This broccoli mushroom stir fry is great for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
Stir-fried vegetables might be the perfect weeknight meal. Think about it – it’s quick, it’s healthy, and (most importantly) it’s satisfyingly delicious. You can serve this broccoli mushroom stir fry on top of quinoa for some extra protein in your life, or you can eat it with a nice helping of healthy brown rice. I’ve even made it with some fried tofu on top and it’s always tasty!
Super-Satisfying Ingredients
No matter how you choose to serve it, making the broccoli mushroom stir fry satisfying comes down to one simple decision: choose your vegetables wisely. You could use any seasonal vegetable, this is true, but there are a few crucial centerpiece ingredients that make high-protein vegan stir fry recipes super satisfying. Want to know what they are? Read on!
Broccoli
Broccoli performs two important functions in vegan stir fry recipes. First of all, it takes up bulk. It gives you something substantial to chew on, and that’s an important way to help yourself feel full. If you’re done eating in two bites, you might not think you had a real dinner!
This green brassicavegetable also packs a nutritional punch. It brings vitamins C and K to the dish, along with fiber, folate, and anti-inflammatory benefits. It even brings a bit of protein—4 grams, which is a surprising amount for a vegetable. Broccoli is an important vegetable in the vegan diet, so don’t skip this ingredient.
Mushrooms
Some people might tell you that mushrooms don’t have any nutritional benefits, but that’s just not true. Mushrooms bring along some fiber and protein, which will help you feel fuller for longer. This is really important, especially if you’re following a vegan diet without any animal proteins. These mushrooms also have anti-inflammatory properties, so eaten along with broccoli they can really help you reduce inflammation in the body.
Nutritional benefits aside, mushrooms are filled with umami flavors. These flavors create a really savory eating experience, which sends an “I’m full” message to your brain. They also have a meaty texture which makes the eating experience that much more enjoyable.
Cashews
Cashews bring a lot more than just a sweet, nutty flavor to a stir-fry. They also bring a lot of texture, which is helpful in creating a sense of fullness when eating. It’s important to have a few different textures – crunchy, soft, chewy, and creamy – when creating a satisfying dish. The cashew will taste both crunchy and creamy, leaving you with a more pleasant eating experience.
Cashews are also super high in copper, magnesium, and iron. They’re a perfect paleo food, too, because they’re a good source of both protein and fat. While fat sometimes gets a bad rap, themonounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids found in cashews have actually been found to lower LDL (or, bad) cholesterol, which can reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke.
Now that you know all about our secret ingredients and why they work, are you ready to get your stir-fry on? We are too! We think you’ll love the flavor and texture of these vegan stir fry recipes, but be sure to drop us a line in the comments and let us know why.
Love this recipe? Be sure to check out these19 Plant-Based Dinners in Under 30 Minutes for more easy and nutritious weeknight meal ideas!
4.14 from 425 votes
Broccoli Mushroom Stir-Fry
This quick & easy nutritious vegan dish is perfect for a meatless Monday!
In a large skillet on high heat, add the broccoli, onion, garlic, mushrooms, red pepper, ginger, and water. Cook, stirring often until broccoli is soft and onions are translucent. Add broth and more as needed to prevent the vegetables from sticking.
Stir in the carrot, cashews, vinegar, soy sauce, and coconut sugar. Stir well and simmer for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve alone or on top of quinoa or brown rice.
Want more healthy stir fry recipes? We’ve got plenty to choose from! Try these stir fry recipes next:
Chicken, Broccoli, and Asparagus Stir Fry
Ginger Honey Chicken Stir Fry
Shrimp Stir Fry
Better Than Takeout Chicken Sesame Stir Fry Recipe
Garlic Ginger Pork Stir Fry
Stir fry recipes are great for go-to quick and easy weeknight dinners! Check out our whole collection on our Facebook page or follow us on Pinterest for more.
Need a meal plan? Our30-Day Plant-Based Meal Plan For Beginners is the perfect place to start!
Blanching destroys the enzymes that turn green veggies brown and mushy over time or with cooking. This makes it perfect for preparing ingredients for recipes that rely on the bright green color.
A stir-fry is a great way to get a healthy dose of vegetables. If you add a little lean protein, a flavorful sauce, and serve your stir-fry over steamed brown rice, you've got a well-balanced meal. It's also quick to make if you use precooked brown rice.
Stir-frying and stir-frying/boiling, the two most popular methods for most homemade dishes in China, cause great losses of chlorophyll, soluble protein, soluble sugar, vitamin C, and glucosinolates, but the steaming method appears the best in retention of the nutrients in cooking broccoli.
Stir-fry onions first, then add hard vegetables such as carrot and broccoli. Quick-cooking vegetables, such as snow peas, leafy greens and bean sprouts, should be added towards the end of cooking. If using vegies that have a combination of both textures, such as gai laan, add the stems first and the leaves later.
The Chinese broccoli needs to cook as fast as possible, so that the nutrients and color don't have as much opportunity to leach out into the water. It's best to start with as much boiling water as you can. Restaurants serve amazingly green and crunchy Chinese broccoli because they use huge amounts of boiling water.
Yes, stir fry vegetables are a great option for weight loss. Stir-frying is a low-calorie cooking method that helps to retain the nutrients in the vegetables while also providing a delicious and flavourful meal. The key to making a healthy stir fry is to use fresh vegetables and lean proteins.
It's a great way to use up bits of vegetables you don't know what to do with, and to get a big dose of colorful veggies into your diet! We call this an “everyday”stir-fry, because it's such a flexible recipe, you could eat it every day, and still have variety.
Blanching is a quick dip in boiling water, followed immediately by cooling. You can also preserve both nutrients and the enzyme needed to form protective isothiocyanates if you steam broccoli for three or four minutes (just until crisp-tender) or microwave for less than one minute.
It's best to blanch broccoli before stir frying since they need some time to thoroughly cook through. Blanching will help the stems soften so they're nice and tender after stir frying.
The first is to cook your protein and your vegetable separately, and combine them only after both are fully cooked. A second rule of thumb for stir-frying: Choose one vegetable per stir-fry. Finally, always remember to add liquid only after everything is more or less finished cooking.
"Tomatoes should never go in a stir fry — not at all." Chef Natasha Ford adds that they're too mushy. "They would just make your stir fry soupy," she says. "If you really want to use them, keep them as fresh and uncooked as possible.
Just a quick 10-15 minute marinade enhances flavor, seals in juices, and gives the meat a good texture. The marinade will usually include a bit of oil and cornstarch for texture, and may also include flavor agents like soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, or oyster sauce.
Aromatics in first- onion, leeks, garlic, ginger, chilli. Firm vegetables in second – like carrot, capsicum/bell peppers, stems of Asian Greens (Buk Choy in this recipe), zucchini / courgettes, eggplant, asparagus, canned baby corn, green beans, okra. Quicker cooking vegetables added next- snow peas, kale, cabbage.
Broccoli can be eaten raw, but blanching it quickly in boiling water helps give it a more crisp-tender texture and bring out its flavor. Broccoli can also be steamed, sautéed, and roasted. You could even throw long spears on the grill!
It's simple: you have to reduce cooking time in order to preserve the colour. Whether in water, steamed or stir-fried, cooking green vegetables for 5-7 minutes will protect the chlorophyll against acidic damage.
The time-saving strategy is to blanch — boil very briefly — the veggies before sauteeing. You can do this several days in advance, blanching a week's worth of chopped veggies ahead of time and just sauteeing them in minutes before dinner.
Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
