Easy Beef and Broccoli
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This easy beef and broccoli is made in just 15 minutes start to finish. It’s quicker, cheaper, healthier, and so much tastier than take-out!
Featured Comment
I made this dish for dinner last night and my husband commented that the flavors are spot on! This makes plenty of sauce and so after we had eaten, he prepared more meat & broccoli and added it to the leftover sauce to take for lunch today. Thanks for a new favorite go-to recipe. It really was quick and easy!
Why you’ll love this easy Beef and Broccoli
- Takeout favorite. Say goodbye to long delivery wait times and cold takeout. Everyone’s favorited homemade beef and broccoli tastes so much better than takeout, using fresh and better quality ingredients all around.
- Weeknight superhero. This is truly the easiest beef and broccoli recipe of all time. The slow cooker version is great too, perfect for when you work an 8 hr day, but this is on your dinner table in less than 30 minutes start to finish. But don’t be fooled by the easiness of the recipe – it’s packed with so much flavor and melt-in-your-mouth tender beef.
- Freezer-friendly. Who doesn’t love a good freezer meal? Beef and broccoli will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months! Save the leftovers for a rainy day, perfect for those super hectic weeknights (or lazy weekends) between soccer practice and helping with geometry homework.
How to Make Easy Beef and Broccoli
- Prep the flank steak. Slice the flank steak thinly against the grain, shortening the fibers for more tender meat.
- Prep the sauce. Combine the soy sauce, chicken stock, honey, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, cornstarch, Sriracha, ginger, red pepper flakes, and water.
- Cook the steak. Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the steak in a single layer and sear for 1-2 minutes per side until browned, working quickly not to overcook the meat.
- Combine. Stir in the broccoli and sauce until the broccoli is tender and the sauce thickens.
- Serve. Serve warm over steamed white rice.
Pro Tip
Add more veggies.
This easy beef and broccoli recipe is very flexible and forgiving. Add in carrots, bell peppers, spinach, cabbage, snow peas, or baby corn with the broccoli during the last few minutes of cook time for a more heartier, well-rounded meal.
Variations and substitutions
- Soy sauce substitute: tamari or coconut aminos for a gluten-free option
- Brown sugar substitute: honey or coconut sugar
- Flank steak substitute: ground beef (budget-friendly swap) or thinly sliced chicken breasts or thighs
- Broccoli substitute: snow peas, sugar snap peas, bok choy, green beans, asparagus, bell peppers, or carrots
What to serve with Easy Beef and Broccoli
tools for this recipe
Easy Beef and Broccoli: frequently asked questions
What cut of meat is best?
Flank steak is a top choice because it is a lean cut that cooks very quickly, yielding tender, juicy meat when thinly sliced against the grain.
What other cuts of meat can I use?
Skirt steak and top sirloin are both great alternatives.
What other vegetables can I add?
Carrots, bell peppers, spinach, cabbage, snow peas, and baby corn are all excellent additions.
How can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Is this freezer-friendly?
Yes! Let cool completely and portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and gently reheat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
Yes! You can try this recipe here.
Easy Beef and Broccoli
This easy beef and broccoli is made in just 15 minutes start to finish. It's quicker, cheaper, healthier, and so much tastier than take-out
Video
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, chicken stock, honey, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, cornstarch, Sriracha, ginger, red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup water; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add steak and cook, flipping once, until browned, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in broccoli and soy sauce mixture until tender and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Use a cast iron skillet. Cast iron skillets retain heat much better than a nonstick skillet, allowing for even cooking and a better sear of the steak.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your dish. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Slice against the grain. This will shorten muscle fibers, leaving you with more tender (less chewy) pieces of meat.
- Avoid frozen broccoli. Frozen broccoli will release too much water, resulting in mushy broccoli.
- Add the broccoli at the very end. To avoid soft, mushy broccoli, stir in the broccoli during the end of cooking time to maintain its crisp-tender texture. Bigger-sized broccoli florets will take longer to cook through.
- Serve with your favorite grains. White rice, brown rice, quinoa or farro are all great options. Want cauliflower fried rice? We have a recipe for that here.
- Freeze as needed. Beef and broccoli is freezer-friendly! Label, date and freeze up to 2 months, thawing overnight and gently reheating on the stovetop.
Did you make this recipe?
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What kind of Sriracha do you use for this meal
I’ve only used flank steak for cooking that has been marinated a few hours to tenderize it. How is it in this recipe without doing that? Is sirloin a good alternative?
Enjoy so many of your recipes.
I prefer my meals a but less sweet so I left out the brown sugar. It came out perfectly. Served over white rice.
i always use sirloin spoiled my boys and it tastes aMAZING…but u can add a 1/4 teaspoon of baking Soda and it’ll be tenderized in no time…hope this helps..:)
Very good. I added an onion and chopped carrots and omitted cooking the beef in oil. There’s enough fast to cook the meat. It came out very flavorful with just a little kick. I’ll make it again.
Loved this and the kids even ate the leftovers
This was SO GOOD! I used sirloin steak instead of flank steak, and I made steamed rice to serve with it. Everyone in my house loved it – and I have super picky eaters!! I will say, as others have posted as well, that the prep is longer than 5 minutes. I think from start to finish, including cooking the rice, it took about 40-45. I’m not complaining though because it was all SUPER EASY!! This will definitely be a repeat meal for our house!!
Awesome flavor! Prep time for me was far more (like 4x more!), but the results are worth it!
So good! Love the flavor of the sauce.
Very good, my family loves it. Quick and easy although I am wondering what the calories and nutritional values are of this.
Love your recipes! So many nowadays have cream cheese and sour cream, all of which are not tolerated by some members of our family. I have not made this yet, but will definitely do so for our family dinner night. Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe at least fourty times over the past few years. Its a dinner staple in our house, so much so that I hardly even use the recipe anymore. As someone that alters everything, Ive never changed a thing in this recipe because its perfect as is. Thank you so much for a recipe I’ll be using for many years to come!
This is one of our favorites. Everyone in the house loves ❤️ it. Healthier, tastier and of course, damn delicious.
Beautiful recipe, made me feel like a chef with something new. Thank you for sharing
Fabulous
So easy and delicious!!
This is one of our favorites. Everyone in the house loves ❤️ it. Healthier, tastier and of course, damn delicious.
That was delicious! Thanks!!!
Really tasty recipe! Easy and delicious. However, there was too much soy sauce for our taste. I’d probably do 1/2C. of soy sauce versus the 2/3, and make up for the volume with a little more chicken broth to boost the flavor. The amount of soy sauce covers up the flavor of all of the other wonderful spices.
Perfect. Made it exactly as is other than couldn’t find flank steak so used sirloin. I simply love that I can find all the ingredients for most of your recipes at Walmart or other local store. My two teens and husband agreed this one is a keeper.
I seared the broccoli first and marinated the meat, since I was cooking with venison and it can get tough quickly. I also added a dash of allspice and red wine. It was delicious and so easy! Thanks!
I made this tonight using leftover sirloin steak and it was delicious! Hubby said better than take-out! I love Asian cooking and this is my go-to recipe from now on!!
Wonderful! I made this today and the only thing I changed was I used frozen broccoli because that is all I had on hand. I partially stir fried the broccoli first because it was frozen – from there I followed the recipe exactly. This recipe is most definitely a keeper. Thank you!