Skip to content

Stir Fry

A stir fry is one of the easiest ways to add more veg to your diet. It is super quick, super simple, and super tasty! We have gathered some expert tips to help you take your family stir fry from good to great!

Why is stir fry so great?

A stir fry is a great last-minute convenience dish – grab a bag of stir fry veg, some noodles and sauce!

But it’s also great for keeping costs down, for adding plenty of veg in a tasty, simple way, and for cutting down on food waste by using up the veg in your fridge or the marked-down on-the-turn veg at the shops. Our Simple Stir Fry recipe below is just that – a basic mix of meat (or veggie alternative) + noodles or rice + sauce + optional stir fry veg. If you are just starting out, this is the place to start. If you already have the basics and want to work on slowly improving your recipe using our Step by Step method, try our Next Steps Stir Fry.

Kids who engage with healthy foods are more likely to eat them, so to set yourself up for success, we’ve included tips to get kids involved in the second recipe to keep things simple.

Simple Stir Fry

Ingredients:

Meat/veggie alternative, tofu or prawns (about 300-400g to serve 4)

Noodles/rice (1 nest for each adult/bigger kids, 1/2 for younger kids)

Jar or packet of sauce

Sliced peppers or bag of stir-fry veg (optional)

Share:

Not made a stir fry before, or not ready to try the next steps? Start here!

Method:

  1. Cook the meat/veggie alternative according to package instructions if using (usually this is just frying in a little oil until lightly golden, cooked through and piping hot). Set aside while you fry any veg you are using quickly over a high heat in a little oil.

  2. Cook the noodles/rice according to packet instructions. Stir through the meat and/or veg and the sauce.

There is no need to go any further with this recipe until you are confident with it and feel up for the next step.

  1.  

Once you have the basics it’s time to slowly improve your recipe using our Step by Step method to a bit better.

There are three ways to step-by-step your way to better stir fries – start where you feel most comfortable and if in doubt, start with a few veg.

Remember, the MOST important thing is that the family enjoys the meal! These changes and swaps can take as long as is needed. Small simple improvements over time may not even be noticed!

Aim for 2 handfuls of veg per person in the long-run, but it’s better to go slow and get there than to rush to the finish line and find no one is there with you. For the best chance of success, start with a veg you know the family likes, don’t try to hide it, and build up over time. Starting with frozen veg can also mean less waste, keeping costs down, and being able to add a small amount simply. Although in a stir fry you are likely to want more crunchiness and so more fresh veg.

We’ve added our top suggestions and how and when to add them to the recipe below.

Swapping a ready-made stir fry sauce for a homemade sauce can often help the budget as well as the salt and sugar content. There are loads of super simple stir fry sauce recipes online, but to start, perhaps go with the most common, simple mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey and a little grated ginger and garlic (we have details in the recipe below).

Try a tin of cooked lentils, beans or some tofu/tempeh to replace half (or all of) the meat, added for the last couple of mins of cooking – mild beans like butter or cannellini work especially well here, but kidney beans will work great, too.

You can even leave the meat out completely and make a veg stir fry!

Next Steps Stir Fry

Ingredients:

Meat/veggie alternative, tofu or prawns, if using

Noodles/rice (1 nest for each adult/bigger kids, 1/2 for younger kids)

Jar or packet of sauce (or try a healthier and cheaper simple mix (for 4) of: 3 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium), 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp honey, 1 garlic clove (minced or grated), 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger)

Bag of fresh or frozen stir fry veg, or a handful per person of 1-2 veg (see suggestions in recipe)

Share:

We suggest you do this in stages, slowly, and go as far as works for your family, here’s how your final recipe might come together…

Method:

  1. Cook the meat/veggie alternative according to package instructions if using (usually this is just frying in a little oil until lightly golden, cooked through and piping hot). Set aside while you fry any veg you are using quickly over a high heat in a little oil. Make sure you slice/dice any veg thinly/small so it cooks quickly, but you generally want a little more crunch in a stir fry so cook it just for a couple of mins. A bag of stir fry veg is your best bet here, but if you want to choose your own veg to suit tastes more, try fresh veg like: sliced peppers, carrot strips (use a veg peeler to get thin strips), sliced/chopped tenderstem broccoli, baby sweetcorn, beansprouts, sliced spring onions, sliced mushrooms, sugar snap peas or mangetout, asparagus or shredded cabbage. You can get bags of frozen stir fry mix, or use frozen/tinned sweetcorn or sliced peppers/mushrooms, but these will be a lot softer so for a crunchier stir fry stick to fresh veg.

  2. Cook the noodles/rice according to packet instructions. Stir through the meat and/or veg and the sauce (to make a healthier sauce that is far cheaper in the long run, try our suggested mix of ingredients and just whisk together and pour over, or Google a simple stir fry recipe – most are just a case of whisking a few ingredients together!).

  1.  
Engaging Kids

Engaging Kids

Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating. Find out more here.

Kids in the kitchen

Kids in the kitchen

Get younger kids mixing up the sauce and chucking a couple of handfuls of your chosen veg into the pan. They could also help you serve up the meal, maybe sprinkling over some toasted cashews or peanuts or sesame seeds, or a handful of chopped spring onions and roughly chopped fresh coriander.

Older kids might be ready to learn how to chop some fresh veg to add in, stir everything together in the pan, and make a stir fry sauce with your help!

Master these skills:

Cleaning vegetables,  Tasting,  Bridge chopping,  Claw chopping
Activities

Activities

Use arts & crafts as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. While you make your stir fry, why not set a child up with:

Sweetcorn Face Mask

Sweetcorn Veg Crown

Cut Out ‘n’ Colour Sweetcorn

Sweetcorn Secret Code puzzle

So Corny wordsearch

Find more arts & crafts and puzzles & games on our website.

Sensory

Sensory

Why not start with a couple of slices of mushroom and get them to describe what they see – does it remind them of anything? Maybe it looks like a strange mini face or a tiny grey pumpkin. See if they want to chuck some into the stir fry after having engaged with them.

Head to our Sensory page for more games, videos, tips and ideas.

Serving

Serving

Why not let your child be in charge of some fun stir fry toppings? Let them choose from a few options such as: roughly chopped fresh herbs, chopped nuts, sliced spring onions, thinly sliced red onions “pickled” for a few mins in red wine vinegar and a pinch of salt and sugar, shredded lettuce or red cabbage, grated carrots or thinly sliced cucumber. Make sure to praise them for their choices as you tuck into your stir fry, it may encourage them to try some of theirs!

Get more ideas over on our Roles for Kids page.

DO you have a question you’d like one of our experts to help you with?
Simply Veg Sun & Girl

SIMPLY VEG

Need to get your kids eating more veg?

Our only goal is to help parents and carers serve up affordable, simple food their families will love. We know that takes more than a few recipes, so we've got all the hacks and advice you'll need. Join now. It's 100% free and 100% simple.

*Required fields