto stir fry recipe.
The Secret to a Good Keto Stir Fry: 3 Components & 3 Steps
Stir fry recipes usually contain three key components: veggies, protein, and sauce. To keep it keto, we will be using low-carb vegetables and sugar-free, starch-free sauce.
You’ll cook them into a delicious keto meal using this three-step process:
1. Prep
Cut the veggies and meat into similar sized pieces and get them ready for cooking. In this recipe, you’ll be prepping the meat with a delicious and quick marinade that doubles as your keto stir fry sauce.
In general, your meat to vegetable/mushroom ratio will be anywhere between 1 to 1 and 1 to 2. For example, with this keto stir fry, we call for 1.5 pounds of chicken thighs with roughly 1.5 pounds of low-carb vegetables + mushrooms.
2. Cook the vegetables and meat separately.
Adding everything to the pan at once will yield you a limp and watery stir fry. This is why it is best to cook meat and vegetables separately before bringing them together. Follow the tips in the next section to cook them to your preference.
3. Combine, cook together, and garnish.
This is when you can finally bring everything together with your keto stir fry sauce. Simply combine, cook the mushrooms through, plate, and garnish.
Tips for Cooking and Customizing Your Keto Stir Fry
Our keto stir fry recipe is surprisingly easy to customize based on your flavor, texture, and macronutrient preferences as well. Here are a few keto cooking tips that’ll help make your stir fry exactly how you like it:
- Adjust the texture of your veggies — To keep them crisp, cook your veggies a bit less, avoid overcrowding the pan, and serve right away. For fork-tender veggies, cook them a bit longer or cover your pan to steam them for 1-2 minutes. Make sure to stir your vegetables every min or so to keep them from burning.
- Brown exactly what you want — If you prefer a slightly charred flavor with your vegetables, let them cook on each side for 1-2 minutes before stirring. Conversely, to keep anything from burning, stir it around more often.
- Cut the prep and cook time for a quicker stir fry — To keep your prep to a minimum, buy pre-cut low-carb vegetables or frozen stir fry veggies. You can also decrease the cooking time by using two pans at once, one for the chicken and one for the vegetables.
- Thicken the sauce — Before plating, whisk together 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum with a tablespoon of the sauce from the pan. Add back to the pan and stir, over low heat, until the sauce has thickened.
- Make it extra spicy — Spice things up with some sugar-free hot sauce or sriracha. This can be added to the pan along with the sauce or used as a garnish.
- Sweeten it up without the sugar — If you prefer a sweeter stir fry sauce, mix 1-2 tbsp of a powdered keto-friendly sweetener (with a similar sweetness as sugar) into your marinade/sauce.
- Don’t forget the garnish — Try topping your stir fry with sesame seeds and chopped green onion, then drizzling with toasted sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
How to Store Your Keto Chicken Stir Fry Leftovers
This recipe is so filling that you’ll probably have leftovers. If you plan to eat it again in the next 3-4 days, simply cover and store it in the fridge.
For a longer-term option, put your stir fry servings in air-tight containers and freeze them for up to 3 months. Keep in mind, however, the freezing process can cause the vegetables to get mushier.
FAQs about Keto Stir Fry Ingredients
Even on the keto diet, there are plenty of ingredients you can add to your stir fry. Below you’ll find the answers to some commonly asked ingredient questions:
Can I Use Other Vegetables?
Yes, but only if you keep it keto-friendly. For example, some great low-carb stir fry vegetables are zucchini, green beans, spinach, and cauliflower.
For more options, check out our list of keto-friendly vegetables. (Don’t forget to consider the carb content and cooking time of your chosen vegetables.)
What About Frozen Vegetables?
If you don’t mind the fact that they won’t be as crisp, frozen veggies are an excellent option for your keto stir fry as well. In fact, your local grocery store may even carry frozen stir fry vegetables.
Can I Use Shrimp, Beef, or Steak in My Keto Stir Fry?
Ground meat, shrimp, steak, chicken breast, and virtually any other meat will work well with this recipe.
If you’d like to customize your stir fry even more, check out these keto recipes for inspiration:
Yields 4 servings of Keto Stir Fry
The Preparation
- 1.5 pound bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, de-boned and cut into slices
- 2 whole garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, use tamari or coconut aminos if avoiding soy
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 7 ounce broccoli
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, sliced
- 3 ounce cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
The Execution
1. Prep all ingredients so that they are ready to use.
2. Marinate chicken in garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and vinegar.
3. Add half of the avocado oil in a pan (or wok) over high heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes or until soft, then add the red bell pepper and broccoli.
4. Once broccoli is cooked, but still crisp, remove the vegetables from the pan and place in a bowl. Set aside.
5. Drain the chicken from the marinade (keeping the marinade to add later). Add the remaining avocado oil to your pan (or wok) and once hot, add the chicken. Cook the chicken over high heat until completely cooked through, about 4-6 minutes.
6. Once the chicken is cooked, add all remaining ingredients into the pan (including the pre-cooked vegetables and marinade).
7. Cook for 3-4 minutes more, until the mushrooms are al dente and sauce has reduced. Serve hot and enjoy!
This makes a total of 4 servings of Keto Stir Fry. Each serving comes out to be 521 calories, 38.5g fats, 7g net carbs, and 33.6g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 1.5 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 1440 | 102 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120 |
| 2 garlic cloves | 8.9 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| 1 tablespoon ginger | 5.5 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 cup soy sauce | 34 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 5.2 |
| 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 tablespoon avocado oil | 364 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 medium onion | 41 | 0.2 | 9.5 | 1.3 | 8.2 | 1.3 |
| 7 ounce broccoli | 69 | 0.8 | 14 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 4.7 |
| 1/2 medium red bell pepper | 16 | 0.1 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 0.5 |
| 3 ounce cremini mushrooms | 19 | 0.1 | 3.7 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 2.1 |
| 2 teaspoon sesame oil | 80 | 9.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes | 3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Totals | 2083.4 | 153.9 | 37.8 | 9.9 | 27.9 | 134.4 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 520.9 | 38.5 | 9.5 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 33.6 |
The Preparation
- 1.5 pound bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, de-boned and cut into slices
- 2 whole garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, use tamari or coconut aminos if avoiding soy
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 7 ounce broccoli
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, sliced
- 3 ounce cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
The Execution
- Prep all ingredients so that they are ready to use.
- Marinate chicken in garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and vinegar.
- Add half of the avocado oil in a pan (or wok) over high heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes or until soft, then add the red bell pepper and broccoli.
- Once broccoli is cooked, but still crisp, remove the vegetables from the pan and place in a bowl. Set aside.
- Drain the chicken from the marinade (keeping the marinade to add later). Add the remaining avocado oil to your pan (or wok) and once hot, add the chicken. Cook the chicken over high heat until completely cooked through, about 4-6 minutes.
- Once chicken is cooked, add all remaining ingredients into the pan (including the pre-cooked vegetables and marinade).
- Cook for 3-4 minutes more, until the mushrooms are al dente and sauce has reduced. Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
This makes a total of 4 servings of Keto Stir Fry. Each serving comes out to be 521 calories, 38.5g fats, 7g net carbs, and 33.6g protein.
