This delicious and fresh-tasting lemon chicken stir fry is also quick and easy, so it’s just the thing for a busy weeknight! The fresh lemon juice really brightens and lightens this dish. Serve with rice or noodles.
This dish maybe isn’t the prettiest one on the block, but it has so much to recommend it! First, there are the endless varieties of vegetables you can toss in the wok. Then there’s the always tender chicken thigh pieces. Finally, the bright simple lemon sauce. This is one of my favourites, as it’s hard to beat the lemon chicken combination. And last, but definitely not least, this dish is ready in 15 minutes!
Cook some rice or noodles to serve over and garnish with sesame seeds and a lemon wedge
Ingredients and Substitutions
Lemon – Fresh is best! Lemon juice, that is. There is nothing like the fresh flavour of freshly squeezed lemon juice, so if you have some fresh lemons, you should go for fresh.
Chicken – I’ve used boneless chicken thighs here, but you could also use boneless chicken breast cubes here, as well.
Vegetables – My stir fry features bok choy, red and yellow peppers, onions and green onion. All of these are really fast-cooking vegetables, so the time in the wok or skillet is really short. You can add any vegetables you like, simply adjust cooking time as needed if the vegetables aren’t quite as quick cooking.
Recipe Tips
Absolutely any vegetables would be lovely in this dish. I always seem to have odds and ends of fresh vegetables, but frozen stir fry mixed vegetables would also work. Just make sure your wok or pan is pretty hot and cook a little longer to cook off the extra moisture before adding the sauce.
If you use carrots in your stir fry, be sure to cut in to very thin slices, so they cook quickly.
Serve over cooked rice or rice noodles.Â
Get the Recipe: 15 Minute Lemon Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in to bite-sized pieces or 2 chicken breasts cut up
For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium recommended
- 1 Tablespoon white or brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoons cornstarch
For the stir fry:
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 3 Tablespoons green onion, thinly sliced, green and white parts
- 1/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 small red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cored and seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 5-6 baby bok choy, stem end removed and quartered
For serving:
- Cooked rice or noodles, for serving
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
- Sliced green onion, for garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Prepare chicken and vegetables and have ready.
- Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and cook, stirring, until cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate. Discard any juices and return wok to stove-top.
- Heat a bit more oil in a wok over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, green onion and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for 30-45 seconds (do not allow to burn). Add onion and bell pepper slices. Cook, stirring regularly, until tender-crisp. Add lemon sauce and cook for 1 minute. Return chicken to pan and scatter with bok choy. Cook, tossing, until bok choy is wilted and sauce is thickened.
- Spoon over cooked rice or noodles and garnish with sesame seeds and additional green onion.
Notes
More Stir Fry Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
This sauce is the star of the show! And, so easy and delicious! I used veggies on hand, not even ginger and garlic. Can be served with any rice or noodles. So versatile! Everyone loved it.
So glad to hear :) Thanks so much!
I made the sauce last night to go with my own complement of veggies on hand. It was delicious – just ate the leftovers today. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it, Lisa :) Thanks so much!
This was excellent and definitely company worthy.
My 22 year old said that she liked it better than her favorite rice bowl at one of the restaurants she goes!
Great recipe and easy to make. I added carrots and broccoli. Mmm. Delic!
Thank you for sharing!
So glad to hear, Cynthia! Thanks so much :)
Awesome this was a great recipe
Jan from Gravenhurst!
Hi Jan! So glad you enjoyed it :) Stay warm. More snow on the way.
I just made it tonight. It came our really yummy! It had the flavors that I had hoped for!. I used asparagus with yellow and red pepper. These were the veggies at hand. Thank you!
So glad to hear, Naima! Thanks :)
Made this last night and it was delicious! Very light and flavorful. Loved that it wasn’t the usual sodium laden sauce. Look forward to making more of your stir fry recipes. I must be slow… takes me a lot longer than 5 minutes to prep. I did double the vegetables and sauce but 5 minutes to cut up chicken off the bone, mix 7 ingreds for a sauce, wash vegetables, peel & chop garlic and ginger, and cut up peppers, onions, green onions and bok choy? Unless you’re a top chef or iron chef, don’t see how u can be start to finish in 15 minutes. Wonderful recipe though… worth the effort.
So glad you enjoyed it, Paula. Thanks!
Used cooked chicken which was done in the Instant Pot (Amy + Jacky). Followed your receipe & it was delicious – as always! We’re used to the “usual” sauces so this was a refreshing change.
Thanks Irene and yes, I love the freshness of the lemon, too. A nice change!
Love it . So easy ! I used a asian vegetable mix that I got from the store it has been sprouts, peppers , carrots, snap peas , mushrooms .. the sauce is so good
Thanks and so glad you enjoyed it! One of my “fast, easy and delicious” favourites :)
My family would love this stir fry and I love that it’s quick and easy to prepare. And healthy to boot! Slathering veggies in a yummy sauce always gets my kids to eat them.
Thanks Karen! And slathering vegetables in yummy sauce always gets me to eat them, too ;)
Mmm! I love quick weeknight dinners like this. Lemon + chicken = my favorite combo. :)
Thanks so much, Natasha. This is one of my favourite quick and easy dinners. Love the fresh lemon flavour!
I have to say, friend – you’ve made this dish look stunning! I’d like a big bowl or two of this bright and tasty dish!
Thanks so much, Annie :)
This sounds great. Just what you need after a busy day at work!
Thanks so much :)
Such great flavors – so delicious and all in 15 minutes! Fabulous!
Thanks so much, Mary :)
it was yummy and tricked my daughter into eating bell peppers for the first time ever.
Lol Thomas! That’s great :) So glad you enjoyed this.
Sounds lovely. I especially like the recipes that serve 1 – 2 people – as a singleton, I do not have to worry about left-overs. Any ideas for the lunchbox using your recipes? I would appreciate those – I am learning how to make bentos and any tips would help.
Thanks Sandy and yes, these days it’s pretty much just my husband and I, so I lean towards the smaller servings and less left-overs, too. And I love bentos. Are you able to re-warm or are you looking for things that you will eat as is?
I used to stir fry all the time and i hardly ever think to cook that way lately, you’ve totally inspired me to get back into it Jennifer ~ and the lemon is an inspired addition!
So great for using up odds and ends, Sue. Stir fries are always my “go-to” when I don’t know what else to make :)
You can’t go wrong with this gorgeous stir-fry. 15 minutes to the table? What a blessing on these busy weeknights! The sauce sounds wonderful too, with all that bright lemon flavor. What a treat :)
Thanks Tricia. I am a lemon lover, so this is one of my favourites :)
Happy New Year, Jennifer! I hope you had a beautiful holiday! This stir fry is the PERFECT way to start the new year! Light and healthy, yet packed with flavor and ready in no time! Yay! I don’t know what your talking about though, this dish is VERY pretty! SO colorful! Cheers, friend! :)
Thanks Cheyanne and Happy New Year to you, too!!