Crisp and tasty, this flavorful Celery Stir-Fry is a quick, easy meal that’s full of flavor and nutrients. Vegan, gluten-free, and ready in 30 minutes.

bowl of celery stirfry with cashews, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes for garnish.

Why You’ll Love This

Stir-frying has always been my go-to method for quick and easy weeknight dinners; we have an abundance of 5-star, delicious, healthy stir-fry recipes on the blog! This one features the humble celery, which usually plays a supporting role, but in this stir fry, it truly shines!

Paired with chewy tempeh (see notes for alternatives), toasty cashews, and a simple stir-fry sauce, it’s a satisfying texture combination in just 20 minutes!.

Celery Stir fry Ingredients

ingredients for celery stirfry- celery, tempeh, ginger, garlic, onion, molasses, sherry cooking wine, tamari, and toasted sesame oil.
  • Celery: A great way to use up extra celery! Include some of the celery leaves, just be sure to taste them first to ensure they are not bitter, as this can vary.
  • Tempeh: For plant-based protein. Feel free to sub ground chicken, sliced chicken, ground turkey or ground beef.
  • Garlic and ginger: You’ll need pressed or grated garlic for the sauce and sliced garlic for the stir-fry, as well as minced ginger.
  • Yellow onion: For savory, aromatic flavor.
  • Soy sauce: Or use light soy sauce, or tamari or liquid aminos for gluten-free options. Adds salt and umami depth.
  • Sherry vinegar: Or shaoxing wine or unseasoned rice vinegar.
  • Sesame oil: For richness and depth.
  • Molasses: Adds a unique sweet and smoky flavor reminiscent of dark soy sauce.
  • Coconut sugar: Or brown sugar or maple syrup for sweetness.
  • Red pepper flakes and white pepper: You can use black pepper, but white pepper adds a distinct bright and earthy flavor.
  • Cornstarch: To thicken the sauce and help it lusciously glaze the stirfry.
  • Garnishes: Toasted cashews, toasted sesame seeds, and scallions.

How to Make Celery Stirfry

1. Whisk the stir fry sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sherry vinegar, sesame oil, molasses, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, white pepper, and cornstarch.

2. Steam the tempeh. Cut or crumble the tempeh and toss into a large cast-iron skillet, wok, or large skillet. Add water and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat until the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Steaming reduces the pungency of tempeh and helps it absorb the flavor of the stir-fry sauce.

3. Pan-fry the tempeh. Once the water has evaporated, add oil and sauté until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Set aside.

4. Sauté the aromatics and celery. Sauté the onions for 3 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the celery, ginger, and garlic and stir for 2 minutes. The celery should be slightly tender but still crisp. Add in the crumbled tempeh and the sauce.

tempeh added to skillet with stir-fried celery and onion with metal spatula.

5. Assemble the stir-fry. With the sauce added, stir everything together until the sauce is thickened, about 1-2 minutes.

6. Serve. Serve over steamed jasmine rice. Garnish with toasted cashews.

bowl of celery stirfry over jasmine rice with cashews.

Variations

  • Protein: For a plant-based alternative, prepare this with our Crispy Tofu. Or if not vegan, try ground chicken, thinly sliced chicken, or ground beef.
  • Veggies: In lieu of- or in addition to- celery, add other vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, snow peas, bok choy, or carrots.
  • Rice: Serve with jasmine rice or brown rice, or serve with your favorite whole grain or stir-fry noodles.

Chef’s Tips

  • Steam the tempeh: Don’t skip this step! Steaming the tempeh reduces its bitter taste and improves its texture so that it will crisp up and absorb the flavor of the sauce.
  • Cook the rice first: Start by preparing your rice so that it is ready to go as soon as the stir-fry is done.
  • Quick cook the celery: Stir-fry just a few minutes, avoid over cooking.

Storing Celery Stir-fry

Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

Serving Suggestions

Serve the Celery Stirfry over jasmine rice all on its own for a satisfying meal, or serve it alongside some of our favorite sides and salads:

FAQs

How do I prep celery for stir-fry?

Rinse the celery, then cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces, using a julienne technique.

What should you not do when stir-frying?

Be careful not to burn the aromatics, like the garlic and onion. You also want to make sure you have all of your ingredients prepped and ready together as the recipe comes together quickly!

What is the secret ingredient in stir-fry?

A flavorful, balanced stir-fry sauce.

blue serving bowl with celery stirfry topped with cashews, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds.

Hope you enjoy our Celery Stirfry recipe! Let us know what you think in the comments!

More Favorite StiR-fry Recipes!

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celery stir Fry

Celery Stir Fry

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Tonia | Feasting at Home
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 cups
  • Category: stir fry recipes, tempeh recipes, easy dinner,
  • Method: stir fry
  • Cuisine: Chinese
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Crisp and tasty, this flavorful Celery Stir-Fry is a quick, easy meal that’s full of flavor and nutrients. Vegan, gluten-free, and ready in 30 minutes!


Ingredients

Units

Stir Fry Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce, tamari or gluten-free liquid aminos
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, shaoxing wine, or unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon molasses
  • 1 teaspoon coconut sugar- or brown sugar or maple syrup
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed, grated or minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Celery Stir fry

  • 8 ounces tempeh can also use ground chicken or ground beef – see notes.
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil or coconut oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion, sliced in strips
  • 3 cups celery, 4-5 celery stalks, cut into 1/2 inch julianne slices
  • 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • suggested garnishes: toasted cashews, toasted sesame seeds, scallions


Instructions

  1. Mix stir-fry sauce: whisk soy sauce, sherry vinegar, sesame oil, molasses, sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, white pepper, and cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.
  2. Cut or crumble tempeh into a large pan. Add water, bring to a boil then simmer over medium heat until all the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Steaming helps mellow the pungency of tempeh.
  3. Once the water has evaporated, add oil and sauté until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Set tempeh aside.
  4. Over medium high heat sauté the onions about 3 minutes, add the celery, ginger and garlic stir for about 2 minutes. You want the celery to be just slightly tender but still quite crisp. Add in the tempeh crumble and the sauce.
  5. Stir together until sauce is thickened 1-2 minutes. 
  6. Serve over jasmine rice.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cup
  • Calories: 225
  • Sugar: 3.7 g
  • Sodium: 287.5 mg
  • Fat: 13.6 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 14.9 g
  • Fiber: 6.4 g
  • Protein: 12.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

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Comments

  1. This was delicious! I’ve never cooked tempeh this way. The steaming really mellowed it out and it absorbed the flavor of the sauce beautifully. I didn’t have quite enough celery so I added bok choy. Topped with the cashews,sesame seeds, scallions and broccoli sprouts. Yum!

  2. Hi. I’ll be using ground meat instead of the tempeh. Does this recipe call for 8oz of meat and if so, do I double the ingredients if I want to use 1 lb of meat? Thanks!

  3. We enjoyed how different this recipe was from what we usually make. Celery as a main vegetable is different and I never cooked with tempeh before. We planned ahead to sauté the celery a little longer as we like it that way but it still had a crunch. Toasted cashews on top are so good and we added a little chili crisp. Thank you for sharing your recipe!

    1. Hi Laurel, I would saute it separately, like the tempeh but leave out the water. Instructions the same otherwise.

  4. These was easy, inexpensive (I already had the condiments in frig/pantry). I skimped on the sugary elements but should have stuck with recipe suggestion.

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