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!
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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
This is the best beef and broccoli recipe I have made! Thank you for sharing this incredible recipe. My whole family devoured it, even my 3 year old! I will be making this again.
Wonderful to hear, Sophia! Thank you for sharing. So glad you loved the recipe.
Made this last week when my mother in law was staying with us. She is a great cook and very particular and she LOVED the sauce in this recipe. I thought it was delicious, simple, and came together fast as a weeknight meal! Thanks for sharing!!
Wonderful to hear, Rochelle! Thank you for sharing.
Thank for sharing your recipe. Your Beef and Broccoli are the best. That was delicious 😋
So glad you loved this recipe! Thank you for sharing.
Excellent! I thought this looked too easy to be good, but it’s a keeper, I might try adding onion next time
I’m glad you loved it! Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
Great recipe, fast and easy. I backed off on the sugar and added a tablespoon of honey and some roasted red peppers that I had on hand to help provide the sweetness in the sauce. Will make again for sure.
Thank you for your great comments and feedback, Mark!
LOVE this recipe! I did make the mistake of NOT using low sodium soy sauce and the flavor was a little salty. If I followed the recipe exactly it would have been just perfect! Thank you! Simple and delicious!
Non worries, I’m sure your next try will be perfect!
This recipe was on point and my boy friend loved it! I added onions, red and green peppers to the broccoli saute. Came out amazing. Didn’t change a thing!
That’s so great, Lavon! I’m so happy it was a hit!
I’m gonna make this today. I’m going to incorporate some red pepper julienne I have left over for some contrast. Tomorrow Egg Rolls!🫔🧆
Sounds delicious! Enjoy.
This was a great recipe. Very easy and so tasty. I made a little extra sause. Would very highly recommend
Thank you for the review, Scott. I’m glad you loved it.
Hi Natasha, fantastic recipe as always, would it be possible to substitute brown sugar for honey ? and if so how many table spoons of honey ? thanks so much, love your site and visit it on a daily basis, cheers. Ed
Hi Ed, I haven’t experimented with anything else, but honey would probably be the next best thing if you wanted to omit the sugar, just add it to taste since honey is sweeter than brown sugar cup for cup. One of my readers wrote: “We omit the brown sugar from this recipe because of my wife’s diet, but she does drizzle a slight amount of honey and that works amazing.”
Made this last night for my fam, and they were practically licking the pan. Will be adding it to the rotation.
Wow, thanks for the awesome review! We’re glad that this was a huge hit.
This recipe is superb! The taste was way better than you can imagine. In order to boost the vegetable content, I added 1 cup of multicolored chunks of sweet peppers and 1 pint of Baby Bella mushrooms in addition to the broccoli. I also added Siracha since we like it spicy but even with these additions, the sauce was still the star of the meal. it is going in my regular menu rotation for sure. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing, Lulu! So glad you loved it.
OH MY! Easy to prepare, easy to substitute some ingredients if needed, and easy to overeat because it is so good! I lessened the amount of sesame seed oil to only 2 teaspoons and ground ginger does work well if you don’t have fresh ginger. I will put in a can of diced water chestnuts next time. Thank you for another recipe to add to my Family Cookbook. (My grown sons are already arguing who will get the cookbook when I’m gone….little do they know, I have two exact ones.)
Thank you for sharing, so glad you loved this recipe!
Can I use a sugar-free sweetener in place of the light brown sugar . . like SWERVE? Also can I use Coconut Aminos in place of the Soy Sauce ?
I haven’t tested those substitutions to advise but I think the sugar substitute should be alright. Haven’t tried Coconut aminos too!
The Chinese Restrauànt we frequent. The broccoli is hard as raw broccoli Broccoli 😋 has to b a crisp tender crisp but has to be cooked! At least 1/2 done! The place I’m referring to I don’t think the broccoli has even touched the sauce with a sprinkle of raw broccoli on top! I like the idea of adding a touch more water to the broccoli just so it’s cooked but not raw!
Kathy I used frozen Broccoli and steamed it and then threw it in. Was delicious!
Thank you so so much for continuous fabulous recipes! We love this dish but was wondering if it could be frozen before or after cooking?
You’re welcome! I haven’t tested freezing this so I can’t say for sure but one of my readers said it does freeze well after cooking.
I made this recipe tonight for a family of 4 (the 2 kids are 6yo and 8yo) and it was such a hit all round that I came to leave a review. My 6yo doesn’t like rice, will usually turn up his nose at anything that has rice in it, and he ate a huge amount. I left out the sesame oil purely for taste preference, and I exchanged 1 tbsp of soy sauce (we used liquid aminos) for a tbsp of tomato ketchup, and I also added some thinly sliced carrots that I cooked in with the broccoli. It was so delicious and super easy to make!! I’ve never been disappointed with any recipes from here. Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Hello Yolanda, thank you for sharing your experience trying this recipe. Good to know that your family enjoyed it!
I tried this the first time and found the sesame oil overpowering. I reduced it to 1 Tbsp and it was perfect. I’ve even doubled the sauce and it’s perfect. This is absolutely the best beef & broccoli I’ve ever had. We don’t order it from the restaurants anymore, we make it at home.
That’s wonderful, Camille! Thank you for sharing with us. I’m glad you found a new favorite for the meal rotation!
Tries this recipe with my family. Soo delicious! Will definitely be doing this one again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Kaitlyn!
I made this and used shaved beef because that’s all I had but still excellent