Beef Stir Fry is loaded with mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers. The easy 3-ingredient beef stir fry sauce adds amazing Asian BBQ flavor. Serve this with a side of steamy white rice and you’ll satisfy any craving for takeout.
Just like Chicken Stir Fry, or Shrimp Fried Rice, this is a one-pan, easy dinner that is better than going out.
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Beef Stir Fry Recipe
Stir fry is the ultimate quick dinner. This recipe is cooked in just 20 minutes. High-heat cooking results in tender and juicy beef caramelized with the beef stir fry sauce. This recipe moves fast so be sure to have all of your ingredients sliced up and ready to go before you fire up the stove.
I learned how to make this recipe on a blogging retreat hosted by Camp Chef. One of their chefs was cooking for everyone Hibachi style and when I inquired about the sauce, he didn’t hesitate to share it with me. It shocked me that it could be so simple with just 3 ingredients, but so tasty! I couldn’t wait to recreate this easy recipe in my backyard. I have since used a variation for this sauce to make a Ground Beef Stir Fry, and it worked amazingly well.
What Kind of Beef is Used for Stir Fry?
Good news: you don’t need the most expensive cut of beef for tender beef stir fry. Top sirloin is our favorite beef for stir fry because it is relatively inexpensive and produces juicy results). These are generally the best beef cuts for stir fry:
- Top Sirloin Steak (or go-to)
- Chuck Steak
- Ribeye
- Tri-tip
- Flank Steak
How do you Ensure Tender Beef?
The right cut (see recommendations above) is critical. Also, be sure to:
- Thinly Slice your beef
- Cut steak against the grain
- Sear over high heat (sealing in the juices)
- Don’t crowd the pan which cools the pan quickly and results in chewy beef
The Best Beef Stir Fry Sauce
A great stir fry is all in the sauce (which is why our Beef and Broccoli is so popular)! The ingredients for this beef stir fry sauce will surprise you and you probably already have them in the refrigerator. The combination is sweet, savory and smoky. It caramelizes on the beef for a tantalizing Asian BBQ flavor.
Keep in mind if you use a sweet BBQ sauce, the sauce will be considerably sweeter which is why we opted to use an original BBQ sauce. Also, use Tamari soy sauce to make this a gluten-free beef stir fry!
Which Vegetables are Best for Stir Fry?
You can change up the vegetables for variety or to use up what you have on hand. Veggies are important for bulking up a stir fry and making it a meal in one pan. The best vegetables for stir fry cook fast when thinly sliced. You can substitute with any of these:
- Bell Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Zucchini (green or yellow squash)
- Snap peas
- Carrots (sliced into matchsticks)
- Onion
- Asparagus
- Broccoli cut into florets
How to Make Stir-Fry Sauce
1. Stir together 3 Tbsp BBQ sauce, 3 Tbsp real maple syrup and 2 Tbsp soy sauce. Set aside.
How to Make Beef Stir Fry
1. Heat a large heavy pan or wok over high heat with 1 Tbsp oil. Add thinly sliced beef to the hot pan in a single layer and sauté undisturbed 2-3 mins. Stir and sauté 2 min or until nearly cooked through. Season lightly with salt and pepper, add ginger and garlic and sauté 1 minute.
2. Drizzle beef with sauce to taste (I added 5 Tbsp) and stir-fry another 1 min or until fully cooked through. Remove beef to a plate and cover to keep warm. Wipe the pan clean with a damp paper towel.
3. Place the same pan over high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Once hot, add mushrooms, season lightly with salt and pepper and stir fry until golden (5 min) then remove mushrooms to the plate with beef.
4. Add 1 Tbsp oil, sliced onion and vegetables and stir fry 8 minutes or until softened and golden.
5. Combine vegetables with beef and mushrooms, drizzle in more sauce to taste (I added another 2 Tbsp) and stir fry just until hot.
Which Oil is Best for Stir Fry?
Since you are cooking over high heat, use an oil with a high smoke point. Our favorite is extra light olive oil (we use it for everything from baking to stir-fries because it is neutral in flavor and has a high smoke point). Other good options include canola oil, grape-seed oil, avocado oil or peanut oil.
You’ll find this Beef Stir Fry recipe on your list of recipes to repeat. It’s especially fun to cook it over a flat cooktop outdoors, Hibachi style!
More Asian Copycat Recipes
We love to recreate our favorite restaurant copycat recipes because it is so easy to make them at home and is often healthier. From Fresh Spring Rolls to crispy Egg Rolls and all kinds of stir-fry recipes, I hope you find some new favorites here.
- Kung Pao Chicken
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Vegetable Stir Fry
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Teriyaki Meatballs
Easy Beef Stir-Fry Recipe with 3 Ingredient Sauce
Ingredients
Ingredients for Beef Stir-Fry:
- 1 lb Top sirloin steak, thinly sliced
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 medium yellow zucchini, sliced on the diagonal
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1/2 lb mushrooms, thin sliced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
- 1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds, for garnish
- 3 Tbsp Oil to Saute, *
Ingredients for Asian BBQ Sauce:
- 3 Tbsp original BBQ Sauce, we used Stubbs brand
- 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce, we used Tamari brand – gluten free
Instructions
- Stir together the 3 sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat a large heavy pan or wok over high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. When oil is hot, add beef in a single layer and sautee undisturbed 2-3 mins. Stir and sautee another 2 min or until nearly cooked through. Season lightly with salt and pepper, add ginger and garlic and sautee 1 min.
- Drizzle beef with sauce to taste (I added 5 Tbsp) and stir-fry another 1 min or until beef is fully cooked through. Remove beef to a plate and cover to keep warm. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel.
- Place clean pan over high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add mushrooms, season lightly with s & p and stir fry until golden (5 min). Transfer mushrooms to the plate with beef.
- Add 1 Tbsp oil along with sliced onion and veggies and stir fry about 8 min or until soft and golden.
- Combine vegetables with beef and mushrooms, drizzle in more sauce to taste (I used another 2 Tbsp) and stir fry just until hot. Serve over steamy white rice.
Notes
This recipe also works well with pork strip loin or tenderloin.
*Use a high smoke-point oil such as: extra light olive oil, avocado oil, canola.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Delicious!! I used beef stir fry strips that were already thinly sliced. I will definitely add to collection of recipes.
Yum! That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing that awesome review with me, Niya!
Excellent. My go-to for beef and veggies stir fry. The fam loves it.
That’s just awesome!!
Made the Beef stir fry exactly as per recipe. Beef tough but sauce good. Pity no one could eat the beef.
Hi Jim, I’ll do my best to troubleshoot – it could be due to substituting the cut of beef – some are definitely more tender. It also makes a big difference on how thinly you slice the beef and making sure you slice against the grain of the beef.
Sprinkle baking soda on it and let it sit for 15/20 minutes. Wash it off and then follow recipe. I do flank steak cut very thin. It will change your life.
Thank you for the delicious recipe! This is a keeper, and it’s definitely saucy enough. I like the flavors, and I added just a little sprinkle of crushed red pepper for a little heat.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
I used a bag of stir fry veggies and frozen mushrooms which I defrosted first and then put in a hot pan to stir fry..i drained the extra liquid and added beef and sauce. It came out very good. I was pleasantly surprised on the sauce combination
Fantastic recipe. I used onions, carrotts, shiatake as well as bella mushrooms, Snap sugar peas, red and green bell pepper. Added some cornstarch, 3/4 c.water a 2 tsp. of sugar for more liquid as I was serving it over a bed of Wild Rice. The beef I used was bought thinly stripped and advertised as stir fry, was very tender.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us! That’s so great!
This was absolutely delicious! The sauce is awsome! I did exactly what the recipe said. I used spicy Stubs bbq, beef, red peppers. carrots, snow peas ,onions and broccoli.
My husband had two servings.
Dont change a thing!
This will definitely be again and again.
Sounds like you definitely found a family favorite! Thank you so much for sharing that with me
I’m just going to say this, “Where have you been all my life?” This is super good. Thank you for your recipe and sorry but I’m gonna steal this from you to write on my notebook “Most Favorite Recipes” because this one is for keeps.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles!
Is there an alternative to using maple syrup in the sauce. I have never had a need for maple syrup and didn’t want to waste a can for just a tsp or two.
Hi Billy, it will alter the flavors a little bit but honey would be a good substitute.
I am shocked at how good this turned out. When I tasted the 3 ingredient sauce, it was flat. However, the final result was amazing!!! I think that the ginger, garlic and beef flavours added lots to this sauce!!! Super impressed and will definitely be making this again!!! Also really easy to make and way better than store bought sauce.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Joanne!
Delicious recipe! Just made it for dinner and we are loving it! Used venison because we have it! Unusual ingredients for a stir fry, but it definitely works, thanks! Reasonable points too, for a Weight Watcher!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hey Natasha,
I love all your receipes. Im from germany moved to the US so im really picky when it comes to good food lmao. I made this today and i loved it. I have a question tho. I feel like the sauce wasnt enough when i combined the stir fry with the rice. Did i do something wrong? I feel like the rice sucked up all the sauce so it wasnt enough.
Thank you in advance
I’m so glad you enjoy our recipes! This is normally pretty saucy but you can increase the sauce if you prefer more. Also, if you add more beef or vegetables, I would suggest increasing it proportionally.
This recipe is a keeper. My husband is a very picky eater but he loves this dish.Thank you Natasha.:)
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Maria!
This looks AMAZING! Absolutely love that the sauce takes just 3 ingredients!
Thank you for that wonderful review, Taylor!!
This looks so good Natasha, definitely going to try this one out.
I hope you love it, Billy!
Mmmmm..wishing I had some right now!! This looks so flavorful & I love that it doesn’t require too many ingredients!
Exactly! I love how tasty this is for a simple recipe! Thank you for sharing this review with me!
Loving this recipe! I could eat this seven days a week.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
I am a huge fan of this recipe! It is always a crowd pleaser.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Sounds good, I’ll def try this approach. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Enjoy, Oliva!
We really enjoyed this! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Can you make this recipe a day before and reheat? I’m having a dinner party and would love to get ahead as many dishes as I can so life can be a bit easier on the day of the party lol! Love your blog and recipes!
Hi Olivia ours hasn’t last long enough to store but I think that could work. Maybe prepping all of the ingredients and throwing it together the day of quickly? If you experiment, please let me know how you like that recipe.
would love to know sodium count in recipes as I am on a low sodium diet since I have cancer & congestive heart failure Can only have 2500mg a day
Hi, we are slowly working through all of our recipes to add nutrition info but it is a time consuming process as they have to be added one at a time. Thank you for being patient! 🙂