Easy Beef and Broccoli
by Chungah
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The BEST beef and broccoli made in 15 min start to finish. Quicker, cheaper, healthier and 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 Make Easy Beef and Broccoli at Home
- 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 in Just 15 Minutes
- Make the sauce, whisking everything together
- Sear and cook the steak, working quickly not to overcook the meat
- Stir in the broccoli + sauce at the very end until the broccoli is cooked through with saucy goodness
- Serve over rice and serve
tips and tricks for success
- 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.
- 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 grain. 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.
Pro Tip: Boost Flavor in Your Beef and Broccoli
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 along with the broccoli during the last few minutes of cook time for a more heartier, well-rounded meal.
Best Sides to Serve with Easy Beef and Broccoli
tools for this recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Easy Beef and Broccoli: frequently asked questions
What’s the best way to store leftover beef and broccoli?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Can I freeze beef and broccoli for meal prep?
Yes! Let cool completely; portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Can I make this beef and broccoli recipe in a slow cooker instead?
Yes! We have a recipe for that here.
Easy Beef and Broccoli
The BEST beef and broccoli made in 15 min start to finish. Quicker, cheaper, healthier and 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
Did you make this recipe?
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This recipe is absolutely DELISH!! I agree with another reviewer that the sauce could have been thicker. I used 1 heaping TBSP of cornstarch and next time I will add a little more. The dish is amazingly flavorful and better than any beef and broccoli I have ever eaten in a restaurant or on take out. Don’t hesitate to try this! It is amazing!
This was soooo good! And so easy for someone who is not a very good cook. Family loved it!
This is delicious but I’ve made it twice now and there is SO much sauce and it’s very thin and more like a soup. I added extra cornstarch but it never thickened up. I even doubled the broccoli this time and it was still soupy.
Could you make this with a different kind of vinegar and a different kind of oil?
Sesame and peanut oils give the authentic and traditional taste to the dish – its something in the background as far as flavor goes. You can definitely make it with normal vinegar and olive or canola oil – but be careful that you dont go past the temperature that is safe for the oil you’re using.
This sauce is excellent! Tasty and not overwhelmingly sweet. Made double batch and intend to use again but with chicken and broccoli. Very versatile. Love all of your recipes btw.
Don’t know what’s better; your recipes or your wonderful, enthusiastic personality! It shines through! What a lovely couple you and Ben make and Butters and Carman just round out the ideal family!!
All the Very Best!
Excellent sauce, which I doubled because we like sauce. Normally I would use beef broth with beef but stuck to the recipe and used chicken broth. I didn’t have broccoli so used sugar snap peas, carrots, and onions. Excellent
I have made this a couple of times. Sometimes it doesn’t thicken and I don’t want to overcook the meat. Ideas?
Mix some cornstarch in small amount of water or broth, add to pan. As boils should thicken up quickly. If not add a bit more. Cook a full minute after adding, to ensure fully cooked & thickened.
Just made this recipe for lunch and I’m going to eat it over the next few days. It was super simple, quick, and easy!! My only complaint is I wish the sauce had thickened up more. I feel like next time I could probably make half the sauce recipe and still have enough. Sooo yummy though!
The sauce was delicious!!! But I found the recipe should call for at least double the amount of broccoli for the amount of sauce it makes. That’s the only reason I did not give it 5 stars
Absolutely delicious, devoured by my teens. Saved some sauce and sautéed tofu then added w veg, super tasty!
Awesome delicious- my family loved it. I search the web and thrilled I did your recipe – based on reviews. Thank you
I made this for my family and it was devoured! It was so delicious. I added more red pepper flakes (we like spice) and garlic but other than that left the recipe as is. Definitely a new family favorite!
Looks wonderful, can I make this in the slow cooker?
Thank you! This was so easy, and even my picky 7 year old ate it. If a meal is on the table in less than 30 minutes, costs less than 10 dollars to make, and is eaten by everyone, I’m thrilled! I appreciate you sharing this recipe! Nom!
Mannn this was delicious…..
I have very finicky eaters…
my toddler is going through the I won’t eat anything stage
And my mother has a lot of medical restrictions that make it either difficult to eat or difficult to process.
All I did was cooked the broccoli longer which worked because the sauce took a while to thicken I also used beef cubes stake because of the texture. I will definitely make this again and again. Thank you for sharing this keep them coming…
This was a really quick, easy and delish recipe. I did find it really salty so next time I will reduce the amount of soy sauce and make sure I use low sodium ingredients. I’ll definitely make this again and again! Thank you!
This is really good! I don’t typically like to review recipes that I’ve altered, but feel the alterations were small enough to still fairly review.
I doubled the sauce like others recommended. I did find I needed to add more than double cornstarch though. So ended up at 3-4TBS cornstarch in the end (for a double recipe). I did 1.5lbs flank steak and a bit more broccoli, as well as added sauteed mushrooms. We served it over noodles.
This is ALL ABOUT THE SAUCE. Its addictive. Its perfect. You could easily swap out ingredients in this with no problem too. I’m going to do chicken thighs and asparagus next time.
Thank you Damn Delicious for another successful dinner that all my family liked!
This was yummy but takes longer than 15 minutes to get on the table! Will add just a tad more cornstarch next time as it is plenty saucy. Recipe is a keeper.
The flavor was all there but mine didn’t turn out as big as it looks in the picture. Which I’m sure is fixable. It was definitely easy and delicious.
This had excellent flavor but the recipe makes a TON of sauce! Next time I will cut the sauce ingredients half to save on pantry staples.