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This Coconut Lime Chicken and Broccoli stir-fry recipe is quick and easy to make and simmered in a tangy, creamy coconut-lime sauce. Serve over rice or noodles and enjoy!
New chicken stir fry recipe for you today! ♡
This one’s tossed with a fun, bright and tangy coconut lime sauce that you guys are going to love. The flavors here are inspired by one of my favorite Thai soups, that features a creamy coconut milk base mixed with zesty hints of ginger, garlic, and lemongrass. Lots of freshly-squeezed lime juice in there is also balanced out with a hint of honey, which also brings out the sweetness of the coconut milk. And altogether it tastes ultra-fresh and flavorful and pairs perfectly with a simple chicken and broccoli stir-fry.
The great news for all of us is that this recipe comes together in under 30 minutes and tastes great served over rice or noodles. (I usually put my Instant Pot to work cooking the rice while I make the stir-fry.) This recipe also happens to be naturally gluten- and dairy-free. And of course, as with any stir-fry, this recipe is also super flexible if you’d like to swap in a different protein (shrimp, beef, tofu, etc) or any other veggies (basically any stir-fry-friendly veggies would do) that you prefer.
Alright friends, let’s make some coconut lime chicken and broccoli!
Coconut Lime Chicken and Broccoli Ingredients:
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this coconut lime chicken and broccoli recipe (amounts included in the full recipe below):
- Full-fat coconut milk: I strongly recommend using a brand of full-fat milk that is extra creamy (basically, one that has the lowest percentage of added water) to ensure that this sauce is thick and creamy. Or alternately, you can use a can of coconut cream instead of coconut milk.
- Chicken stock: Chicken or veggie stock will work here — whichever you have on hand.
- Lime juice: I love making this sauce with lots of freshly-squeezed lime juice so that it’s extra tart and lime-y. But please feel free to add as much or as little lime juice as you prefer.
- Sugar: I used honey to balance out the tartness of the sauce, but you can use brown sugar, white sugar, honey or any other sweetener you prefer.
- Cornstarch: Just a bit to thicken the sauce, if you would like. (Otherwise you can omit the cornstarch if you don’t mind a thinner sauce.)
- Ginger: I grated a tablespoon of fresh ginger for the sauce, which I highly recommend. (YUM.) But if you would like to save some time, you can just add in a teaspoon of ground ginger instead.
- Lemongrass: I love the flavor of fresh lemongrass in this recipe (you can either grate your own or buy a tube of lemongrass paste). But if you can’t track down lemongrass at your local grocery store, no worries, the recipe will still taste great without it.
- Chicken: You can either use boneless chicken breasts or thighs, thinly-sliced into bite-sized pieces, which we will sauté in olive oil.
- Veggies: A mix of chopped broccoli florets, thinly-sliced green onions (green and white parts separated) and garlic (pressed or minced).
- Salt and black pepper: As always, to season.
- Toppings: Finally, fresh toppings are key to bringing out the best flavors of this sauce! I recommend sprinkling lots of chopped fresh cilantro and sliced green onions on top of each serving. (Or if you happen to have any fresh mint or basil on hand, those would be delicious additions too.) And if you would like to add some heat, slice up some serrano or Thai bird chiles and sprinkle them on top as well.
How To Make Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry:
Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here’s a brief overview of how we will make this broccoli chicken stir fry recipe:
- Make the coconut lime sauce: First, we’ll whisk all of the sauce ingredients together until combined.
- Cook the chicken. Then we’ll sauté the chicken in olive oil until it’s cooked, and transfer it to a clean plate to hang out while we cook the sauce.
- Cook the sauce. Next, we’ll briefly sauté the (white parts of the) green onions and garlic in the same pan in olive oil. Then add in the sauce mixture and bring everything to a simmer.
- Put everything together. Finally, we’ll add the broccoli to the sauce and give it a quick toss. (I like mine pretty crisp, but you can simmer yours for longer if you would like it to be a bit softer.) Then add the chicken back in too.
- Season. And of course, don’t forget to give the dish a taste and season it with extra salt, pepper, lime juice and/or sweetener that you think it may need.
- Serve. Then while it’s still nice and warm, serve it up over rice or noodles, garnished with lots of fresh cilantro and (the dark parts of the) green onions, plus a few sliced chiles if you would like to add some heat. And enjoy!!
Possible Variations:
As I mentioned above, this stir fry recipe is quite flexible when it comes to modifications. So free free to customize yours with whatever ingredients you love best! For example, you could…
- Make it spicy: Feel free to sprinkle some thinly-sliced serrano or Thai bird chiles on top of each dish, if you would like to customize the heat of individual servings. Or alternately, you can stir the chiles into the sauce to give the entire stir-fry some extra heat. (Crushed red pepper flakes or any other hot sauce you prefer would work here too.)
- Make it creamier: If you would like the sauce to be even creamier, use a can of coconut cream instead of coconut milk.
- Use a different protein: Shrimp, beef, pork or tofu would all be delicious substitutions for the chicken if you would like.
- Use different veggies: Feel free to also add in any stir-fry-friendly veggies to this dish in place of (or combined with) the broccoli if you would like.
- Add extra herbs: As mentioned above, Thai basil and/or fresh mint would also be delicious topping additions if you happen to have them on hand.
More Favorite Stir-Fry Recipes:
Looking for more quick stir-fry recipes to try? Here are a few of my faves!
Description
This Coconut Lime Chicken and Broccoli stir-fry recipe is quick and easy to make and simmered in a tangy, creamy coconut-lime sauce.
Scale
Ingredients
Coconut Lime Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) full-fat coconut milk*
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 2 to 4 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice*
- 2 tablespoons honey*
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger*
- (optional) 1 stalk lemongrass, peeled and grated (see note below*)
Stir-Fry Ingredients:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
- fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced with white and green green parts separated
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 3 cups broccoli florets*
- toppings: lots of chopped fresh cilantro, optional thinly-sliced Thai bird chiles for heat
Instructions
- Make the coconut lime sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, chicken stock, lime juice, sugar, cornstarch, grated ginger and grated lemongrass until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
- Cook the chicken. Season the chicken with a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan. Add the chicken and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring and flipping occasionally, until cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate and set aside.
- Cook the sauce. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the sauté pan. Add the white parts of the scallions and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the sauce mixture and whisk to combine. Let the sauce continue cooking until it reaches a simmer.
- Put everything together. Add the broccoli to the sauce and gently toss for 1 minute until it is completely coated. Add in the chicken and toss until combined. Remove from heat.
- Season. Taste and season the dish with extra salt, pepper, lime juice and/or sugar if needed.
- Serve. Serve warm over rice or noodles, garnished with lots of fresh cilantro and the dark parts of the green onions, plus a few sliced chiles if you would like to add some heat. Enjoy!
Notes
Coconut milk: I strongly recommend using a brand of full-fat milk that is extra creamy (basically, one that has the lowest percentage of added water) to ensure that this sauce is thick and creamy. Or alternately, you can use a can of coconut cream instead of coconut milk.
Lime juice: I love this sauce super lime-y, and sometimes will add in even more than 4 tablespoons. But if you prefer your sauce not to be very tart, I would begin with just 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and then you can add more afterwards to taste if you’d like.
Sugar: Or feel free to instead use brown sugar, white (granulated) sugar, coconut sugar, or whatever your preferred sweetener may be. Also, feel free to add more or less sweetener, to taste.
Ginger: Or you can instead add in 1 teaspoon (dried) ground ginger.
Lemongrass: Peel off the reedy outer layers of the lemongrass stalk. Then either grate or finely mince only the bottom few inches of the bottom of the stalk that is white or pale green until you have about 1 tablespoon of grated lemongrass. Alternately, you can use store-bought lemongrass paste. Or if you can’t find lemongrass at all, no worries, the recipe will still taste delicious without it.
Broccoli: I was able to get about 3 to 4 bite-sized broccoli florets from 2 medium heads of broccoli.
Storage instructions: Leftovers can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 3-4 days. Unfortunately this coconut sauce does not freeze well, so I do not recommend freezing.
Recipe source: This one was originally inspired by Little Broken’s coconut milk chicken recipe.
