This “quickie” recipe is made with frozen vegetables, stir-fried in a savory sauce with fresh ginger, garlic, and toasted sesame oil. I created this recipe for the utmost convenience, for times when fresh produce is scarce or you haven’t been grocery shopping for a while.

A white bowl with chopsticks serving ramen noodles mixed with stir-fried carrots, corn, broccoli, edamame and spinach.

This is very good shortcut recipe, putting reliable frozen veggies front and center. The sauce is made with everyday condiments like soy sauce, sesame oil and hoisin.

I get it — frozen veggies don’t sound very glam. But there’s no denying that stocking up on bags of assorted colorful vegetables will up your freezer game when dinner time comes around!

To make this dish, grab a variety of vegetables that are probably stashed in your freezer right now and mix up a stir-fry sauce with pantry ingredients. You can serve the vegetables as is, or toss in cooked ramen noodles, rice noodles or rice to make it even more satisfying.

Frozen vegetables for stir-fry

The beauty of this recipe is that you can mix up the veggies to suit your family’s taste. Yay for choices!

A white tray filled with a mixture of frozen broccoli florets, sliced carrots, baby corn, snap peas and edamame.

Tip: No one enjoys soggy vegetables in a stir-fry. It’s easy to avoid that — just stick to a mix of sturdier vegetables. That’s the best way to make sure your veggies will keep their pleasing crisp texture after cooking. You’ll need a total of two pounds frozen vegetables to serve four people.

Best frozen vegetables for stir-frying :

  • Broccoli florets
  • Cauliflower florets
  • Sliced or chopped carrots
  • Peas
  • Green beans
  • Edamame
  • Sweet corn and/or baby corn

I bought bags of “Asian Medley” frozen vegetables. a mix that includes snap peas, baby corn, and carrots. I also added in sliced carrots, edamame and broccoli florets that were packaged separately.

Like this quick asparagus stir-fry, it’s a surprisingly pretty and colorful mixture of vegetables that make a quick and healthful meal.

A mixture of stir-fried frozen vegetables in a wok, showing sliced carrots, broccoli florets, baby corn and snap peas.
Colorful stir-fried frozen vegetables in a sesame ginger sauce.

Tips for stir-frying frozen vegetables

  • Choose the right pan, ideally a wok. A large skillet that’s 12-inches in diameter will work too. The more surface area the better so that the vegetables cook quickly and stay crisp.
  • Heat up the pan on high heat before adding the vegetables. When it just begins to smoke, add your oil and start frying.
  • Stir the frozen veggies around frequently so they thaw quickly and cook evenly.
  • If you have them on hand, stir in some fresh greens like spinach or kale after you take the pan off the heat. The residual heat will wilt them slightly and add even more color to your plate.
5 from 31 ratings

Stir-Fried Frozen Vegetables in Sesame Ginger Sauce

Karen Tedesco
This "quickie" recipe is made with frozen vegetables, stir-fried in a savory sauce with fresh ginger, garlic, and toasted sesame oil. I created this recipe for the utmost convenience, for times when fresh produce is scarce or you haven't been grocery shopping for a while. Make a pot of rice to go with!
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Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
 

Stir-Fry Sauce

  • ¼ cup vegetable broth
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari sauce
  • 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons grated garlic
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Stir-Fry

  • 2 tablespoons high-heat vegetable oil, such as canola, avocado or peanut
  • ½ red or yellow onion, sliced
  • 2 pounds mixed frozen vegetables (see note below)

Serve with your choice of :

  • Cooked rice
  • Cooked plain ramen or rice noodles
  • Baby spinach or kale greens

Equipment

Instructions
 

Mix the stir-fry sauce:

  1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.

Cook the vegetables:

  1. Heat a wok or large (12-inch) skillet over high heat until the pan is very hot. Add the oil and wait until it shimmers (it should shimmer immediately if your pan is hot enough). Stir in the onion and cook 1 minute. Add the vegetables. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the vegetables are heated through.
  2. Pour in the sauce and stir until the vegetables are coated. Cook until the sauce thickens and smells fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
  3. Serve hot over rice, noodles and or greens.

Notes

  • Mix and match sturdy frozen vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, corn, edamame or choose a packaged blend.
  • There’s no need to thaw the vegetables before cooking. Just throw them right in your screaming-hot pan!
  • For non-vegetarians, meat protein is delicious in this stir-fry. Cook a half pound of ground meat (such as turkey, pork or beef) sliced raw chicken or shrimp before cooking the onion in step 1.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 356kcal Carbohydrates: 49g Protein: 10g Fat: 16g Sodium: 1147mg Fiber: 10g Sugar: 12g

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

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