Ready in around 30 minutes, this ground beef and broccoli stir fry comes together so easily! Don’t let the simple ingredients list fool you, this ground beef and broccoli recipe is full of flavor! Perfect for serving over some rice or noodles, your entire family will love this quick and simple weeknight dinner!
This super easy ground beef and broccoli stir fry is perfect for a busy weeknight or as a meal prep. It comes together so quickly and reheats wonderfully. As it’s made with ground beef, you save prep time by not having to slice up steak and it cooks through in no time.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This ground beef and broccoli dish is made with kitchen staples! I use frozen broccoli, so I don’t even have to run out to the store to buy fresh broccoli!
- Get dinner on the table quickly with this stir fry recipe. You can make this in 30 minutes or less! Plus, it’s made in one pan, so there’s only one pan to clean.
- The ingredients are simple but so flavorful! You’ve got tender ground beef cooked in a sweet and savory sauce with a nutty note paired with crisp broccoli.
Ingredients You’ll Need
sauce — for the sauce, you will need beef broth (I use low sodium), soy sauce (also low sodium), dark brown sugar (you can also use regular or light brown sugar), toasted sesame oil, ground ginger, onion powder, garlic powder, and cornstarch. I like the extra nutty flavor of toasted sesame oil over pure sesame oil, so I recommend using toasted over pure for this recipe.
olive oil — or your neutral oil of choice such as avocado oil.
broccoli florets — you can use fresh or frozen. I’ve used both, and frozen broccoli just requires an extra minute or two to cook through. Today, I’m using frozen broccoli as it cuts down on prep time!
onion — I use a small yellow onion. Feel free to use a larger or smaller onion. It’s up to you!
salt — feel free to add more kosher salt than I do, but I find the ingredients of the sauce to be salty enough.
garlic — I always have minced garlic in my freezer as part of my yearly prep. I highly recommend it, so you don’t have to mince garlic for every recipe!
ground beef — I use lean ground beef. If you use a fattier ground beef, you might have to drain it a bit before adding the sauce to the skillet.
optional garnishes — I like to garnish my ground beef and broccoli with green onions and toasted sesame seeds!
How to Make Ground Beef and Broccoli
- Mix together the soy sauce and cornstarch in a small mixing bowl, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Mix until well combined. Set aside. (You can also mix everything together at once, but it’s a little easier to dissolve the cornstarch if you mix it first)
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the frozen broccoli and saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until almost fully cooked through. Set aside. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes if using fresh broccoli.
- Heat another tablespoon of oil over medium heat in the emptied skillet and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the salt and minced garlic. Saute for another minute.
- Add the ground beef and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes, making sure to break up the beef into small bite-sized pieces until 70 to 80% cooked.
- Add the sauce and allow it to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to continue breaking up any large pieces of ground meat. (Or until the sauce as thickened to almost your desired thickness)
- Add the broccoli and mix well until everything is evenly coated with sauce. Cook for another minute.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired, and serve.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- I love serving these ground beef and broccoli with an egg for extra protein! From fried, to poached, to soft or hard boiled, they all go well with the beef.
- To add more veggies to the bowl, you can also add frozen peas, corn, and/or carrots to the beef near the end when you add the sauce. You can also add diced bell peppers to the skillet when you cook the onions.
- The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- I use a nonstick skillet, so I don’t need much oil to cook the ground chicken and broccoli. However, if you’re using a stainless steel skillet, you might need more oil.
- Add some red pepper flakes or a drizzle of sriracha at the end for a bit of heat!
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, store the ground beef and broccoli bowls in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. You can also meal prep them by packing them with rice in individual containers. I love jasmine rice, purple rice, and coconut rice with this recipe.
- Reheat: you can reheat leftovers in the microwave or by adding it to a skillet with a splash of broth and sauteing until warmed through.
Ground Beef and Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup soy sauce, low sodium
- ½ cup beef broth, low sodium
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, optional
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Mix together the soy sauce and cornstarch in a small mixing bowl, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Mix until well combined. Set aside.
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the frozen broccoli and saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until almost fully cooked through. Set aside. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes if using fresh broccoli.
- Heat another tablespoon of oil over medium heat in the emptied skillet and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the salt and minced garlic. Saute for another minute.
- Add the ground beef and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes, making sure to break up the beef into small bite-sized pieces until 70 to 80% cooked.
- Add the sauce and allow it to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to continue breaking up any large pieces of ground meat.
- Add the broccoli and mix well until everything is evenly coated with sauce. Cook for another minute. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired, and serve.
Nutrition Per Serving
More Easy Ground Beef Recipes to Try
- Ground Beef Stir Fry
- Gochujang Ground Beef Bowls
- Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowls
- Ground Beef and Eggs Bowl
- Teriyaki Beef Bowl
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