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My Ground Beef and Broccoli Is So Good!
Lately, I’ve been trying to make dinners a little more budget-friendly. When I found a forgotten package of ground beef in the back of my fridge, it got me thinking—why not swap it for steak in a beef and broccoli stir fry?
Normally, I will make beef and broccoli stir fry the classic way with sliced steak, but with the prices of quality meat are just ridiculous lately, and since I’d been craving it, I decided to try it with the ground beef that was about to expire. And… it turned out soooo easy, and just as delicious!
I will say ground beef isn’t quite the same as steak, but for me, the sauce is what makes beef and broccoli so good. It’s the mix of sesame, garlic, ginger, and soy! That’s the part I really love. So swapping in ground beef was an easy trade-off—especially since it makes everything so much quicker to pull together. Don’t forget to serve it with rice to catch all of that sauce. It’s the best part!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Soy sauce: You can use regular or low-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari.
- Honey: A bit of sweetness helps balance saltiness! Maple syrup or brown sugar are fine substitutes for honey.
- Rice wine vinegar: If you don’t have it, I’d use apple cider vinegar. Or you can mix 1 tablespoon of white vinegar with ½ teaspoon of sugar.
- Cornstarch: Instead of cornstarch, you could use arrowroot powder.
- Fresh ginger and garlic: These are the aromatics and add so much flavor.
- Sesame oil: I prefer toasted sesame oil for its stronger taste!
- Broccoli: You’ll need just one head of broccoli for this recipe. Make sure to cut off the stem, then divide the broccoli into florets!
- Avocado oil: You could use another neutral-tasting oil like canola, vegetable, or grapeseed oil instead of this.
- Ground beef: Any fat percentage of ground beef will work great in this recipe. I’ve also been wanting to try ground chicken or turkey.
- Onion: Cooking the beef with finely chopped onion makes every bite flavorful.
Popular Additions
- Make it teriyaki. You can follow this sauce recipe!
- Bell Peppers: Add 1 cup of thinly sliced red, yellow, or green bell peppers.
- Carrots: Toss in 1 cup of julienned or thinly sliced carrots.
- Snap Peas: Include 1 cup of snap peas.
- Water Chestnuts: Stir in ½ cup of sliced water chestnuts.
- Make it more sesame-y. Finish off the dish with an extra drizzle of sesame oil and a toasted sesame seeds.
- Top it with fresh herbs. Chopped cilantro or basil would be delicious on top of this ground beef and broccoli!
How to Make Ground Beef and Broccoli
My Best Ground Beef and Broccoli Tips
- Use a spoon to remove the ginger’s skin. Ginger’s skin is tough and not pleasant to eat! Before you mince it, you’ll want to remove the skin. I like to use a spoon to peel off the skin, which you can read more about here.
- Use a non-stick skillet. The sugary-salty marinade can easily stick to the pan! A non-stick skillet keeps cleanup simple.
- Don’t skip the cornstarch. This might seem like a small part of the marinade, but this is the ingredient that will help the sauce thicken and coat the meat and vegetables!
- Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground beef as it cooks. You want to get it into pretty small pieces so the beef cooks quickly and evenly.
What to Serve
Recipe Help & Common Questions
Kept in an airtight container in the fridge, the ground beef and broccoli will keep for about 3 days in the fridge. You can reheat it in a nonstick skillet over low heat or in the microwave until warmed through.
Make sure you whisked the sauce ingredients well before adding them to the skillet. Cornstarch can settle at the bottom if not mixed properly. Also, let the sauce cook for a few minutes after adding it to the beef—it needs heat to activate the thickening.
The beef is cooked when it’s no longer pink in the middle and looks well-browned! Because you’ll be breaking the ground beef into small pieces, this should happen pretty quickly.
More Easy Asian Style Recipes:
- Instant Pot Beef & Broccoli
- Chicken Teriyaki Bowl
- Easy Chicken Lo Mein
- Asian Noodle Salad
- Chopped Asian Chicken Salad
- Vegetarian Pad Thai
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Thai Peanut Chicken Stir Fry
If you try this feel good Ground Beef and Broccoli recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Ground Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 (1-inch) fresh ginger minced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 head broccoli cut into florets
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- Rice for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil.
- In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, add the broccoli florets and water and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the broccoli to steam for 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the broccoli from the skillet to plate. Remove the water from the skillet and wipe with a paper towel.
- In the same skillet used to cook the broccoli, heat the avocado oil over medium high heat. Add the beef and onion and cook for 7 minutes, until almost cooked through and browned.
- Add the marinade on top of the beef, and continue to cook until the marinade has thickened and the beef is fully coated with the marinade.
- Add the reserved broccoli back to the skillet and toss to combine with the ground beef mixture. Remove from the heat and serve over rice, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
