Peanut Chicken Stir Fry

Peanut Chicken Stir Fry is a super good meal you will want to make again and again. Easy peasy 35-minute recipe.

Peanut Chicken Stir Fry with creamy peanut sauce is SO scrumptious.

Peanut Chicken Stir Fry

Don’t you just love peanut sauce when you go to an Asian restaurant? I do. That’s why I decided to learn how to make it and did my best to duplicate the taste. I did a terrific job, if I do say so myself. This Peanut Chicken Stir Fry is amazing. It’s one of my go-to recipes that I make often.

You can make it with or without chicken. It’s awesome either way. 

My kids and I love stir fry. When they lived at home, the kids used to beg for Chinese Chicken (with a brown sauce, not peanut sauce). We had it at least a couple of times a month. It was a good way to get them to eat their vegetables. You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Usually, I make it with a brown sauce, but a  few years ago, I decided to create my own Peanut Sauce (recipe below).

Organize Your Ingredients Before Cooking

I always make quite a mess when I’m doing a stir fry, though, despite doing it in an organized fashion. I chop everything up and put the ingredients in separate bowls. That’s because with a stir fry, you are quickly adding each ingredient, cooking for a minute or two, then adding the next. So you can’t be cooking the onions while you are chopping the other veggies or you will burn your meal (at least I would!).

I admit that I’m not usually so organized. For most recipes, I chop as I go and grab the ingredients as I need them. It’s not a good way to cook because I often have to improvise because I don’t have a specified ingredient. The good thing is I have been cooking since I was a child (and I’m getting old now…) so I can generally figure out something to substitute. If you need some help with that check out my Ingredients Substitutions List.

Peanut Chicken Stir Fry in the pan.

Make It Vegan

For those of you who are vegetarian or vegan, you can simply leave the chicken out. Take a look at the nutrition label and you will see why. It still has a super amount of protein, doesn’t it?

Bok choi is a wonderful vegetable to include in a stir fry. Crispy, a little bitter, delicious! Unfortunately, my local Food Lion didn’t have any when I was there the other day, so I used broccoli. Broccoli is delicious, too, and green beans work great as an alternative.

In fact, broccoli has tons of protein and the flavor will still be terrific. Since I don’t have a photo of it with bok choi, I will have to make it again. Awww, shucks. That means I’ll have (get) to eat this again. I know you’re gonna wanna make this so you can eat it! I do.

What You Need

For this recipe, I use a small saucepan to make the sauce before pouring it into the larger pot that contains the veggies and chicken. I don’t have a wok and I use a large (about 14 inches) nonstick, flat frying pan with a lid. I also make the rice in an old-fashioned rice cooker if I’m making standard white rice (the cooker doesn’t work well for brown rice). I don’t think you can get a rice cooker (picture below) like we have anymore, but using electric rice cookers (affiliate link) or Instant Posts are super easy.

Old-fashioned double boiler Rice Cooker and Sticky Rice.

I used a chef’s knife, cutting boards (one for chicken and one for veggies), a large skillet and a small sauce pan, measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoons, and various sized glass bowls to hold the ingredients.

Peanut Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

Peanut Chicken Stir Fry

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Chicken and vegetables with creamy peanut sauce

• Author: Lois Carter Crawford
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Chicken, Main Course
• Cuisine: American, Chinese

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Stir Fry

• 2 chicken breasts (cut into 1-inch pieces or 6–8 chicken tenders; leave out for vegetarian version)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion (cut into chunks)
• 1 red pepper (cut into chunks)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 pound asparagus (cut into 1-inch pieces; put the tips aside until the end)
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets or 1 small head of bok choi (cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces. Green Beans are an excellent alternative, too.)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)

Peanut Sauce

• 4 tablespoons peanut butter (crunchy preferred)
• 3 tablespoons chopped peanuts (divided)
• 1 15–ounce can coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (or more, if you like it spicy)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 a small yellow onion (grated)
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

Chicken

1. In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil to hot.
2. Cook the chicken until slightly browned and cooked through.
3. Remove the chicken to another dish.
4. In the same skillet, cook the onions about 5 minutes, add the red pepper; cook another 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the broccoli or bok choi and asparagus (save tips) and cook until crisp-tender.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Return the chicken to the pot, add the asparagus tips and heat through.
8. Top with Peanut Sauce (directions below) and chopped peanuts.

Peanut Sauce

1. For the sauce, mix all the sauce ingredients (using only half the peanuts) and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally.
2. Turn the heat down and keep warm until the stir fry is ready.
3. Add the sauce to the stir fry.
4. Stir to coat.
5. Serve over white or brown rice; garnish with chopped peanuts.

Keywords: peanut chicken

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Recipe Nutrition Information 

This recipe is GF, DF, EF*

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Peanut Chicken Stir Fry Nutrition Label. Each serving is about 1-1/2 cups without rice.

Peanut Vegetable Stir Fry Nutrition Label. Each serving is about 1-1/2 cups without rice.

Nourish Your Body & Soul

I encourage you to care of yourself by eating satisfying, nourishing food that is good for your body and makes you feel healthy. Protect your spirit by living authentically, moving your body, and taking time to replenish and rest. I think you might also like these recipes & posts from Recipe Idea Shop:

• Chinese Chicken Stir Fry
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• Chicken Marsala
• Chicken and Collards
• Croatian Grilled Chicken
• Easy Non-dairy Chicken Curry
• Mushroom Artichoke Pasta Marsala

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Chicken with Peanut Sauce? Awesome!

Peanut Chicken Stir Fry, 35-minutes until you eat! SO scrumptious. Vegetarian option, too. #peanutchicken #peanutsauce #stirfry #glutenfree #easyrecipes #recipes #recipeideashop

*Allergen Key

GF = Gluten free | DF = Dairy free | NF = Nut free | SF = Soy free | EF = Egg free | CF = Corn free | V = Vegetarian | VG = Vegan

Note: If you have serious allergies or sensitivities, to be considered free of these allergens, you need to use products specifically marked “gluten free,” etc. There can be cross-contamination in facilities.

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