This copycat Szechuan Shrimp and Broccoli recipe is ridiculously tasty and ready in just 20 minutes. Skip the restaurant and whip up this healthy dish at home!
Since I was a little pipsqueak, I’ve been positively cuckoo for Chinese food. My parents owned a small storefront, nestled next to the most AMAZING Chinese restaurant. Growing up amist a sea of chain restaurants, this family-owned gem was our favorite spot and one of the few places all six of us could agree on.
Years later, I’ve yet to find a replacement. There’s just no topping it! I can’t even find a restaurant that comes close at this point, so for the past few years I’ve sadly given up on Chinese food.
To say I miss it is the understatement of the century.
Naturally I was long overdue for a little take-out fake-out action in my kitchen, and I’m seriously embarrassed that I hadn’t gone this route earlier! The result was nothing short of fantastic.
I mean, we licked our plates clean. Quite literally, in fact!
#noshame
Szechuan Shrimp and Broccoli
Have you tried Szechuan sauce before? Ohmygosh it’s GOOD! This spicy-sweet sauce tastes absolutely amazing blanketing just about anything! Try it with shrimp, chicken, or tofu, plus any and all veggies you have on hand.
In order to keep the ingredient list both manageable and gluten-free, I simplified the sauce to include easy-to-find ingredients that pack a whole lot of flavor! A tasty combination of sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, Sriracha, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes, this quick and easy sauce packs all the sweet and fiery punch that I’ve come to love about Szechuan sauce.
Szechuan Shrimp and Broccoli
Ingredients
- ¼ cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 TBSP reduced-sodium GF soy sauce
- 2 TBSP seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic minced (approx. 1 tsp)
- 2 tsp cornstarch optional!
- 1 tsp Sriracha
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1-2 tsp sesame oil for stir-frying
- 1 lb raw peeled and cleaned shrimp (I cook mine tail-on)
- ½ lb chopped broccoli
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Thaw shrimp if using frozen.
- In a bowl, whisk together sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, minced garlic, Sriracha, red pepper flakes, and ginger. For an extra thick sauce like the restaurants serve, add the optional cornstarch to the sauce and mix well. Set aside.
- Heat sesame oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
- Add broccoli and stir fry for a few minutes until tender.
- Next add shrimp and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add your sauce and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until sauce bubbles and thickens.
- Once fully cooked, shrimp will be pink, opaque and curled.
- Top with chopped green onion and sesame seeds.
- Serve alongside steamed quinoa or rice and top with additional red pepper flakes and soy sauce to season to taste. You can even add an optional drizzle of Sriracha to kick things up a notch or two!
Notes
Nutrition
Feel free to adjust the heat based on your comfort level!
I kept this recipe at what Paul and I feel is a manageable level of spiciness. It packs some heat but isn’t painful to eat by any means. If you’re super sensitive to spice feel free to lean more on the sweet side of this recipe by adding less spice. Feeling daring? Amp up the Sriracha and red pepper flakes and get ready to fan your face!
serve it over . . .
- rice
- quinoa
- riced cauliflower
- noodles, rice noodles, ramen, CARBS
- or anything your heart desires!
If you get a chance to try this tasty Szechuan Shrimp and Broccoli, let me know!
You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS + #PEASANDCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations! I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
Questions & Reviews
I made this tonight for dinner and everyone loved it ! Even my picky eater. It’s already added to my Favorites and I look to making it again . Heck , I doubled it right out of the gate the first time. Wanted to let you know this meal was delicious. Thank you so very much for sharing your recipe with us.
This is a definite go-to recipe. We love this dish. It is quick, easy, and a perfect blend of spice! It is now part of our regular dinner rotation. Yummm,
Love this recipe! I make it at least once a month. All the ingredients have become a regular part of my shopping list.
That sauce is just so darn delicious! I was slurping it up with a spoon from the bottom of my bowl. I use Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce and it’s got enough heat I didn’t even need the red pepper flakes. I threw in some matchstick carrots and water chestnuts for a little crunch (gotta get my veggies in where I can and wrapped in this sauce is a good way!) Thanks for the great recipe.
I will be making this again and again. It was delicious and soooo easy to put together!
Ahhh yay!!! So happy to hear it, Robin! xo
Very good..I made mine over ramen noodles.. I would make more sauce next time and amp up the heat a bit. I would make this again
Made this exactly as described. Absolutely delicious! Spicy but not overpoweringly so. Served over hot noodles which got coated with the sauce. Our small town’s only Chinese restaurant closed seven months ago, and eating this made us feel like we had ordered takeout!
What is considered a 1/2 pond of broccoli? How many cups?
Hi Kiara! We make this recipe a lot and these days I honestly just eyeball the broccoli based on how much my husband and I want to eat. Sometimes I’ll do 2 cups other times 3 cups. Totally up to you! xo
Get a kitchen scale. Not very expensive. It has many uses in baking as well half pound is 8oz. If a recipe refers to N ingredient in weight it’s better to stick to the weight! Better outcome!
Great recipe! Loved the sauce. The broccoli in my freezer was too old, but I had fresh asparagus, onion, mushrooms and red peppers.
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing.
This was excellent! I didn’t have any sweet chili sauce so I use jalapeno ketchup instead oh, I also added twice as much sriracha and a really good handful of red pepper flakes that had been saved from our plant last summer. This was really good, my husband said it would as good or better than what we’ve had then at restaurants lately
Curious how this is called Szechuan when there is no Szechuan pepper in the recipe. Must be I missed it?
Hi Dave! I thought crushed red pepper flakes had a blend of dehydrated Serrano and Szechuan peppers in it but I could be mistaken? I try to make my recipes (especially the copycat ones) with super accessible ingredients to make things easy on readers (esp. those of us in small towns) but if you have access to straight Szechuan peppers they would be fabulous here! xoxo
Great recipe – super fast to make and delicious!
Absolutely Amazing!! I will definitely add this fabulous recipe to my collection…family loved it too!
This was amazing! Just the perfect amount of heat for my hubby and myself, but we really enjoy spicy food where the heat is not overpowering the flavour of the food! This was ‘da Bomb!’I have made it 3 times now and I am wondering how it would work with beef? Obviously, you would have to cook the beef first and then read after the broccoli was cooked. Any other suggestions for making this with beef?
Thx for this great recipe!
Thank you Vivian! So glad y’all are enjoying the recipe! I think it would absolutely work with beef! I’d use the super thin kind (I’m not sure what it’s called lol) that looks like what you’d get at an Asian restaurant and cut into bite-sized pieces. It should cook super fast so as long as you don’t overcook it you’re good to go!
You can use. Carna asada meat use to make tacos with, can buy it skin slice in the meat Dept. ( I’m in California I don’t know if it’s available everywhere) ask your butcher.
This recipe is so yummy!! I have never cooked with sweet chili sauce before and the sauce that goes on the shrimp was just SO tastey and bursting with flavor. Will definitely make again. Even my parents loved it.
I’m stoked y’all enjoyed the recipe Allison. Thank you!
my 1st attempt & it was truly delightful! added scallops as well as asparagus & snow peas…will make this again & again!
Wow! This is going to be a staple in our diet moving forward! So easy, quick, and healthy!
Ahhhh love it! Thank you Tami!
To make this gluten/keto friendly I recommend using arrowroot flour to thicken instead of cornstarch.
Arrowroot is a fantastic alternative!
I am using premade Szechuan sauce. How much should i use?
Hi Chris! Is the pre-made sauce more on the spicy or sweet side? Maybe start with 1/4-1/3 cup and then add extra to taste if desired.
Wonderful, added additional Chinese vegetables
This was delicious. I added bamboo shots and a dash of sesame oil to sauce and fried in peanut oil. I’ll be making this again.
My whole family loves this!!
Love the Dish!!!! Soooo….Good ….plus Healthy
I cannot handle spice at all so I won’t be too harsh about this. But want to disclaim to anyone who cannot handle spice, this recipe literally put my mouth on FIRE. I even used only a touch of sriracha, basically no red pepper flakes and my mouth was STILL on fire. I believe I def tried to keep the heat down and my husband and I still had to throw it all out. A LOTTT less spice for those who cannot handle heat like me. I’m not sure what else that’s in this that was still THAT spicy, but I basically followed this recipe exactly, minus less sriracha and red pepper flakes, other than not having sesame seeds. I’m sure this is a good recipe, but holy moly I will have to figure out some substitutes next time to even swallow a bite!!!
Oh no Mallory! Szechuan recipes are typically known for being spicy. The heat does indeed come from the Sriracha and the red pepper flakes just as you thought *but* if you’re typically sensitive to heat/spice then the sweet chili sauce can also add to the heat of the dish because it contains chili pepper seeds. My husband finds fresh ginger a little spicy as well so that could also be a culprit here. I’ll try to whip up a sweet and sour version so I have a similar and mild shrimp and broccoli recipe on here! xo
I agree. I didn’t use any siracha and not the full amount of red pepper flakes and my mouth was on fire. My husband who can tolerate spicy foods also thought it was too hot. It tasted great but I’ll leave the red pepper out completely next time.
Hi Rachel! I’m glad it tasted great (despite the fire factor!) and for sure leave out both the chili sauce and chili flakes next go-round. As written it’s intended to be a spicy dish but it will still work well without the two heat elements! xo
Omg my husband loved this recipe and the spice in it, I just wish I added some more broccoli and carrots into it but it was awesome! Very easy and straight forward, I recommend 100 percent.
Ahhh yay! So glad y’all are loving it! — For sure load up on the veggies; the sauce makes it an excellent way to sneak more veggies in on the fun!
I could eat this every night! Hard to beat flavors like this in a quick dish. We love this with quinoa.
So easy and so good! I did make a few minor adjustments; my husband doesn’t like spicy foods, so I halved the amount of sriracha and red pepper flakes. I didn’t have seasoned rice vinegar, just plain rice vinegar so, that is what I used. For the veggies, I used a mix of broccoli, carrots, and sugar snap peas. Also, after I sautéed the vegetables, I added 2 tbsp of water, covered the pan and did a quick 1 minute steam…the veggie texture was perfect! Because shrimp cook so quickly, I added the shrimp and the sauce at the same time. This was served with rice. Like I said earlier, this is a quick, easy and tasty dish. Will be making it again and because I like veggies, will also add red bell pepper and mushrooms. Thanks for a lovey recipe!
This was fantastic and my husband loved it too! It’s for sure going in on our dinner rotation. I also appreciate that it’s light but still SO flavorful!!
Yay! So happy to hear it Heather, thank you!
Delicious! I have now used both shrimp and chicken!! This is the bomb!! Quick, easy AND delish!! Thanks for sharing Jenn!!
I’m so stoked you’re enjoying the recipe Rae Ann! xoxo
looks yummy! Can I use precooked shrimp? If so , how do I adjust the recipe?
Hi Kim! I’m not sure about pre-cooked shrimp as I’ve never bought/prepared it that way. How do you normally use it in heated dishes? Let me know if you get a chance to experiment!
I made this tonight, it was delicious!! The sauce was awesome although I wish I had added the cornstarch, I will next time. I also added riced cauliflower about the same time I added the sauce, so good!! Hubby said it was a very good dinner!
I’m so glad you both enjoyed the recipe! Thank you Renee!
Oh, this looks delightful and delicious! So colorful and full of flavor.
Thank you Jessica!
My mouth is watering! I can’t wait to make this dish. I love that it’s a 20 minute recipe!
You don’t mention how much shrimp to use.
Hi Robin! The recipe calls for 1 lb. I have listed in order of ingredients used so the sauce ingredients are all before the shrimp itself on the recipe card.
I accidently bought regular chilie sauce, would it be ok to use instead of the sweet chilie sauce?
No worries Cara! For sure do not swap regular chili sauce for sweet because it will be so crazy spicy I don’t want you to feel that sort of pain, LOL! Luckily you can actually make it at home (using some of the chili sauce to make it) and it seems crazy easy! This one looks good: Sweet Chili Sauce and so does this one: Homemade Sweet Chili Sauce
Made this tonight for dinner and oh my word it was so good! The man I wish I had doubled the recipe so we had leftovers kinda good. I did double the sauce (we are sauce people) and added some cooked angel hair pasta at the end to the pan so it could soak up the goodness. Thanks for this recipe!
Yayyy! So glad you loved it Jennifer! I’m totally going to try it with pasta next time – that sounds like a tasty pairing for sure
Hi can i use xanthum gum as a thickner and also do you knoe the Nut information?
Hi Cary! I’ve never added X-gum to a recipe but my friends use it in smoothies! If you’ve added it to similar sauces before to thicken with success I’d say it’s totally worth a shot! I just can’t answer from experience. I skip thickener altogether sometimes and go with a thin sauce and still adore it! Nutrition info can be calculated at myfitnesspal.com with pretty good accuracy – the calculators that come with recipe cards are kind of wonky and don’t account for any swaps you might make so MFP is your best bet for sure! Hope you love the recipe as much as we do!
<3
Can I use flour instead if cornstarch is unavailable?
If cornstarch is unavailable I’d simply skip it and let the sauce reduce a bit longer to thicken. I typically make mine without it unless I’m serving up company who may want a thicker/stickier sauce
Made this for dinner last night … followed the recipe to a T and it was INCREDIBLE! This will go into the regular dinner rotation … better than ANY restaurant !!!
I’m running around in circles happy dancing to this comment Lacey! Thank you!!
Only 1/2 a teaspoon of sesame oil? That was a little light and I bumped it up to a 1/2 tbsp, maybe 3/4, and that kept my broccoli from being seared.
Thanks William! I’m so used to everyone complaining about oil that I usually try to keep the amount low (I move the broccoli around extra to compensate) and let everyone adjust as needed. I’m glad you weren’t afraid to add as much as desired and so excited you made the recipe! It’s one of my favorites
Looking for low card. How many carbs are in this recipe?
Hope you love it Becky!
The carbs will vary based on your choice of grain to serve it over (white rice, brown rice, quinoa, etc…) and such so after you decide what you’re using/adding I’d plug it into myfitnesspal.com to get a custom carb count!
Made this tonight for dinner, excellent will definitely make again! Great recipe, I used half of the constrach and was perfect. Thank you!
So happy to hear it Cindy! Thank you!
xoxo
Wow! Was this ever spicy! I almost halved red pepper flakes and sriracha sauce. I added extra sautéed broccoli to leftovers. It had great flavor though. I’ll definitely make again – adding more broccoli & less red pepper/sriracha. I think your taste buds are tougher than ours, lol. Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad you loved the flavor Anita! Haha I feel like every year I age my heat tolerance gets weaker and weaker. I can barely remember how on Earth I used to eat raw jalapeños on all my food back in my early 20’s
For sure knock ’em down as much as you need – thanks girly! 
This dish looks amazing! And Inlove broccoli so this is awesome:)
How many people is this recipe for?
Serving-wise, 1 lb of shrimp yields four 4 oz servings of shrimp but my husband and I get pretty hungry and don’t find that 4 ounces is enough for us, so we typically have the entire recipe between us both unless we are serving an additional side dish with dinner. So roughly 4 servings for 2-4 people at your discretion
I hope that helps Anju!
This was perfectly spicy… Delicious! My husband kept repeating how much he liked it. We will definitely make this again!
I’m so happy y’all enjoyed it! Thanks Lisa!
cooked or raw shrimp?
You’ll want to purchase it raw and cook it along with the recipe
It cooks super fast!
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude this made me HOOOOONGRY!
Haha yesssss! Mission accomplished!
Sounds fabulous!!
I made this and it was SO GOOD. Thanks for the great recipes!!
Thank you Miriam!!! So happy to hear it! I can’t stop making this lately; the sauce is also really good with salmon! <3
We love, love, love shrimp (and broccoli) around here, so I think this needs to go on my meal plan ASAP. Now that it’s Lent, I’m looking for regular meatless dishes that I can serve each week. Perfect!!