Easy Stir Fry Recipes – Quick Dinner Ideas

Stir fry recipes are a go-to for many people looking for a meal that is relatively quick and easy to make, but also packs in lots of nutrients. You don’t always need to be slaving away in the kitchen for hours and spending lots of money on ingredients in order to have a delicious meal. Some of the best meals are simple and don’t take much time to prepare. These quick dinner ideas will show you how to prepare delectable stir-fry dishes, without getting sick of the same old recipes.

1. Quick Dinner Ideas – Prawn Stir Fry

This stir fry is a great go-to when you’re pressed on time. It only takes 10 minutes to make and packs in nutrient dense foods including prawns and vegetables.

Ingredients

• 500g vegetables – Which vegetables is up to you, I would recommend carrots, broccoli and baby corn
• 200g egg noodles
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1cm fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 1½ tbsp soy sauce
• 200g cooked prawns

1. Boil noodles in a pot for as long as stated on packet instructions.
2. Cut the vegetables into roughly equal-sized pieces using a knife. Cut the broccoli into small florets, then slice the stem; slice the carrots diagonally and slice the baby corn. The garlic and ginger are fried for one minute in hot oil in a big frying pan or wok.
3. Add your vegetables and toss to coat them. Fry for 2–3 minutes, then stir in the soy sauce and the chilli sauce. Cook the vegetables for a further 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are soft. Once heated through, stir in the prawns.
4. Remove the noodles from the pot and serve the prawns and veg over them.

2. Easy Dinner Ideas – Mushroom and Bacon Stir Fry

This stir fry is a popular Spanish dish. Unlike most stir-fry dishes, which are served with noodles or rice, this variation is usually served with bread. It also includes delicious Serrano ham.

Ingredients

500 g assorted mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, shimeji, portobello, common mushroom)

200g broccoli
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
30 g. bacon
70 g. Serrano ham in cubes
1/2 glass of white wine
Fresh parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil
Ground black pepper
Salt

1. Wash the mushrooms and dry them well. Cut them into medium pieces and the mushrooms in not too thin slices. Chop the garlic into small pieces and the onion into julienne strips.
2. Put the oil in a pot and add the chopped garlic. Heat and fry the garlic until it begins to brown.
3. Add the onion and fry for a few minutes, stirring until it changes color.
4. Add the diced bacon and fry everything together until the onion is well poached.
5. Add the mushrooms and broccoli and let them fry for a few minutes, stirring from time to time.
6. Next, chop enough fresh parsley and add it to the mushrooms. Add salt and ground black pepper. Continue sautéing.
7. The mushrooms will start to release water. Pour in the white wine and turn up the heat, sautéing until all the liquid (wine and water from the mushrooms) evaporates.
8. Finally, continue sautéing for a few more minutes until the mushrooms are well browned.

3. Easy Dinner Ideas – Yakisoba Stir Fry

This yakisoba recipe takes a bit more preparation in terms of ingredients but is still relatively quick to make. Yakisoba literally means “fried noodle” and it first appeared in food stalls in Japan in the 1930s. The soba noodles in yakisoba are made from wheat flour, and usually flavoured with a condiment which is similar to Worcestershire sauce.

Ingredients

• ½ onion
• 3 shiitake mushrooms
• 1 carrot
• 4 cabbage leaves
• 2 spring onions
• ¾ lb sliced pork belly 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 servings yakisoba noodles
• 4-6 tbsp Yakisoba Sauce

For the Yakisoba Sauce (Makes ½ cup, 120 ml)

• 4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 4 tsp oyster sauce
• 4 tsp ketchup
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar 

1. The Yakisoba Sauce ingredients should be combined using a whisk. You should then taste the sauce to determine whether more sugar is necessary. Set it aside.
2. Slice the onion and the mushrooms, and cut the carrot into long, thin strips.
3. Next, cut the green onions into roughly 2-inch pieces, the meat into roughly 1-inch pieces, and the cabbage into bite-sized pieces.
4. Heat the oil on medium-high heat in a skillet or wok. The meat should be cooked until no longer pink.
5. Then, add the onions and carrots for a minute or two. Add your cabbage and cook until it’s almost tender.
6. Add your spring onions and mushrooms and cook for a minute. Season with the black pepper.
7. Next, your yakisoba noodles should be transferred to a sieve and quickly covered with boiling water. Loosen the noodles using your hands.
8. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the noodles to the skillet or wok. Tongs work well for combining the noodles and ingredients. Watch the noodles carefully to make sure they don’t stick to the skillet or wok.
9. Finally, add your yakisoba sauce and mix everything together.
10. Serve and enjoy

Planning a dinner party and want to accompany your food with some delicious cocktails? Check out our article on easy cocktail recipes.

4. Easy Dinner Ideas – Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry

This delectable and healthy stir fry dish is easy to make and uses ingredients you’ll mostly already have in your house. With this one, you can adjust the amount of ingredients based on how many people you’re cooking for.

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Soy sauce
• Chicken stock
• Honey
• Oil
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cornstarch

1. Cut your chicken breasts into cubes.
2. Cook the vegetables in a hot pan, then remove them and add your chicken and minced garlic.
3. When the chicken is cooked through, add the vegetables back into the pan.
4. Whisk the chicken stock, soy sauce, honey and cornstarch together, then pour over the chicken and vegetables.
5. Simmer for a few minutes.
6. Serve

5. Easy Dinner Ideas – Lomo Saltado

Lomo saltado is a popular, traditional Peruvian dish. It typically combines marinated strips of beef steak with onions, french fries, tomatoes and other ingredients. It’s usually served with rice. The dish originated as part of the ‘chifa’ tradition, the Chinese cuisine of Peru.

Ingredients

500 grams thick veal fillets
1 red onion
1 Tomato
1 red bell pepper
1 chili bell pepper
1 sprig of fresh Cilantro
1 dash of Soy Sauce
300 g long grain rice
1 dash of Vinegar
2 units of potato
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

1. Cook the rice in salted water for the time indicated by the manufacturer.
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into sticks, salt them and fry them in hot oil until golden brown.
3. Then, wash, dry and cut into strips both the bell pepper and the tomato; peel the onion and cut in the same way.
4. Next, cut the meat into thin strips.
5. In a wok with oil, sauté the chili bell pepper over medium heat, increase the heat, add the meat, season with salt and pepper and remove.
6. Next, add more oil to the wok and sauté the onion, bell pepper and tomato.
7. Then, add the vinegar, let it evaporate, and add the meat, soy sauce and chopped cilantro.
8. Stir a few times and add the potatoes.
9. Lastly, serve the tenderloin with the vegetables and potatoes and a mound of cooked white rice.

6. Easy Dinner Ideas – Sautéed Eggplant Stir Fry

This recipe for sautéed eggplant is quick and easy. It is a totally vegan dish but full of flavor and joy and can be served alone or with eggs or meats as a side dish.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant
1 fleshy red bell pepper (or a mix of green, red, yellow bell pepper…)
Half a small onion
2 cloves of garlic
Chopped parsley
Olive oil, salt and pepper

1. First, wash the eggplant and leave the skin on if it is smooth and firm.
2. Next, cut it into cubes not too thick and leave it in a colander sprinkled with a little salt to release the bitter liquid that encloses for about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, chop the onion and peppers into regular pieces and slice the garlic cloves.
4. In a pot, sauté the peppers and onion halfway and add the garlic. Leave until everything is well poached.
5. Then, add the eggplants, season with salt and pepper and let everything cook together. Let it cook in its own juice until the sauté is dry.
6. Finally, serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and enjoy!

7. Easy Dinner Ideas – Seafood Stir Fry

Finally, we have a delicious stir-fry dish for those of you who love seafood. Pack in your omega 3s with this healthy recipe.

Ingredients

Salt
Oil
2 potatoes
200 g cockles
1/2 Onion
2 Squid
Dill
1/2 lemon
1/2 Green bell pepper
Salt and pepper
250 ml stock
1 zucchini
200 g Cherry tomatoes
5 prawns
500 g mussels

1. First, heat your stock in a saucepan.
2. Add your mussels, cover, cook until they open and then remove from their shells.
3. Cut your onion into strips.
4. Then, cut your bell pepper and zucchini into thin strips.
5. Separate the tube from the squid tentacles and remove the viscera and the internal feather of the tube.
6. Next, remove the skin from the squid tube and cut into strips and finally into triangles.
7. Cut the tentacles into pieces.
8. Peel your prawns and remove the head, the legs and the vein of the back.
9. Then, cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
10. Chop the dill.
11. Next, in a hot wok with olive oil, sauté squid for 3 minutes and remove.
12. Then, add more oil to the wok, onion, bell pepper and sauté for a few minutes.
13. After, add your zucchini and sauté for 2 more minutes.
14. Add the squid, prawns, mussels, cockles and sauté for a few seconds.
15. Season with salt, pepper, a little broth, lemon juice, paprika and finish cooking.
16. At the last moment, add the tomatoes and chopped dill.
17. Peel your potatoes and cut into very thin strips with the help of a mandolin.
18. In a frying pan with lots of hot oil, fry the potato strips.
19. Drain on absorbent paper and season with salt.
20. Finally, in the base of a plate, serve the fried potatoes and on top the sautéed potatoes with the cooking juice.

Wish to try more Peruvian dishes? Check out this guide.