Whole30 & Paleo Stir Fry Sauce (5‑Minute, Soy‑Free)
Need a glossy, sweet‑savory stir‑fry sauce that works for Whole30, Paleo, Keto, and gluten‑free eaters? This quick coconut‑aminos blend thickens in seconds and coats chicken, beef, shrimp, or a fridge‑clean‑out veggie mix without a drop of soy or refined sugar.
Not doing Whole30? Grab my 5-Minute Everyday Stir Fry Sauce.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Sauce
- Fast: whisk everything while your protein sears.
- Clean ingredients: coconut aminos for natural sweetness, toasted sesame for depth, fresh garlic and ginger for punch.
- Versatile: use it on sheet‑pan dinners, slow‑cooker shredded chicken, as a glaze for roasted veggies, or in this chicken stir fry!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Coconut aminos: naturally sweet, soy‑free base.
- Rice vinegar (or apple‑cider vinegar): brightens the sauce.
- Toasted sesame oil: brings nutty aroma.
- Date paste: refined‑sugar‑free caramel notes.
- Garlic & fresh ginger: classic stir‑fry flavor.
- Tapioca or arrowroot starch: grain‑free thickener.
- Optional heat: crushed red‑pepper flakes or fresh chili.
How to Make Whole30 Stir Fry Sauce
Step 1: Whisk all ingredients except the starch until smooth.
Step 2: Sprinkle tapioca over the surface and whisk again to dissolve.
Step 3: Pour the sauce into a hot skillet once vegetables are crisp‑tender. Stir for about 60 seconds until it bubbles and thickens.
Step 4: Add cooked protein, toss to coat, and finish with sesame seeds. Serve over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Freeze in an ice‑cube tray, transfer cubes to a zip bag, and use within 3 months.
Yes. Arrowroot or potato starch also work.
Add ½–1 teaspoon crushed red‑pepper flakes or 1 teaspoon grated chili.
Coconut aminos add light sweetness. Omit the date paste for a strictly savory version.
Watch How It Comes Together
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Whole30 & Paleo Stir Fry Sauce (5‑Minute, Soy‑Free)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce, use coconut aminos for Whole30!
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour, or arrowroot flour
- 1 tablespoon monk fruit, substitute date paste for Whole30!
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated or finely minced (or 1 tablespoon ginger paste in a squeeze tube, or 1 tablespoon ground powdered ginger)
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together. I like making mine in a pint size mason jar and shaking it.
- Add the amount of sauce you desire to the stir fry you’re making. When adding to your stir fry, allow to cook for 3 full minutes to allow the tapioca flour to thicken the sauce.
- Makes 1-1/4 cups. Will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 weeks.
Notes
- Sweetener: Monk fruit is my favorite keto friendly sweetener. You could also use Splenda, but it may only need 2 teaspoons since I find Splenda much more sweet and concentrated. Make sure you use date paste if you’re doing a Whole30! For paleo or if you don’t need it to be Whole30 + keto friendly, you can substitute honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, white sugar, etc.
- Soy Sauce: To make this the most keto friendly, I love using soy sauce. If you need it to be gluten free, use tamari. For Whole30, use coconut aminos.
- Tapioca Flour: My favorite thickener to use is tapioca flour. It uses just 1 tablespoon for the whole batch, so is very keto friendly in such a small quantity. You could also use arrowroot flour. Both of these are Whole30 friendly too! If you don’t need it to be Whole30 + Keto friendly, you could use cornstarch or white flour.
27 Comments on “Whole30 & Paleo Stir Fry Sauce (5‑Minute, Soy‑Free)”
Is it just “sesame oil” or “toasted sesame oil” is it important which one? thank you!
Either works! I like toasted sesame seed oil so that’s what I use. But regular sesame seed oil works as well.
I added half a lime freshly squeezed, and 2 tablespoons of cilantro. I didn’t have rice vinegar but just added regular vinegar. It was delicious! This was the best tasting stir fry sauce we’ve had that’s homemade. It was for a Whole30 meal so no rice or noodles.
Yea! So glad you liked it, Samantha!
Absolutely delicious! Especially with natural heaven noodles.
Aww, thank you! Aren’t those noodles the BEST? Perfect combo with the stir fry sauce. Yum!
Sooooo delicious! I love stir fry and having a healthy recipe for stir fry sauce is amazing! So so so so so good! Will definitely be making this again in the future! 🤤
I am so happy you liked my stir fry sauce Mel! I also love that it is tasty and still so healthy. I am so glad you will be making it again!
Another AMAZING sauce! I made with the the keto stir fry and it was delicious. Every single thing I have made from here has turned out perfect and delicious.
Using it with a Keto stir fry sounds so delicious Courntey! I am so glad my recipes have turned out well for you. Your feedback means a lot!
We tried this tonight and it was such a light and flavorful sauce! Thanks!
I am so happy you liked my stir fry sauce Kristen. I love to hear that it was light and flavorful!
Man I’m so stuck on the original “Best Stir Fry Sauce” til I’m scared to try anything else! I have that recipe down and even add a few extras sometime depending on what I’m making. Your recipe makes me feel smart when I let others try my stir fry, sometimes they don’t believe I made it??! But ias soon as I get the necessary ingredients, I will definitely try your New Best!!! ThanQ so much for Truly the Best Stir Fry Sauce ever! I’m still giving it 5 stars even though I haven’t tried it yet, because Reputation is everything!
Wow! Thank you so much for the very nice comments about my stir fry sauce! I am so glad you like it! It is very foolproof and very delicious! I sure hope you like the new one as well! I can’t wait to hear if you do!
What can I use instead of date paste?
Hi Jessica – If you are wanting to keep the recipe Whole30 the only sweetener is date paste. If you want the recipe to be Paleo you could use coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, monk fruit or maple sugar. If you don’t need it to be either Whole/30 or Paleo, just substitute the sweetener of your choice. You can also leave it out, but the taste is more balanced with a sweetener.
Do you substitute the same amount for the sweetener if not using two tablespoons of monk fruit? E.g two tablespoons of maple syrup or two tablespoons of sugar?
If you are substituting maple syrup or sugar for the monk fruit, yes I would use the same portions Emily. I sure hope you like it!
I found that, if using coconut aminos, additional sweetener is not required, because the coconut aminos are already sweet. This was a simple, easy and tasty recipe, which I will definitely be making again!
This would be great if it was Whole 30 friendly!!!! Can you please tell me what chicken broth out there has no sugar??? I have yet to find 1!!!
Yes, it is Whole30 friendly! I like using my homemade chicken stock. I make it in the instant pot and it is SO easy and way tastier than anything you can buy in stores. Or, if you want to buy it, Costco has a compliant chicken stock, and Bonafide.
Imagine brand is also compatible.
I’ve never tried that one!
So yummy! I made this to use with your green bean stir fry with chicken & sesame seeds and LOVED it. Even my roomies who aren’t doing Whole30 thought it was delicious. Will definitely be making again!
I’m so glad to hear you liked it! Thanks Melissa! I love that stir fry recipe. So simple and delicious and exactly what you’re craving when you want chinese food but need it to be healthy for Whole30. Love hearing your non whole30 roommates liked it too! Ultimate compliment! Thanks for sharing, this made my day!
Can you use Vegetable Stock instead of Chicken?
Absolutely! Hope you love it when you make it!