Crunchy, flavorful, savory… What’s not to love?! This Egyptian-inspired dukkah is a delicious and easy spice mix that adds instant flavor and nutrition to nearly any dish! We love it on roasted vegetables (recipe coming soon!), salads, avocado toast, d…
Crunchy, flavorful, savory… What’s not to love?! This Egyptian-inspired dukkah is a delicious and easy spice mix that adds instant flavorand nutrition to nearly any dish! We love it on roasted vegetables (recipe coming soon!), salads, avocado toast, dips, bowls, and more!
While hazelnuts are most commonly used in dukkah, we found pepitas to be equally delicious, simpler, more affordable, and suitable for nut-free eaters too.
Make a delicious Greek-style falafel gyro with crispy homemade falafel balls, paired with chilled, tangy tzatziki salad, as well as some sweet tomatoes and piquant purple onion. Served it with pita bread for a perfect and easy lunch or dinner. Do you n…
Make a delicious Greek-style falafel gyro with crispy homemade falafel balls, paired with chilled, tangy tzatziki salad, as well as some sweet tomatoes and piquant purple onion. Served it with pita bread for a perfect and easy lunch or dinner. Do you need more ideas to serve with falafel? Take a look at these gorgeous...
Fresh lettuce leaves, sweet and tangy tahini dressing and crispy falafel in pita bread are how to make a delicious falafel sandwich. We show you how easy it is to make this popular Middle Eastern vegetarian street food from scratch. Do you need more id…
Fresh lettuce leaves, sweet and tangy tahini dressing and crispy falafel in pita bread are how to make a delicious falafel sandwich. We show you how easy it is to make this popular Middle Eastern vegetarian street food from scratch. Do you need more ideas to serve with falafel? Take a look at these gorgeous...
Is falafel gluten-free? There are 3 reasons why the answer is no: flour can be an ingredient, it is served with wheat flour-based pita bread, or cross-contaminated during deep frying. But if you want to be 100% sure, try our crispy gluten-free falafel …
Is falafel gluten-free? There are 3 reasons why the answer is no: flour can be an ingredient, it is served with wheat flour-based pita bread, or cross-contaminated during deep frying. But if you want to be 100% sure, try our crispy gluten-free falafel recipe which uses no flour at all. Do you need more ideas...
Quick and easy green beans that will knock your socks off? Yep, you’ve found ‘em, friends! These stir-fried green beans are gingery, garlicky, and spicy, and we couldn’t stop eating them straight from the pan.
They come together with 9 simple ingredien…
Quick and easy green beans that will knock your socks off? Yep, you’ve found ‘em, friends! These stir-fried green beans are gingery, garlicky, and spicy, and we couldn’t stop eating them straight from the pan.
They come together with 9 simple ingredients in 20 minutes and are delicious paired with grains and protein for a satisfying, plant-based meal.
Dry, flavorless chicken and lengthy marinating times? Those are things of the past, friends. These quick-marinating grilled teriyaki chicken skewers are incredibly flavorful and bursting with umami and salty-sweet perfection!
We love these satisfying s…
Dry, flavorless chicken and lengthy marinating times? Those are things of the past, friends. These quick-marinating grilled teriyaki chicken skewers are incredibly flavorful and bursting with umami and salty-sweet perfection!
We love these satisfying skewers with noodle salads, stir-fries, grilled veggies, or served simply with rice and steamed broccoli! Bonus? They come together quickly with 9 ingredients you probably have around. Let us show you how it’s done!
How to Make Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
These flavor-filled skewers start with a quick teriyaki-inspired marinade made with tamari (or soy sauce), coconut sugar, garlic powder, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil.
These seeds & cheese crackers are made from two kinds of cheese and five different kinds of seeds, baked to light and crispy perfection. They’d make a unique and delicious addition to any cheese board! If you love the lacy bits of crispy cheese that form on the edges of a grilled cheese sandwich, these […]
These seeds & cheese crackers are made from two kinds of cheese and five different kinds of seeds, baked to light and crispy perfection. They’d make a unique and delicious addition to any cheese board!
If you love the lacy bits of crispy cheese that form on the edges of a grilled cheese sandwich, these (naturally gluten free) crackers are for you! The addition of five different kinds of seeds makes for a unique textural experience that is deeply satisfying.
I was finally able to get out to California to visit my family last month, which was a lovely treat after so many months (er, years?) of not being able to travel.
Granted, I spent most of my time there loafing on my sister’s extremely comfy couch binge watching all the trashy TV that Taylor doesn’t like, which is pretty close to what I’d be doing at home. But being able to do so with my sister? Priceless.
One day we had a lovely lunch with my aunt and uncle who I hadn’t seen since… well it’s been so long I can’t even remember now.
Along with a lovely assortment of prepared salads, she set out a spectacular snack plate with a few different kinds of crackers and cheeses. One of those crackers happened to be a cracker made out of cheese, and after one bite I was hooked. I literally could not stop eating them.
After politely inquiring as to the origins of said crackers (my brain already running through recreation possibilities), my aunt revealed they were called Seeds & Cheese Crackle from Market Hall in downtown Oakland (if you’ve never been, it’s magical; like Disneyland for food lovers).
The ingredients list was short and simple, just seeds and (you guessed it) cheese, and I was certain I’d be able to recreate them at home.
We love a good “catch-all” recipe here at Budget Bytes, and a simple vegetable stir fry is the perfect example of that. Whether you’re using up leftover vegetables from your freezer or using a bag of frozen stir fry veggies, a quick and easy vegetable stir fry is an easy solution for dinner. In addition to the very simple version below, I’ve got plenty of ideas for add-ins and flavor modifications in case you want to switch it up!
What Vegetables are Good for Stir Fry?
It’s important to get a variety of colors and textures when you make a vegetable stir fry. I chose to use onions, mushrooms, red bell pepper, broccoli, and carrots to provide that variety, but here are some other vegetables that are great in stir fry:
Green beans
Zucchini
Eggplant
Baby corn
Water Chestnuts
Bean sprouts
Cabbage
Green onion
Sweet peas
Spinach
Other Stir Fry Add-ins
In addition to vegetables, you can add all sorts of other ingredients, like:
Chicken, beef, or pork
Shrimp
Tofu
Noodles
Scrambled egg
Peanuts or cashews
Customize the Sauce
I’ve included a very basic brown stir fry sauce below, but there are so many options for customizing the sauce to fit your taste buds. Here are some options:
Make it spicy: add a tablespoon or so of sriracha, chili garlic sauce, or gochujang
Make it extra rich: stir in a couple tablespoons of oyster sauce
Make it sweet and tangy: stir in a couple tablespoons of hoisin sauce
Give it a tropical twist: use pineapple juice instead of water (add a little less brown sugar)
The Trick to Good Stir Fry at Home
There are two important tips for making stir fry at home:
1) Use a big wok or skillet and high heat. If your pan is too small there won’t be enough surface area for the steam to evaporate and the vegetables will get soupy. Likewise, if the heat isn’t high enough the steam will not evaporate fast enough and the vegetables will also get soupy.
2) Don’t overcook the vegetables. You want the vegetables to just be tender-crisp and vibrantly colored. You can always cook them a little longer once the sauce is added at the end, but if you cook them too long in the first steps you’ll end up with limp vegetables that are drab color.
Easy Vegetable Stir Fry
Vegetable stir fry is a quick and easy option for dinner, plus it's super flexible and a great way to use up leftovers from your fridge!
Make the stir fry sauce first. Combine the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set the sauce aside.
Chop the vegetables into similar-sized pieces. It's up to you whether you slice, dice, or cut into any other shape you prefer.
Add the cooking oil to a very large skillet or wok. Heat over medium-high. When the pan and oil are very hot (but not smoking), add the hardest vegetables first: carrots and broccoli. Cook and stir for about a minute, or just until the broccoli begins to turn bright green.
Next, add the mushrooms and sugar snap peas. Continue to cook and stir for a minute or two more, or just until the mushrooms begin to soften.
Finally, add the softest vegetables, bell pepper and onion. Continue to cook and stir just until the onion begins to soften.
Give the stir fry sauce another brief stir, then pour it over the vegetables. Continue to cook and stir until the sauce begins to simmer, at which point it will thicken and turn glossy. Remove the vegetables from the heat, or continue to cook until they are to your desired doneness.
Top the stir fry with sesame seeds and serve!
Notes
*You can use any mix of vegetables you like. You’ll need about 8 cups once chopped.
How to Make Vegetable Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
Make the stir fry sauce first so the flavors have a little time to blend and the sauce is ready to go when you need it. Vegetable stir fry is a fast process, so you’ve got to be ready! Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, and 1 Tbsp cornstarch in a bowl. Whisk until combined, then set aside.
For my stir fry mix, I used 1 small yellow onion, ½ lb. broccoli, 2 carrots, 8oz. mushrooms, and 8oz. sugar snap peas. You can use any mix of vegetables you’d like, just try to get a good variety of colors and textures. You’ll want about 8 cups once chopped.
Chop the vegetables into similar sized pieces. Since carrots take so long to soften, it was okay to cut them much smaller than the rest.
Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil to a very large skillet or wok. Heat over medium-high until the pan is very hot. Once hot, add the hardest vegetables first (or the vegetables that take the longest to soften), in this case, it was carrots and broccoli. Stir briskly for about one minute, or just until you start to see the color of the broccoli turn bright green. They will continue to cook as you add more vegetables.
Next, add the vegetables that soften semi-quickly, in this case, the mushrooms and sugar snap peas. Again, stir briskly and cook only for about 1-2 minutes, or just until you see the mushrooms begin to soften. They will continue to cook further as you add more vegetables.
Lastly, add your softest vegetables, in this case, the onion and bell pepper. Stir and cook just for one minute more, or just until the onions begin to soften. They will continue to cook and soften after you add the sauce.
Give the stir fry sauce a quick stir to recombine, then pour the sauce over the vegetables in the skillet. Stir and cook until the sauce begins to simmer, at which point it will thicken and turn glossy. Remove the skillet from the heat, or continue to cook until the vegetables are cooked to your liking.
Step aside peanut butter cookies (not too far, we still love you!), there’s a new treat in town: tahini cookies! They’re addictively delicious and SO easy they practically make themselves (just 1 bowl, 7 ingredients, and about 20 minutes required).
The…
Step aside peanut butter cookies (not too far, we still love you!), there’s a new treat in town: tahini cookies! They’re addictively delicious and SO easy they practically make themselves (just 1 bowl, 7 ingredients, and about 20 minutes required).
These cookies are perfectly nutty, the ideal balance of salty and sweet, plus veganandgluten-free (but no one will know)!
Crispy pan-fried chicken tenders coated with crunchy panko breadcrumbs and sesame seeds; they’re perfect dipped in a tangy sriracha mayo or sliced and served atop a crisp romaine salad. This easy dinner recipe is a sure crowd pleaser for adults and kids alike: with a coating of panko breadcrumbs and both black and white sesame […]
Crispy pan-fried chicken tenders coated with crunchy panko breadcrumbs and sesame seeds; they’re perfect dipped in a tangy sriracha mayo or sliced and served atop a crisp romaine salad.
This easy dinner recipe is a sure crowd pleaser for adults and kids alike: with a coating of panko breadcrumbs and both black and white sesame seeds that is then pan-fried to crispy perfection.
What’s for dinner?
Are you sick of that question yet?
Sometimes it feels like life is an endless cycle of figuring out what to cook for dinner, actually cooking it, cleaning up, then starting all over again.
Not to mention when you think a recipe is going to be easy and it turns into a 3-hour ordeal that’s mediocre at best (honestly if I’m going to cook for 3 hours straight the results better be phenomenal).
This isn’t one of those recipes, I promise. It really is quick. I clocked it at 45 minutes even though it’s probably less than that, but if there’s anything I hate it’s recipes that exclude the prep and cleanup in their staunch claims of “30 minutes or less!”
So, there you have one day’s dinner solved. It’s a start, right?
This recipe is based on our sesame-crusted tofu recipe, which is one of our personal favorites (not to mention our all-time favorite way to prepare tofu). For those who cry ‘ew texture’ when it comes to tofu, giving it a miraculously crispy coating is a surefire way to make it enjoyable for everyone.
We love that tofu recipe so much, I wanted to see if the same idea could be applied to chicken too (spoiler alert: it can).
