This Hoisin Beef Noodles recipe is SO easy to make and takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish! Perfect for busy weeknights or as a meal prep.
This is the slightly grown up version of one of my favourite childhood + cheap university eats. Growing up, as a picky eater, my mom would just put hoisin on top of whatever it is I didn’t want to eat and like magic, I’d eat it. That followed me to my university meals. Whenever I needed a quick cheap meal, I would just stir fry some meat with hoisin. Here’s once of the ways that I change it up so there’s some sort of veggies in it and I can say I got my servings of vegetables in haha!
Why You’ll Love This Easy Beef Noodle Recipe
- I’m not exaggerating when I say you can get this recipe done in 30 minutes or less. Even with prep time, this hoisin beef noodles recipe comes together quickly.
- It’s easy to customize with whatever ingredients you have in the fridge. This is what I call the “base model” since you can add so much to it.
- It’s super flavourful thanks to the mix of sauces I use. You’re going to want to try this with all kinds of proteins!
What You’ll Need
- olive oil
- beef
- salt
- onion + garlic
- spinach
- noodles — I use spaghetti noodles but this recipe works with any type of noodles! Rice noodles, instant noodles, egg noodles, etc. That’s the beauty of this recipe, using what you have on hand!
- hoisin sauce
- oyster sauce
- soy sauce: I recommend using low sodium soy sauce
- sesame oil: you can use pure sesame oil or toasted sesame oil
What is Hoisin Sauce?
Hoisin sauce is a thick fragrant Chinese condiment made with fermented soybean paste, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, chiles, and sweetener. It’s sweet, salty, and has a strong unami flavour. Kind of like a Chinese BBQ sauce.
It can be used as a dipping sauce, marinade, glaze, in stir fry dishes, or just drizzled on top of plain rice to add flavour to it. Although in Chinese, it’s called 海鮮 (literally pronounced hoi-sin) directly translates to the word “seafood,” Hoisin does not contain any seafood or animal products in general as it’s made with soybeans.
What is Oyster Sauce?
Sweet, salty, and earthy, oyster sauce is a thick syrup-like sauce that is made out of…. oysters! But it’s more than just sweet and salty — the oyster juices from cooking the oysters are caramelized and sugar, salt, and cornstarch (or another thickener) is added to it. There’s quite layer to the taste. Compared to hoisin sauce, it’s less sweet and more salty.
Just like hoisin sauce, you can use it as a dipping sauce, marinade, in stir fry dishes, and more. It’s quite versatile and worth purchasing a bottle of!
How to Make This Lazy Beef Noodles Recipe
- Cook your choice of noodles according to the package direction and set aside if it’s finished before your beef is ready.
- On medium heat, drizzle the olive oil into a pan, add the lean brown beef to it, salt, and cook until brown, breaking the beef up into small pieces with a wooden spoon as you go.
- When browned, add in the sliced onion and garlic and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the spinach and sauté until wilted.
- Add in the cooked noodles and the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Toss to combine and then serve.
Recipe Variations
- Beef can be swapped with hand protein such as shredded chicken, tofu, pork, etc.
- Additional vegetables can be added such as shredded carrots, sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, snow peas, etc.
- Spinach can be swapped with any leafy greens of your choice.
- Any types of noodles can be used.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or sriracha sauce on top for some heat.
- Serve with a fried egg on top.
Tips and Notes
- I like to garnish this with some toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions for an extra bit of colour.
- You can use toasted sesame oil or regular sesame oil. This recipe is all about using what you have available!
- For a similar recipe, try my Honey Hoisin Beef Rice Bowls.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: store the cooked beef noodle dish in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
Hoisin Beef Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef, lean
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 onion, sliced
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 cups spinach, or more
- 7-8 oz noodles
- 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 4 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Cook your choice of noodles according to the package direction and set aside if it’s finished before your beef is ready.
- On medium heat, drizzle the olive oil into a pan, add the lean brown beef to it, salt, and cook until brown, breaking the beef up into small pieces with a wooden spoon as you go.
- When browned, add in the sliced onion and garlic and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the spinach and sauté until wilted.
- Add in the cooked noodles and the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Toss to combine and then serve.
Melinda Gross
Fantastic sauce and came together easily! We just were sautéing some needed-to-be-used ground chicken and broccoli slaw mix but used the sauce to jazz it up and everyone came back for more.