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By Taylor Stinson | 25 Comments | Posted: | Updated:
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This is the EASIEST beef stir fry recipe with the best stir fry sauce made with just two ingredients! It's a great weeknight meal.
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Sesame oil – use another cooking oil like grapeseed oil or canola oil instead.
- Sirloin steak – or another tender cut of beef like tenderloin or ribeye. You can also buy pre-cut strips at the grocery store.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best but the jarred variety will work in a pinch.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Broccoli – cauliflower, bok coy and cabbage would all be good too.
- Carrot – swap out for another veggie of your choice like mushrooms, onions or water chestnuts.
- Baby corn – you can use frozen corn kernels, they just won’t be as crispy.
- Red pepper – or any other colour bell pepper like yellow or red.
- Rice – I like using white rice but you can use another rice of your choice or even quinoa.
Stir fry sauce
- Low-sodium soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are the best substitutes here.
- Hoisin sauce – substitute for oyster sauce or use 2 tbsp. of honey instead.
How to make beef stir fry
Step 1: Cook the rice and make the stir fry sauce.
Cook the rice and mix together the soy sauce and hoisin sauce to make the stir fry sauce.
Step 2: Sear the steak.
Add the steak, garlic, salt and pepper to a skillet and sauté until seared.
Step 3: Cook the veggies.
Add the broccoli and carrots and cook until tender. Add in the baby corn and red pepper, then sauté for another couple minutes.
Step 4: Toss everything together then serve!
Add the steak and stir fry sauce to the pan, and toss everything together. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly. Serve over rice, garnish with sesame seeds and dig in!
Stir fry tips
Here are some of my top tips for making this beef stir fry:
- If you have a wok, use it! A skillet will work just as well, but woks are great for stir fries.
- Ingredient prep ahead of time by cutting up all the veggies, slicing up the steak and making the sauce.
- Marinate the steak in cornstarch, baking soda and soy sauce for 30 minutes first to get it extra tender.
- Cook the steak and veggies separately to ensure that you're not overcrowding the pan and getting a nice sear.
- Serve your stir fry with a side of cauliflower rice for a low-carb option.
- Add 1 tbsp. cornstarch to the stir fry sauce if you want to be thicker.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make the beef tender when stir frying?
If you want your beef to be extra-tender, marinate it in baking soda, cornstarch and soy sauce for about 30 minutes before cooking it. The baking soda and cornstarch will create a layer that will prevent the meat from drying out and overcooking.
What's the best beef to use?
Stir fries are ready in about 10 minutes (the beef cooks for even less time), so you should use a cut of beef that has little to no fat or muscle fibres to keep it from overcooking. I like to use sirloin steak and slice it against the grain into thin bite-sized slices, but you could also use tri tip, tenderloin, top loin, flank steak, rib eye and shoulder cuts.
Can you make this recipe in the Instant Pot?
You can try making this beef stir fry in the Instant Pot by setting it to sauté mode. For more tips and instructions, check out my Instant Pot stir fry recipe.
What other vegetables can you add?
You can add any veggies of your choice to this stir fry – it's a great way to clear out your vegetable crisper! Broccoli, carrot, red pepper, baby corn, mushrooms, onions, water chestnuts, cauliflower, bok choy and cabbage would all be delicious in this recipe.
What do you serve with beef stir fry?
I typically serve my stir fry with rice, but you could also serve it with cauliflower rice, quinoa or rice noodles.
Storing and reheating
This beef stir fry recipe is perfect for meal prep because it comes together in less than 30 minutes and in one skillet to boot. You can enjoy this stir fry for dinner, of course, but it also makes for amazing weekly lunches for work. Just divide everything up into glass meal prep containers and it will keep in the fridge up to 5 days.
I find that you don't get the same “leftovers” taste with beef as you do with chicken so that's always a bonus! To reheat, just pop the glass bowls into the microwave for 2-3 minutes and you've got one tasty lunch!
Freezing this recipe
You can technically freeze this beef stir fry for up to 3 months, just keep in mind that some of the veggies don’t freeze well. They might come out soggy when you reheat them, so as long as you don't mind that aspect you should be okay to freeze it. Make sure to freeze it in glass meal prep bowls, then reheat in the microwave for 6 to 7 minutes from frozen.
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Meal Prep Tools
- Grab someglass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning thisbeef stir fry into your weekly lunches.
- Arice cookerwill automatically cook the side dish of rice for you.
- I get all my grass-fed beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen so I always have steak on hand!
- Usethese Ziploc bag holdersif you're marinating the steak ahead of time.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Quick & Easy Beef Stir Fry Recipe
This is the EASIEST beef stir fry recipe with the best stir fry sauce made with just two ingredients! It's a great weeknight meal.
4.91 from 77 votes
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Servings: 4 people
Calories: 500kcal
Author: Taylor Stinson
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 8 oz sirloin steak, thinly sliced against the grain
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1 head broccoli, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 can baby corn, drained and rinsed
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
Stir fry sauce
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
Rice (optional, to serve)
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp butter
Instructions
Cook rice with water and butter together in a rice cooker (if serving with stir fry).
Optional step for more tender beef (skip if you're in a rush): Add 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp baking soda and 2 tbsp soy sauce to sliced steak. Toss to combine and let marinate for 30 minutes in a large bowl or Ziploc bag.
Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add steak, garlic, salt and pepper, sauteeing for 2-3 minutes until seared. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Meanwhile, mix stir fry sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
Without wiping pan clean, add broccoli and carrots, then cover skillet with a lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Add in baby corn and red pepper, sauteeing another 2 minutes.
Add steak back to pan, along with stir fry sauce, tossing well to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens slightly.
Serve overtop of rice and garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Use a tender cut of beef like tenderloin or ribeye.
Add in more veggies like mushrooms, cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower or water chestnuts.
Thicken the sauce using 1 tbsp. cornstarch.
Serve with a side of rice, quinoa, rice noodles or cauliflower rice.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Microwave for 2-3 minutes to reheat.
Nutrition
Calories: 500kcal (25%)Carbohydrates: 81g (27%)Protein: 25g (50%)Fat: 10g (15%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Cholesterol: 37mg (12%)Sodium: 921mg (40%)Potassium: 1119mg (32%)Fiber: 8g (33%)Sugar: 14g (16%)Vitamin A: 4735IU (95%)Vitamin C: 180.3mg (219%)Calcium: 120mg (12%)Iron: 3.5mg (19%)
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Created by Taylor Stinson
Hey there, my name's Taylor! I’m the founder of The Girl on Bloor, a food blog where I share healthy meal prep recipes for busy people. I'm a busy city girl living in downtown Toronto on (you guessed it!) Bloor Street. I've got 10 years experience meal prepping, along with a Master's degree in journalism, and you can find my work across the internet featured on publications such as Buzzfeed, HuffPost, Women's Health, Reader's Digest and more. I also run the awesome 5-Day Meal Prep Challenge, which is a free email course and Facebook group where I share my meal planning strategies and easy meal prep tips and recipes. Be sure to check out my free beginner’s guide to meal prep and follow me on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get my latest recipes and meal prep tips!
Reader Interactions
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Sara Mayer says
Followed the recipe exactly as written and it was so good!! Veggies were nice and tender with a lot of good flavour. Next time I will add water chestnuts.Reply
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed!
Reply
Debra says
How many carbs would that be without the rice?
Reply
Taylor Stinson says
I’m not able to give that info. You are welcome to calculate it using Myfitnesspal.
Reply
Maria V Arnold says
Hi Taylor, how crucial is the sesame oil? I don’t seem to have any and wondered if there was a suitable substitution. And apparently my local grocery stores don’t carry baby corn? So I grabbed little cans of bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, so hopefully that will work!
Reply
Taylor Stinson says
Those sub ins work perfectly! And you can use canola oil instead, the flavour will only be subtly changed 🙂
Reply
Robert Wagner says
You can sub canned or fresh corn
Reply
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