Ready to meet the newest addition to your line-up of easy weeknight dinners? It’s this 20-minute Chicken and Cabbage Stir-fry. The tender chunks of chicken are paired with stir-fried cabbage, bell pepper, crunchy cashews, green onion, and a deliciously spicy and lightly sweet Honey Sriracha sauce.

Super close up of the chicken cabbage stirfry with red bell peppers and cilantro sprigs with a large serving spoon

I originally shared this cabbage chicken stirfry on December 12, 2014. I have updated the recipe, photos and some of the text to share it with you again today.

Table of contents

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Why We Love Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry

I am so glad you’ve discovered this chicken and cabbage stir fry because it is greater than the sum of its parts. There is something magical about the sweet honey, spicy sriracha and tender cabbage all stir-fried together with chunks of chicken!

We adore this chicken cabbage stir fry recipe! It is one that has been a fan favorite for 10 years here at Healthy Seasonal Recipes, and I am so excited for you to try it too! 

We liked it! The sauce is delicious and the cabbage is a nice change from the veggies I usually use in a stir fry. 

~Kim T

Ingredients For This Cabbage Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

the cabbage, chicken and other stir-fry ingredients on a white table with text overlay labeling each one

For the Sauce

  • Honey: To balance the spicy Sriracha, I used honey in the stir fry sauce. I love the aromatic flavor it adds beyond just sweetness. 
  • Dry Sherry: The base of the sauce is dry sherry. If you have a good Asian market in your area you can look for Shaoxing wine and use that instead. Make sure not to use the cooking wine from the vinegar section of the supermarket because that has added salt and your sauce will be too salty.
  • White Vinegar: We added a little vinegar because the sour taste balances the salty and sweet flavors.
  • Sririracha: You can adjust this to your taste.
  • Salt
  • Chicken Broth: For the base of the sauce
  • Cornstarch: To thicken the sauce

For the Stir-fry

  • Oil: I used Avocado oil, but any high heat oil would work fine such as peanut oil, canola oil or grapeseed oil
  • Chicken Breast: You’ll need one pound of boneless skinless chicken breast. Cut it into bite-sized cubes
  • Garlic and Fresh Ginger Root: You can mince the fresh garlic and peeled ginger or grate them with a microplane rasp-style grater. 
  • Cabbage: You can use either green cabbage or red cabbage or a combo of both. We also think savoy cabbage would be good. If using as softer cabbage like Napa cabbage note that it will cook more quickly and wilt down more. Remove the core and cut the cabbage into small bite-sized chunks.
  • Bell Pepper: To give this humble cabbage stirfry a bit of color I ended up adding a red bell pepper. Yellow, orange or green pepper also work, so choose any color you like. And feel free to omit the bell pepper if you family doesn’t like the taste of cooked pepper.
  • Green Onions: At the end of cooking add in scallions to layer in flavor. You’ll want three sliced scallions. Or you could use 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves instead for something a little different.
  • Cashews: Look for roasted unsalted cashews. They will have the best crunchy texture and won’t get soggy like raw cashews would.

How To Make Chicken and Cabbage Stir-fry

As with all stir-fries, it is important to get all your ingredients together before you turn on the stove. Cooking is so fast that you won’t have time to measure and chop once you start cooking. 

Choose your skillet. You’ll want to choose your widest skillet because the more surface area the better. If you have a wok, that is even better! 

mixing the sauce and stir frying chicken

Step 1: Make the Honey Sriracha Sauce

Stir together the honey, Sriracha, sherry (or wine) and salt in a small bowl and have that ready before you start cooking. 

Step 2: Cook the Chicken

Heat 1 tablespoons oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Swirl around the bottom of the wok. Add the chicken in a single layer, and let cook, undisturbed until browned on the bottom, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn over and continue cooking stirring once or twice, until no longer pink on the outside, 2 to 3 minutes longer.

the chicken on a plate and the cabbage and pepper in a skillet

Step 3: Set Chicken Aside

Remove the chicken from the skillet or wok with a spatula and set aside on a plate. NOTE: The chicken will continue cooking in a later step.

Step 4: Stir Fry Garlic, Ginger and Cabbage

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the skillet or wok and return to high heat. Add garlic and ginger, and stir fry until fragrant but not browned about 30 seconds. Add chopped or shredded cabbage and your chunks of bell pepper and stir to coat with the garlic and ginger.

the stirfry in the skillet and adding the cornstarch slurry

Step 5: Add Sauce and Cook Veggies

Stir sauce and then add in it into the stir-fried cabbage. Cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 6: Thicken Sauce

Stir broth and cornstarch together in a small dish and stir into the cabbage mixture. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.

adding the chicken back to the cooked cabbage and pepper and then finishing the stirfry with the garnishes

Step 7: Add Chicken to the Cabbage Mixture

Add the chicken and any accumulated juice from the plate and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the cabbage is tender, 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 8: Add Garnishes and Serve

Remove from the heat and stir in scallions or cilantro and cashews. Serve with more Sriracha to taste.

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cabbage and chicken stirfried with bell pepper and cilantro in a black skillet with a white handle

More Cabbage Recipes

Sesame Coleslaw
Cabbage soup in a pot with two bowls

Cabbage Soup {Low Calorie}
a metal saute pan with stir fried noodles and fresh herbs from overhead with tongs

Turkey Pad Thai
Napa Cabbage Ramen Noodle Salad in a white bowl with wooden salad spoons in it on a table.

Napa Cabbage Ramen Noodle Salad
a skillet with the sauteed Napa cabbage in it

Simple Sautéed Napa Cabbage Recipe
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Serving Suggestions

This Cabbage Chicken Stir Fry goes well with simple starches such as brown rice, white rice, couscous, quinoa or noodles. You can also pair it with a lower-carb option such as cauliflower rice, zoodles or spiralized veggies. It has lots of flavor on its own so there is no need to pair it with any strongly flavored side dishes.

Left-Overs, Make Ahead and Reheating

Meal Prep Tips: Like most stir-fries, this Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry is a great meal-prep dish. Cut the chicken and keep it in a resealable container in the refrigerator up to three days. Cut the cabbage (and green onions) and keep them separate in ziplock bags or storage containers. The sauce ingredients can also be measured out as well. Prepping the meal in this way will be that it will come together in only about 10 minutes.

Leftovers and Storage: Keep leftovers stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. For best texture, wait to add the cashews before serving.

Reheating: Place a serving in a small non-stick skillet. Add a splash of chicken broth and cover with a lid. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the stir-fry is steaming hot. Alternatively servings can be reheated in the microwave for about 2 minutes per serving on high.

Variations To Try

  • Use another protein such as ground pork, ground turkey or ground chicken. You can also sub in turkey tenderloins or pork tenderloin cut into chunks.
  • Instead of only green cabbage, feel free to use a blend of red and green cabbage to make this more colorful. Or try with savoy cabbage- which is excellent in stir-fries.
  • For more variety, you can sub 1 cup of the cabbage for 1 cup of any of the following veggies: sliced shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced carrots, or small broccoli florets
  • Add in a few dashes of soy sauce, coconut aminos, fish sauce or tamari sauce for a little salty umami taste.
  • Instead of honey and sriracha, you can mix up the seasonings in the sauce! Try adding a little toasted sesame oil and garnishing with sesame seeds.
  • Another idea is to use your favorite stir-fry sauce for a quick alternative to making your sauce from scratch.
  • We love curry roasted cabbage so we bet that adding curry powder would be a fun way to vary the seasonings in this dish.
the skillet filled with cabbage chicken stirfry
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More Healthy Stir-Fry Recipes:

At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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Chicken Cabbage Stirfry in a black iron pan with a large serving spoon

Chicken and Cabbage Stir-fry

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5 from 5 reviews

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Description

This Chicken and Cabbage stir-fry has a sweet and hot Honey Sriracha sauce and cashews in it. It is my new favorite weeknight diner because it’s ready in 20 minutes.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry or Shaoxing wine
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha, or to taste
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons avocado oil or organic canola oil, divided
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger root
  • 6 cups chopped green cabbage* see notes
  • 1 bell pepper, any color, chopped
  • 1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons corn starch
  • 3 scallions, sliced or 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 cup chopped cashews, preferably roasted unsalted

Instructions

  1. Stir honey, sherry, vinegar, sriracha and salt in a small bowl.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoons oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Swirl around the bottom of the wok. Add the chicken in a single layer, and let cook, undisturbed until browned on the bottom, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn over and continue cooking stirring once or twice, until no longer pink on the outside, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
  3. Remove the chicken from the skillet or wok with a spatula and set aside on a plate. NOTE: The chicken will continue cooking in a later step.
  4. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the skillet or wok and return to high heat. Add garlic and ginger, and stir fry until fragrant but not browned about 30 seconds. Add cabbage and bell pepper and stir to coat with the garlic and ginger.
  5. Stir in the sauce. Cover cook until the cabbage is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
  6. Stir broth and cornstarch together in a small dish and stir into the cabbage mixture. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
  7. Add the chicken and any accumulated juice from the plate and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the cabbage is tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
  8. Remove from the heat and stir in scallions or cilantro and cashews.

Notes

Meal Prep Tips: Like most stir-fies this Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry is a great meal-prep dish. Cut the chicken and keep it in a resealable container in the refrigerator up to three days. Cut the cabbage (and green onions) and keep them separate in ziplock bags or storage containers. The sauce ingredients can also be measured out as well. Prepping the meal in this way will be that it will come together in only about 10 minutes.

Leftovers and Storage: Keep leftovers stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. For best texture, wait to add the cashews before serving.

Reheating: Place a serving in a small non-stick skillet. Add a splash of chicken broth and cover with a lid. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the stir-fry is steaming hot. Alternatively servings can be reheated in the microwave for about 2 minutes per serving on high.

  • Prep Time: 12 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 minutes
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Asian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
  • Calories: 310
  • Sugar: 16 g
  • Sodium: 340 mg
  • Fat: 13 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 23 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 26 g

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