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Our Love Language is Food > Recipes > Mains

Published: Mar 3, 2021 · Modified: Jun 18, 2022 by Meredith · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

5-Spice Chicken with Mushrooms and Veggies

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This nutrient-dense and flavorful chicken dinner recipe is a delicious addition to your meal plan. This 5-spice chicken recipe is filling, packed with veggies, and great for those who love to meal prep too!

Top down view of three bowls of this healthy chicken recipe

My favorite recipes are the ones that are simple to make but look and taste like something you’d get in a nice restaurant. And if it’s a nourishing and easy dinner recipe to boot? Um, yes please.

A few years ago, we fell into a bit of a meal rut in our house. We’d grill the same things on the grill, we’d make the same casseroles, and we’d eat the same things for breakfast. We didn’t have any chicken dinner ideas that excited us (baked chicken again? Sure, I guess…). It was…well, boring. So, we did what we usually do to bust out of one of these ruts. We grabbed a cookbook from the pantry, picked a recipe that we’ve never made, and decided to see what happened. This 5-Spice Chicken with Mushrooms & Veggies recipe was inspired by that cookbook as well as a dish from our favorite Japanese restaurant. And the result is one of the best dishes we make!

While we don’t do any particular diet plan, I try to ensure we’re eating nutrient-rich meals that are filled with veggies and protein on a regular basis. We have several people in our lives who do WW (formerly weight watchers), and love that this easy dinner recipe is a great option for them too (a serving of this chicken recipe is only 1 smartpoint! Awesome!).

Jump to:
  • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients Needed
  • Step-By-Step Instructions to Make 5-Spice Chicken with Mushrooms and Veggies
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Love This Recipe? You May Also Enjoy
  • Five-Spice Chicken with Mushrooms & Veggies

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Level of difficulty: Easy. Basic chopping is required, and there is a good amount of transferring things in/out of pans and bowls…nothing too wild!

Flavor: This bold chicken recipe draws flavor from two main sources: the Chinese five-spice powder lends a complexity of flavors that is awesome, and the mushrooms deepen that flavor with a savory earthiness.

Texture: Chunky, almost stew-like.

Time: Including prep-time, it will take you 30-45min to make this easy dinner recipe. A lot of the variability comes down to how quickly you chop your vegetables.

Ingredients Needed

Ingredients shot for this 5-spice chicken with mushrooms and veggies recipe; one of our favorite healthy chicken breast recipes

Chinese Five-Spice Powder: Five-spice is a blend of spices that isn’t sure if it’s trying to be sweet or savory: pepper, cloves, fennel, star anise, and cinnamon combine to give you a flavor that you really won’t find anywhere else. The pepper and fennel remind you of your favorite savory dishes, but the cloves, star anise, and cinnamon bring in flavors of something like mulled wine. Just trust me when I say you’ll be stocking this in your pantry from now on.

Chicken breast: We’re always on the hunt for easy dinner recipes that high protein and lower in fat, so chicken breast is a staple in our fridge. Any quality chicken breast will do; the key here is to make sure it’s trimmed properly and cut into similar sized pieces for even cooking.

Mushrooms: While any mushroom will do, this is one area where your selection can add a lot of flavor to your meal. We generally use an even mix of oyster and shitake mushrooms. Portabellas and creminis would be other great mushroom options for this dish as well. Find the mixture that works best for you!

Fresh Zucchini and Spinach: The zucchini and spinach help add plant-based goodness to our dish. You’d be AMAZED at how much spinach you can pack into a dish like this when it wilts. You know the big bags of spinach at the store? You can pack an entire bag into this dish, no sweat. And the zucchini’s give this entrée a fresh texture and lively green color.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Step-By-Step Instructions to Make 5-Spice Chicken with Mushrooms and Veggies

  1. Wash and chop all of your veggies. Prep veggies as noted in the ingredient list
  2. Cook your onion, garlic, and chicken. Heat 4 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the onion is translucent, add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add chicken, five-spice powder, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Cook until chicken is done (temps out at 165° F). Transfer the chicken and all of the juices to a large bowl and set aside.
  3. Cook your veggies. In the same skillet, add remaining oil and zucchini, and sauté on medium heat for about 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms (option to add a little more salt & pepper at this stage as well). Sauté until the mushrooms are tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add spinach to the skillet, then immediately add the bowl of chicken, onions, and all of the juices you had set aside on top of the spinach. Add in the soy sauce, cover, and cook until the spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally.
  4. Enjoy! Serve as-is (like a stew) or with your favorite grain
  5. Store leftovers. Place leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Close up of a bowl of this healthy dinner recipe served up and ready to eat

Recipe FAQs

What’s the other dish that inspired this recipe? There’s a traditional Japanese izakaya (the equivalent to an Irish pub or an American sports bar; a casual place for after-work drinks and tasty, simple fare) not far from our house that serves an amazing three cup chicken. The flavor profile is somewhat similar, but the big chunks of chicken and vibrant greens (basil in this case) were something we wanted to build on.

How should I serve this dish? We typically eat it as-is (sort of like a stew), but the saucy quality of the dish makes it great served with rice or quinoa too.

Tell me how to get even more flavor into my five-spice chicken! If you’re looking to punch up the flavor even more, swap half the chicken breast for chicken thighs (trimmed and cut into pieces evenly sized with the chicken breast). Chicken thighs are dark meat, which often has a richer flavor (but also has a higher fat content).

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Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating & comment below! You can also tag @ourlovelanguageisfood on Instagram & Facebook. Be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get free recipes sent directly to your inbox!

Top down view of three bowls of 5-spice chicken with mushrooms and vegetables

Five-Spice Chicken with Mushrooms & Veggies

Meredith
This nutritious and flavorful chicken recipe is a great addition to your family's dinner rotation! This meal is veggie-packed, filling, and also WW friendly (each serving is only 1 smartpoint!). This recipe stays well in the fridge for several days, making it a great meal prep option to reduce stress during the week.
5 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 12 minutes mins
Cook Time 23 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Chinese
Servings 6 Servings
Calories 271 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 8 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 med onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 lbs chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt + more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon pepper + more to taste
  • 16 oz mushrooms sliced (I recommend a mix of oyster & shitake)*
  • 2 med zucchinis sliced into thin semi-circles
  • 4 oz fresh spinach
  • ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

Instructions
 

  • Heat 4 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
  • Add chicken, five-spice powder, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Cook until chicken is done (temps out at 165° F).
  • Transfer the chicken and all of the juices to a large bowl and set aside.
  • In the same skillet, add remaining oil and zucchini, and sauté on medium heat for about 2 minutes before adding the mushrooms (option to add a little more salt & pepper at this stage as well). Sauté until the mushrooms are tender, about 4-5 minutes
  • Add spinach to skillet, then immediately add the bowl of chicken, onions, and all of juices you had set aside on top of the spinach. Add in the soy sauce, cover, and cook until the spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally.
  • Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Notes

*For mushroom lovers: you can add more mushrooms to this recipe if you like! Adding up to 24oz of mushrooms total still creates a balanced dish.
 
*Option to serve with rice or quinoa.

Nutrition

Calories: 271kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 37gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 971mgPotassium: 1160mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1952IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Comments

    5 from 5 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    How many stars would you give this recipe?




  1. Amy says

    April 18, 2022 at 4:15 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe is so easy and super delicious! I used zoodles instead (use what you’ve got, right?!) but it still came out great. Instructions were so easy to follow and I’ll definitely be making it again.

    Reply
    • ourlovelanguageisfood says

      April 18, 2022 at 4:16 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for making my recipe!

      Reply
  2. David says

    April 18, 2022 at 4:14 pm

    5 stars
    Scratches the Chinese food itch in about the healthiest way possible.

    Reply
    • ourlovelanguageisfood says

      April 18, 2022 at 4:16 pm

      I’m so glad to hear this!! Thanks for making my recipe

      Reply
  3. Dean says

    April 18, 2022 at 4:14 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was fantastic! It was both simple to put together and tasty (a perfect combination for a weeknight meal). A big hit with everyone at the table 🙂

    Reply
    • ourlovelanguageisfood says

      April 18, 2022 at 4:15 pm

      I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it Dean! Thank you guys for making my recipe

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Meredith!

I am a Midwest-based foodie and mom working full time by day and sharing my passion for all things food by night. Follow along for great recipes to share with your family and friends. I've got you covered for breakfast, dinner, snack-time, parties, desserts, drinks, and more!

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