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Fast, flavorful, and familiar enough to keep picky eaters happy, this 20-minute Ground Beef and Broccoli is a weeknight win. Made with lean ground beef, crisp-tender broccoli, and a sweet-savory sauce, it's a simple, protein-packed dinner that you will find yourself turning to on repeat.
This recipe, along with all my quick stir fry recipes, delivers takeout-style flavor without the mystery ingredients or greasy aftermath. Plus, it's easy to modify for dietary restrictions and scale for extra mouths at the dinner table.
Kristen's Keys for Beef and Broccoli
A few small details make the a huge difference in terms of flavor, consistency, and ease.
- Have everything prepped before you start cooking. Once the cooking starts, things move fast, so it is best to have the sauce prepared and broccoli chopped before you start to brown the beef.
- Lean ground beef is best. Choose ground beef labeled 88/12 or leaner to keep the final dish from becoming overly greasy or heavy.
- Fresh or frozen broccoli can be used. Fresh broccoli florets will always yield the best bite, but using a bag of frozen broccoli florets works well and cuts down on prep.
How to Make Ground Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Think of this section as me right there with you, guiding you through the recipe and sharing a few helpful tips along the way.
Step One: Make the Sauce
In a small bowl or large glass measuring cup, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger until smooth. Set aside to add to the stir-fry towards the end of the cooking process.
Step Two: Brown the Beef
Heat a bit of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 30-60 seconds. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it into small, bite-sized pieces, until fully cooked. Drain excess grease if needed.
Step Three: Steam Broccoli
Rather than stir-frying the broccoli which yields a crispier texture, I find that for this recipe it is best to steam the broccoli right in the skillet with a bit of beef broth. The crisp-tender texture pairs better with the soft ground beef and is better tolerated by the pickier eaters.
- Add the fresh broccoli florets to the skillet, along with a bit of beef broth.
- Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the broccoli turns bright green and is just crisp-tender.
Using Frozen Broccoli? No need to thaw, simply steam a bit longer.
Step Four: Thicken the Sauce
Uncover the skillet, give the prepared stir-fry sauce one last stir, then pour it over the beef and broccoli. Bring everything to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and coats the beef and broccoli.
Step Five: Serve
Serve plain, over rice (like Instant Pot brown rice or white rice), or over cauliflower rice. I like to finish with a bit of sesame seed for added crunch and recommend putting out Sriracha or hot sauce to let people add a little heat if desired.
Recipe Modifications
- Replace Brown Sugar with Honey: Both yield delicious results and using honey keeps this dish refined sugar free.
- Swap the Protein: Feel free to replace the ground beef with ground chicken, ground turkey, or even crumbled tofu. If you are wanting to use diced chicken breasts (or thighs), refer to my chicken and broccoli recipe.
- Vary the Veggies: Replace the broccoli with peppers, onions, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, etc; or use a combination of vegetables.
- Like broccoli with more bite? Rather than using beef stock to steam the broccoli, add it right to the stir-fry sauce. After browning the beef, remove it from the pan, heat a bit more oil, add fresh broccoli florets and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until bright green and crisp-tender. Return the cooked ground beef to the pan and proceed with the recipe as written.
- Use the Instant Pot: For a more classic version of beef and broccoli (with sliced beef instead of ground beef), use my recipe Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli.
More Quick and Easy Stir-Fry Recipes
Stir-fries make are high on my list of favorite wholesome family dinners. They cook up fast, are filled with flavor and nutrients, and can be changed up in so many ways to suit everyone's preferences. After trying this ground beef and broccoli, browse below for more ideas to try.
Ground Beef and Broccoli
Video
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar, or honey
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ tablespoon grated ginger
- ½ tablespoon neutral oil, canola, vegetable, peanut, or untoasted sesame oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup low-sodium beef broth
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl or large glass measuring cup, whisk together the ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, and ½ tablespoon grated ginger until the cornstarch is fully dissolved.
- Heat ½ tablespoon neutral oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, once heated, add 1 pound lean ground beef and cook, breaking into bite-sized pieces until the beef is cooked through. If needed, drain off excess grease.
- Add 4 cups fresh broccoli florets and ½ cup low-sodium beef broth to the pan. Cover the pot and cook over medium-high for 2-3 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green, but still crisp.
- Remove the lid. Uncover, pour in the sauce, bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens slightly and the broccoli cooks through, about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Serve over rice with sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was very good! Although you definitely want to use low sodium as it tends to be salty with the soy sauce. We enjoyed it.
So happy to hear you enjoyed, Joyce! And I agree, low-sodium is best here unless you like things really salty 🙂
Delish! The sauce makes this meal wonderful! I've added sliced carrots along with the broccoli to add some color and fiber!
Oh great idea to add carrots! Thanks for sharing, Linda!