Valentina Ablaev
This ground beef and broccoli recipe is the perfect 30-minute meal that tastes as good as it looks! Our stir fry recipe is loaded with tender ground beef and softened broccoli in the best homemade teriyaki sauce, just like our chicken and broccoli stir fry recipe. The flavors are simple but come together to make a delicious comfort meal that can only be completed with a side of rice.
This simple ground beef and broccoli recipe is a delicious variation of our ground beef stir fry. Ground beef and broccoli – the perfect healthy meal that is also affordable! The best part is that this dish cooks in just one pan, making cleaning a breeze!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Nothing beats a healthy and delicious dish; this ground beef and broccoli stir fry is both! The entire dish cooks in one pan, so a 30-minute dinner is guaranteed!
It’s great for meal planning and reheats wonderfully, just like our easy shrimp fried rice.
The Perfect Stir-Fry Sauce
We love a classic teriyaki sauce, but what makes this stir-fry so easy is that the sauce doesn’t need to be cooked beforehand. The sauce ingredients are added to the meat and thicken as the dish cooks. Fewer dishes, fewer problems!
Ingredients for Ground Beef and Broccoli
This recipe uses just a few simple ingredients:
- Broccoli – fresh broccoli florets make the perfect vegetable for this recipe.
- Ground beef – lean ground beef is the perfect healthy and delicious protein.
Don’t like ground beef? Use sliced beef to create a steak stir-fry. You can also use ground turkey for a healthier alternative. - Sauce – combines low-sodium soy sauce, water, cornstarch, garlic, fresh ginger, and brown sugar.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add veggies: Bulk up the stir fry by adding bell peppers, carrots, onions, and mushrooms!
- Bring the heat: Add red pepper flakes for heat!
How to Make Ground Beef and Broccoli
- Cook broccoli. Cook the broccoli in a pan until tender. Remove the broccoli from the skillet and set aside.
2. Cook the meat. Add beef into the same pan, and cook over medium-high heat. Brown the meat and break it up as it cooks.
3. Cook. Add the sauce to the pan and cook on medium heat until the sauce thickens. Add the broccoli to the pan.
4. Serve. Serve the stir-fry with a side of rice for the perfect meal.
Expert Tips:
- Thicken the sauce. When adding the sauce to the pan, allow it to bubble before stirring. This will allow it to thicken up into the rich sauce.
- Use lean beef. 90/10% fat beef is best for this stir-fry. If you use a higher fat content, you’ll want to drain the fat once the beef is sautéed.
- Garnish: Top your ground beef stir fry with sesame oil, sesame seeds, and freshly sliced green onion for the perfect presentation.
Serving Suggestions
- Appetizer: Serve this ground beef and broccoli with a homemade appetizer! We love to enjoy this ground beef stir fry with simple pork stickers.
- Noodles: We love a simple vegetable lo mein, and you can serve this beef and broccoli in lo mein noodles!
- Fried rice: Though this stir-fry is traditionally served with white rice, we love it with hibachi fried rice for another level of flavor.
FAQ’s
Yes, you can use beef with a higher fat content; we recommend discarding the excess fat after cooking.
Yes, you can add premade teriyaki sauce directly into this stir fry. Since the sauce would be thick, we recommend mixing it with water to thin it out.
This stir-fry sauce is made with soy sauce, so it is not gluten-free, but you can substitute soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos.
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Keep leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3-5 days.
- Reheat. Warm up leftovers in a pan until warmed through.
- Freeze. Add this ground beef & broccoli to a freezer-safe container and store for 3 months. Reheat: Thaw the frozen stir fry in the refrigerator overnight and warm it up in a pan.
More 30-Minute Recipes
If you enjoyed this beef and broccoli recipe, be sure to try our other quick and easy recipes; here are some of our favorite dishes that come together in just half an hour:
If you’ve tried this beef and broccoli recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and your feedback in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Ground Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 10 ounces broccoli florets chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
sauce:
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- Cooked white rice for serving
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the broccoli and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring as needed. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, then add the beef and cook it until browned and cooked through, breaking it up with your spoon as you go along (about 5 minutes). If there’s lots of excess fat, spoon some out.
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce by whisking together, then add the sauce to the pan with the butter.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the broccoli to the pan.
- Stir/toss until coated and the sauce has thickened (about 1-3 minutes). Take the skillet off the heat and serve immediately.
Notes
- Use the right beef. Use 90/10 beef for the best results.
- Thicken the sauce. When adding the sauce to the pan, allow it to simmer to thicken up.
- Store leftovers. Keep leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days. To reheat, add the stir fry to a pan and heat until warmed through.
