A Simple Broccoli Stirfry Recipe for Hectic Weeknights

This broccoli stirfry is an easy and nutritious weeknight plant-based meal that goes from start to finish faster than you can cook a pot of rice. This recipe is chock-full of crisp, tender broccoli with just the slightest char and a generous helping of our homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe that is free of refined sugars and loaded with big flavor!

Broccoli 101: Basic nutrition, how to shop for, and how to prepare broccoli.

I'm going to do my best here to answer all of your pressing broccoli questions, but if for some reason I miss something feel free to ask me anything broccoli or broccoli stirfry related in teh comments below.

Is broccoli good for you?

Broccoli is one of the world’s most popular vegetables. It is easy to prepare and edible both raw and cooked. It is a cruciferous vegetable related to cabbage, kale, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Broccoli is high in many nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium. It also boasts more protein than most other vegetables. Broccoli is really great for heart health because it contains fibers, fatty acids, and vitamins that help regulate blood pressure in the body.

How can you tell if broccoli is fresh?

Select broccoli with firm stems, crisp leaves, and tightly closed dark green or purplish-green buds. Broccoli stems should be firm and the crown should be tight and springy; delicate stems or limp florets indicate old broccoli and should be avoided altogether. Unwashed broccoli can be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic bag for up to 5 days.

How to cut broccoli for broccoli stirfry.

Cut the broccoli crown as near to the crown as possible. The crown should split into a few very large florets. To create bite-size pieces, cut through each floret's stem until the pieces are uniform in size. This will ensure that they all cook in the same amount of time.

Remove any leaves and peel the broccoli stalks with a vegetable peeler to remove the tough outer skin. Cut off the tough bottom 1-inch of the stem and discard it. Cut the remaining stem into bite-sized pieces.

Rinse the stems and florets under running water to remove any dirt or grit. Keep the stems and broccoli florets separate because the stems take longer to cook than the florets.

Now the broccoli is cut we are ready to make broccoli stirfry, let's gather the ingredients!

What pan can I use to make this stirfry instead of a wok?

No wok, no problem! If you have a wok to make this broccoli stirfry that is great, however, I bet most of you reading this don't and may be wondering what other pans make a great substitute for a wok when cooking stir fry.

• You can achieve almost the same results as a wok with a pan that is wide and flat. The key to stirfry is to give your ingredients lots of contact with the heat.
• A sauté pan makes a good substitute for a wok; heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in the pan and stir-fry as usual.
• A cast iron skillet can retain just as much heat as a wok, which makes it an ideal pan for cooking stir fry. However you will want to add the Teriyaki sauce to the cooked broccoli AFTER you remove it from the cast iron pan because the sauce is acidic.

It is also important to note if you are using a wok for this recipe that not all cooktops are wok compatible and you may need to purchase a wok ring.

Ingredients needed to make this simple Broccoli Stirfry recipe

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

This easy homemade Teriyaki Sauce recipe that we created for California Prunes comes together in a flash and is great for ALL sorts of recipes that call for traditional Teriyaki Sauce. Our recipe omits the traditional refined sugars and uses prune pureé in combination with Tamari, freshly squeezed orange juice, and freshly grated ginger for a truly spectacular better for you version of store-bought teriyaki sauce. While I typically use prune pureé in dessert recipes to replace sugar, eggs, or fat it also comes in handy with savory recipes like this one too.

This Teriyaki sauce recipe will make more than what you will need for this broccoli stirfry recipe which is great because you should totally try the recipe for Sheet Pan Chicken Teriyaki Bowls that I created for California Prunes too!

Broccoli

Do we even need to discuss this ingredient since we covered it so much in the blog post already? If you have any more broccoli questions feel free to drop them in the comments below and I will answer them.

Oil with a high smoke point

Soybean oil, vegetable oil, and peanut oil have a high smoke point. Peanut oil is my personal favorite because it has a pleasant nutty flavor.

Optional savory sprinkles

I'm always pro-sprinkle whether the recipe we are making is sweet or savory. For this stirfry recipe, you can use ingredients like sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, and sliced green onions to take this already delicious stirfry to the next level.

Looking for more recipes featuring broccoli? Keep scrolling!

I don't know about your house, but mine is ALL broccoli ALL the time! It doesn't matter how many times a week I cook a dish with broccoli in it for dinner it is always met with excited anticipation.

If you’ve tried our Broccoli Stirfry recipe, I would be so grateful if you would rate it. Let me know what you think in the comments below. I just love hearing from you, and your reviews and comments really help others that visit This Mess is Ours!

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