Recipe updated: April 2nd, 2024
This spicy canned chicken stir-fry dinner with frozen vegetables is easy to prepare, and so delicious. The best part about this quick meal, is dinner is ready in about 20 minutes, give or take a few minutes. That’s nice when you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table for your family. If you keep the basic pantry staples in the kitchen at all times, you can make this easy meal any day of the week when you are running short on time.
If you love easy weeknight dinners, you must also try chicken and noodle casserole with red peppers, old-fashioned tuna noodle casserole, or our hot and spicy tacos!
Chicken stir-fry is a tasty meal for the whole family. However, this chicken stir-fry recipe is more for adults who like some hot and spicy flavor in their meal.
The hot flavor comes from the red pepper flakes that are included in the recipe. It may be a bit too spicy for the little ones, but you can always reduce the number of red pepper flakes. You can also increase the amount of red pepper flakes if you like really hot and spicy food. Either way, it’s super delicious! My granddaughters learned to love spicy food from little on.
🔪 Key Ingredients
- Two 12.5 ounce cans of Kirkland premium chunk chicken breast
- 1/4 cup olive oil (not shown)
- 2 bags of frozen Asian stir-fry vegetables – 16 ounces each (or your favorite variety of frozen stir-fry vegetables)
Spicy Stir-Fry Seasoning Sauce
- 1 package of Sun Bird stir-fry seasoning mix – sold in many grocery stores
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 1/4 cup of light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 2/3 cup of water
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
👩🍳 How to Make Spicy Canned Chicken Stir-Fry
These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.
First things first – this chicken stir-fry is served over a bed of long grain white rice, so you can get that started cooking now if you prefer. Follow the instructions on the back of the rice package.
Step 1. Brown the Chicken in Olive Oil
Drain the liquid out of each can of chicken breast. Then, put 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet and let it heat up for about a half of a minute or so, and then add the chicken breast to the skillet.
Cook the chicken breast for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat until lightly browned. Stir the chicken around in the frying pan while it is browning. This will also help separate the bigger chunks of chicken, but don’t break up the chicken too much.
Step 2. Add the Stir-Fry Vegetables
The next thing to do is add 2 bags of frozen Asian stir-fry vegetables together with the chicken in the frying pan. You can switch out one of the bags of frozen Asian stir-fry vegetables and use 1 bag of frozen broccoli stir-fry vegetables (or your favorite stir-fry vegetables) instead.
Mix the vegetables and the chicken in the frying pan and until heated through and until the vegetables are tender. You can also add any of your favorite vegetables at this time if you prefer.
Step 3. Simmer the Chicken and Vegetables
Turn the burner down to medium heat and let the veggies and chicken simmer for a few more minutes while we make the spicy stir-fry seasoning sauce in the next step.
Step 4. Prepare the Spicy Stir-Fry Seasoning Sauce
In a small bowl, mix 1 package of Sun Bird stir-fry seasoning mix together with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 2/3 cups of water, and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Then, add this to the chicken and vegetable mixture. Cook over medium heat until heated through. Serve while hot over a bed of rice.
🌟 Recipe Variations
- You can add extra fresh veggies along with the frozen veggies to the chicken stir-fry during the last few minutes of simmering, such as chopped green onions, canned green beans, extra broccoli florets, snow peas, baby corn, or snap peas.
- Add sliced red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers when you add the frozen veggies to the frying pan.
- If you like teriyaki sauce, squirt a little bit in the frying pan together with the chicken stir-fry while it is cooking on the stove.
- Baked boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or chicken legs can be used instead of canned chicken.
- Sprinkle ground black pepper or any of your favorite seasonings on the chicken stir-fry while it is cooking in the skillet or when it is ready to be served.
- Our spicy chicken stir-fry is served over a bed of cooked white rice. However, there are other options you can choose from. For example, you can use any cooked rice you prefer, such as brown rice, or rice noodles. Or maybe you would rather try something different, such as mashed potatoes or a baked potato on the side.
- Garnish each serving with a few sprinkles of sesame seeds.
🙋 FAQs
Put any leftover chicken stir-fry in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I always like to eat any leftover food within three days. After that, I’m leery of icky stuff (bacteria) that could possibly start growing on it, which in some cases you can’t even see it, and it could make you very sick.
💡 Final Thoughts
This is an easy chicken stir-fry recipe to prepare. Using canned chicken and frozen vegetables is the key to making this such a quick meal to make. Just slightly brown the chicken chunks in the frying pan, add the rest of the ingredients, then heat it up. The cooking time is about 20 minutes or however hot you like your food.
The amazing flavor of this chicken stir-fry comes from the stir-fry seasoning mix, brown sugar, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. The next time you are in need of a quick dinner with simple ingredients that includes a combination of chicken and lots of veggies, this chicken stir-fry is the perfect recipe to serve to your hungry family.
🗂️ Recipe Card
Spicy Canned Chicken Stir-Fry (Quick)
🫕 Equipment
🧂 Ingredients
- 2 cans premium chunk chicken breast (12.5 ounce each)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 bags Asian stir-fry vegetables – frozen (16 ounces each)
Spicy Stir-Fry Seasoning Sauce
- 1 packet Sun Bird Stir-Fry seasoning mix
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2/3 cups water
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
👩🍳 Instructions
- Put the olive oil in a frying pan. Let it heat up for a minute or so.
- Add the cans of chicken breast. Cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add the frozen stir-fry vegetables. Reduce the heat to medium.
Spicy Stir-Fry Seasoning Sauce
- In a medium bowl, combine the stir-fry seasoning mix, cornstarch, brown sugar, soy sauce, water, and red pepper flakes.
- Add the sauce to the chicken and vegetables.
- Cook until heated through, and the vegetables are tender.
- Serve over a bed of cooked white rice.
*️⃣ Recipe Notes
- If you don’t like spicy, leave out the red pepper flakes.
- If you want a little bit of spicy flavor, but not overwhelming, add half the amount listed in the recipe, which would be about 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
💑 More Chicken Recipes You Will Love
- Easy Copycat Chick-fil-A Sandwich in Air Fryer – This is a simple copycat Chick-fil-A recipe that you can make at home. The recipe includes frozen breaded chicken fillets cooked in the air fryer, Chick-fil-A sauce bought at most stores, and topped with cheese and pickles. You won’t believe how tasty this sandwich is.
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole (Instant Pot) – This chicken and rice casserole is super easy to prepare with brown rice, veggies, and shredded cheddar cheese. Dinner is served in about 36 minutes, and it tastes fantastic.
- Chicken Fajita Recipe – This recipe includes cut up chicken breasts, McCormick chipotle pepper marinade, sliced yellow onions, sliced bell peppers, and olive oil all cooked on the stove top, then served over flour tortillas and topped with cheddar cheese.
A wife, a mother to a son and a daughter, and a grandmother to three granddaughters. Flo loves sharing recipes passed down from her own mother, her mother-in-law, and her grandmother as well as new recipes created with her daughter, Tamara Ray.
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