Beautiful Vegan Stir Fry with broccoli and mushroom

Beautiful Vegan Stir Fry with broccoli and mushroom

Vegan stir fry recipes are perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal.

It’s packed with flavor and takes only 15 minutes to make! The best part is, served over a bed of brown rice it’s super healthy and satisfying.

We’ll show you how to make a delicious chicken stir fry without any meat.

So, if you’re looking for a tasty vegan dinner idea, this is the recipe for you!

Is stir fry healthy or not?

The answer to this question is a little complicated. Stir fry can be healthy or not, depending on the ingredients that are used.

For example, if you make a vegan stir fry with lots of fresh vegetables, it will be very healthy.

However, if you use unhealthy ingredients like high-fat oils, sugar laden stir fry sauce or processed meats, then the stir fry will not be as healthy. So, it really depends on what you put into your stir fry!

That said, stir fry is generally considered to be a healthy food choice.

They are low in calories and usually contain lots of vitamins and minerals.

Plus, they’re easy to prepare and cook quickly, making them the perfect weeknight meal!

Can you stir fry without oil?

Yes! It’s possible to make vegan stir fry without oil by using a water sauté method instead.

Water sautéing is a vegan cooking method that uses water instead of oil in place of sautéing.

The only down side for this method is sacrificing flavor, especially if sesame oils are used in the recipe. However, if your goal is to reduce the amount of fat in your diet, then water sautéing is a great way to do it.

What can I add to stir fry instead of meat?

Meatless stir-fries can be a healthy vegan and vegetarian alternative to the usual meaty recipes, but it’s hard to get the texture of meat using vegetables alone.

There are lots of vegan ingredients that you can use in place of beef, chicken or pork for your vegetarian stir fry dishes.

Here are some vegan alternatives for meat in stir fry

stir fried tofu

Tofu

Tofu is an excellent vegan protein source because it absorbs flavors from other ingredients well and holds its shape as it cooks.

You can pan-fry extra firm tofu with sugar snap peas and stir fry sauce to create a delicious meal with a chewy “meaty” texture that works perfectly with any vegetable fried rice dish.

Another great way to use stir fried tofu is to crumble it into small pieces and use it as a vegan beef or chicken substitute.

Fried Seitan

Seitan

Seitan is made from wheat gluten and has a chewy, “meaty” texture that makes it a popular vegan meat alternative.

You can buy pre-made seitan strips or cubes at most health food stores, or you can make your own by mixing wheat flour with salt and hot water.

Seitan works well in any dish that calls for cooked ground beef or pork.

mixed beans - legumes

Beans

Black beans

kidney beans

pinto beans

All types of beans are all great vegan substitutes for ground beef in stir fry dishes.

You can buy vegan ground beef crumbles at most grocery stores, or you could use canned beans and pan-fry them in olive oil until they are crispy on the outside but still soft inside.

crispy tempeh with spaghetti

Tempeh

Tempeh is a vegan meat substitute made from fermented soybeans that have been pressed into cakes.

It has a nutty flavor and chewy texture similar to tofu, but unlike tofu it doesn’t need time for marinating before cooking because its flavor is already strong enough by itself!

different lentils on wooden spoons

Lentils

Lentils have become very popular as vegan meat substitutes because of their high fiber content (which helps keep cholesterol low) and protein levels.

They also have a mild flavor and soft texture that makes them perfect for vegan stir fry dishes.

You can buy pre-cooked lentils at most grocery stores, or cook them yourself by boiling in water until they are soft.

wild mushrooms

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are perhaps one of the most versatile vegan ingredients. They can be cooked in a variety of ways, and they taste great no matter how you prepare them.

Mushrooms have a meaty texture, which is what makes them such an effective vegan ingredient in a vegetable stir fry.

For example, if you’re trying to make vegan barbecue sauce or vegan nachos with plant-based cheese and ground beef substitute, mushrooms are often used as the base for these recipes because their consistency is so similar to regular meat when it’s broken down into smaller pieces!

Lets talk Woks!

cooking vegetables in a wok

A good quality wok is definitely worth the investment if you’re looking to add more vegan meals into your repertoire.

They heat up quickly and distribute heat evenly, resulting in crispy tofu and perfectly cooked vegetables.

Plus, there are endless possibilities when it comes to what you can cook in a wok – from crispy vegan General Tso’s chicken to a delicious veggie stir fry like the one in this article.

So if you’re looking for an easy, weeknight-friendly meal, a wok is the way to go.

If you don’t have a wok yet, you can check out the selection on Amazon.com!

They have a wide variety of sizes and styles available, so no matter what your cooking needs are, we’ve got you covered.

I use this one and can’t recommend it enough for all your Asian style cooking needs!

Lets get to this delicious vegan stir fry recipe!

Stir fry, you’ve got to love it!

It’s so simple to prepare, so fast cook, so delicious and satisfying and packed with massive amounts of nutrition.

This vegan stir fry is the perfect weeknight meal! The recipe is simple to follow and only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish.

You’ll need some basic ingredients like tender-stem broccoli, mushrooms and a super tasty homemade stir fry sauce made with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and maple syrup.

Serve the stir fry over a bed of either brown rice or white basmati rice for a complete meal.

The combination of all the ingredients really makes for a delicious gluten free vegan stir fry!

I especially love the combination of tender-stem broccoli and mushrooms. The flavor of the stir fry sauce is bomb too, made with soy sauce, rice vinegar and maple syrup. If you have vegan oyster sauce on hand, adding this to the vegan stir fry makes for an even tastier meal.

You can also add extra vegetables like green beans, baby corn, red bell pepper, Bok choy and bamboo shoots or other vegan protein sources such as tofu or tempeh if you wish – just make sure to sauté them before cooking up your vegan stir fry so that everything cooks evenly at the same time.

So you can see how easily customizable this vegan stir fry can be!

To serve vegan stir fry, simply place it on a bed of either brown rice or white basmati rice and enjoy.

You can also use this vegan stir fry as part of your vegan meal prep for the week too if you wish. Just store everything in separate airtight containers to prevent any sogginess before reheating when ready to eat.

That’s how easy vegan cooking really is!

With simple ingredients and some minimal effort, you’ll be enjoying a delicious vegan stir fry that’s gluten free, super healthy and nutritious but completely guilt-free in no time at all!

I hope this vegan stir fry recipe inspires you to get into the kitchen and start experimenting with new flavors so that we can continue improving our plant-based diet together!

Ingredients:

  • Tender-stem broccoli
  • Mixed mushrooms
  • Soy sauce
  • Spring green onions
  • Rice wine vinegar
  • Maple syrup
  • Olive oil or vegetable oil, for frying
  • Brown rice or white basmati rice, to serve
  • Sesame oil
  • 1″ piece fresh ginger
  • Fresh chili
  • Fresh garlic

Lets go over the nutrition these ingredients bring to this amazing stir fry recipe.

Tender-stem broccoli

Image of tender stem broccoli

Tender-stem broccoli, also known as broccolini is a member of the Brassica family, which contains ingredients such as kale, cabbage. Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and Bok Choy.

Tender-stem broccoli is similar to regular broccoli, with a milder, slightly more sweet nutty flavor.

The difference in appearance is it has a thin tender stem and a small florets at the top .Rather than the thick woody stalk and the large head of regular broccoli floret.

It’s even more of a nutritional powerhouse than regular broccoli. Providing you slightly more phosphorus, calcium and manganese.

However, it packs almost four times as much A vitamins than your standard broccoli. Making tender-stem broccoli an absolute powerhouse of nutrition.

A genuine super food in its own right.

Mushrooms

chestnut mushrooms

Mushrooms are truly amazing. They are a rich source of fiber, protein and antioxidants and are super low in calories.

Just One Cup of mushrooms provide only 15 grams of calories, 2.2 grams of protein, 0.2 grams of fat, 2.3 grams of carbohydrate, 0.7 grams of fiber and only 1.4 grams of sugar.

They’re a great source of selenium, copper, thiamine, magnesium, and phosphorus.

They play an amazing role in reducing the risk of developing serious health conditions such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

They also contain small amounts of vitamin B12 and vitamin C, as well as folate. Vitamin B12 combines with folate and improves your immune system and mood.

It’s an incredibly important vitamin for your nerve cells and genetic material. B12 is an important vitamin which we need on a plant based diet as it’s a difficult vitamin to source without consuming meat.

So eating mushrooms regularly can provide you with some vitamin B12 naturally. 

Not only that, despite being a powerhouse in nutrition, mushrooms also provided delicious umami meat-like flavor and texture to dishes.

They take on flavor incredibly well and are a fantastic ingredient to use when Transitioning to a plant based diet.

Gotta Love That Base

ginger chilli and garlic

There’s nothing wrong with simply stir frying your mushrooms and broccoli in a little bit of oil and serving them as they are, with some rice, noodles or pretty much anything you desire, 

But for me, it’s all about the base flavors which compliment the vegetables that we use.

And for this recipe it’s going to be the classic garlic, ginger and chili combo which always works so well.

We’re also going to create a sticky homemade stir fry sauce from soy, rice wine vinegar and a little sweetness from Maple syrup.

It really is all about the base.

I’m not talking about the base from your stereo, I’m talking about the base flavors which will create a memorable plant based stir fry with stir fry sauce you’ll want to make again and again.

Not only does garlic, ginger and chili provide fantastic aroma and flavor to your dish, they’re also nutritional powerhouses in their own right. 

Garlic

vegan stir fry garlic

Needs no introduction to its health benefits, it’s been used for centuries and centuries and probably even longer for It’s medicinal uses. It’s absolutely packed full of antibacterial, anti-inflammatory goodness.

Ginger

vegan stir fry ginger

Not only tastes great and provides a warming spice flavor to it to dishes. It also comes with its own bag full of health benefits.

It can relieve the symptoms of cold because of gingerol, which is the active compound found in ginger.

Ginger has the ability to reduce feelings of nausea and morning sickness. It can relieve pain thanks to its powerful Anti inflammatory qualities. 

Also it can also help to manage cholesterol levels and reduces damage to your arteries by lowering high blood pressure.

All of which has fantastic benefits for heart and cardiovascular health.

Chili Peppers

vegan stir fry chili

Have a compound known as capsicum. It’s the primary compound in Chili Peppers and is what gives the pepper their distinct taste and a wealth of health benefits.

These benefits include improving digestive health and metabolism.

It can alleviate migraines and reduce the risks of cancer.

It has the ability to fight fungal infections as well as colds and the flu, and provides joint pain relief due to its inflammation reducing qualities.

Chili peppers support cardiovascular health and red blood cell growth.

It also helps to keep your hair and skin healthy.

Now that’s the kind of base I’m talking about.

Sesame oil

vegan stir fry sesame oil

let’s talk about sesame oil, shall we?

Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. The seeds of this plant are commonly called sesame seeds and have been used as food for more than 5000 years.

Sesame oil is pressed from these sesame seeds, which can be black or white depending on the type of seed. The darker variety of sesame seeds has a stronger flavor and aroma than its lighter counterpart however either one will work great in this stir fry dish!

I love to use both oils because they bring different flavors to my cooking; toasted sesame oil makes it taste like peanut sauce while light brings out an earthy flavor that I think works well with vegetables such as broccoli or mushrooms.

Nutritional benefits of sesame oil.

Sesame oil, like sesame seeds, is high in antioxidants, which can help protect your cells from damage.

Like other seeds and nuts, sesame seeds and its oil is also a good source of vitamin E and minerals like magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

The flavor of sesame oil is unique and really brings out the best in stir fry recipes!

If you’ve never used it before, I encourage you to give it a try. You might be surprised at how great it tastes.

Lets Get Cooking This Health Boosting vegan Stir Fry

stir fry ingredients

OK, let’s get started.

Let’s begin with the stir fry base ingredients.

I’ve already explained the beauty of the base ingredients above and for this we are using garlic, ginger and chili.

These provide amazing aromatics and flavors, which are going to really complement the tender-stem broccoli and the mushrooms.

Prep the garlic, ginger and chili

We need to prepare the garlic by mincing it, or finely slicing it, depending on your preference.

We are going to grate or finely slice the ginger into matchsticks, again depending on your preference.

They finally we’re going to finely dice the chili.

These are going to be the flavor enhancers to this stir fry.

Get them prepped and then we’ll move on to the mushrooms and tender-stem broccoli.

Next prepare the mushrooms and broccoli

Slice the chestnut mushrooms around 1/4 of an inch thick and the chanterelle mushrooms into bite size pieces.

The tender stem broccoli really doesn’t need much preparation at all.

For my preference in this stir fry recipe, I sliced the stem in half lengthways. This just reduces the cooking time needed to get that nice tender bite.

Once all your ingredients are chopped and prepared we are on to the the easy part.

Heat your wok or frying pan to its highest temperature.

Add a tablespoon of oil and fry the mushrooms first.

Frying mushrooms on a pan

We want to get some color on the mushrooms before we add the other ingredients.

Once your mushrooms have a nice golden color to them, add the tender stem broccoli, the ginger and the chili to the pan.

You’ll notice that intense blast of Asian aromas that are just so inviting.

Don’t add the garlic to the dish until the very end!

This is because when garlic cooks too much it can become bitter and not very pleasant.

We want that fresh garlic flavor in there not a bitter burnt flavor.

Let the stir fry veggies sizzle together in the pan for three to five minutes.

Finally

We are going to add a splash of soy sauce, a splash of rice wine vinegar, and a splash of Maple syrup to the stir fry.

This is going to create a delicious savory and slightly sweet stir fry sauce to glaze to finish the stir fry perfectly.

Let that sizzle in the pan for around 30 seconds to a minute until it reduces and goes slightly sticky, and then your stir fry dish is finished.

stir fried mushrroms and tender-stem broccoli

How To Serve this delicious vegetable Stir Fry

I love serving these stir fry veggies over a bed of brown rice or white rice, with a wedge of lime on the side and a little fresh coriander.

You can find a recipe to make the most perfectly cooked basmati rice right HERE.

The lime really gives this dish a beautiful zing that livens up the flavors of any stir fry recipes even more.

Add some finely sliced spring onions and a sprinkling of sesame seeds over the top for added crunch and flavor.

And if you love some extra spice, a few slices of fresh chili will give you your heat fix.

Alternatively you can serve this on a bed of noodles to make it a vegetable and noodle stir fry if rice isn’t your thing.

*note*If you want to make this a noodle stir fry ensure to use a vegan variety of noodles like rice noodles or something similar.

stir froed broccoli and mushroom

Full Recipe Right Here

stir froed broccoli and mushroom
Print

Stir Fry Game changing Broccoli And Mushrooms

Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword gluten free, plant based, Stir Fry, vegan
Prep Time 9 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 2

Equipment

  • 1 Wok Or large Frying Pan

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 4 Cloves Garlic Minced or finely sliced
  • 1 Thumb Sized Piece Of Ginger Grated or cut into thin matchsticks
  • 2 Red or green chili. Finely chopped. (Remove seeds if you don't want too much heat)
  • 250g Tender Stem Broccoli Sliced in Half lengthways
  • 200g Mushrooms Chestnut and Chanterelle (sliced)
  • 1 tbsp Soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Rice wine Vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Maple syrup
  • 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Spring Onions Finely sliced (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat the Wok over a high heat. Once the pan begins to smoke, add the oil and mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms for 30 seconds until they begin to color.
  • Next, add the Tender stem broccoli, the ginger and the chili and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and stir fry for one more minute.
  • Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar sesame oil and maple syrup and stir fry for 30 seconds, ensuring the sauce coats the vegetables and reduces to a nice stick consistency.
  • Serve on top of a bed of rice or noodles and garnish with the sliced spring onions.

Pro Tips

MAKE A GREAT HOMEMADE STIR FRY SAUCE

Typically, a homemade stir fry sauce is done by utilizing fresh produce without refined sugars.

Whatever jarred stir fry sauce you purchase at a store will usually contains a huge amount of artificial flavor that mostly translates into sugar.

I use organic maple syrup for my stir fry sauce in this recipe.

Not only is it much better for you than a refined sugar, it also elevates the flavor so much more than sugar ever could.

Add the garlic in the last few minutes of cooking

If you didn’t know it already, burnt garlic tastes disgusting!

When we cook a stir fry it is cooked over a high heat, which really leaves the garlic susceptible to burning.

To avoid his happening don’t add the garlic to the pan until the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.

This way you will get all of that delicious garlic flavor without any acrid burnt flavor thrown into the mix.

Making Ahead and Storing

You can prepare all the ingredients in advance and keep in the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for 4-5 days and re-heated when needed.

Other fresh veggies you could use in this delicious stir fry

  • Bok choy
  • sugar snap peas
  • Red bell peppers
  • Green beans
  • Baby corn
  • Carrots
  • Other leafy greens
  • Green onions

I really hope you love this vegetable stir fry recipe.

Stir fry really packs so much satisfying flavor for such a quick and easy dish to make.

As always please don’t forget to rate, comment and share this recipe if you make it.

Other Recipes You May Like

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Thanks for reading as always.

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