This easy Ground Beef and Broccoli is a super quick meal that’s full of flavor and sure to please! Tender ground beef, broccoli, and rice cooked to perfection with a homemade sesame garlic sauce
Easy Ground Beef and Broccoli
This ground beef and broccoli recipe is faster, healthier, and cheaper than take-out!
Learning to cook good Chinese food has been something I’ve been working on for quite some time now. I don’t like all the preservatives used in many of the sauces used so I try making my own only to fail. They just don’t taste anything like what you order in the restaurant! However, I finally made one my family couldn’t get enough of, this healthy beef and broccoli recipe! I also love it because it’s made in 20 minutes!!
Some other great quick and easy dishes you might like are: Easy Taco Soup, Chile Con Queso Mac and Cheese, and Spicy Chicken Tacos.
Healthy Beef and Broccoli Recipe
And I know, I know, using ground beef, isn’t authentic at all. But steak (no matter what cut) is sacred around here! I have 8 kids to feed and steak is not on the regular menu rotation, lol! Making ground beef and broccoli recipe has been a fantastic alternative to using steak.
Why You’ll Love This Ground Beef and Broccoli Recipe
- It’s a quick 20-minute dish
- Super flavorful
- Even the kids will eat it!
- Frugal dinner idea
- Healthier than take-out
- One-pot meal
How To Make Ground Beef and Broccoli
Step 1: Prepare the sauce
Combine the soy sauce, water, sweet cooking rice seasoning, grated ginger, cornstarch, sesame oil minced garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Step 2: Cook ground beef broccoli
First brown the ground beef in a skillet until it’s no longer pink. Drain grease. Pour in the homemade ginger garlic sauce and broccoli and stir. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the broccoli reaches the desired level of doneness. Serve and enjoy this broccoli and beef stir fry!
Expert Tips For Broccoli and Beef Stir Fry
- Spice it up! If you love a little more heat in your dishes, you can add some sriracha to this healthy beef and broccoli recipe. Start with a dash and increase until you reached the desired flavor.
- Watch your cuts. When prepping the broccoli, you’ll need to make sure all the pieces are similar in size. This will ensure that the broccoli and beef stir fry comes out cooked evenly.
Can I Use Steak Instead Of Ground Beef?
Yes, absolutely! Flank steak is a cost effective and delicious alternative. Slice it thin and cook it until there is just a little pink left, then continue with the recipe as directed. Just don’t overcook the steak or it will be on the tough side. And another tip, cut it against the grain (it will help with tenderness).
Do I Need Fresh Or Frozen Broccoli?
It’s best to use fresh broccoli whenever possible. It will cook tender-crisp and you don’t have to worry about it becoming mushy. In a pinch, you could use frozen broccoli. Keep in mind that frozen broccoli is going to take a little bit longer to heat up and the sauce may be thinner because the ice will melt off the broccoli.
What to serve this Ground Beef Broccoli with:
- Hot cooked rice of choice (brown or white).
- Crab Rangoons
- Egg Rolls
- 1 1/2 cup (354ml) water
- 1/4 cup (60ml) reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- hefty pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 pound (500g) ground beef
- 4-5 cups (200+g) broccoli florets (about 1 large head)
-
In a medium bowl whisk the water, soy sauce, rice seasoning, cornstarch, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
-
Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain any grease. Add broccoli and reserved soy sauce mixture. Stir and cook until thickened and broccoli is tender-crisp. (About 3-5 minutes)
- The Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning is not the same as rice vinegar and cannot be substituted. It will alter the taste. I used Kikkoman Manjo Aji-Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning. I found it in the Asian section of my local grocery store. If you can’t find it you can substitute with dry sherry and add in 2 teaspoons of sugar.
- If the thought of using ground beef is preventing you from making this, don’t. Just use a flank steak instead. Slice it thin and cook it until there is just a little pink left then continue with the recipe as directed. Just don’t overcook the steak or it will be on the tough side. And another tip, cut it against the grain (it will help with tenderness).
What to serve this Ground Beef and Broccoli with:
- Hot cooked rice of choice (brown or white).
- Crab Rangoons
- Egg Rolls
I partially steamed the veggies, 25% more mirin, removed beef after browning in beginning, added partially steamed veggies and sauce, minus the cornstarch which I added mixed up with a little chilled water at the end. It might have been a nice opportunity to use some of that Sichuan pepper I’ve been storing in the pantry for a little of that “Lemon Pepper Beef” Chinese dish type of flavor.
I tweaked it by adding shredded carrots, diced onions, green onions, a couple of Tbs fish sauce, 2 cups beef broth, and used plain Jasmine rice. It was wonderful! I had to make myself stop eating it!
Lol, I am so glad you like it. And thank you for sharing!!
Just got done making this myself. I adjusted the measurements out a tad bit, added a few teaspoons of smoked peprika, cut the chili flakes down a bit, and roasted the broccoli and garlic before adding everything into the pan. Yummy!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing!!
Game changer! This was delicious and easy, which is everything I look for in a recipe. I served this over cauliflower rice because I had it on hand. I can not thank you enough for this.
Thank you so much Rebecca!! I am so glad you liked it and thanks for sharing!!
Thank you! This is such a delicious, incredibly quick and easy recipe!! I cannot believe how quickly i was able to whip this up (timepoor with 3 under 3), and how much it was thoroughly enjoyed by the whole family! This is now in my family recipe log, and i can see myself using it again, and again!
As for changes, i used a whole 500g brocolli with 500g mince, due to it being a frozen packet of florets. After reading notes for having no rice seasoning (or dry sherry), i subbed with a cognac and 2tsp brown sugar. Served with brown rice. Regardless, this was a fabulous dinner for so little. Thank you for the idea and recipe mix 🙂
Thank you so much Amanada!! So glad you liked it and thank you for sharing your changes!
Doubled the broccoli, cut the beef in half, omitted the red pepper and added a T sugar.
Delicious!
So glad you liked it and more broccoli is always a good thing!
Great recipe for a quick and healthy family meal!
Thanks Danielle!!
I’m with you! Steak is so expensive, and my meat just turns out tough! (I did find that sometimes you can buy steak that is half price when it is expiring that same day. I just did that and took it home and froze it right away!) But my family LOVES hamburger, so this is the perfect recipe!
I do that too, it’s so much cheaper! Our King Soopers has a “discount” section and if you get there early in the morning you can snag a few great deals!!
This does look really good and quick to make!! I will have to keep this in mind for those nights that I want to make a fast and easy dinner!
Thanks Julie!!
Sounds good. We all like Chinese except Aunt Cheri and Aunt Lori. So will try sometime when they are not going to eat with us.
Good idea! Let me know how you like it.