Healthy Stir Fry Recipes

We like broccoli best in this tofu stir-fry, but any mixture of vegetables you have on hand will work. One way to get great tofu texture without deep-frying is to toss the tofu in cornstarch before stir-frying. Let it cook for several minutes without stirring to help it develop a little crust. Serve with: Chinese egg noodles or rice noodles and a glass of Riesling.

Mapo tofu is extremely popular both in and outside of China, perhaps because it was meant to be adaptable. The type and amount of both tofu and meat is often varied and even the spicy sauce can be tuned to the desired level of heat.

In this healthy version of a General Tso's Chicken recipe, we cut the fat and sodium in half from the original version by not frying the chicken and by using half as much soy sauce in this Chinese-takeout favorite. Serve with steamed baby bok choy or sautéed spinach and steamed brown rice.

Apricot jam adds just the right amount of sweetness to balance the spicy, salty and umami flavors without turning the sauce into a sugar bomb. Serve with cooked rice to round out the meal.

Korean meals always include soups--like this mild one based on vitamin-rich wakame seaweed, the same kind often used in miso soup.

Spiralized broccoli stems transform into tender noodles in this lo mein-inspired vegetarian recipe. Serve on top of brown rice or buckwheat soba noodles.

Regular fried rice gets a protein boost when rice is swapped for quinoa in this healthy dinner recipe. Feel free to use any vegetables you have on hand—broccoli, green beans and mushrooms are all good options in this quinoa fried rice. Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

Everyone loves teriyaki chicken--and this one is better for you with much less added sugar. It's also gluten-free so long as you use tamari (aka gluten-free soy sauce). Feel free to swap out the broccoli for any veggie--carrots, snow peas, green beans--that you have on hand.

Substituting riced cauliflower for rice trims calories and carbs in this veggie-packed dish. Use the vibrant flavors of traditional fried rice--ginger, scallions and tamari--to create a low-carb fried rice version of the classic take-out meal.

This vegetarian faux fried rice uses riced cauliflower in place of white or brown rice to pack in extra veggies and cut down on carbs. Chile-garlic sauce pumps up the heat, and fresh ginger adds a bright, warm bite. If you don't like the heat of the chile-garlic sauce, leave it out and add a bit more tamari or soy sauce for a rich, fermented tang.

Chop suey is often made with bamboo shoots and water chestnuts--add them to this recipe if you wish. Serve with: Udon noodles.

You won't miss the scrambled eggs and fish sauce in this vegan version of the Thai favorite because the flavorful sauce hits just the right balance of sweet, spicy and umami.

The Japanese noodle stir-fry yakisoba is traditionally cooked on a teppanyaki griddle, but this version is made in a skillet. Shrimp and vegetables pair for a nutritious and flavorful meal.

Broccoli florets soak up the flavors from Chinese five-spice powder--a combination of sweet spices including anise, cinnamon, cloves and subtly spicy Szechuan peppercorns. Serve over black rice.

This seafood stir-fry is bursting with flavor and it's ready in 30 minutes!

Frozen mixed vegetables make this healthy chicken fried rice recipe quick, easy and economical. If you don't have leftover cooked rice, be sure to thoroughly cool your rice before adding it to the wok--if it's too warm, it creates too much steam and sticks to the wok. To quickly cool warm rice, spread it out on a large baking sheet and refrigerate while you prep the rest of your ingredients, about 15 minutes.

This stir-fry recipe calls for buying shrimp that's already peeled and deveined, which saves you about 10 minutes of prep time. Want this on the milder side? Swap ketchup for the chili-garlic sauce.

To avoid the sliminess that turns many people off okra, Indians cook it over high heat in a lot of oil. In this healthy okra recipe, we get similar results with less oil using a nonstick pan. For an authentic taste, use a hot, smoky Indian chili powder, such as reshampatti. Serve with brown basmati rice and yogurt.

Ma Po Tofu is a traditional Chinese recipe usually made with ground pork. This delicious, healthy version uses ground turkey to cut saturated fat and calories and adds mushrooms for extra veggies. Serve with brown rice and make it extra special with a drizzle of sesame oil just before serving.

Skip takeout and make a healthier Chinese lo mein at home that's packed with vegetables. Make sure you drain your noodles well before adding them, as wet noodles will turn your stir-fry into a soggy mess. For a less spicy option, omit the sriracha hot sauce.

This sweet, spicy and super-easy shrimp-and-vegetable stir-fry starts with a very small amount of bacon in the wok, which creates drippings that add tons of smoky flavor to the vegetables and shrimp that go in next. Keep the salt in check by using reduced-sodium tamari sauce. To complete this easy healthy dinner, add cooked brown rice.

The broccoli in this simple shrimp-and-broccoli stir-fry absorbs the flavors of the sauce, which also coats the shrimp perfectly. The ingredients can be prepped ahead of time and whipped together in about 15 minutes, making this meal ideal for busy weeknights.

You could argue that fried rice is really all about the "add-ins," so why not skip the grain itself and save some calories with cauliflower while you're at it? If you want to make this recipe vegetarian, swap sliced mushrooms for the steak. Either way, you don't have to be on a low-carb diet to love this 30-minute dinner.

This fried rice variation uses riced cauliflower instead of traditional rice to lower the calories and carbs. You can adjust the amount of chile-garlic sauce according to taste.