This Chicken Noodle Stir Fry is packed with veggies for a nutrient dense, one-pot meal that is the epitome of AIP comfort food. This easy AIP/paleo stir fry is versatile, gluten-free and grain-free, and can easily be made vegan and whole30 compliant.
Table of contents
Chicken Noodle Stir Fry Recipe
This Chicken Noodle Stir Fry is one of my favorite meals because it’s super quick, easy, and comforting – especially with the grain-free noodles!
Traditional recipes for chicken stir fry with noodles or those from restaurants usually contain gluten, soy, cornstarch for thickening and sometimes even refined sugars. However, this paleo and AIP stir fry is completely grain-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and refined sugar-free. Plus, it’s packed with flavors your tastebuds will love whether or not you follow a gluten and dairy-free diet! The AIP community has been blessed lately with some new AIP-compliant pastas on the market, which makes it super convenient to make this noodle stir fry on a busy weeknight.
This chicken and noodle stir fry is loaded with fresh veggies including mushrooms, carrots, broccoli and cabbage. The chicken is marinated in a bright and zesty cilantro-ginger marinade made with coconut aminos that’s bursting with sweet, savory, and umami flavors. I use it to rave reviews on my Sheet Pan Beef and Broccoli and Smashed Broccoli. In this recipe, it packs the same flavorful punch and doubles as both a marinade and stir fry sauce!
Looking for more quick and easy, AIP/paleo one-pot meals? Try my Sheet Pan Beef and Broccoli with Mushrooms, Ginger-Garlic Pork Noodle Soup , Baked Haddock with Sweet Potato Cream Sauce.
Ingredients
Marinade
- olive oil – I used extra virgin olive oil.
- coconut aminos – an allergy-friendly, soy and gluten-free substitute for soy sauce
- cilantro – use both the leaves and stems for the best flavor.
- green onions
- fresh garlic – peel and throw the cloves straight in the food processor. If you’re using pre-minced garlic you’ll need about 1.5 tsps.
- fresh ginger – peel and cut into a 1 inch piece
- sea salt
Chicken Noodle Stir Fry
- AIP compliant pasta – I like to use the Jovial brand grain-free cassava spaghetti for these stir fry noodles.
- chicken breasts – I used boneless, skinless breasts and sliced them into 1/2 inch wide strips.
- avocado oil – for cooking
- broccoli
- cabbage
- carrots
- mushrooms – I used button mushrooms. You can also use thinly sliced cremini, portobello, or shiitake mushrooms.
- cilantro
- salt
- coconut aminos
Ingredient Substitutions
- In the marinade, you can use avocado oil instead of olive oil.
- Replace the green onions in the marinade with chives if you prefer.
- You can use any type of grain-free, AIP compliant pasta like cassava pasta, sweet potato pasta, sweet potato glass noodles, or my AIP hand-rolled noodles. Or, use or make your own spiralized vegetable noodles such as zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash or butternut squash noodles, instead. If you’re following the Modified AIP elimination stage, you can also use rice noodles.
- In the stir fry, you can use coconut oil for cooking instead of avocado oil.
- You can substitute the chicken breasts with other cuts of chicken, or with other meat proteins of your choice including beef and ground meats. Or, omit the meat altogether for a vegetarian/vegan stir fry with vegetables and noodles.
- Make this dish with other AIP-approved veggies like bok choy, cauliflower, or daikon.
How To Make Chicken Stir Fry with Noodles
Step 1: Prepare the Noodles
Prepare vegetable noodles or cook the grain-free pasta to al dente, strain and run under cold water to stop from cooking.
Step 2: Make the Marinade
Make marinade by combining coconut aminos, oil, cilantro, green onions, garlic, ginger and sea salt in a food processor.
Step 3: Marinate the Chicken Strips
Marinate sliced chicken breast strips with 3/4 of the marinade for at least 20 minutes while you prepare the veggies.
Step 4: Sear the Chicken
Once marinated, cook chicken in two batches, spreading it out evenly into your pan so that the chicken browns nicely on each side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Step 5: Add the Vegetables
Turn heat up to medium-high and add vegetables to pan in order of size/firmness. You don’t want any mushy vegetables!
Step 6: Add the stir fry sauce
Add remaining marinade to the pan along with chopped cilantro and sea salt and cook no more than 2-3 minutes.
Step 7: Return the Chicken and Add Noodles
Finally, return chicken strips to pot, along with pasta and coconut aminos. Stir to combine. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly.
Step 8: Serve
Serve hot and garnish with additional chopped cilantro, green onions and/or additional coconut aminos, if desired.
Tips & Tricks
Cooking the Noodles
Ensure that you cook the pasta until al dente since you’ll be adding it to the pan to toss with the chicken and vegetables before serving.
Cooking the Veggies
Whatever veggies you decide to use, you want to cook the largest and/or firmest pieces first since they will require longer cooking. This ensures the vegetables don’t become mushy and overcooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
In addition to the suggestions noted in the Ingredient Substitutions, you can also try this chicken noodle stir fry with other veggies like kale, spinach, or collard greens.
The coconut aminos are an integral flavor component of this AIP stir fry since we aren’t using soy or teriyaki sauce. I don’t recommend omitting it. However, if you don’t need this recipe to be AIP-compliant or soy-free, you can try using tamari, a gluten-free soy sauce substitute. It won’t have the same sweet notes that the coconut aminos lend.
Yes! For best results if you plan on serving this at a later date, I suggest omitting the noodles and storing the cooked chicken and vegetables in the fridge or freezer for longer storage. Make the noodles fresh and add them to the pan when reheating.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Fridge: Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Note that the noodles may become a bit mushy in the fridge.
- Freezer: Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop with a little oil in the pan. Readers have also enjoyed cold leftovers, as a chicken noodle salad dish.
If you try this Chicken Noodle Stir Fry, I would love it if you would give it a star rating and short review. Also, be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious and using the hashtag #healmedelicious.
Print
Chicken Noodle Stir Fry (AIP, paleo)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 modest servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Chicken Noodle Stir Fry is packed with veggies for a nutrient dense, one-pot meal that is the epitome of AIP comfort food. This AIP/paleo stir fry is gluten and grain-free, and can easily be made vegan and whole30 compliant.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions (plus more for garnish, optional)
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Chicken Noodle Stir Fry
- 4 oz pack AIP-compliant pasta
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
- 4 TBSP avocado oil, divided
- 2 cups broccoli, chopped into small florets
- 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks (about 1.5 cups carrots)
- 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup purple cabbage, shredded/finely chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2–3 TBSP coconut aminos
Instructions
- Cook pasta until al dente, strain and run under cold water to stop from cooking. Alternatively, prepare vegetable noodles and set aside.
- Make marinade by combining garlic, ginger, cilantro, green onions, coconut aminos, oil and sea salt in a food processor or high powered blender.
- Chop chicken breasts into 1/2-inch wide strips and marinate with 3/4 of the marinade for at least 20 minutes while you prepare the veggies.
- Once marinated, heat 2 TBSP avocado oil in a wok or large cast iron pan to medium heat and brown chicken in two batches, spreading it out evenly into your pan so that the chicken browns nicely and evenly on each side. Cook for 3 minutes per side, remove from pan and set aside.
- Turn heat up to medium-high, add remaining 2 TBSP oil to pan and add in vegetables in order of size/firmness – for me this was broccoli, cabbage, carrots and then mushrooms.
- Next, add cilantro, salt and remaining marinade to vegetables and stir to combine, cooking just until the veggies begin to soften (no more than 2-3 minutes).
- Return chicken strips to pot, along with cooked pasta and stir to combine. Add coconut aminos according to taste. Taste for salt and adjust coconut aminos and/or sea salt accordingly.
- Remove from heat. Serve with additional chopped cilantro, green onions and coconut aminos, if desired.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Mains
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian-inspired
My wife is Paleo AIP and has been even trying to avoid carbs, like sweet potatoes. I cooked this recipe and she got excited just looking at it and loved it. I think “awesome” was a word she used. A recipe like this restores hope to someone who often just srapes by on the same old food because she doesn’t have time or energy to cook herself a good meal. I love this website. Thank you!
Delicious! Our entire family enjoyed this meal
Wow, this recipe is fabulous! I added some crushed cashews on top and it was perfection. Thank you!
Thanks for your review, Erin. So glad you enjoyed!
Really delicious flavour! I enjoyed it hot the evening I made it and it was even better the next day as a chilled noodle salad. Will definitely make this one again.