Quick and easy beef stir-fry. I make this on my busiest weeknights.
Need to use up some of your leftover vegetables and other pantry staple ingredients? Look no further than a classic beef stir-fry. This beef and broccoli stir-fry comes together in just 25 minutes and only requires ingredients that you probably already have. And if you don’t? You can just skip them!
This dish is packed with veggies, beef, and saucy flavors for a weeknight dinner warrior that checks all the boxes. Served with rice or lo mein noodles, this will be the best beef stir-fry you’ve ever made.
How to Make Beef Stir-Fry
The most time-consuming part of making stir-fry is all the chopping. Slicing your meat and veggies into smaller bite-sized pieces can take a little bit of time and effort, but it’s worth it for the end result.
After you’ve chopped all your ingredients, you’ll cook the beef on one side of the wok, or another large frying pan, and the veggies on the other side of the wok. Once they’re all cooked, you can mix the two sides together and add the soy sauce and sesame seeds.
Some stir-fry recipes use a specific stir-fry sauce, which can be as basic as broth, soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine vinegar. This quick stir-fry calls for only soy sauce. But you can feel free to add a stir-fry sauce or marinate your beef in one if you prefer.
What Cut of Beef Is Best For Beef Stir-Fry?
Flank steaks are the most popular choice for making a stir-fry. However, you can also use sirloin steak, skirt steak, Denver steak, or even beef chuck.
Beef chuck steak is the most economical choice, but it does require some extra trimming. You’ll want to remove the tough tissue from the steaks before frying.
How to Cook Beef Stir-Fry
If possible, you should use a wok to make beef stir-fry. Woks are large and have sloping sides that let you cook the entire stir-fry in one pan, so you can easily stir and flip the food without fear of it flying out. They also are designed to cook foods quicker than skillets and with less oil.
If you can’t use a wok (or another carbon steel pan) then any skillet will work. You may just need to cook the meat and veggies in separate batches.
When cooking, make sure you heat the pan and oil up first before adding your ingredients — they should sizzle as soon as they hit the heat. And always use an oil with a high smoke point, like canola or peanut oil, for the best stir-fry results.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound beef sirloin, cut into 2-inch strips
- 1 ½ cups fresh broccoli florets
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
Directions
Gather all ingredients.
Heat vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir beef until browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
Move beef to the side of the wok and add broccoli, bell pepper, carrots, green onion, and garlic to the center of the wok. Cook and stir vegetables for 2 minutes.
Stir beef into vegetables and season with soy sauce and sesame seeds. Continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender, about 2 more minutes.
Serve hot and enjoy!
