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This stir fry vegetables recipe is full of colorful veggies and an easy sauce that makes them taste irresistible! Add rice and a protein and you’ve got dinner.

How to make vegetables taste irresistible? Make a stir fry! These stir fry vegetables are colorful and taste so delicious, you won’t want to stop eating them. It’s great way to eat all the best healthy vegetables! Making a stir fry is easy, but you also need to know a few tricks to get it right. When Alex and I first started cooking, we’d attempt to “wing” a stir fry and it would come out flavorless with not enough sauce, or with mushy overcooked veggies. Here is everything you need to know to make a tasty pan of stir fry vegetables: and how to serve it to make a healthy dinner.

Also try: Cauliflower Stir Fry!

Best vegetables to use in a stir fry (cheat sheet & timing!)

What are the best stir fry vegetables? Here’s our list of the types that work best. Important: the toughness of the vegetable dictates the cook time! Take a look at the list below, and start with the veggies that take the longest to cook. Then add in the quicker cooking veggies. Here’s a cheat sheet:

Vegetables that take 6 to 7 minutes to stir fry:

Broccoli
Bell pepper of any color, or a mix
Onion: white, yellow, or red
Mushrooms: portobello or shiitake
Carrots, thinly sliced or matchsticks

Vegetables that take 3 to 5 minutes to stir fry:

Cabbage, thinly sliced
Snap peas or snow peas
Bok choy, chopped
Zucchini or summer squash
Edamame, frozen and shelled

Vegetables that take 1 minute to stir fry:

Garlic, minced
Ginger, minced
Green onion, thinly sliced (or use as a garnish)

How to stir fry vegetables

This is also important, so listen up! A stir fry cooks ingredients at high heat in hot oil. This technique originated in China, and has since spread to other parts of Asia and around the world. It’s different from steaming vegetables and sauteing them, because you’ll want your veggies to all come in contact with the hot pan for a short period of time. Here are a few pointers on how to stir fry vegetables:

Pick the right vegetables and add them based on the timing in the list above.
Use your largest pan. A large skillet, cast iron skillet or wok work here.
Important: Don’t overfill the pan! If you overfill the pan with vegetables, they will steam instead of stir frying. If you want to make a large quantity, cook it in batches.

A quick stir fry pan sauce

The sauce is another part of a stir fry that can be hard to get right. Here’s why: If you stir fry the vegetables in the sauce for too long, the sauce will evaporate. Because of this, you’ll want to add the sauce at the very end of the recipe. In this recipe, you’ll turn off the heat and then stir in the sauce to coat.

Also, there are difference consistencies of stir fry sauces. Here’s a breakdown:

Flavorful sauces that coat. The sauce in this vegetable stir fry is not thick like what you might get from Chinese takeout. But it’s seriously flavorful and coats all the veggies perfectly.
Thick sauces, usually thickened by cornstarch. Often stir fry sauces are thick and glossy, thickened by cornstarch. If you like this type of sauce, try our homemade teriyaki sauce that’s use in our teriyaki vegetable stir fry.

Another option: try our Go-To Stir Fry Sauce! It would work with the quantity of vegetables in this recipe.

Add protein & rice to make it a meal!

These stir fry vegetables are incredibly tasty and you’ll find yourself sneaking bites constantly! To serve them as part of a healthy dinner, add rice (or noodles!) and a protein to keep it filling. Alex and I eat mostly plant based on the regular, and we’ve realized that just eating vegetables doesn’t cut it. You’ll need some sort of plant based protein to help keep you full. Here’s what we recommend:

Cashews: Add ¾ cup cashews with the broccoli
Edamame: 1 cup shelled edamame after 2 minutes.
Tofu: Serve with Marinaded Tofu, Pan Fried Tofu, or Grilled Tofu
Shrimp: Make our Sauteed Shrimp using sesame oil and lime (and maybe a dash of soy).
Rice: Brown rice is the most filling and a little more nutrient dense. White rice is quicker!
Noodles: Try our Quick Soba Noodles for a perfect pairing.

Another great stir fry? Try Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry.

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.