Need dinner in a hurry? This Easy Thai Basil Vegetable Stir Fry makes a hearty, but veggie-packed meal for those nights when you’re low on time and energy.Β
If you guys watched my recent Spring Favorites video, you may have heard me chat about my cookbook collection. I collect -I prefer to collect to “hoard”, which may be a more accurate description- cookbooks.
Despite being someone who loves food and recipes, I rarely buy cookbooks for the actual recipes. I love being inspired by the pictures and the writing and the blood, sweat and tears that went into the book. I may make a recipe or two, but even if I do, I almost always make enough changes that the original recipe is barely even there.
It’s the reason I write a blog and don’t just make recipes from others!
Basically, I’m every cookbook author’s worst nightmare.
One of the books I recently picked up was Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings. I personally think she’s hilarious and love how much she loves food. A girl after my own heart. I really just wanted to get some insight on what goes down in her kitchen so I bought her book.
Okay fine, I’m really just obsessed with her and John and ultimate hope to emulate their relationship by turning C into a black, gospel singer and me into a half-asian model/actress/chef.
We’re like basically there, right?
I have to say, I am totally impressed by the book. No, there’s absolutely nothing healthy about it, but like I mentioned, I never make the recipes as they are so this really isn’t a problem.
I decided to try a version of her Thai Basil Chicken, and despite the fact that my version looks nothing like hers (uhhhhh there’s no chicken in it, duh) I really loved how it turned out. I’ve made a version with chicken and it was equally as good (I’ll include instructions with how to cook it with chicken), but wanted to offer an easy veggie version for when you need a light, but filling dinner that won’t leave you cooking for hours.
So to every cookbook author out there who’s recipes I’ve butchered, I apologize. You can rest easy knowing that people will likely to the same to me one day. I mean whaaaaat?
PrintEasy Thai Basil Vegetable Stir Fry

- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked rice, cooked according to package instruction (I like short-grain brown rice)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cups snap peas, trimmed
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 cups thai basil (regular basil will work too)
for the sauce:
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar (brown sugar works too)
Instructions
- Cook rice as indicated and set aside.
- In a small bowl combine all sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Add coconut oil to a large pot and melt over medium-high heat.
- Add garlic and sautΓ© for one minute. It should brown but not burn. Watch closely.
- Add in broccoli, bell pepper, snap pees and carrots.
- Top with sauce and cover pot with a lid.
- Allow veggies to steam for about 3 mins or until desired crispness is achieved.
- Stir in basil and cook for 1-2 mins or until basil has wilted completely.
- Serve over rice.
*if you’d like to add chicken, add to pot immediately after cooking garlic. Saute in pot for several minutes on each side to help it cook through before topping with veggies and sauce. Then continue cooking as directed.
Do you collect cookbooks? Do you follow recipes as directed or play around with them?
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14 Comments
sohni
November 10, 2017 at 6:23 amjust delicious..superb dish..loved it
Angie
July 23, 2016 at 6:27 amI would probably double this so I have lunch as well..but I’ve not always successfully doubled sauce recipes and my hubby really likes a lot of sauce…any suggestions on that?
Davida @ The Healthy Maven
July 23, 2016 at 11:33 amI’ve doubled the recipe many times and it’s perfectly delicious! Hope this helps π
Cassie
May 13, 2016 at 1:19 pmThai food is one of my favorite cuisines!! (Besides Indian of course!) Anyways, stir fries are definitely a go-to for my cooking. You can pretty much flavor vegetables in any way! Delicious π I love this recipe so much!
Davida Kugelmass
May 13, 2016 at 3:41 pmMy go-to as well. You really can’t go wrong!
Alicia
May 13, 2016 at 12:43 pmstir fry is the best quick easy meal and great for making a big batch of and having leftovers. I usually flavor my stir fry with ginger, but I like the basil idea.
Davida Kugelmass
May 13, 2016 at 3:41 pmCouldn’t agree more!!
Dale
May 13, 2016 at 10:01 amI recognize this π SO GOOD
Davida Kugelmass
May 13, 2016 at 10:26 amEven better when it’s shared with you <3
Marina @ A Dancer's Live-It
May 13, 2016 at 7:53 amAbsolutely LOVE the flavors in this recipe! Anything Thai food-related makes me happy! I would definitely add in the chicken too because YES π
Davida Kugelmass
May 13, 2016 at 10:44 amYup, chicken is such a good addition!
Stella @ Stellicious Life
May 13, 2016 at 5:20 amI’m a cookbook collector as well! (Or as Boyfriend puts it cookbook and cooking magazine addict π I have so many, but I just like leafing through them, looking at the pictures, reading the personal stories and be inspired by the recipes. I just got Minimalist Baker’s cookbook and can’t wait to read through that one. I also can’t wait Angela from Oh She Glows new cookbook which will be released in September.
Davida, since in your previous cookbook-mentioning post you talked about the Deliciously Ella cookbook I wanted to ask your opinion: I don’t have either of her cookbooks yet, just browsed through them on Amazon, and there I preferred what I saw of Book #2. What do you think, which one should I get, how are the recipes in them? Thanks a lot!
Davida Kugelmass
May 13, 2016 at 10:45 amHey lady! Can’t speak for the first one as I don’t own it, but the second one is fantastic. Ella was saying that the intention of the second one is for it to be a bit more accessible with fewer weird or hard-to-find ingredients, hence the “everyday” concept. I’d highly recommend!
Stella @ Stellicious Life
May 17, 2016 at 4:00 amThanks Davida! That was my impression from browsing through the snippets online is that the 1st may contain some too fancy or complicated ingredients and recipes, but what I’ve read of the 2nd one intrigued me. So it’s decided, I ordered the 2nd one and can’t wait to have it in my hands! π
If we are talking cookbooks: do you have Angela Liddon’s Oh She Glows Cookbook? Or any other vegetarian/plant based cookbook, or cookbook by blogger you’d recommend? LOVE talking cookbooks, and now that I finally found a kindred spirit I have a hard time shutting up π