Easy Beef and Broccoli
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Made this last night. It was delicious. But glad I read many of the reviews here.
I cut the honey and sugar in half and it was still plenty sweet. And I used sirloin instead of flank steak. Plus I added red bell, zucchini and onions. Those were my only changes. My husband LOVED it.
My only comment is the meat won’t be great for leftovers. The tiny strips don’t take but seconds to cook and reheating will make it too tough for our liking. So I’ll remember to make extra sauce next time. But don’t double the meat. Save the sauce for an even quicker meal the following week.
Oh, and even though my husband loves heat, he said this was a “very nice” heat. Not too over powering. And perfect for this heat wimp. (wink wink)
Thanks so much for a delicious quick meal.
Oh, also used all low sodium ingredients. That’s VERY important.
If you want thicker sauce I’d recommend leaving out the 1/4 cup of water and draining any juices from the meat. I’ve made it 100 times and just now realizing it calls for that extra 1/4 cup of water lol
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.