You can’t beat this healthy Chicken Zucchini Stir Fry for an easy, delicious dinner. Ready in 25 minutes, packed with protein, and bursting with flavor. Who can argue with that?
We can all use more quick and flavorful meals in our dinner repertoires, am I right? I mean, have you ever met someone who said “um, no thanks, I have enough good dinner recipes, I don’t need any more”? I sincerely don’t think that person exists.
Well this Chicken Zucchini Stir Fry is my newest dinner obsession. I found myself falling into a dinner time rut, making recipes like Taco Pie and Keto Mongolian Beef a little too often. Don’t get me wrong, I adore those recipes. But I love variety and I needed a change.
I took a little foray into my fridge and found plenty of chicken thighs and zucchini, so I got chopping and sautéing. And it was a huge dinnertime win, with one child going back for seconds. I should have made more!
Why you must try this recipe
You have to love recipes that use what you already have in your fridge and pantry. And recipes that really don’t take much effort to be full of flavor. And recipes that appeal to every member of the household. This Chicken Zucchini Stir Fry is all of those things.
The most effort you need to put in here is chopping the chicken and the zucchini. From that point on, it’s full steam ahead. Stir fry the chicken, stir fry the zucchini, add them together, and you’re done.
To make it even easier, I used garlic powder and ginger powder so there is less prep time. It still has all the flavor you could want out of a keto stir fry. And each delicious serving has 41g of protein and only 3.2g net carbs. What’s not to love?
Ingredients you need
- Tamari: You can also use soy sauce, but tamari is a bit stronger and is completely gluten-free.
- Sesame oil: Use toasted sesame oil for the best flavor.
- Sriracha: You can also use any other asian hot sauce.
- Chicken thighs: I like to use boneless, skinless thighs for this recipe because they are easier to cut into smaller pieces. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts.
- Zucchini: You can also use yellow squash for this dish, or a mix of both.
- Glucomannan: You need a thickener like glucomannan or xanthan gum. I prefer glucomannan as it makes keto gravy and other sauces less slimy.
- Pantry staples: Garlic powder, ginger powder, avocado oil, salt and pepper.
Step by Step Directions
1. Prepare the marinade: Whisk the tamari, sesame oil, sriracha, garlic powder, and ginger together in a small bowl. Pour over the chicken in a larger bowl and toss to coat.
2. Cook the chicken: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add one tablespoon of the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and all the liquids from the bowl. Stir fry until the chicken is cooked through, about 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken and most of the juices from the pan to a bowl.
3. Cook the zucchini: Slice the zucchini lengthwise in half, then slice each half into 1/2 inch slices. Add the other tablespoon of oil and the zucchini. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and stir fry until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken: Add the chicken back to the pan with all of the juices. Toss well to combine.
5. Thicken the sauce: If you want a thicker sauce sauce, lower the heat to medium low. Push the meat and veggies to one side of the pan. Sprinkle the glucomannan over the accumulated juices, whisking simultaneously to combine. Stir everything back together.
Tips for Success
Take the time to cut the chicken into relatively even bite-sized pieces (no more than 1 inch, but preferably close to 1/2 inch). Stir fry requires smaller pieces of meat and vegetables so that you can cook it quickly and evenly over high heat.
Use a large skillet (12 inches in diameter) or a wok so you can keep moving the ingredients around continuously without having them spill over the the edge. The trick to stir fry really is to stir quickly while things are cooking.
Tamari is my favorite way to add that umami flavor to keto asian-style dishes. Many people want to use coconut aminos but it has more carbs and less flavor. Go with the good stuff and you will find you meal far more enjoyable!
Frequently Asked Questions
With small modifications, you can enjoy stir fry meals while on the keto diet. Choose low carb vegetables in your stir fry like zucchini, mushrooms and cauliflower. To thicken your sauces, use a thickener like glucomannan or xanthan gum. And if you want some rice, serve over cauliflower rice.
This keto chicken zucchini stir fry recipe has 4.1g of carbs and 0.9g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.2g net carbs per serving.
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe as the zucchini will become very mushy.
More keto Asian recipes to love!
Chicken Zucchini Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) tamari, or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp Sriracha, or other asian hot sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1 1/2 lb (680.39 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs , cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium zucchini, (about 10 ounces)
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, divided
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 tsp glucomannan, (or xanthan gum)
Instructions
- Whisk the tamari, sesame oil, sriracha, garlic powder, and ginger together in a small bowl. Pour over the chicken in a larger bowl and toss to coat.
- Slice the zucchini lengthwise in half, then slice each half into 1/2 inch slices.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add one tablespoon of the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and all the liquids from the bowl.
- Stir fry until the chicken is cooked through, about 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken and most of the juices from the pan to a bowl.
- Add the other tablespoon of oil and the zucchini. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and stir fry until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken back to the pan with all of the juices. Toss well to combine.
- If you want to thicken the sauce, lower the heat to medium low. Push the meat and veggies to one side of the pan. Sprinkle the glucomannan over the accumulated juices, whisking simultaneously to combine. Stir everything back together.
Notes
Nutrition
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I made this too and it was awesome! I will make it again soon!
I didn’t feel I wanted a thickener and I didn’t use it, and I used dark soy sauce because I didn’t have tamarind. I also cooked the chicken for a few minutes and then added the zucchini in the same pan because I was too lazy! I ate it with Parish rice, so not really keto, but supposedly a little fewer carbs. Can’t wait to make it again!
I just made this and OMG! I am hooked. My boyfriend thought it was from the Chinese food restaurant. I didnt use any glucomannan or xantham but it still came out incredible! Co
This was very easy to make and delicious! The only change I made was using garlic cloves because I put garlic in everything!
Definitely will be trying this only problem is I can’t find glucomannan in my home town and have to use zanthan gum which I dislike because of its oily taste. I can blitz some of the sauce and veggies then stir it back in. So thanks for posting as some days I need support and inspiration and this is when I turn to your recipes.
Very easy and tasty. I tried recipe no deviation first, very good. Then I add a little swerve brown sugar and some oyster sauce to sweeten flavor a little cause this was very similar to recipe I used to make.
Didnt you just defeat the purpose of making this keto with the oyster sauce??