Ground Pork Stir Fry
Quick and easy ground pork stir fry is a budget-friendly weeknight dinner loaded with fresh vegetables and lean meat with all the yummy flavors of your favorite take-out dish.
After so many years feeding my kids, I've learned that one of the best ways to increase their veggie intake is to hide them in plain sight under delicious one pot dishes they love.
When you mix in fresh carrots, peppers, and even diced bok choy, with savory ground pork in an utterly delicious stir fry sauce and spoon it over a bowl of rice, you've got a dinner that's super easy for YOU to prepare and will be a guaranteed hit at the table.
This colorful dinner made my heart so happy. I made it twice in one month just so I could enjoy leftovers for my work week lunches!
Why This is the Best Recipe
- Quick to Make: From prep to plate in under 30 minutes, this dish is perfect for busy weeknights.
- Pantry-Friendly Sauce: Uses ingredients you likely already have, like soy sauce, orange juice, and honey.
- Easy to Tweak: Don't like one of the veggies? You can make simple swaps that work for your family.
- Super Versatile: Serve the stir fry mix over rice, noodles, or wrap it in lettuce, whatever works best for your crew!
Ingredients
It may look like a lot of ingredients, but most of these easy items are probably in your pantry right now:
- Ground Pork: I love the flavor pork adds to this dish. You can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken if you prefer.
- Fresh Veggies: I used carrots, mini peppers, baby bok choy, a yellow onion, and green onions. Be sure to check my notes below for more veggie suggestions if you'd like to make some swaps.
- Soy Sauce
- Orange Juice
- Rice Vinegar
- Honey
- Dried Ginger
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Or you could use chili crunch if you have it.
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Cornstarch
- Sesame Seeds
Prep the Veggies
Stir fry dishes cook very quickly, you won't have time for chopping vegetables once your meat is in the pan so it is best to get all the fresh veggies prepped before you begin.
- Onion: Diced
- Carrots: Half-moon slices
- Green Onions: minced
- Mini bell peppers: Sliced into thin rounds
- Bok Choy: Chopped, keep the greens and whites separated -- you'll add them at different times.
If you want to substitute any of those vegetables, here are a few more delicious options that would work great in this dish:
- Snow peas
- Broccoli florets
- Bell peppers
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
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Prep the Stir Fry Sauce
Another handy time saver that will keep your dinner prep moving quickly is to prep ahead the stir fry sauce.
Mix together the soy sauce, orange juice, vinegar, honey, ginger, red pepper flakes (or chili crunch), and cornstarch until smooth. I just whisked it together with a fork right in my measuring cup.
Cooking Instructions
Once all your basic elements are prepped, the final cooking is going to go so much easier.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the ground pork. Season it with salt and pepper. Break it up into crumbles as it cooks.
Once it is no longer pink, drain the fat and transfer the cooked pork to a clean dish.
Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the now-empty skillet. Add the firmer vegetables to the pan first. Start with the regular onion and carrots.
Cook the veggies until the onions have softened. Then add the more delicate vegetables: the sliced mini bell peppers and the white parts of the bok choy, and the white parts of the green onions. Add the garlic.
Stir and cook until the peppers just begin to char.
Finally, return the pork to the pan along with the most delicate veggies: the green parts of the bok choy and the green onions. Stir and cook for just a minute.
To finish the dish, pour in the prepared stir fry sauce. Stir to coat and bring the liquid to a boil. Keep stirring as the sauce thickens and coats all the veggies.
Serve immediately with sesame seeds and more green onions sprinkled over the top as desired.
Make Ahead Tips
While I think the stir fry tastes best fresh out of the skillet, you can absolutely make this dish in advance and store it in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Simply reheat it in the microwave.
You could also freeze individual portions for easy-to-grab dinners on extra busy nights.
I like to make meal prep containers with a layer of rice topped with a spoonful of the stir fry mix and refrigerate or freeze so I have an all-in-one meal to grab quickly.
DIY Meal Kit
This dinner is an excellent option for a DIY dinner kit you can keep ready to grab in your fridge.
Simply prep ahead when you have time:
- Prep the Veggies: Pre-chop all the veggies. Store them in airtight containers. Personally, I'd separate the whites and greens of the bok choy and green onions into separate containers but everything else could be stored together.
- Mix the Stir Fry Sauce: You can prep the sauce and store it in a mason jar in the fridge.
- Bundle It Together: Store the veggies and sauce right next to the package of meat so you remember what goes together!
Variations
- Lean Stir Fry: Use ground chicken or ground turkey for a lighter dish.
- Peanut Butter Stir Fry: Add a spoonful of peanut butter to the skillet when you add the sauce and top your dish with chopped peanuts. Fresh cilantro would be an excellent garnish.
- Ground Beef Stir Fry: For a richer dish served with ramen noodles, check out my family-friendly ground beef stir fry recipe here.
Serving Suggestions
When I served this ground pork stir fry for our family dinner, I spooned it over my favorite Instant Pot jasmine rice which soaked up every drop of that delicious stir fry sauce.
You could also serve it over your favorite ramen noodles or pasta tossed in just a touch of olive oil to prevent sticking.
For a gluten-free dinner, serve it with a plate of butter lettuce for making lettuce wraps or make a quick stir fry salad and spoon it over your favorite chopped greens.
More Stir Fry Recipes
Love the ease of a quick stir fry dinner? Here are a few more of my favorite recipes I think you'll love:
📖 Recipe
Ground Pork Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the Stir Fry Sauce:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or 1 teaspoon chili crunch
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Pork Stir Fry:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil separated
- 1 pound ground pork
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 medium carrots sliced thinly into discs
- 6 mini bell peppers sliced thinly in rings
- 1 baby bok choy trimmed and chopped, white and greens separated
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 3 green onions chopped, white and greens separated
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for garnish
For Serving:
- Jasmine or brown rice, long ramen or linguine noodles, lettuce wraps or salad base choose your favorite!
Instructions
- Prep the Sauce: Add all the ingredients for the sauce into a small mixing bowl and whisk them together until smooth. Set aside.
- Cook the Stir Fry: In a large skillet, heat just 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork and season it with salt and pepper. Crumble the pork as it cooks with the back of your cooking spoon. Cook until no longer pink and fully brown, about 4 - 5 minutes. Drain the fat and transfer the cooked pork to a clean bowl, set aside.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the now-empty skillet over medium-high heat. Add just the onions and carrots to the pan and stir. Cook until the onions are translucent and the carrots begin to soften.
- Add the sliced peppers, the white parts of the bok choy, the white parts of the green onions, and the minced garlic to the skillet. Cook until the peppers begin to char.
- Return the pork along with the green parts of the bok choy to the skillet. Stir and warm through for 1 minute. Pour the prepared stir fry sauce into the skillet and bring it to a boil. Stir to coat the pork and vegetables in the thickened sauce.
- Serving Suggestions: Spoon the pork stir fry over your favorite rice, noodles, or greens. Sprinkle the remaining green parts of the green onions and sesame seeds over the top for garnish.
Recipe Notes
Meal Prep Suggestions:
This is an excellent meal prep recipe if you want to batch cook easy dinners for your freezer or grab-and-go lunches to take to work. The cooked pork mixture coated in sauce will keep for 4 days in the fridge but would freeze really well. Simply thaw and heat in the microwave.Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box
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