This Chicken and Shrimp Stir-Fry is on the table in under 30 minutes. A colorful and delicious meal that is packed with vegetables and is easy enough for a weeknight.
Love to stir fry? Once you’ve got the technique down, you’ll want to try this with all kind of ingredients. Try this Salmon Stir-Fry with Vegetables or this Tofu Zucchini Stir Fry next.
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Why Make This Recipe
- Lots of lean protein, lots of fresh vegetables
- Quick to make
- Delicious savory sauce that pulls it all together using easy-to-find ingredients
- So versatile—great for using up the leftover veggies in your fridge!
🥗 Stir-Fry Ingredients
- Boneless chicken breasts: Thin-cut chicken breasts make the slicing super fast.
- Red bell pepper: Could replace with any color bell pepper you prefer.
- Shiitake mushrooms: White button mushrooms or baby Bella mushrooms would also work here.
- Red onion: Try sliced green onions as an alternative, reserving some of the dark green slices as a garnish.
- Shrimp: I recommend large shrimp (20-25 count per pound) for this recipe, so that you end up with juicy shrimp. Smaller shrimp are easy to overcook.
- Baby spinach: Any kind of fresh spinach works here. You could also replace with kale or Swiss chard, just remove the tough ribs and thinly slice the greens before adding.
- Vegetable oil: You could replace a little bit of the oil with sesame oil, but toasted sesame oil in particular can scorch at high heat. Olive oil would work as another option.
🥣 Sauce Ingredients
- Soy sauce: Choose tamari soy sauce for a gluten-free option.
- Rice vinegar: I use seasoned rice vinegar. If yours is unseasoned, you may want to add some additional salt and sugar to the sauce.
- Brown sugar: Feel free to replace with honey or maple syrup.
- Sriracha: Add as much or as little as your spice preference allows. And replace with any hot sauce if you need to. Red pepper flakes would be another good substitute.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cut 1 pound boneless chicken breasts into cubes or thin slices. Season with a little salt and pepper, then toss with 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
Step 2: Cut the top off a red bell pepper, then cut pepper in half and remove the white membrane and seeds. Cut the remaining pepper flesh into 1-inch chunks.
Wipe 3.5 ounces shiitake mushrooms clean of any dirt using a damp paper towel, then slice into strips. Cut 1 medium red onion in half, remove peel, and slice into thin half moons. Peel and finely chop 1 fresh garlic clove.
Step 3: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet or wok over high heat. Add chicken and sauté until cooked through and lightly browned, about 9 minutes.
Step 4: While chicken is cooking, whisk together ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl: 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon water, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon sriracha.
Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Step 5: Add shrimp to to the hot pan—sauté for about 2 minutes, or until done (shrimp will turn whitish pink and opaque). Remove from pan.
Step 6: Add another tablespoon of oil, then add red pepper, mushrooms, red onion, and garlic. Sauté until onions and mushrooms are softened and beginning to brown, about 7-9 minutes.
Step 7: Add chicken and shrimp back to pan, along with any juices that may have accumulated underneath them. Stir in 4 ounces baby spinach, a few handfuls at a time, until spinach is wilted slightly.
Step 8: Whisk stir fry sauce again, then add to skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes, until spinach is fully wilted, and sauce has thickened slightly and coats the stir fry. Serve immediately.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Shrimp Stir-Fry
You can make this recipe in advance, though the color of the spinach may dull the longer it sits in the sauce. Also, the stir fry will dry out a little as it sits in the refrigerator. You may want to add a splash of water to it when you are reheating it.
You can either reheat in the microwave (heat at 80% power, stirring every 30 seconds) or in a nonstick skillet on the stove. Also, the great thing about a stir-fry is how little time the cooking process takes. So you can also prep all of your ingredients ahead of time so that the actual cooking is all that needs to be done when you’re ready to eat.
When you’re using both chicken and shrimp in a recipe, cooking the chicken first is the way to go, as the chicken takes longer to cook. Once you remove the chicken, the shrimp will cook very quickly in the hot skillet.
I don’t recommend cooking them both in the skillet at the same time unless you have a very large skillet. Otherwise, even if you wait to add the shrimp until the chicken are mostly done, you won’t get the browning you want on the chicken if you overcrowd the pan.
The best way to keep chicken juicy when stir-frying is not to overcook it. You want the heat high enough that the chicken is just cooked through when it starts to brown. That way you get juicy chicken, but still with the browned edges, which add flavor.
Then, you take it out of the pan immediately while you cook the rest of the ingredients. If you continue to add the other proteins and vegetables with the cooked chicken in the pan, you’ll overcook the chicken so that it is dry and not juicy.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Adjust your heat as needed. You want a high heat to brown the chicken, and the edges of the vegetables as well, since all that adds to the flavor of your stir fry. But if the veggies or chicken are browning or burning before being fully cooked, turn down the heat. The pan will be quite hot after cooking the chicken and shrimp, so you may want to go down to medium-high heat to cook the vegetables.
To make this recipe super easy, replace the pepper, mushrooms, and onion with a bag of frozen chopped vegetables. And, replace the homemade stir-fry sauce with a store-bought teriyaki sauce. So fast!
Need some ideas for other vegetables that work well in this recipe? Make sure to choose a combination of fresh veggies that cook in about the same time. You could replace the onions, mushrooms, or red pepper with snow peas, snap peas, chopped green beans, or bok choy. You could also leave out the proteins entirely and make this into a vegetable stir fry.
Wondering what to serve with this recipe to make it into an easy weeknight dinner? Serving this chicken and shrimp stir fry with rice is a classic of course—both white rice and brown rice are good complements.
You can also serve with rice noodles, lo mein noodles, or go low-carb with cauliflower rice or zoodles (zucchini noodles). It might be mixing cuisines a little, but I’d be happy to eat this with a big slice of Baguette Garlic Bread.
Other Delicious Chicken and Shrimp Recipes
If you love this recipe, you might want to check out some of our other favorite recipes that feature chicken and shrimp. This Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie is super easy to prep but delivers big on flavor. These Crab Stuffed Shrimp are super decadent. Or try one of these favorites:
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📖 Recipe
Chicken and Shrimp Stir-Fry
This Chicken and Shrimp Stir-Fry is on the table in under 30 minutes. A colorful and delicious meal, packed with vegetables and protein.
Ingredients
For the Stir-Fry:
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 ½ ounces shiitake mushrooms
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound large shrimp
- 4 ounces baby spinach
For the Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce
Instructions
- Cut chicken into cubes or thin slices.
- Season with a little salt and pepper, then toss with cornstarch.
- Cut the top off the red pepper, then cut pepper in half and remove the white membrane and seeds. Cut the remaining pepper flesh into 1-inch chunks.
- Wipe mushrooms clean of any dirt using a damp paper towel, then slice into strips.
- Cut onion in half, remove peel, and slice into thin half moons.
- Peel and finely chop garlic clove.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick saucepan over high heat.
- Add chicken and sauté until cooked through and lightly browned, about 9 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking, whisk together all ingredients for the sauce.
- Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
- Add shrimp to skillet—sauté for about 2 minutes, or until done (shrimp will turn whitish pink and opaque). Remove from pan.
- Add another tablespoon of oil, then add red pepper, mushrooms, red onion, and garlic. Sauté until onions and mushrooms are softened and beginning to brown, about 7-9 minutes.
- Add chicken and shrimp back to pan, along with any juices that may have accumulated underneath them.
- Stir in baby spinach, a few handfuls at a time, until spinach is wilted slightly.
- Whisk sauce again, then add to skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes, until spinach is fully wilted, and sauce has thickened slightly and coats the stir fry. Serve immediately.
Notes
Storage Tips:
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You may want to add a splash of water to it when you are reheating it. You can either reheat in the microwave (heat at 80% power, stirring every 30 seconds) or in a nonstick skillet on the stove.
Recipe Tips:
Adjust your heat as needed. You want a high heat to brown the chicken, and the edges of the vegetables as well, since all that adds to the flavor of your stir fry. But if the veggies or chicken are browning or burning before being fully cooked, turn down the heat. The pan will be quite hot after cooking the chicken and shrimp, so you may want to go down to medium-high heat to cook the vegetables.
The great thing about a stir-fry is how little time the cooking process takes. Prep all of your ingredients ahead of time, so that the actual cooking is all that needs to be done when you’re ready to eat.
To make this recipe super easy, replace the pepper, mushrooms, and onion with a bag of frozen chopped vegetables. And, replace the homemade stir-fry sauce with a store-bought teriyaki sauce. So fast!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 438Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 336mgSodium: 1612mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 64g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Shrimp and Chicken Stir Fry recipe, tag us @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because we’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
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