Ground Chicken Stir Fry is a tasty, healthy twist on Hunan Chicken! Chicken and veggie stir fry in an easy, delicious garlicky sauce, ready in only 20 minutes!
Classic Chinese stir-fry, also known as Hunan Chicken, is an Asian Food Recipe that’s super popular and really easy to make. This lightened up version gives you all the flavor in even less time!
GROUND CHICKEN STIR FRY
One of the easiest ways to lighten up a favorite Asian take-out recipe is to swap out the wok-fried chicken for ground chicken. You can still get the crispy browned edges on ground meat crumbles with a fraction of the fat. Since this Ground Hunan Chicken Stir Fry recipe has veggies, you can serve it on it’s own as a low carb meal or pair with any your favorite Chinese Dishes!
Ground Chicken Stir Fry is a light main dish that doesn’t taste “healthy”, aka it’s packed with those delicious Chinese stir fry flavors you love. The simple sauce for this lighter Hunan chicken recipe is a spicy, salty, sweet flavor that you can easily alter with what you have on hand.
The best way to make Ground Chicken Stir Fry is in a wok, so you can get that crispy browned edges without burning or overcooking the chicken. A large cast iron skillet is the next best thing to a wok if you don’t have one on hand. You want to the skillet is big enough to keep veggies and chicken layering too thick, but not so large that the heat doesn’t reach the edges of your the pan.
All the classic Chinese takeout side dishes like Steamed Rice, Chow Mein, and Chinese Fried Rice would taste delicious with Ground Stir Fry Chicken. You could serve it as the filling in Lettuce Wraps for a healthy, low carb dinner. Use leftover Ground Hunan Chicken instead of grilled chicken in Light Chinese Chicken Salad for an easy, tasty lunch.
Make a delicious, healthy meal prep that can easily be doubled (or tripled) then frozen for up to 2 months. In 2-cup freezer safe containers, layer Brown Rice, Super Greens, and Ground Chicken Stir Fry. Make extra sauce and divide a few tablespoons in snack-size zipper plastic bags, squeezing out any air. Top bowls with baggie of sauce, seal lid, and freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating in the microwave.
GROUND CHINESE FOOD RECIPES:
Ground Kung Pao Chicken (1 Pan!)
Ground Orange Chicken (1 Pan!)
Korean Ground Beef
Ground General Tso’s Chicken
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VARIATIONS ON GROUND CHICKEN STIR FRY
- Meat: Swap out the ground chicken with ground turkey, ground pork, lean ground beef, or a mixture of ground meats. You could also reheat leftover Grilled Chicken in the sauce and veggies!
- Veggies: Add any of your favorite stir-fry veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, broccoli, snow peas, shredded carrots, or cabbage to your Ground Hunan Chicken.
- Oyster Sauce: If you don’t have any oyster sauce on hand (or have a shellfish allergy), use 3 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. You could also swap hoisin sauce or teriyaki sauce for oyster sauce.
- Spices: Try a tablespoon or two of a favorite Asian spice blend, Chinese 5 Spice. Make an easy version of it with fennel, peppercorns (preferably Szechuan), cinnamon, ground cloves and star anise all ground together.
More Delicious Chinese Food Recipes You NEED to make:
Sweet and Sour Pork
Chinese Lemon Chicken
Easy Mongolian Beef
Chicken Lo Mein
HOW TO STORE GROUND CHICKEN STIR FRY
- Serve: You can keep Ground Chicken Stir Fry at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it needs to be stored.
- Store: Refrigerate Ground Hunan Chicken Stir Fry in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet for the best taste and to keep the veggies crisp.
- Freeze: Cool Ground Chicken Stir Fry completely, place in a sealed container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger , minced
- 1 green bell pepper , chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper , chopped
- 1 onion , chopped
- 8 ounces water chestnuts , drained and diced
HUNAN SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Sambal Oelek chili paste
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix the sauce ingredients together.
- To a large pan add 1 tablespoon oil, ground chicken and diced water chestnuts.
- Cook until a good crust forms before breaking apart, then finish cooking by breaking it apart with a spatula and cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and add in the garlic, ginger, bell peppers, and onion.
- Stir, cooking for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the sauce and chicken and toss to coat, cooking 1-2 more minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Nutrition
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Any advice as to why my sauce didnt thicken? I love cooking but Im also still learning so I like feedback so I can keep improving! Thanks!
How long did you cook (no lid) the chicken and veggies? Did you cover the pan while cooking?
Very good flavor, but mine didn’t thicken. I omitted the sugar, and didn’t miss it. I would def make again as it was super easy and a great use of ground chicken.
This was very bland and disappointing.
If you ever decide to try the recipe again, perhaps next time you could use this suggestion from the blog for additional taste? Sorry you were disappointed.
Spices: Try a tablespoon or two of a favorite Asian spice blend, Chinese 5 Spice. Make an easy version of it with fennel, peppercorns (preferably Szechuan), cinnamon, ground cloves and star anise all ground together.
Legitimately, this recipe is delicious. I just finished eating it-my husband and I both loved it! He commented that it tasted like a dish we frequently order at our favorite takeout restaurant. I have been meal prepping for a long time and am always looking for new recipes to get me out of my rut. Make this one NOW. Our lunches this week are amazing, thanks Sabrina!
(my customizations: doubled the veggies and the sauce, cause: sauce).
Truth be told, I’ve always looked down on stir fry recipes that used ground chicken.
But…
On this particular night, it’s all I had on hand…AND, I have faith in SS’s recipes as I’ve tried a number of them before.
Turns out, the stir fry came out great. I doubled the sauce and almost doubled the veggies (because veggies are what my teenage daughter is into right now) and left the ground chicken at 1 lb…. So it was a very veggie heavy stir fry, but just what everyone was in the mood for. The recommended chili paste, although not cheap, was absolutely delicious. I had to stop myself from eating it right out of the jar. (not recommended if you don’t like spicy foods.)
Thanks to SS for another great family meal recipe. I will keep coming back.
Thank you for putting the actual recipe 3/4 down the page! What an adventure it was searching for the actual list of ingredients and instructions between numerous ads, pop up videos, and possible substitutions. This recipe really reminds me of eating at a real Chinese restaurant, where the actual menu items are hidden beneath several options of replacement meals. Thank you!
So glad you found your way to the comment section!
Thank you for sharing a delicious recipe we loved it have to make it again.
Thank you.
Spicy delicious, I will make it again for sure.
So happy you enjoyed this one Elle! I see you didn’t like the other meal.
We absolutely live this recipe! We didn’t have oyster sauce so we substitute with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 heaping tablespoon of gochujang. We also spilt the soy sauce- 1 tablespoon of low sodium( ran out) and 1tablespoon of dark soy sauce and served over forbidden black rice cooked in chicken stock. OMG! We had NO leftovers with our family! Thank you for the recipe.
Delicious and a big hit! Even my extremely picky child with sensory issues loved it.
I’m so glad you won over the picky eater with this recipe. Thanks for the 5 stars, Rebecca.
That is a delicious and easy to make stir fry. Love that hunan sauce – will have to try this recipe for my family. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
I just love quick & easy dinner ideas like this! 🙂 Looks delicious.
Enjoy!
What a great dish! I love the veggies (and could use what’s on hand, easily). Perfect for a main dish meal any night!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Patricia!
This chicken stir fry recipe is packed with flavor! We had these last night and I put them in lettuce wraps for a low carb dinner. So good!
Such a great idea, Kathryn. Thanks for the 5 star rating.
Looks so saucy and delicious. Definitely going to make this for meal prep.
Perfect for that! Enjoy!
Delicious stir fry. I omitted the sugar and cut the veggies more in strips but I could have eaten the entire batch in one sitting it’s that tasty.
Thank you so much for coming back to let me know how much you enjoyed it. I really appreciate the 5 star rating as well.