Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

This sweet and spicy chicken stir fry is filled with broccoli and peppers and tossed in a terrific barbecue sauce for a savory sweet meal we all love.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

Easy and delicious are the two main requirements for our weeknight dinners. Combine that with minimal dirty dishes and the entire family cleaning their plates and we definitely have a winner.

If there’s a good dose of vegetables that everyone actually eats, that’s a solid bonus.

You know the meme, “Who knew the hardest part of being an adult is figuring out what to cook for dinner every single night for the rest of your life. . .until you die.” I laughed at first until I realized how true it was!

Easy Chicken Stir Fry

That being said I have found quite a few ways to make it easier on myself. One of those is to keep things simple, but full of flavor.

This easy chicken stir fry is a great way to do that. Everything can be cooked in one pan. Add a side of rice or noodles if you are feeling ambitious, or don’t. Most stir-fry recipes are tasty on their own.

Remember my requirement for simple? That applies here. Rather than creating a sauce from scratch, we’re going to use a sweet and spicy barbecue sauce.

(Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, my friends.) Grab a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce from the refrigerator and it will create a terrific stir-fry sauce when combined with the chicken, peppers, and broccoli.

The key to a good stir fry is equally-sized pieces for fast, even cooking and to keep it moving in the pan. Once you have everything cooked pour in the sauce at the end and stir it until just heated.

Cooking any stir fry for too long will result in mushy vegetables and the potential of having a pan that needs to be scrubbed.

BBQ Chicken Stir Fry

• butter
• boneless skinless chicken thighs
• kosher salt
• ground black pepper
• olive oil
• yellow, red, or orange bell peppers
• broccoli florets
• sweet and spicy barbecue sauce
• green onions 

To cook the stir fry:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Swirl to coat the pan and add the chicken. Toss to coat the pieces with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Cook the chicken, tossing frequently, for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add oil to the pan and add the bell peppers and broccoli. Toss to coat.
3. Cook the vegetables, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes. While cooking, add a splash of water (about 2 tablespoons) to the pan and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
4. When the vegetables are tender-crisp, add the chicken back to the pan along with the barbecue sauce and green onions. Stir to coat everything with the sauce and cook for about a minute to warm through. Serve warm, over rice if desired.

Easy Dinner Ideas

Easy and delicious go hand-in-hand. Go easy on yourself yet create meals your entire family loves. Thinly sliced flank steak in a garlicky ginger sauce makes for a delicious weeknight steak and pepper stir fry.

One of our favorites Chicken Fajitas, simple to make with just five ingredients! These fajitas are filled with great flavors from peppers, onions, chicken strips, and spices.

This saucy Ground Beef Stir Fry with crisp bell peppers and broccoli is an easy weeknight dinner that comes together in under 30 minutes.

Dr Pepper Pulled Pork (made in the slow cooker) is a sweet and tangy, absolutely delicious pork that is fantastic made into sandwiches.

Coleslaw is the perfect side dish for pulled pork or in my case it is often a condiment. Pile it high as a slightly sweet, crunchy, cool topping for your pork.

Juicy, salty kielbasa sausage, tender-crisp cabbage, some chopped onions, and flavorful garlic make this Sausage Stir Fry a simple one-pan dinner the whole family loves.