Ready in less than 30 minutes, this easy ground chicken stir fry with green beans is a perfect meal for busy weeknights! It’s basically a quicker, one pan version of my super popular Asian Chicken meatballs recipe and I love making it for meal prep with brown rice or cauliflower rice.
If you have been around here awhile, you know all about my Asian Chicken meatballs. They have so much flavor and basically have a cult following and I love seeing how many of you make them every year.
And while those meatballs are really not hard or crazy time consuming, after an especially busy day and evening in December when I planned to prep a double batch of the meatballs, I ended up pivoting and throwing ground chicken breast and green beans into a skillet with the rest of the ingredients and my husband and kids devoured it. Total win.
We ended up making this healthy chicken stir fry many times during the holiday season and I am so excited to finally share this dinnertime survival recipe with all of you!
Why this recipe will be your new favorite
- It’s SO fast – like under 30 minutes from stove to plate making this healthy weeknight dinner perfect for even your busiest days
- There’s almost no chopping needed, and if you really are pressed for time, you can swap fresh ginger and garlic for garlic powder and/or ground ginger
- So much flavor using just a few pantry ingredients you probably already have on hand
- It’s naturally Gluten and dairy free
- It’s great option for meal prep, as it heats up very well and would be a perfect lunch bowl with some brown rice or cauliflower rice.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans, cleaned and ends removed  – to save more time, you can buy a bag of steam-in-the bag fresh green beans so they are ready to go without any prep or cleaning needed
- avocado oil – you can sub extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 lb lean ground chicken – this recipe also works with ground turkey, lean ground beef, or any ground meat you have on hand
- tomato paste – tip: since you are using just a tablespoon, don’t forget to freeze the rest
- coconut aminos – I like Coconut Secret brand. You can also swap this with low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- garlic – fresh is best, but in a pinch, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder will do the trick
- fresh ginger – tip: freeze your ginger to make it easier to grate into recipes
- honey or maple syrup – I use these interchangeably depending on what I have on hand.
- salt – since coconut aminos is salty already, I tend to hold off on adding too much salt to this dish until the end when I can taste it and add more, if needed.
- crushed red pepper flakes (optional) – you could also drizzle on some sriracha or chili paste (in the past I used sambal oelek, but it’s been hard to find!) for a little extra heat
- optional garnish – green onions – I didn’t do this for my pictures but not only does it look pretty, it gives this dish some nice flavor.
If you like the flavor, you could also drizzle on a tsp of sesame oil or add some sesame seeds to your dish.
Instructions
This delicious dinner recipe comes together so easily in just a few simple steps.
Step one: Make the homemade, gluten free stir fry sauce: mix honey, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, and coconut aminos. Set aside.
Step two: steam the green beans. Place green beans and a sprinkle of salt in a large frying pan or skillet; pour in â…“ cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as water comes to a boil, reduce to medium heat, cover pan and cook for 5-7 minutes or until beans are tender. They will continue to cook after, so be careful not to overcook. Remove beans from the pan.
Step three: Add 2 tsp of avocado oil to the same skillet, then saute ground chicken over medium low heat until cooked through. Stir in the sauce, then add green beans to skillet and combine. Taste and adjust seasonings (I like to add a dash of salt + crushed red pepper), if needed.
What to serve with this Ground Chicken Stir Fry Recipe
I love this recipe served with a side of brown rice – I use this Instant Pot Brown Rice Recipe to prep a bunch and freeze to have whenever I need it! Or, in a pinch, I use frozen Brown Rice from Trader Joes.
It’s also delicious with cauliflower rice for a low carb option or you could make this Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice. And quinoa would also be yummy and add extra protein.
Recipe FAQs
You can truly use any quick cooking, non-starchy vegetable that you would like. Broccoli florets, bell pepper, snap peas, even frozen veggies would work perfectly for this chicken stir-fry.
It depends. In some grocery stores, I can find it with the other Asian stir fry sauces and noodles, but in other stores it is in the “health food” or gluten free section with the other healthier cooking oils and sauces. Here’s a whole post on What is Coconut Aminos if you aren’t familiar!
Meal Prep and Storage
To prep ahead: The beauty of this chicken stir fry is it comes together so fast, meal prep isn’t super necessary. But you could make your sauce in advance on meal prep day, or prep the entire dish ahead of time as it reheats very well.
To store: Store this stir fry in an air tight container for up to 3-4 days.
To freeze: If I were making this as a freezer meal, I would choose to just make the meat and sauce and skip the string beans until I was ready to reheat the dish, as they don’t always hold up well in the freezer.
To reheat: This reheats well in a warm skillet or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
More healthy Asian inspired recipes you might like
Easy Bourbon Chicken – tastes just like the food court fave!
Healthy Chicken Lettuce Wraps – another delicious ground chicken recipe.
Asian Pork Tenderloin – my gosh, we can eat this recipe weekly! So good!
Egg Roll in a Bowl | Evolving Table – another super easy recipe but so yum!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating & a review in the comments section! We love hearing from you!
Ground Chicken Stir Fry with Green Beans
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb Fresh green beans cleaned and ends removed; or buy the cleaned steam-in-the bag green beans to save more time
- 2 tsp Avocado oil can sub olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 lb Ground chicken
- 1 Tbsp Tomato paste
- â…“ cup Coconut aminos can sub low sodium soy sauce if not gluten free
- 2 cloves Garlic minced or grated, can sub garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Ginger grated, can sub ground ginger
- ¼ cup Honey or maple syrup
- 1 dash Salt
- 1 dash Crushed red pepper optional
- Brown rice or cauliflower rice for serving
Instructions
- Make the sauce by mixing honey, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, and coconut aminos together in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
- Place green beans and a sprinkle of salt in a large skillet; pour in â…“ cup water.
- Bring green beans to a boil over high heat. As soon as water comes to a boil, lower heat, cover the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the beans are tender. They will continue to cook after, so be careful not to overcook.
- Remove green beans and wipe pan, if necessary.
- Add 2 tsp of avocado oil to the same skillet, then saute ground chicken over medium low heat until cooked through. Stir in sauce, then add green beans back to skillet and combine. Taste and adjust seasonings (I like to add a dash of salt and crushed red pepper), if needed.
- Serve with brown or cauliflower rice.
Chrissy says
Can I use tomato sauce instead of paste?
Nancylynn says
Yes you can, just be aware that it will be a thinner sauce and likely need a little extra time to thicken up!
Vicki L Dubois says
Love this recipe. served with the brown rice. Sooo good. Thanks.
Nancylynn says
Thank you so much Vicki!
Emily says
one of the many recipes that are in our solid rotation! always excellent, there’s never any leftovers!
Nancylynn says
Thank Emily! So glad you love it!
When you have a minute, would you mind adding a star rating to your comment? Thank you in advance! It helps other readers see more quickly that it’s a winner!
Jordan says
Absolutely delicious! I would pair this up against any Asian restaurant dish! Have paired it with jasmine rice and Asian style noodles! 10/10!
Nancylynn says
Thank you, Jordan! Such a huge compliment!
Michelle says
This was yummy! I added finely diced carrots with the meat, and topped with green onions.
Nancylynn says
Oohh – great idea on the carrots!
Angelle says
I made this for my lunches this week, but I’m not sure any of it will last until tomorrow! I literally want to lick the pan…. WOW!
Nancylynn says
Best compliment!! How did it go for lunches??
Cara M says
AMAZING! This is soo good! 10 out of 10!
Nancylynn says
Thank you Cara!! What a compliment!
Paige says
Ahhh you have done it again! A recipe that will be in our rotation. I did not have green beans so I used steamed broccoli and sautéed some pepper & onion. It was amazing. Great flavor, very filling, and family approved! Thank you!!