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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Simple and very flexible recipe. As others have stated the sauce ends up pretty strong unless you dilute or use less sugar/salt ingredients.
I used 1/3 cup normal soy sauce (half the recipe amount) and used regular pot honey (solid) which had a bit of trouble mixing in. To help this I added four tablespoons of hot water which slightly diluted the mixture and helped dissolve the honey.
Next I took a handful of cornstarch (in addition to the tablespoon in the mixture) and powdered the outside of the beef slices.
Before turning on the heat, lay out your slices in the pan. You can use oil if needed to stop them sticking. Put it on low heat to start off. Drizzle 3-4 tablespoons of your mixture over the beef, then set to medium and follow the recipe as normal.
This does two things. One is it makes a sauce layer around your meat from the get-go, keeping moisture in and not drying out the beef as much. Second, the additional cornstarch thickens up the rest of the mixture! I see a few people commenting that their sauce is too liquid, this solves this somewhat.
As additions to the recipe I added some leftover boiled spinach and spring onion as well as cashew nuts to aid in the crunch factor. If you taste test and find the sauce too rich, the more meat/vege ingredients you add will spread it out a bit. Using veges with a bit of water content (like spinach) helps too.
I’m a vegetarian so I made this for my husband and son. They liked, but indicated it too salty. I used regular soy sauce, not low sodium as recommended. I agree with another reviewer, there was a lot of sauce. It did thicken, but I think this added to the salty flavor as well. I would definitely make again, just reduce the amount of soy sauce used, maybe by 1/2. Thank you for the simplicity of the recipe. Definitely a quick and easy meal for a week night!
This is pretty fantastic!!! It is good on rice like in the picture, but I’ve also used ramen style noodles, and it goes well too! There’s just enough spicy kick to it, and the “master sauce” is very tasty. It definitely satisfies your “umami” flavor craving!
It is perfect when my wife and I need to whip up something quick after work, or if we have unexpected guests. We just need to be sure to have the ingredients on hand. Luckily a small bottle of sesame oil lasts quite a while! (Sometimes we cheat and use frozen broccoli florets if we are in a pinch!) Thanks for posting!
I made this the other night and we loved it. Want to turn it into one of our ‘go to’ recipes. Do you recommend a noodle and if so what kind? Any additional vegetables that you’ve tried that would work well? Bok Choy perhaps?
This dish would pair beautifully with these asian garlic noodles! 🙂
https://damndelicious.net/2015/12/27/asian-garlic-noodles/
This was tasty! The directions said to add 1/4 water-necessary? Made it very ‘liquidy ‘.
It should have thickened but maybe you can omit or use a little less? Glad you still enjoyed it!
Excellent! We will be making this again.
We love it!
Wow this recipe was perfect and so delicious thank you!!
I usually find a recipe and make adjustments to taste (I made some, but not for taste per se). I made the sauce exactly as written. I did use 1 chicken bouillon cube to a half cup of water, because I didn’t have any stock and I used 1 tablespoon of pre-minced garlic, in lieu mincing 3 whole garlic cloves. I also used leftover ribeye steak that we had the other night for dinner and a bag of frozen mixed Asian vegetables. I did not add 1/4 cup of water and it still didn’t thicken like I wanted, but overall, it was absolutely delicious. I made Jasmine rice to serve it over and the more liquidy sauce
made it that much better. I will definitely save this and make it again!!!
Wow! I made this exactly as written, no substitutions or omissions. Very good flavor! Thank you for the delicious (and easy!) recipe. This one’s a keeper.
This is a great recipe using simple ingredients. I doubled the amount and we barely had any left. This was as close to the restaurant version as any I’ve had from home. I made it exactly as the recipe stated and was not disappointed. Another great recipe from this blog!
I used veggie broth and cut down on the table spoons of soy sauce and vinegar.
This is really good. I’m actually stunned how good the sauce is. All these ingredient have been sitting in the spice cabinet and to taste such a sweet sauce is amazing.
Its quick, cheap, amd taste fantastic! Perfect for a student.
Good recipe. Little salty but definitely was worth the time to make it. Would make again for sure just maybe use less soy sauce
Haven’t made it yet. Been looking for your recipes when I need something quick but good. Am an 80 yr. old housebound woman needing easy but good recipes. Really looking forward to this one as both beef and broccoli are among my favorite foods. You are terrific. You are so busy and do so much it makes me feel as though I’ m very lazy. But your recipes are so terrific, I check them out anyhow, even if I feel bad for 2 or 3 minutes.
Thank you!
Made this recipe twice in 8 days – first with shrimp and then with chicken breast. After the first time the kids told me not to make it again unless I double the recipe so they can have seconds! As a person new to the parenting thing (just started raising my sister’s 3 kids, 12,8 and 1) so i’m on the hunt for things that I can make when I get home that’s not super prissy, or expensive. Living on my own, dinner for me could easily be seafood burgers with lump crab, lobster, and scallops topped with a fried oyster – but uhhhhh, these kids just want mozzarella sticks, lol, this was a happy medium! Thanks!
Thanks, Stephanie! Gotta please the little rascals! 🙂
Im not someone who cooks on a regular. This was super easy to make AND TASTE DELICIOUS!!!! I skipped on the ginger (not a fan) so next time I think I might add it in. My boyfriend loved it (he’s super picky), asked for half chicken and half beef next time.
Excellent recipe! I followed the recipe with the exception of the sriracha and red pepper flakes as my kids don’t care for spicy/hot foods. Very easy to put together and fast! Thank you for a great addition to my weekly meal planning. 🙂
Simply the Best!!
I don’t often post recipe reviews but I had to for this one! This was over the top. I doubled the recipe, so glad I did, and only cooked enough for each meal. I made this EXACTLY like the recipe.
Family of 4, and my 2 little ones enjoyed it too! Great recipe, lots of flavor.
We are so happy to hear it!
So tasty and fresh. Added sweet yellow onion and celery. Next time might also add water chestnuts or bamboo shoots.
DELICIOUS. The recipe was simple and easy to follow, I was a bit nervous but this meal was just damn delicious thank you!
I’ve made this several times, and never used the full 2/3 cup soy sauce. I usually use between 1/3 and 1/2. Otherwise, this is fantastic and so easy. You can also cut up a red pepper for some visual pop. My local grocery store often annoyingly has flank steak only in 1.75 lb and heavier packages. I’ve made this with top sirloin which is usually closer to a pound, and it’s just as good, and usually cheaper.
Just made this – and it’s all gone. Even my pickier 9 yr old liked it. I stopped pouring in the soy sauce at about half the amount and just added more water. Other than that, it was identical to the recipe.
I was also worried that it was too soupy but it ended up nice over a bowl of rice (soaks in and flavours the rice). Next time I may add some fried onion to the beef as someone mentioned.
Thanks for the recipe! I was tired of my own cooking… 😉