Beef and Broccoli is an easy, 1-pan, 30-minute meal that’s loaded with fresh broccoli, tender beef, and the best stir-fry sauce. This Beef and Broccoli Recipe definitely satisfies the craving for takeout. Watch the video recipe below and see how easy it is!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Helpful Reader Review
“Oh my goodness! The hype is real, y’all!! I made this tonight for the first time and my husband raved and raved. It was not difficult at all. I followed the recipe exactly, using flank steak and following the tip of adding water to make the broccoli a little more tender. My only regret is I did not double the recipe is there are no leftovers…” – Hannah ★★★★★
Beef and Broccoli Video
I hope this Beef Broccoli Stir Fry video recipe becomes a favorite for you. It’s such a treat to enjoy home cooking when you’re on the go.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I developed this recipe years ago as a copycat for the Panda Express, P.F. Changs and Cheesecake Factory Beef and Broccoli – the sauce here really makes the dish! It satisfies my family’s frequent cravings, but I think this homemade version has better flavors and textures. It also has better ingredients, so I feel really good about serving it to my family. I make sure to add plenty of broccoli for a balanced meal, and honestly, I’ve never seen my kids eat broccoli so fast!
This is also a versatile dish – you can add your favorite vegetables to this recipe (see ingredient variations below). I love serving this over cooked white rice, but have gotten creative over the years and sometimes add noodles for a Beef Broccoli Ramen Stir Fry that is a meal in one dish (add that to next weeks meal plan).
Ingredients
This recipe follows my mantra – ‘sometimes the simplest recipes are the best.’ A good stir fry should be simple. Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy broccoli beef.
- Beef – Flank Steak is the best cut of beef for stir fry because it’s tender, lean, and easy to chew. More options include: Top Sirloin Steak, Top Round Steak, or Tri-Tip Steak. Ribeye also works for extra flavor and richness.
- Broccoli – Fresh broccoli florets are best. I avoid using frozen broccoli because it gets mushy, releases liquid and dilutes the sauce, making it bland. You can also change out the vegetables – try snap peas, bell peppers, carrots, and even mushrooms.
- Sauce – an easy and perfect blend of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, pepper, sesame oil and corn starch to thicken up the sauce.
Natasha’s Tips for Thin-Sliced Beef
If you freeze your steak for about 30 minutes, it will be much easier to make thin and even slices because it stays in place. Slice against the grain, between 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick – the thinner you shave the beef, the better – it cooks faster, stays tender, and absorbs the sauce better.
The Best Stir Fry Sauce for Beef and Broccoli
Many stir fry recipes have gone wrong with a poorly made sauce. I tested this recipe over and over until I arrived at the perfect balance of sweet and savory. For the best stir fry sauce:
- Use low sodium soy sauce, or add to taste (or try Gluten Free Tamari)
- Use the right amount of fresh ginger – it has strong flavor so don’t overdo it.
- Do not skip the sesame oil as it gives authentic flavor
- Simmer sauce at least 3 minutes to mellow out garlic and ginger
- For a thinner sauce, add 2 Tbsp water at the end
How to Make Beef and Broccoli
This recipe moves fast and comes together in 1 skillet and 5 easy steps, so you want to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you fire up the stove. It is just 6 steps in one skillet!
- Slice beef strips
- Make stir fry sauce
- Cook broccoli and remove from skillet.
- Cook beef
- Add stir fry sauce and return broccoli to the pan
Tips for the Best Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Here are my best tips to achieve a perfectly cooked stir fry with tender beef and perfectly cooked broccoli:
- Start with the right cut of beef (see ingredients section above) and thinly sliced steak for quick and even cooking.
- Add steak to a HOT skillet to sear and seal in the juices
- Use Fresh broccoli (not frozen)
- Don’t overcrowd the pan or it will cool the pan resulting in steam cooked beef.
Make Ahead and Storage
This saucy beef and broccoli recipe reheats really well so it’s perfect for weekly meal prep and to-go lunches for school and work.
- Prep Ahead: slice your beef, prepare the broccoli and make the sauce the day before and store them all separately until ready to cook.
- Storage: Once the beef and broccoli has cooled to room temperature, cover and refrigerate 3-4 days per USDA guidelines for storing cooked beef. For Meal prep, store in individual containers to reheat portions.
- Freezing: You can freeze but the texture will suffer since broccoli can get mushy when thawed.
- To Reheat: set portions in a skillet and stir fry over medium heat until hot. Add a splash of water to loosen up the sauce.
Beef and Broccoli is delicious and protein-packed dinner and you’ll love how quick and easy it is to make. Stir-fry recipes, such as our Ground Beef Stir Fry, Vegetable Stir Fry, and Shrimp Fried Rice, have become go-to’s because they are fast and healthier than going out.
Beef and Broccoli Recipe
Ingredients
Beef and Broccoli Ingredients:
- 1 lb flank steak*, very thinly sliced into bite-sized strips
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, (or vegetable oil), divided
- 1 lb fresh broccoli*, (cut into 6 cups of florets)
- 2 tsp sesame seeds, optional garnish
Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated (loosely packed)
- 2 tsp garlic, grated (from 3 cloves)
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 6 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce, (or GF Tamari)
- 3 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Prep: Start cooking white rice first so it's ready when the stir fry is done. Cover and freeze steak 30 minutes for easier slicing, then thinly slice against the grain.
- Make the Sauce: Combine all stir fry sauce ingredients in a bowl, stir well to dissolve the sugar, and set aside.
- Cook Broccoli: Place a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Add broccoli florets and sauté 4-5 minutes, partially covered with lid, stirring or tossing several times until broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender then remove from pan. Tip: If you prefer softer broccoli, add 2 Tbsp water before covering with the lid and it will steam cook the broccoli.
- Cook Beef: Increase heat to high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Add beef in a single layer and sauté 2 minutes per side or just until cooked through. Quickly pull out a piece to test for doneness.
- Add the sauce, reduce heat to medium/low and simmer 3-4 minutes. It will thicken. Add broccoli and stir to combine. Stir in 1-2 Tbsp water to thin the sauce if desired. Serve over white rice.
Notes
- More steak options include: Top Sirloin Steak, Top Round Steak, Tri-Tip Steak, or Ribeye
- Vegetables: for best results, use fresh vegetables, not frozen. You can substitute or add a variety of veggies such as snap peas, bell peppers, carrots, and even mushrooms.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Beef Recipes that Reheat Well
Any recipe that reheats well is a great option for meal prep, school, and work lunch. This is a great list to help you get through a busy season.
- Lasagna – beefy, cheesy, and saucy
- Beef Chili – hearty and satisfying
- Easy Taco Soup – fun for Taco Tuesday
- Spaghetti Meat Sauce – also freezes well
- Beef Stir Fry – with 3 ingredient sauce
- Meatloaf – so many uses for leftovers
- Mongolian Beef – saucy and delicious
Loved it!
Made a bunch of changes and it still came together superbly, listing them below but I do want to say that I doubled the sauce and still felt it wasn’t enough. I would either triple it or double it, add half when the recipe calls for it and half literally 20 seconds before transferring from pan.
1. I added two thinly sliced Thai red chili’s in the sauce and think I could have easily increased to 4
2. Added a handful of basil in the last minute of stir frying
This sauce would be so good in just about any stir fry!!
Thank you for sharing that wonderful feedback, Mariam!
Just got a wok from Santa. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
I love all your food best cook.And I always try n make it comes the same very yummy. Thanks
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you’re enjoying our recipes!
Natasha, thanks for the recipe! turned out great even with me sort of putting a bachelors twist on things!
Added snap peas to it as well as doubled the brown sugar, garlic & soy sauce (by eye of course!)
Yum! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Troy! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I made this with top sirloin that had been sitting in my freezer and it turned out so good! I also love how easy it was to make. My husband doesn’t normally love stir fry or eat leftovers, but he loves steak and this he was eating 2 days in a row.
It sounds like you found a new favorite, Jane! That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that wonderful review with me!
Hello Natasha, I absolutely love your recipes – thank you for sharing them with us! I have 2 questions about this recipe, hoping you can help with: 1.) When I started to cook the beef, there was a lot of water released which I had to drain. Any idea why that happened? 2.) In this recipe, you do not coat beef in starch (you do that in the other pepper/carrot/beef stir fry), what is the reason for not coating the beef in starch here?
Hi Ella, that is usually due to either using partially frozen beef or having the skillet not hot enough. You want to put the beef down on a very hot skillet to sear it otherwise it will steam cook and get too juicy. Also, make sure not to crowd the pan which will cause the skillet to cool down quickly and create the same problem.
Hi Natasha, last night I made this recipe, I double it because I knew I was going to need more! I soooo delicious!!! I have no words to explain how good it is, soooo yummy!!!!! I added orange and yellow pepper in thin slices!!!! WOW, the taste and the smell is irresistible! I also made your white rice recipe!!!!! We had the best dinner last night!!! I wanted to take a picture of the meal, but we started eating right away and when I remember the picture, it was all gone!!!!
Thank you Natasha for sharing this awesome recipes, Natashas kitchen is always in my kitchen!!!! Blessing for you and your beautiful family!!!
Hi Cristina, That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite! Thank you for your thoughftul feedback and compliments! Blessings to you!
Hi Natasha, I made this recipe last night, it was amazing. I prepared the sauce on my morning break (working from home) and sliced the beef and placed it in the marinade. Removed it from the sauce to cook, it was infused with the deliciousness of the ingredients of the sauce. Thank you so much for your recipes!!!!
You’re welcome! I’m happy you’re enjoying our recipes!
I have made this twice and it was fabulous both times!
I love Natasha’s recipes because they are delicious and the recipes are easy to follow.
My favorite cookingsite!
That is so sweet of you. Thank you!
Just made this tonight super easy and delicious! Would not change a thing! Thanks Natasha!
So great to hear that, Lisa. Thank you so much for sharing!
I did it yesterday night, it was soooo good. Thank you
I’m so happy you enjoeyd that Jo-anne!
Very simple and delicious.
Thank you for your good comments, Nancy!
I followed your recipe for Spatchcock chicken and it was delish! How would you do a turkey? Thanks
I’m so glad you enjoeyd that Rose! I haven’t tried a spatchcock Turkey but we do have our favorite turkey recipes HERE.
My daughter whom only likes chicken in most recipes went in for seconds !!! She said we need to keep this one! LOL. Thank you it was delicious and will be a repeat offender 😉
I did add a tsp or more of Chinese Five Spice since I love the aroma and flavor it gives and used Tamari since we stay GF as much as possible.
Hello Terry, so nice to know that. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we appreciate it!
Outstanding flavor and directions. Thanks for dinner help !!!
I love Chinese Five Spice and added a tsp to the stir fry sauce also but it’s not for everyone.
Thanks, Terry. We appreciate your comments and feedback!
I made this a couple of weeks ago and everyone liked it! I used brown rice instead of white rice for a more healthy meal!
That’s a good idea for a healthy substitute. Thanks for your awesome review and for sharing that with us!
I finally made the Beef-Broccoli stir fry tonight. It was DELICIOUS, and a definite keeper!
Hello Monique, thank you for sharing that with us and for giving this recipe an excellent review. We appreciate it!
OMG! This was da bomb!!! Mike drop recipe! thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Carole! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with me! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Made this last night and it was so good! I followed the recipe exactly (thanks for the tip about freezing the steak, it worked out really well). Will definitely be making this again and again. Thank you for another delicious recipe, Natasha!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jeanne!
I made it tonight but I made more sauce. It was delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!