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.
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
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Made this tonight exactly according to your recipe and it was amazing! I was skeptical of the sauce at first but it was so good. Great balance of flavors. My husband loved it. Definitely on my dinner rotation. Love all your recipes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sandra! Thank you for the wonderful review!
This recipe looks delish! Can I use a flat iron steak?
Hi Cathy, I haven’t tried that yet to advise of the cooking time but I imagine that should work too.
Hi Natasha,
I’m on weight watchers and I would like to try using half of the amount of sauce for this recipe. In general, I prefer less sauce…have you tried using less ?
Hi Amy, I haven’t tried that yet but I imagine that would be alright. Please share with us how you liked that if you try!
I love ur new kitchen video 🤗
How can I watch ur cooking videos 🤔 Facebook is only showing recipe page no videos.
Lv ur cooking show❤️
Hi Barbara, you can see all of our recipe videos HERE. I’m so glad you’re enjoying our show!
Thank you Natasha for your delicious recipes. They are super easy to make, incredibly flavourful and tasty and super healthy.
You are god sent..🙏🙏
YOu’re so nice! Thank you, Shabana, for that wonderful review!
Can we use frozen vegetables for this recipe?
Hi Nikki, here is what one of our readers wrote in regards to using frozen vegetables: “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” I hope you find this helpful!
Best beef stir fry! Loved the BBQ in the sauce
I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
Hi Natasha, just tried this recipe and it was fantastic. I had an advantage with the meat, as I had some beef tenderloin, which always turns out fantastic no matter how you cook it. I am from Texas, so I added jalapenos to the stir fry and made the sauce a little spicier too. This recipe is a definite keeper! Thanks much.
So glad you found a new favorite! Thank you for sharing that great review for me!
Loved this recipe! The only difference is that I used flank steak.Loved the sauce, so easy. Thank you for a “keeper “
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hí Nathasha, thank you so much for your wonderful and delicious recipes, the Stir fry Steak come out so good, my family love it,Also all my life I wanted to learn how to make Shrimp fry rice,and when I make your recipe,Wwaaww !! Amazing!! Love it ! Love it ! Thank you again.😍👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼❤️❤️❤️
Yay, that is so awesome, Maria. I’m so happy to be reading your great comments and feedback. Enjoy and I hope you love the other recipes that you’ll try.
Hi there just wondering can you use honey instead of maple syrup for this recipe plan on making it tonight can’t wait thanks for sharing I’ll let you know how it goes
Hello Susan, yes honey should work fine too.
hey..thank u for all the great receipes..I will be sure to try this one tough
You’re welcome. I hope you love it!
Looking for a stir-fry recipe and came across this site.
No matter how delicious and how popular a cooking site/channel may be, the moment i see painted finger nails, i’m off and never back again.
So I will say your site is a keeper. Thumbs up. Keep on doing what you love and being great at it 🙂
Thank you so much
We love it ! My fiance’ says it’s the best here in Pensacola , Fl 😋
So awesome, thanks for your great feedback!
Hi, I have a question: I run out of soy sauce. Is there any other sauce that I can use as a substitute? Or can I make wothout it and have almost the same taste? I did it before and I liked it. But I just went to make it again and ops: no soy sauce.
Hi Cristiane, you could try using a substitute for soy sauce like coconut aminos. That should work then just add salt to taste since coconut aminos have less salt.
This is a great recipe for a stir fry, delicious and easy to do.
I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
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
So nice to know that, Vicki. Thanks for sharing and I agree the sauce is really amazing!
I like your cooking shows I enjoy to watching and the food look good and delicious
I’m so glad you’re enjoying our videos, Annaliza! That’s so great!
Hi Natasha,
Love all your recipes! I wanted to make this one and I was wondering what I could substitute for the BBQ sauce and syrup?
Hi Lucy, it would significantly change the sauce. You might try our Beef and Broccoli sauce instead.
How. Do i get the recipe s from Natasha
Hi Alison, all of our recipes are on the blog here. You can use the search button in the top right corner. Are you looking for a specific recipe?