I don’t know about you, but I love a veggie-filled stir fry – it’s the perfect type of low carb meal jam packed with nutrient dense ingredients and a great way to eat yourself to healthy, especially when you’re trying to lose weight with the 17 Day diet.
If you’re trying to lose weight with either the 17 Day Kickstart Diet or the Keto Diet, keep reading! I have a few adjustments to this recipe to make it 100% compliant for you!
This Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry recipe definitely has tons of lovely vegetables that are not only vitamin-rich, but super low carb, too!
This is one of my favorite dishes, so I added it to My Favorite Low Carb Recipes for Weight Loss post!
Unfortunately, when you order stir fry dishes from a restaurant or a fast food place, they’re likely swimming in extra sodium and sugar, both of which we need to keep an eye on for obvious health-related reasons!
This homemade Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry recipe is a quick and easy alternative to a restaurant version, and it’s healthier, too! Plus, it makes for perfect leftovers for lunches throughout the week, so get cooking, girl!
I featured this Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry in my Fresh & Clean 17 Cycle 1 Meal Plan that I used to use for my annual Spring 17 Day Diet Cycle 1 Challenge (the meal plan is now available in the Spring and Summer months), and the previous participants loved this recipe!
This is a new recipe loosely based on an old favorite, Egg Roll in a Bowl a la Judy. In this new recipe, Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry, I added a few new ingredients, adjusted the amounts of a few existing and removed some, too.
The result?
A nutrient-rich, colorful and flavorful recipe that is not only family friendly, but friendly on your wallet and your waist line! A trip win!
If you’re not sure which foods are allowed during Cycle 1, make sure you check out my 17 Day Diet Cycle 1 Food List.
You can also check out my book on Amazon called Fast Track Your Weight Loss With the 17 Day Diet which has all the food lists (and a 7 day meal plan, too!).
Low Carb Lunch Option
The wonderful thing about this Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry is that it’s perfect for lunches throughout the week! This recipe serves 4, so you can easily feast on this yourself for lunch throughout your busy week.
If you want to add a bit more greens to this dish for your lunches, buy an extra bag of coleslaw mix and add it to your re-heated lunch serving to give it a bit of extra bulk and crunchy texture (like a salad!).
How to Freeze Leftovers
This recipe is super freezer friendly. If you make a double batch, for instance, and can’t eat all the leftovers within a four or five day period, place your leftovers in single serving containers or re-sealable bags and place them in the freezer for future use.
When you’re ready to defrost for a meal, take a single portion out of the freezer in the morning the day before and allow to defrost inside of your refrigerator.
When fully defrosted, reheat in the microwave as usual or place the leftovers in a hot skillet to reheat if you’re not a fan of the microwave.
You can also choose to eat this cold if you want to enjoy it as more of a salad type of dish.
Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry Ingredients
I won’t go in detail here about all the ingredients you’ll need – those will be posted below in the recipe card. What I will do is highlight a few of the key ingredients and a few thoughts on each of them.
Broccoli Florets
The key to this dish is the freshness and color of the broccoli florets!
To keep my bites of food in this dish fairly consistent throughout, I cut my broccoli into very small sized florets (smaller than I’d normally cut them if they were a side dish).
Broccoli is super easy to overcook and when they are well done, they tend to get a little mushy and break a part easily. Especially if you’re mixing them into a stir fry.
A great tip is quickly cook them ahead of time (al dente) and put them in ice cold water to stop the cooking process – this is called blanching.
Rather than boil the broccoli as you’d normally do in a blanching cooking method, I opted to lightly steam the broccoli prior to putting them in the ice cold water.
The result? Crisp-cooked broccoli that brings a Spring-inspired freshness and a colorful addition to this Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry dish!
Garlic
I love fresh garlic in any recipe! To save time, I buy a large container of already minced garlic so it’s easy to add it to any recipe, even if the recipe doesn’t call for it!
If you don’t have garlic lying around for this dish, you could easily skip it. However, I recommend always having garlic on hand because it brings such a wonderful flavor to any recipe!
Not only is garlic a great flavor booster, it also has a ton of health benefits. I go over a few of my favorite benefits in this post of Naturally Detoxifying Foods for the 17 Day Diet.
Ginger
I’m not a huge fan of ginger, but I do cook with it on occasion. I decided to add it to this recipe (or leave it in from the original Egg Roll in a Bowl a la Judy) because it does add in that excellent Asian flavor that every stir fry recipe should have!
Here’s the thing about ginger – it has a pretty potent flavor (in my opinion). The recipe calls for ground ginger, which is even more potent and filled with that ginger flavor.
If the potency of ground ginger isn’t your favorite, I’d recommend using fresh ginger. This is what I opted for when creating this post. Ginger root is fairly inexpensive (I think I paid less than a dollar for mine), and you can easily store it in the freezer for future use.
If you opt to use fresh ginger instead of the 1-2 teaspoons of ground ginger, then use 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger and you’ll have the perfect ginger flavor in this dish!
Low Sodium Soy Sauce
I recommend always using a low sodium soy sauce in your cooking.
Not only will you be able to better control the amount of salt in your dish, but it’s healthier to keep your daily sodium consumption in check.
If you like to use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, this would work, too.
Start with the 1/4 cup measurement in this recipe. Prior to adding anymore, make sure you taste your stir fry first. It’s always easier to add more than to dilute! If you want your stir fry a bit more moist, rather than add more soy sauce, add a bit of water instead!
Choice of Protein
This Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli recipe obviously calls for chicken. However, the protein you want to use is totally up to you.
A great alternative protein for cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet is ground lean turkey.
If you’re on cycles 2 or 3, ground pork or beef would be perfect, too!
The idea is to either use this recipe as-is, or add in other ingredients or substitute your own favorites to make this dish something you’ll want to eat.
It’s no secret when you enjoy your food, you’re more likely to stick with your weight loss plan.
17 Day Kickstart Diet Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
This recipe may be eaten as-is if you’re on the 17 Day Kickstart Diet as all ingredients used are approved for all phases! If you’re trying to cut back on animal protein, you may use a plant based legume, such as chickpeas, or even cubed tempeh would work, too!
If you’re on the 17 Day Kickstart Diet and you still eat animal based protein, then use this recipe as written (or make your own adjustments to fit your preference).
If you’re not entirely sure which foods are allowed, be sure to check out my 17 Day Kickstart Diet Food List.
Keto Diet Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
If you’re on the Keto Diet, this recipe is filled with vegetables that are high in fiber, so it will balance out any natural carbs in the veggies.
If you’re the type of person who limits higher carb veggies such as onions, then you can simply add less or omit all together, depending on your macro settings.
If you’re new to keto, make sure you check out my Keto Diet Beginner’s Guide.
Are you unsure of which foods are keto friendly? Make sure you check out my Keto Diet Food List.
Other Spring Cleanse Detox Recipes
Even though this Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry recipe can be eaten year-round, it was specifically created for my previous Spring Cycle 1 Challenge where we used my Fresh & Clean 17 Cycle 1 Meal Plan (the plan is now available during the Spring and Summer months).
If you enjoy this recipe, you may want to try out these other Fresh & Clean 17 recipes:
- Lemony Chicken and Kale Detox Soup
- Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
- Chicken Lombardy
- Keto Salmon With Lemon Dijon Sauce
Other Low Carb Stir Fry Recipes
If you enjoy this Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry recipe, you may want to try these other low carb stir fry recipes:
- Egg Roll in a Bowl a la Judy
- Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Lemon Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
- Beef Steak Stir Fry with Peppers
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Ground Turkey and Broccoli Bowls
- Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
- Bang Bang Salmon and Broccoli Bowls
More Asian Inspired Low Carb Recipes
Here are a few more Asian-inspired healthy family dinners, so make sure you check these out:
- Ground Turkey Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Cool Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Bang Bang Chicken Kebabs
- Faux Fried Rice (Cauliflower)
- Grilled Lemon Sriracha Shrimp
- Tahini Chicken Skewers
If you make this Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry recipe, I’d love for you to come back and review the recipe card below.
Plus, if you’re on social media, tag me @17ddblog and show me your stir fry creation! Enjoy!
Chicken Cabbage & Broccoli Stir Fry
This nutrient-rich stir fry is low carb, filled with fresh ingredients and a perfectly healthy dish for weight loss with any low carb diet plan!
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 2 Cups Broccoli Florets, cooked al dente
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1-2 teaspoons ground ginger or 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger
- red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1-pound bag coleslaw mix (cabbage/carrot mix)
- ¼ cup light soy sauce, or more if desired
- ¼ cup water, or more if needed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 green onions finely chopped, reserve some for garnish
Instructions
- On medium heat, heat oil and brown ground chicken in large frying pan until fully cooked.
- Remove from pan, cover and set aside.
- In the same pan, heat remaining olive oil and sauté onions until they become tender.
- Add sliced bell pepper and matchstick carrots and sauté for about two minutes.
- Add in al dente broccoli florets and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, mix garlic, ginger, soy sauce and water and add to pan.
- Next, add the cooked chicken back to the pan and stir to combine.
- Immediately add cabbage/carrots mix and cook through until cabbage is semi-wilted, but still have a crunch to them.
- Add green onions and warm through (reserve a few to garnish)
- Add water if mixture is dry.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with remaining chopped green onion and serve.
Notes
Approved for:
17 Day Diet: Approved for all cycles.
17 Day Kickstart Diet: All phases
Keto Diet: adjust ingredients depending on your macros.
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I’ve been loving the 17 Day Diet since 2011. I love sharing my favorite healthy recipes and meal plans to keep you motivated and on the right path to success!
When I’m not hanging out here, I enjoy quick trips to the Oregon Coast, designing my jewelry line, being a proud Swiftie, and tinkering with my personal Youtube Channel!
Are you new to the 17 Day Diet? Check out my latest book, Fast Track Your Weight Loss With The 17 Day Diet on Amazon! (aff link)
This was fantastic! Ran out of soy sauce so we improvised with doing half soy sauce and half teriyaki. Definitely was cheating a bit, but the dish was very successful. Husband and I agreed that we would even eat this even without the diet.
Glad you enjoyed it!
What is the nutritional info (carbs, Cala, etc…)
Hi Cindi, my blog doesn’t currently support nutrition info, but many of my recipes can be found on yummly that has info or you can input the recipe into many apps (like my fitness) and it should give you the info.
well, took me 5 minutes to scroll through he blog to get to the recipe finally get there and its eggroll in a bowl with broccoli lol.
I do mention in this post that this recipe is based on Egg Roll in a Bowl a la Judy with new ingredients and others omitted/adjusted. The next time you visit a recipe of mine, look for the “jump to recipe” link at the top of the page so you don’t have to scroll (some of my older recipes won’t have that link though because I haven’t converted them over into a recipe card yet).
what do you serve with this? cauliflower rice? low carb noodle?
Hi there! This dish can actually be served as-is if you want. It’s based off the Egg Roll in a Bowl recipe and can easily be satiating with all the cabbage and broccoli in it. However, if you want to serve it with something, you can easily serve with cauliflower rice (or you can mix it into the stir fry). If you’re not necessarily low carb all the time or want some carbs, you can serve with regular rice or plant based noodles (or miracle noodles, too!).