Tender chunks of chicken stir-fried to perfection with crispy green beans mixed in a sweet and tart stir fry sauce make this Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry a delicious and quick weeknight meal.
Perfectly seasoned chicken breasts cooked with chopped green beans, lemon juice, soy sauce, and honey hit all the flavor notes - sweet and tart with a touch of spice.
It's the ideal flavor combination for a tasty and satisfying weeknight meal. Easily modified based on the vegetables you have on hand, we sometimes like to prep this stir fried chicken dish in advance for an even quicker evening meal.
If you like Asian-inspired dinner recipes, you'll love our Pepper Steak Recipe, Chicken Stir Fry, and this Beef Teriyaki.
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Why You'll Love This Chicken Green Bean Stir Fry
- Flavorful: The stir fried chicken has a robust flavor from the seasonings, and the sauce adds a whole other dimension of flavor.
- One skillet: Who doesn't love a meal that only uses one pot? It's perfect for an easy cleanup.
- Modifiable: You can change up the chicken breasts, use different vegetables, or spice up the sauce to your liking.
Ingredients
Stir Fried Chicken and Beans
- Chicken: We love using boneless, skinless chicken breasts but thighs would work as well.
- Green beans: Green beans, chopped into bite-sized pieces, add some color and crunch.
- Seasonings: We used a combination of black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, onion powder, and freshly minced garlic.
Lemon Chicken Stir Fry Sauce
- Lemon juice: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice to add a tart flavor to the sauce.
- Soy sauce: Use low-sodium soy sauce so you can control the amount of salt or use tamari if you want a gluten-free dish.
- Chicken broth: We suggest choosing low-sodium broth to create the stir-fry sauce.
- Honey: Any type of honey will help sweeten up the sauce.
- Sesame oil: Sesame oil adds to the Asian-flavoring of the sauce.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps to thicken the sauce.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Add some heat: Stir red chili flakes, cayenne pepper, or chili sauce into the healthy chicken stir-fry sauce.
- Mix in some spice: Add grated ginger along with the garlic for a more pungently flavored dish.
- Use different vegetables: Substitute snap peas, broccoli, or cauliflower for the green beans.
How to Make Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry
Pull out all the ingredients and get your skillet ready.
Step 1: Prepare the stir-fry sauce. Combine lemon juice, soy sauce, chicken broth, honey, sesame oil, honey, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Whisk well.
Step 2: Cook the green beans. Heat the butter in a large skillet and cook the green beans until tender. Transfer the stir fried green beans to a plate and cover.
Step 3: Cook the chicken. Melt more butter, season the chicken, and then cook it in the skillet until browned on all sides.
Step 4: Cook garlic and sauce ingredients. Add garlic to the pan, saute, and then add green beans back into the skillet.
Step 5: Add the stir-fry sauce. Lower the heat and pour the sauce over the chicken and green beans, stirring until the sauce thickens.
Step 6: Serve. Garnish the stir fried chicken with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve over rice.
Hint: Cook Green Beans Until Just Tender
Cooking the green beans until they are just beginning to get tender prevents them from getting too soft. They'll continue to cook when they are added back to the skillet later in the recipe.
Serving Suggestions
This quick stir fry goes well with lots of other dishes. We love to mix it up every time we make it! Here are a few of our favorites.
- Pair the dish with this Creamy Cucumber Salad or this Cucumber Tomato Salad as a starter with these O'Henry Bars for dessert.
- Make an Asian-themed buffet along with this Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken and this Easy Sesame Chicken.
Expert Tips
- Consistently sliced chicken: To ensure the chicken cooks up at the same pace in this green bean and chicken stir fry, make sure to cut each slice the same size.
- Use high heat: Cook the chicken on high heat so it browns on all sides.
- Marinate the chicken: If time permits, season the chicken and let it sit before you cook it so the flavors can penetrate.
- Store leftovers: Place uneaten leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use frozen green beans; there's no need to thaw them before adding to the skillet.
No, there's no need to blanch them before adding them to the skillet.
Yes, canned green beans will work, but you may not get the same crunch as if you were using fresh or frozen.
More Delicious Chicken Dishes
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Green Bean and Chicken Stir Fry
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken and Green Beans
- 3 tablespoons butter divided one tablespoon and one tablespoon
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 ½ cups green beans chopped into bite-sized pieces
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 4 teaspoons garlic minced
Lemon Chicken Stir Fry Sauce
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Optional garnishes: sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
Instructions
- Add lemon juice, soy sauce, chicken broth, honey, sesame seed oil, and cornstarch to a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined, then set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add green beans to the skillet. Cook 4-5 minutes, or until beans are tender. Remove, place on a plate, and cover.
- Add the remaining butter and melt. Season the chicken with black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, and onion powder. Then, add it to the skillet and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all sides are browned.
- Add garlic to the pan and saute for 30 seconds. Then, add vegetables back into the skillet, stirring occasionally.
- Lower heat to medium and pour stir-fry sauce over chicken and green beans, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens.
- Serve while hot over rice. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Notes
- Consistently sliced chicken: To ensure the chicken cooks up at the same pace in this green bean and chicken stir fry, make sure to cut each slice the same size.
- Use high heat: Cook the chicken on high heat so it browns on all sides.
- Marinate the chicken: If time permits, season the chicken and let it sit before you prepare the stir fry so the flavors can penetrate.
- Store leftovers: Place uneaten stir fry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
*All nutrition information provided is automatically calculated and is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients, brands, and changes in cooking methods listed in the recipe. If you need exact numbers on your ingredients, I would recommend calculating them with your prefered nutrition calculator.
Ryan Allen
On of my favorite chicken dinner recipes.