This Beef with Broccoli recipe has been in my regular rotation since my oldest was a baby. It’s quick and easy (a true 30-minute meal)…but it tastes every bit as good as something from a takeout container. This Beef with Broccoli delivery juicy, thin-sliced steak and crisp-tender broccoli all coated in a savory, glossy sauce that hits big flavor notes in every bite. Tender meat, aromatic garlic and ginger, and a balanced mix of soy and brown sugar make the sauce rich without it being over-the-top.
Ingredients Needed
- cornstarch
- water
- garlic powder
- flank steak or London broil – flank steak is my first choice, but I’ve used London Broil when I couldn’t find it. You’ll want it thinly sliced. Partially freezing it first will help you cut it into nice, thin slices.
- black pepper
- extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
- broccoli florets – broken into bite-sized pieces
- onion – just a small one is all you need
- garlic
- ginger – fresh
- carrots – optional
- soy sauce
- brown sugar
- Sriracha
- ground ginger
How to Make Beef with Broccoli
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Whisk together a cornstarch mixture and toss the sliced beef with it to lightly coat.
- Sauté the beef in a hot skillet until cooked through; remove and set aside.
- Add more oil to the pan and stir-fry the vegetables with garlic and ginger until tender-crisp.
- Return the beef to the skillet to warm through.
- Stir together the sauce ingredients, add to the pan, and cook briefly until thickened.
- Serve hot over rice.
Storage & Other Tips
- Refrigerate: let the dish cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container. It will store well for 3 – 4 days.
- Freeze: for longer storage, freeze in an airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag. It stores well for 2 – 3 months when frozen. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Keep rice separate: if you’re planning to store leftovers with rice, keep the rice separate if possible. Rice can get mushy if stored with sauce.
- Reheating: I find this reheats best on the stovetop, with a splash of water or beef broth to loosen up the sauce. Microwave works well too, just be sure to reheat in short bursts and stirring in between to warm it up evenly.
- Make ahead: This meal comes together quickly, but if you know you’re going to be really short on time, you can slice the beef and vegetables ahead of time, and store them separately in the fridge. You can mix the sauce ingredients in a jar, so it’s ready to pour and go.
- Always against the grain: when you’re cutting the beef, it’s really important that you cut it against the grain. Other wise you’ll end up with a stringy and tough mess!
- Don’t overcook the broccoli: it should be a pretty, bright green and tender-crisp, not mushy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! London broil, flank steak, sirloin, or skirt steak all work well. Look for thinly sliced, tender cuts and try to cut against the grain for best texture.
You can use another hot sauce, chili garlic sauce, or a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Personally, I would not. Fresh will stay firmer and have better texture. If you absolutely have to use frozen, thaw, drain, and dry well with paper towel before stir-frying to avoid watering down the sauce.
To thin it down, add a splash of beef broth or water. If you need to thicken it up, let it simmer a bit longer or mix a tiny bit more cornstarch with cold water, and add it sparingly. It will thicken up quick, so just use a tiny bit at a time until you get the consistency you want.
Not fully, but the bulk of the time for this is chopped the beef and vegetables. You can slice them ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator. You can also mix the sauce ahead of time, and store it in a jar in the fridge.
Beef with Broccoli
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 lb. flank steak or London broil cut into thin slices (partially freezing helps make thinly slicing the meat easier)
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
- 12 ounces broccoli florets about 4 cups, broken into bite-sized pieces
- 1 small onion halved and sliced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger fresh, minced
- 2 carrots peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 2 tablespoons of water, and the garlic powder.
- Sprinkle the sliced beef with freshly ground pepper. Add the sliced beef to the cornstarch mixture and toss to coat thoroughly.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through.
- Transfer the meat to a separate dish and add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. When hot, add the onions, ginger, garlic, and broccoli (and carrots, if using). Stir-fry until the broccoli is tender-crisp, about 4-5 minutes. Return the beef to the pan and cook until heated through.
- While the beef is re-heating, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, soy sauce, brown sugar, Sriracha, and ground ginger. Add the sauce to the beef mixture and cook for about 1 minute or until the sauce is thickened. Serve immediately over hot rice.
Questions & Reviews
Whenever we order take-out, I always go for some sort of chicken and the hubs ALWAYS goes for beef with broccoli, so I’m going to need to try this soon, it looks delish! Only hang-up is the Sriracha… we like flavor and spice, but not heat, so I don’t ever cook with it which means we don’t have any one hand. I’m wondering if a small bottle is worth buying…
My girls LOVED the Orange Beef recipe! They call it “Meat Candy” and want it every week, so I will definitely have to try this. Although, my grocery store never stocks cuts of flank steak?
Wow did I screw *this* up! I must’ve overcooked the beef… It was like shoe-leather!!!! The sauce was good though, and the sriracha was definitely not “spicy”… Our toddler ate it (minus the beef) with no problem. Will have to try, try again!!!
My 9-year-old daughter was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease last week and I’ve been scouring the internet trying to find yummy gluten free recipes that don’t require foreign ingredients. There are a lot of GF recipes out there, but whether they’re yummy or not, is another story. I know that any recipe you or Sara post and share here will be worth the effort and I will not hesitate to try them. Thank you for this! The timing was perfect!
This looks awesome!! Can’t wait to try it!
That looks yummy! One of these days I’m going to do a big homemade Chinese feast with a bunch of your recipes – General Tso’s Chicken, Fortune Cookie and the rice from ‘Ohana. I’ll add this one to the list too!
I have been making a similar stir fry for years, but I’ve never coated the meat with corn starch before. I’ll have to try it.
Try it and see how it turns out–it helps thicken up the sauce a little! 🙂
Yum! This looks delish! I have a beef and broccoli stir-fry too. It’s actually pretty simple even for week nights and the boys love it.
I am a wimp when it comes to spicy foods. Does the sriracha make it really spicy or is it too small of an amount?
It really doesn’t make it spicy at all–it just adds a little dimension to the flavor. My kids ate it, no problem! 🙂
You know take-out style Asian is one of my favorites- adding this to my menu plan this week, thank you Kate!