This easy Ground Beef and Broccoli stir-fry is perfect when you need a quick weeknight dinner!
Ground Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
This easy ground beef and broccoli is so much healthier than take-out! Don’t get me wrong, I love Chinese food. But when I am trying to meet my health goals, cooking meals from scratch gives me more control of what goes into my food. Here we use lean ground beef, broccoli and onions simmered with soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic. If you love beef and broccoli you may also like this Broccoli Beef (made with flank steak). If you prefer chicken, try my Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry. For other take-out dishes you can make at home check out my General Tso’s Chicken or Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice.
Hi there, I’m Heather K. Jones—I’m a dietitian, the nutrition expert for the Skinnytaste cookbooks, and the founder of the weight and wellness program Feel Better Eat Better.
If you struggle with emotional eating or weight anxiety, be sure to check out my free Masterclass by clicking RIGHT HERE. In this class I share how you can transform your mindset and achieve weight and wellness freedom from the inside-out with awareness and compassion.
I also do free emotional eating group coaching sessions a few times a month inside my Facebook Love Yourself Healthy Facebook Group.
It’s so fun to take a classic take-out dish like Beef and Broccoli, and make it tastier, healthier and easier with just a few tweaks!
I prefer making my own Asian take-out because it gives me the chance to use much better ingredients. Using high-quality, fresh ingredients that are good for our health and the health of our planet makes such a huge difference. So here I used humanely-raised ground beef from a regenerative farm, organic veggies, and locally-sourced honey (instead of sugar).
My husband is a picky taste-tester, and he loved this updated beef and broccoli so much he requested it the very next week!
How To Serve
You can serve this over white rice, jasmine rice, brown rice or cauliflower rice, and you could also add blanched asparagus, peppers or zucchini for even more veggie goodness.
Enjoy and please let me know in the comments if you love this dish as much as I do!
What is beef and broccoli sauce made of?
Most beef and broccoli sauce recipes are heavy and greasy because they use a ton of oil and sugar, and they also just don’t have the right balance of sweet and savory. Here, however, we have lightened and perfected the sauce by combining just a few ingredients:
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce, or gluten-free tamari
- 1 tablespoon honey (instead of sugar!)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil (you actually don’t need a lot of oil!)
What are the benefits of eating beef and broccoli?
Lean ground beef (preferably from humanely-raised animals) is a nutritious source of protein that is rich in various vitamins and minerals, especially iron and zinc. And broccoli is an underrated superfood as it’s a good source of fiber and protein, and is packed with iron, potassium, calcium, selenium and magnesium as well as the vitamins A, C, E, K and lots of B vitamins including folic acid. This lighter Ground Beef and Broccoli also has a lot less sugar and oil then most recipes (we used honey instead of sugar and just a ½ tablespoon of sesame oil), making this a truly good-for-you Chinese food recipe.
How do you blanch broccoli?
This recipe calls for blanched broccoli. Blanching is an easy way to quickly cook vegetables.
Bring a big pot of water to boil. Drop the florets into the water and cook for two to three minutes until bright green and crisp-tender. Immediately drain in a colander and put in an ice bath (a large bowl filled with ice water), which will stop the cooking process. Once the broccoli is cool, drain in the colander again.
More Stir Fry Recipes You Will Love
- Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Tofu Stir Fry
- Garlic Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
- Chicken Zucchini Stir Fry
- Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry
Ground Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce, or gluten-free tamari
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 pound ground beef, 93% lean
- ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets and blanched*
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 3 medium scallions, sliced on the bias
- cooked rice, or cauliflower rice, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Add the sesame oil to a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is just about cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the reserved sauce, stir to combine, and cook for 1 minute. Add the broccoli and cook for 1 more minute.
- Divide mixture evenly among 4 plates or shallow bowls, layering rice first, if using.
- Top each with sesame seeds and scallions.
