Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
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Forget take-out with my Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry recipe. In 15 minutes you can have this insanely delicious beef and broccoli stir fry! Way better than any restaurant version!
Easy Beef And Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe
I’m sure you all have your favorite recipes that you make often, if not on a weekly basis, mostly because you just love them so much and they’re easy. Well this is mine! It’s the easiest dish to put together and the flavors are out of this world.
I remember the first time I made it, hubs thought I made a mistake and that’s why it turned out so good. Lots of faith he’s got in me, doesn’t he? But I showed him and made it over and over again, and every single time I got the same result: Absolute deliciousness.
The great thing here is that it’s quite affordable to put together too. You can use a cheaper cut of beef like a flank steak and then all you need is a head of broccoli. Most of the other ingredients should be right out of your pantry.
But it’s not the beef nor the broccoli that I find are the stars of this recipes. It’s the sauce. It’s garlicky, as usual I put a lot of garlic, it’s salty from the soy sauce, it’s spicy, it’s smooth, it’s just complete yumminess.
Why We Love This Beef And Broccoli
- Affordable! Cheaper than takeout and much better for you because it’s homemade.
- Quick And Easy! This dish comes together in just 15 minutes, start to finish!
- Very Versatile! Feel free to add your favorite veggies to this dish like snow peas, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, etc.
- Better Than Takeout!
Sauce
- Soy Sauce – I always use low sodium soy sauce.
- Cornstarch – This ingredient is completely gluten free, and will create that nice, thick, and glossy sauce. You can adjust the amount of cornstarch in the recipe to suit how thick you’d like your sauce.
- Garlic – The more garlic the merrier! I love to use fresh garlic whenever I can.
- Cooking Wine – Don’t bother going to a liquor store to get this ingredient- you can find great cooking wine at your local grocery store. Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing) or vinegar will also work in place of sherry.
- Honey – A little touch of sweetness is exactly what we need to balance out the saltiness of the soy sauce in this recipe. You can adjust for your sweet-tooth preference.
- Fresh ginger – Using fresh ginger makes a world of difference in this recipe! I store my ginger in the freezer so it’ll last longer. Peel it using a spoon, and use a microplane to get a nice fine mince.
- Sesame oil – Make sure you find a nice high quality sesame oil. If you can find toasted sesame oil, buy it, you will seriously fall in love with this ingredient! So good.
- Red pepper flakes – Not a fan of spice? You can leave this ingredient out. Love to breathe fire? Add as much as you want!
- Sriracha – Or Sambal Oelek which is just a chili garlic sauce that is a must in my opinion!
- Beef broth (low sodium) – Chicken or veggie stock will work in place of beef broth if that’s what you have handy. The flavor, though, will be a lot deeper and more authentic with beef broth.
Stir Fry
- Olive oil – Other oils with a high smoke point such as vegetable, sunflower, safflower, peanut, and avocado oil are great for this recipe.
- Steak – I used flank steak for this recipe. Skirt steak would also work well. These are nice and tender cuts which make them perfect for high-heat cooking. They’re also quite cheap!
- Broccoli – I used 1 head of broccoli. You can, of course, use more or less depending on you preference. Not a broccoli fan? Try out bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower, snow peas, onion, or a combination!
- Prepare the beef: Cut the beef in really thin pieces. I find it easier sometimes if the meat is a bit frozen it’s way easier to slice it thin. To do this place the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing it.
- Make the sauce and cook the beef: Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Sear the beef for about 3 to 4 minutes over medium-high heat in a little bit of olive oil, just until it starts to brown then you add that yummy sauce. You should see it start to thicken almost immediately from the cornstarch. If you don’t like or want to use cornstarch, you could use flour instead.
- Finish the stir fry: Add the broccoli florets and cook everything for another 2 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. I like a little bit of crunch left in my broccoli. If you want it more tender, cover the pan with a lid and let everything steam together.
Expert Tips
- To easily slice the steak, place it in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing. This will make it so much easier to slice it as thinly as possible. Always slice the beef against the grain.
- To get a good sear on the meat, get the skillet hot before adding the meat. Once you add the meat do not touch it for 1 to 2 minutes, give it time to get a nice sear, then toss it around and finish cooking it.
- When cooking the beef, if your skillet isn’t big enough, do no overcrowd the meet, cook it in batches, if needed.
- Do not cook the beef for too long in step 1 because the beef will continue to cook in the sauce and with the broccoli.
This recipe is the BEST EVER! Made it on the weekend, just in time after making a fresh batch of beef stock. Best BEEF BROCCOLI ever! Thanks a million for this easy and super delicious recipe!
Can I Use Chicken Or Pork?
Yes, you can! You might not be able to call it beef and broccoli anymore, but it’ll still be delicious. Make sure you slice the chicken or pork in small thin or bite-sized pieces.
How Do You Keep The Broccoli Bright Green?
First of all, cut them into equal size florets so they all cook at the same time. Secondly, Once you add them to the skillet, just simmer them in the sauce until they’re bright green and crispy. Do not over-cook them, as they will turn into mushy broccoli.
How To Store Leftovers
This beef and broccoli will last 3–4 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container, and 3–4 months in the freezer. You can reheat it either in the microwave, or covered in a pan over medium heat.
What To Serve With Beef And Broccoli
I love to serve my beef and broccoli over rice such as Basmati or Jasmine rice, but sometimes I love it over noodles. Try it over ramen, soba, udon, or rice noodles.
More Fake-out Takeout Recipes:
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
- Korean Beef Rice Bowls
- Thai Red Chicken Curry
- Mongolian Beef Ramen Noodles
- Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
- Mongolian Chicken
- Chow Mein
- Asian Style Pepper Steak
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Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients
Sauce
- ½ cup soy sauce (low sodium )
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 tablespoons cooking wine (such as Shaoxing)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (minced)
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
- ½ cup beef broth (or chicken broth, low sodium or no sodium)
Beef and Broccoli
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound flank steak (trimmed of fat and sliced thin against the grain)
- 1 head broccoli (cut into small florets)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prepare the beef: Cut the beef in really thin pieces. I find it easier sometimes if the meat is a bit frozen it's way easier to slice it thin. To do this place the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes before slicing it.
- Make the sauce and cook the beef: Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Sear the beef for about 3 to 4 minutes over medium-high heat in a little bit of olive oil, just until it starts to brown then you add that yummy sauce. You should see it start to thicken almost immediately from the cornstarch. If you don't like or want to use cornstarch, you could use flour instead.
- Finish the stir fry: Add the broccoli florets and cook everything for another 2 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender. I like a little bit of crunch left in my broccoli. If you want it more tender, cover the pan with a lid and let everything steam together.
- Serve: Serve over rice or noodles.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- A good substitute for the sherry would be apple cider.
- To easily slice the steak, place it in the freezer for about 20 minutes before slicing. This will make it so much easier to slice it as thinly as possible. Always slice the beef against the grain.
- To get a good sear on the meat, get the skillet hot before adding the meat. Once you add the meat do not touch it for 1 to 2 minutes, give it time to get a nice sear, then toss it around and finish cooking it.
- When cooking the beef, if your skillet isn’t big enough, do no overcrowd the meet, cook it in batches, if needed.
- Do not cook the beef for too long in step 1 because the beef will continue to cook in the sauce and with the broccoli.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This really is as good as take out. Love this as a way to get broccoli in.
Jo – Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! I’ve tried many stir fry recipes, but this one is by far the easiest, most delicious stir fry recipe I’ve come across. I do mariade the beef in a soy sauce recipe from the Pillsbury Family Cookbook to ensure that it’s tender (I use thinly sliced sirloin steak). I know that I can use this recipe for stir fries that include veggies such as carrots cut in a matchstick size, red bell pepper, and broccoli (of course). Great way to increase veggie intake for the day. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!
My pleasure, so glad you like it!
So quick and easy. I had all the ingredients already in my kitchen. I will definitely be coming back to make this recipe again and again.
So easy to make and better than any restaurant I have eaten. The family raved, even the eight year old. Definitley on our weekly rotation now.
This was so delicious! The sauce is so authentic! One question- my broccoli took a lot longer than 2 minutes to cook! Is the broccoli supposed to be crispy?
Broccoli is done as soon as you can pierce it with a fork, you don’t want it mushy. However if you do like it a bit more cooked you can always cook it a bit longer. 🙂
I use frozen broccoli that we get at Costco and let it defrost in the bag it comes in. If I remember to get it out the day before then I defrost in frig. If I need it that night, it’s out on the countertop. I cut it into smaller pieces and it seems to cook faster than raw brocilli that hasn’t been frozen. Hope that might help…just a thought –
I really love this recipe.
I’ve made this recipe at least a dozen times—it’s a keeper! I’m a vegetarian so I substitute the beef broth for veggie broth and obviously omit the meat (and add extra veggies). I make it as is for my son and husband and they love it too!
Your’re right, Jo, better than any restaurant version I’ve ever had. Thank you for this recipe. I’ll be adding this in my rotation.
My pleasure, Ray!
I cannot have spicy foods. so If I leave out the sriracha sauce, and red pepper flakes will this dish still be good, or will I need to add something that isn’t spicy to give it more flavor since I cannot have these two ingredients?
It should still be fine, just not spicy. 🙂
Thank you very much for responding back to me Joann. I now look forward to making this recipe.
This was soooo good! I will make it again. I didn’t have cooking wine, so I skipped it.
We’re so glad you enjoyed making this, Carolina!
Loved it! Easy and delicious!
I cook lunch and dinner everyday. Mostly Persian food but also from other cultures. This recipe was so great that everyone in the family loved it. Thank you Jo for this amazing recipe.
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
This is a keeper! We loved the sauce. I’d like to find a better way to get tender beef. How much is the serving for the nutritional information? A cup? And I’m assuming it’s for the beef and brocoli only and not the rice too?
A tip for tender meat is to coat it first in baking soda and then rinse off after about 10-15 minutes (if you don’t rise it may turn out with a weird taste) But this is a trick we use for super tender beef! As for the nutritional information, it assumes 4 servings for the entire recipe. You are correct, it’s not including the rice. But please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used!
My whole family enjoyed this recipe. We used flank steak and were careful to not overcook it, and it was very tender. We loved the sauce too.
I always make this recipe in my slow cooker. I love the kick of spiciness. It’s a winner!