Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Updated Oct 11, 2025
Beef and broccoli stir fry made with thinly sliced flank steak, tender-crisp broccoli, and a homemade sauce. Served with a side of rice.
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Make my beef and broccoli stir fry for dinner!
Beef and broccoli stir fry is always high on my list when I order takeout. There’s just something about the combo of beef, crisp broccoli, and that savory-sweet sauce that always tastes so good. So of course, I had to figure out how to make it at home, and it’s easier than I expected.
My beef and broccoli stir fry recipe has the same flavors I love from takeout, and comes together fast with simple ingredients. A quick sauce, one pan, and a bowl of rice on the side, that’s dinner done.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry Ingredients
- Steak: Flank steak is the most popular cut for stir fry and what most Chinese restaurants use. You can also use skirt steak or sirloin.
- Broccoli: Read my tips on how to cut broccoli into florets. Or, save time and buy a bag of pre-cut florets.
- Soy sauce: I recommend low-sodium soy sauce if you’re watching your salt intake, or tamari if you’re gluten-free.
- Oyster sauce: You can also use hoisin sauce.
- Rice wine vinegar: Look for unseasoned rice vinegar, because the seasoned variety has added sugar.
- Cornstarch: You can also use arrowroot powder or potato starch.
- Oils: Sesame oil and avocado oil.
- Garlic: Here’s a quick tutorial on how to mince garlic.
- Ginger: Its outer brown skin should be as smooth as possible. If it has wrinkles, it’s been sitting on the shelf for a while. Read my tips on how to peel and mince ginger.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Cooked rice or noodles: Or, to pack in extra protein, serve your beef and broccoli over quinoa. (Here’s how to cook quinoa if you haven’t tried it before!)
How to Make Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Beef and broccoli stir fry made with thinly sliced flank steak, tender-crisp broccoli, and a homemade sauce. Served with a side of rice.
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak thinly sliced against the grain
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil divided
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1- inch piece of fresh ginger minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper adjust to taste
- Cooked rice or noodles for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch fully dissolves. Set the sauce aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and cook for about 2–3 minutes, or until they turn bright green and become slightly tender. Be careful not to overcook. Drain the broccoli and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of avocado oil in a wok or a large skillet over high heat. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and spread it out in a single layer. Sear for 1–2 minutes per side, or until the beef browns. Remove the beef from the pan and set it aside.
- In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Add the minced garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the blanched broccoli back into the pan and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender-crisp.
- Return the seared beef to the pan with the vegetables. Pour the sauce over the beef and broccoli. Stir-fry for an additional 1–2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and coats the ingredients evenly.
- Serve over steamed rice or noodles. Garnish with sesame seeds or sliced green onions, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
The nutrition label does not include rice and is only for the beef and broccoli.
- My Top Tip: Freeze the flank steak before slicing. Because flank steak is so thin and tender, it can be tricky to slice. Put it in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing to firm up the beef for easier slicing. Remember: Whether it’s cooked or uncooked, cut against the grain!
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days. Reheat on the stove in a skillet over medium-low heat or in the microwave for 1-minute intervals until hot. I recommend adding a splash of water or beef broth to loosen it up.
- Freezing: It tastes best when it’s fresh, but you can freeze leftovers in an airtight container or freezer bag for 2–3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl, Calories: 269kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 68mg, Sodium: 1286mg, Potassium: 652mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 464IU, Vitamin C: 61mg, Calcium: 66mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Recipe Variations
- Add red peppers. Slice a bell pepper into thin strips. Cook them for about 2 minutes after adding the ginger and garlic, but before adding the broccoli.
- Sneak in some leafy greens. Stir in bok choy or spinach at the end for a fresh, wilted touch.
- Top it with nuts. Sprinkle cashews or peanuts on top before serving.
- Serve it with sriracha or chili crisp. A little goes a long way!
Recipe Tips
- Cut the broccoli into evenly-sized pieces. My rule of thumb is that the pieces should fit easily on a fork.
- Freeze the flank steak before slicing. Because flank steak is so thin and tender, it can be tricky to slice. Put it in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing to firm up the beef for easier slicing. Remember: Whether it’s cooked or uncooked, cut against the grain! Read my tips on how to slice flank steak.
- Get the pan really hot before you add the beef. If you don’t, the meat could turn out tough and chewy. You want the steak to cook quickly and efficiently, not low and slow. Brown it quickly at high heat, then take the pan off the heat as soon as the sauce thickens.
- Don’t crowd the beef in the pan. You want it to sear, not steam. If you don’t have a big enough pan, work in batches.
Serving Ideas
- Rice: Basmati Rice, White Rice, Cauliflower Rice
- Salad: Asian Noodle Salad, Chopped Asian Chicken Salad, Smashed Cucumber Salad
- Rolls: Vegetable Spring Rolls, Za’atar Spring Rolls, Crispy Cheese Rolls
More Asian Cuisine Recipes
- Instant Pot Beef & Broccoli
- Chicken Teriyaki Bowl
- Easy Chicken Lo Mein
- Beef Lettuce Wraps
- Ground Beef Stir Fry
- Green Thai Curry
- Vegetarian Pad Thai
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Thai Peanut Chicken Stir Fry
- Shrimp & Broccoli Stir Fry
This beef and broccoli recipe was originally published on March 4, 2019. I recently updated it to be a more traditional-style recipe with broccoli florets instead of broccoli rice. It also has new photos and step-by-step collages to help make this recipe easier.
Comments
How do you prevent the meat from being chewy?
Hi there! Did you make sure to get the pan really hot before you added the beef? You want the steak to cook quickly and efficiently, not low and slow. Brown it quickly at high heat, then take the pan off the heat as soon as the sauce thickens. Hope that helps!!
I’ll try it but will make it vegetarian – substitute the steak for vegan “meat”, find oyster-free oyster sauce. Has anyone tried it this way?
I haven’t tried it that way but those sound like great swaps! Please let me know how it turns out!!
So good.
Thank you so much!
Restaurant quality at home!! I tried making this again after seeing your IG stories. I used ground beef, half the salt and pepper, as well as half the ginger for my family’s taste preferences. Thanks for this recipe!
Aww, love that!! Thanks, Amira! So happy you enjoyed the stir fry!
Absolutely delicious! We used ground beef instead of steak and it was incredible. I don’t normally like beef and broccoli, but this was soooo good.
Aww yay, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you!!
Made this tonight with ground beef after seeing your Instagram story yesterday. So delicious and quick! My daughters loved it too.
Yay, so happy you and your daughters loved it! Thanks, Andie!!
My whole family loves this dish. Especially the PARBOILED broccoli. Crisp tender perfection. A “professional” culinary touch that is absolutely worth the extra few minutes of active cooking time. I made at least double, maybe triple #broccoli per Yumna’s suggestion to serve half with her tahini sauce, BUT they ate so much broccoli that I didn’t have enough left. This way of cooking broccoli is a game changer for a veggie that I never really like that much (well, cruciferous in general takes some disguising). Planning to make a broccoli slaw with the stalks.
Anyways, the sauce came together very quickly and easily. The amount of sauce was good. I added red bell peppers towards the end and all the veggies came out crisp tender. There’s just 1 cup of stir fry left over which we will sauté with extra broccoli and bell peppers and another batch of sauce which I will whip up to get one more meal.
The meat procedure confused me however. I placed in freezer 30-40 mins ahead of when I needed it which did make it easy to cut thin. However, then I cut it too thin. So it ended up being 2 batches in my giant cast iron skillet. It got a little watery despite being patted dry before chilling. So a millimeter or thickness guideline would help. I should have gone with the photo. I still got a sear though it took a while at high heat and ended up a bit overcooked.
All said my husband told me he could have believed the dish was from the upscale Chinese place in town – and I know he wants the leftovers!!
Could we sub apple cider vinegar for the red wine vinegar? If so, would it be an equal amount? Also, would ginger powder work instead of fresh? If so, how much would you suggest? Thanks in advance!
Ok so I went ahead to make the recipe as is, but used reduced sodium soy sauce. For some strange reason the broccoli heavily absorbed the sauce and it was very salty. Any suggestions as to what I did wrong?
Yuma. I Love the way you simplify these recipes. Looks great and I’m about to make this dish tomorrow. I have several other versions but they are a bit more involved and complicated. I love your simplified version and looking forward to make it. Keep them coming, more Chinese inspired dishes.🙃
Many thanks from another Lebanese born man.
Hi Yumna,
I was wondering if I want to keep the broccoli in smaller pieces and not riced, is there any different or additional steps I need to do? Thank you in advance!
You can follow the recipe as is, but you may need to cook the broccoli for a slightly longer time to make sure it’s cooked through.
SOOOO Yummy!!! Made this in hopes of having a low-carb but still filling dinner and it did not disappoint! I loved eating the broccoli in this form 🙂 I did not have sesame seeds or green onion on hand, but it was still delicious and I can’t wait to make it again!
Thank you, Yumna!!!
Yay! So glad to hear it. Thank you!
Needed a quick recipe for beef and broccoli (with noodles) and this one came up and as usual, EASY AND YUMMY!! My picky 8yr old devoured it!! Also took all of 45 minutes from finding the recipe until devouring it all!! MUST TRY!!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you so much for the feedback!!
I only saw the video on Instagram. We used the grater on the broccoli. Everything was very good! The hard thing was finding this recipie to pin it, took me 1 1/2 hrs. from “link in bio”.
Oh no, I’m so sorry you had a hard time finding the recipe through instagram! I wish there was a better way to search on Instagram. Please feel free to DM me in the future and I can send you a link. Also, the search bar on my site is amazing and can really help you find anything you’re looking for. I’m so happy you liked the recipe though. Thank you!!
So delicious! We used chicken as we try not to eat too much beef. The sauce tasted like it was made in a restaurant.
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for sharing!
Though not a broccoli fan, was tempted to try your recipe. Made it, enjoyed it, and will give you thumbs up.