Easy Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry Recipe
Stir-fry is easy to make once you learn the basics. Start with this easy beef and vegetable stir-fry recipe and you’ll gain confidence quickly.
Making stir-fry is something I think every cook should know how to do. Why?
- Easy: If you know the basics, making stir-fry is a quick and easy meal.
- Healthy: Lean protein + tons of veggies + rice = balanced and healthy meal. Choose brown rice if you can resist the sweet fragrance of jasmine rice. I can’t.
- Versatile: You can use up any veggies in your fridge with any kind of meat you have on hand.
Once you know the basic formula, it is so easy to throw together a quick stir-fry. Ready for it?
Protein + Vegetables + Sauce + Crunch (optional) + Something to serve it over = Stir-fry recipe for success!
Here are some great options for proteins:
- Beef — use a lean cut such as flank steak. Cut against the grain.
- Chicken – ground or thinly sliced
- Pork – ground or thinly sliced
- Shrimp – frozen or fresh
- tofu
- chickpeas
The possibilities for vegetables really are endless. Here’s some suggestions, but don’t be limited by what you see on this list.
- carrots
- broccoli
- onions (yellow, red, green onions, leeks)
- sugar snap peas or snow peas
- celery
- mushrooms
- cauliflower
- kale
- bean sprouts
- eggplant
Sauce. This recipe has a very simple sauce with beef broth, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. I also love this sesame beef stir fry with toasted sesame oil in the sauce. Sauces are pretty much interchangeable in stir fry recipes. Keep reading for more ideas.
Or buy your favorite pre-made sauce from the store if you are a beginner or in a hurry. I prefer homemade mostly because we watch our sodium intake closely. Other great flavors to add to either the sauce or stir-fy with the vegetables are grated ginger or minced garlic.
Cornstarch is essential to thicken the sauce so that the sauce really coats everything. Arrowroot starch is a good alternative.
“Crunch.” Optional, but highly recommended. Some of my favorites are:
- almonds
- chow mein noodles
- cashews
- water chestnuts
- bamboo shoots
Easy as pie. Errr…easy as stir-fry? ‘Cause pie is hard to make. Easy to eat though.
A couple additional tips to make your stir-fry recipe successful:
- Have your pan super hot!
- Cook items with similar cooking times together. For example, in this recipe, I start with the carrots and onions, which take a little longer to cook, and add the broccoli, beef, and peas later.
- Make sure everything is cut up, prepped, and ready to go before you turn your pan on. Stir-fry moves quickly so you’ll want to have everything ready. That includes your sauce ingredients.
Beef and vegetable stir-fry is a simple stir-fry recipe that could easily be customized based on what is in your fridge or what you like in your stir-fry. For this recipe, I use beef, broccoli, carrots, red onions, and a simple sauce. I serve beef and vegetable stir-fry with jasmine rice (I could live on that stuff) and top it with sliced green onions to add freshness.
If you’re more into chicken, try this sweet chili chicken stir-fry, chicken stir fry with ginger and basil, or sweet and sour chicken.
Anolon sent me something off my wish list — a stir fry pan from their Nouvelle Copper line — and it makes this recipe a breeze. Any deep, large skillet/frying pan will work for stir-fry. A pan with high sides like this one works well.
Easy Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry Recipe
Stir-fry is easy to make once you learn the basics. Start with this easy beef and vegetable stir-fry recipe and you’ll gain confidence quickly.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 to 1 1/2 lbs. flank or flat iron steak, cut into very thin slices against the grain
- salt and pepper
- 3 teaspoons light olive oil
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots (cut diagonally)
- 2 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups snow peas
- 1 small red onion, sliced vertically, or about 1 cup
- 4 cups cooked rice for serving (I love jasmine rice for stir-fry)
- 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine cornstarch, sugar and red pepper flakes. Whisk in beef broth and soy sauce and set aside.
- Sprinkle sliced beef with salt and pepper (go light on salt because the sauce will add a lot).
- Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Tilt pan and swirl to coat the sides. Add the onions and carrots and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the steak and broccoli and stir-fry for two more minutes. Stir in sauce mixture and snow peas; cook for another 1-2 minutes or until meat and peas are cooked to desired doneness. Serve over rice and garnish with sliced green onions.
Notes
- adapted generously from Cooking Light’s Way To Cook.
- Use whatever meat or vegetable you like. This recipe is very versatile.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 of 4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 722Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 621mgCarbohydrates: 66gFiber: 7gSugar: 8gProtein: 53g
RachelCooks.com sometimes provides nutritional information, but these figures should be considered estimates, as they are not calculated by a registered dietitian. Please consult a medical professional for any specific nutrition, diet, or allergy advice.
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Disclaimer: Anolon sent me a pan to try out and use for the creation of this recipe. I was not compensated to write this post. Post contains an affiliate link to a cookbook on Amazon. Thanks for supporting Rachel Cooks.
24 Comments on “Easy Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry Recipe”
Looks like a fabulous and easy dinner!
I would make the stir fry (above) that I just copied ! It sounds SO delicious. TFS
I make a chicken & vegetable teriyaki stir fry with brown rice a couple of times a month. If there are any leftovers, they make a great fried rice the next day.
Thanks for a chance at the giveaway!
An easy, but full of flavor, weeknight meal! Love stir fry! Thanks, Rachel!
Um, totally loving this recipe! Definitely adding it to the weekly menu rotation!!
Mmm I love a good stir fry, it always seems to hit the spot. Great recipe!
Happy Blogging!
I would use your stirfry recipe but subsitute chicken for the beef!
I am loving this recipe. Stir fry is my go to dinner… one of the few ways I can get veggies AND protein into my kiddos.
I’m excited to try this stir-fry!
I love making stir fries! I can make it different each time! I can adapt it to suit anyone’s taste! Fantastic recipe!
My house depends on stir drys for quick week night meals. Yours in beautiful. I always add a dash of sesame oil and sriracha at the end as well :)
This stir fry is gorgeous! Love your how-tos also. Can I come over for dinner? :)
Of course!!!
I love that we both made stir-fries! Love your tips!
Great minds think alike. ;)
I love stir-fry so I would definitely try your recipe! It looks delicious!
Now this is something Rich would love!! Can we come for dinner? :)
You guys are ALWAYS welcome. :)
We love stir fry. We have a 10-year-old daughter whom we adopted from Hunan province in China, and we became great fans of stir fry for her. We eat stir fry about once every two weeks. A new wok would sure come in handy!
You made Stir fry look so delicious and easy, I think I would definitely try one with the Anolon pans. We just filled a freezer with on sale $.99 chicken breast, so we are set to go. Thanks for the chance at winning a set of gorgeous cookware.
Stir fry! But vegetarian — lots of water chestnuts
I would love to make beef & broccoli in this pan, it is my all time favorite stir fry/
I love stir frys,used to make them a lot and then stopped. Don’t know why, we loved them. I would make a chicken stir fry with lot of vegetables. Served over rice, it would hit the spot! Love these pans, they would help me so much in the kitchen. Mine are so old they look bad and the inside flaking!
I would make steak fajitas