5-Minute Gluten Free Stir Fry Sauce

This 5-Minute gluten free stir fry sauce is the perfect all purpose sauce for all of your stir fry recipes – great for everything from vegetables to chicken, beef, shrimp, or pork. Made Simple ingredients and easy to make! It is naturally sweetened, soy free, vegan, paleo, and Whole30 compatible.

The best homemade stir fry sauce

Every great stir fry starts with a delicious stir fry sauce, and this one is our absolute favorite!

It is full of savory, umami rich flavor, a little bit of sweetness, and perfectly offset with the brightness of rice vinegar and fresh fruit juice.

Made with just a handful of pantry staples – the perfect sauce to whip up and keep on hand before a busy week so you can throw together dinner quickly when time is of the essence.

A basic recipe for every type of stir fry from vegetables to chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, and even stir fried noodles!

Why you’ll love this homemade stir fry sauce

It is:

• Versatile
• Perfectly balanced in flavor
• Easy to make
• Savory and sweet
• Perfect for meal prep
• Naturally sweetened
• GF, vegan, paleo, and Whole30 compatible
• Extraordinarily delicious!

Ingredients and substitutions

This homemade stir fry sauce is made with just a handful of simple pantry friendly ingredients. There are a few substitutions you may want to make based on what you have on hand that I’ll share below.

Here’s what you need

• Coconut aminos – Coconut aminos make up the base for this easy-to-make stir fry sauce. You could substitute with tamari, however you may want to add a tablespoon or so of sweetener to mimic the sweetness in coconut aminos. If you use tamari the recipe will no longer be paleo / Whole30 compatible.
• Broth – Any type of broth will work. I recommend chicken broth or vegetable broth.
• Pineapple juice or orange juice – Both pineapple and orange juice work well for this stir fry sauce. They add a little bit of natural sweetness and a slightly tart flavor.
• Rice vinegar – Rice vinegar is used to add some acidity. You could substitute with apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice.
• Toasted sesame oil – Just a small amount of toasted sesame oil adds the best flavor. This toasted sesame oil is my favorite – it has the best flavor. If you don’t have any you can simply skip it – it’s just used for flavor.
• Hot sauce – Hot sauce, or a pinch of chili flakes adds a little bit of heat. If you don’t want your stir fry to be spicy, simply omit.
• Arrowroot powder – Arrowroot powder is a starchy powder that acts similarly to corn starch in stir fry sauce to help thicken it. It is inexpensive and most natural food stores should carry it. If you don’t have any on hand you can skip it!

What are coconut aminos?

Coconut aminos are a gluten free and soy free sauce that make a great substitute for soy sauce. They are made from fermented coconut blossom nectar or coconut sap that is combined with salt.

They taste similar to soy sauce, with a slightly sweeter flavor. And because they’re made from the sap of flowering coconut palm (and not coconuts themselves), they do not taste like coconut.

There are a good number of options available at many grocery stores, but the best brands I’ve tried are the Thrive Market brand of Coconut Aminos and the Big Tree Farm brand of Coconut Aminos. The Thrive Market brand is a great deal, and Big Tree Farm coconut aminos are available on Amazon or in many natural food stores.

Is this stir fry sauce spicy?

This stir fry sauce is only spicy if you add hot sauce or chili flakes. If those ingredients are omitted it won’t be at all spicy.

Can you add fresh garlic or ginger?

I don’t recommend adding fresh garlic or ginger to the sauce itself. Because it will only cook briefly it won’t have enough time to soften those sharp flavors. If you want to use garlic or ginger I would suggest sautéing it with a little oil with the rest of the stir fry before you add the sauce.

How to make

This all purpose stir fry sauce comes together super easily.

All you have to do is:

• Combine ingredients in a jar. Add all ingredients except for sesame oil to a glass jar with a lid and shake or whisk vigorously until arrowroot powder is dissolved and everything is well combined. Add sesame oil and shake again.

How to use this stir fry sauce

This scratch made stir fry sauce can be used in a variety of different ways for quick and easy meals.

You could use it for a veggie stir fry, chicken stir fry, shrimp stir fry, pork stir fry, or stir fried noodles. It could even be used as a marinade for your chicken, steak, or fish.

I generally recommend cooking all of your vegetables, protein, and aromatics first and then adding the stir fry sauce for the final minute or two of cook time until slightly thickened and coats the stir fry ingredients.

For a stir fry that makes about 4 servings use approximately 1/2 cup of stir fry sauce, or a little more or less to taste. Remember to shake well to incorporate the arrowroot powder before using.

Storage

Once mixed together this stir fry sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Before using make sure to shake well and re-incorporate the arrowroot power. The stir fry sauce should be a milky brown color when the starch is thoroughly mixed in.

Love these stir fry sauce? Here’s some other yummy recipes to try!

• Loaded Rice Noodle Stir Fry
• Mushroom Soba Noodle Stir Fry
• Gluten Free Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
• Super Easy Crispy Pork and Pea Stir Fry
• Red Curry Peanut Noodles

If you enjoyed this recipe, we’d love it if you would take 5 seconds to rate and review it below! It’s also super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe. 

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!

Print