Chicken Udon Stir Fry is easy to make, tastes fresh, and our family loves it.
Tender chunks of chicken, heaps of fresh veggies, and thick udon noodles are tossed in a simple homemade sauce.
Use this recipe as a base to clean out the veggies in your fridge because almost anything goes!
Savory Udon Stir Fry
- In this udon noodle stir fry, cooked noodles are added stir-fried chicken and vegetables for a 30 minute meal.
- The sauce is the key to any stir fry and in this recipe it’s slightly sweet and spicy but super fast to make.
- This recipe is so versatile. Replace the chicken with tofu, pork, beef, or shrimp.
- Best of all get your fill of healthy veggies and use what you love or what is in your fridge!
What are Udon Noodles?
Udon noodles are thick, white, and slightly chewy wheat noodles that are commonly found in Japanese dishes. They are very mild flavored and absorb any flavor of the ingredients that they are cooked with, making them excellent for stir-fries.
You can find udon noodles in almost any grocery store near the other Asian ingredients and you can also order them online and they are stored on the shelf or in a cupboard. The udon noodles in this recipe come in a vacuum-sealed package (fresh or frozen will work).
Other Ingredients
SAUCE A sweet sauce, almost like a teriyaki sauce, has a little ginger, siracha, and soy. Adding some cornstarch will make the sauce thicker, making it cling to the noodles, vegetables, and chicken.
If you don’t have the ingredients for a homemade sauce, you can use a premade stir fry sauce or even teriyaki sauce.
CHICKEN AND VEGGIES Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts are both great choices for stir-fries. We find thighs to be more flavorful, juicy, and won’t dry out as quickly as chicken breast.
VARIATIONS Replace the chicken with some stir fry beef, shrimp, or pork. Make it a vegetarian meal by changing out the meat for some tofu.
How to Make Udon Stir Fry
- Combine the sauce ingredients per the recipe below. Prep the veggies.
- Cook the noodles as per package directions.
- While noodles are cooking, brown the chicken and stir fry the vegetables.
- Add all the ingredients to the pan, coat with sauce, & heat until warm.
Tips for a Great Stir Fry
- Stirfries are fast to cook so make sure all ingredients are measured and prepped before starting.
- Cook the chicken just until cooked through, it will continue to cook a bit as it rests while the veggies cook.
- When adding the chicken back to the stir fry, include the juices for great flavor.
- Thickening the sauce with cornstarch helps to coat the noodles, vegetables, and chicken.
- If you don’t have the ingredients for a homemade sauce, you can use a premade stir fry sauce or even teriyaki sauce.
Storing Leftover Stir Fry
Leftovers taste just as good the next day! Stir fry will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days in an airtight container. This dish can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat in a pan on the stove until heated through.
More Stir Fries
- Easy Beef Stir Fry
- Honey Garlic Chicken – perfectly juicy & tender
- Sesame Broccoli Stir Fry – loaded with flavor
- Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Kung Pao Shrimp – a 30 minute meal
- Easy Mongolian Beef – a reader favorite
- General Tso’s Chicken – an easy weekday meal
Did your family love this Udon Stir Fry? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Chicken Udon Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 packages udon noodles 7 oz each
- 4 chicken thighs boneless, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil more as needed
- ½ onion sliced
- 4 oz mushrooms sliced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 cup snap peas
- sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion for garnish optional
Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon sriracha
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger optional
Instructions
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cook udon noodles according to package directions, drain well, and set aside.
- While noodles are cooking heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and add to the pan. Cook stirring occasionally until browned and no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
- Add the onions to the pan adding more oil if needed. Cook 2 mintues. Add remaining vegetables. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk the sauce (the cornstarch can settle to the bottom) and add to the vegetables. Bring to a simmer and let cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the noodles and chicken with any juices to the pan and toss to combine with the sauce. Cook until heated through.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Notes
- Stirfries are fast to cook so make sure all ingredients are measured and prepped before starting.
- Cook the chicken just until cooked through, it will continue to cook a bit as it rests while the veggies cook.
- When adding the chicken back to the stir fry, include the juices for great flavor.
- Thickening the sauce with cornstarch helps to coat the noodles, vegetables, and chicken.
- If you don't have the ingredients for a homemade sauce, you can use a premade stir fry sauce or even teriyaki sauce.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine American, Asian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I’ve been coming across recipes that call for sesame oil. I only have “stir-fry” oil on hand- a mixture of soybean/sesame/garlic/ginger. I haven’t rated, or tried this recipe, or others yet, because I don’t know if this oil would be a good fit. If you think it would work I would love to hear your thoughts! THX!
The sesame oil called for in this recipe (and many stir fries) is toasted so it lends a nutty flavor to the dish. There are two types of sesame oil:
-Toasted sesame oil has lots of flavor and is golden in color. This oil is used for flavor and often added at the end of cooking or to sauces.
-Regular sesame oil is a light color (like canola oil) and is relatively flavorless. This oil is used for cooking or frying as it has a higher smoke point.
I would suggest that you smell/taste a tiny bit of the oil you have. If it is golden in color, flavorful, and has a nutty taste, it is great to use in the sauce in this recipe. If it is light in color and relatively flavorless, it can be used for frying in place of the vegetable oil.
I made this with tofu, veggies & yakisoba noodles. Love the stir-fry sauce. I’m usually find most stir-fry sauces to be too salty or just gross, but this was an amazing sauce. Definitely plan to make it again. Thanks for sharing.
Delicious.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Stacy!
Super easy, fast, and delicious! I used a frozen stir fry vegetable blend from Costco and it made it even faster. Perfect week night meal
I am so glad you enjoyed this stir fry Carolyn!
This stir fry was so easy and absolutely delicious. My husband is impossible to please and rarely tries something new. He raved about this recipe and said it was restaurant quality. Bravo.
Thank you Jann! So happy to hear how much you both love the stir fry!
Made this today but halved the recipe (since it’s only me) but didn’t half the sauce, which was prescient since those noodles really soak up the sauce! Really excellent but think it needs a little garlic. I’m going to bulk up the leftovers with some bean sprouts for some added crunch. Sesame seeds a great touch. Lovely result.
We love this recipe as is, but a little garlic sounds delicious, Jocelyn! Glad you enjoyed it :)
This was delicious! Always love your recipes, Holly. Thank you for making simple, family friendly recipes.
So glad you enjoyed it, Amanda!
Absolutely delicious. I’m not a fan of mushrooms, so I substituted broccoli. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. This recipe is a keeper!
So glad you loved this recipe Vinny!
Sounds really good, but why the brown sugar? I’ve never sweetened a stir fry before.
We like the hint of sweetness which often comes from hoisin, oyster sauce, or another similar sweetened sauce. The sauce in this recipe doesn’t have a sweet element so we add a bit of brown sugar. Honey works as well.