Ground Beef and Broccoli

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

18 Comments

5 from 9 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
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Ground Beef and Broccoli is an easy one-pan meal, ready in 15 minutes that is tasty, healthy, and inexpensive. A Chinese classic made at home!

When it comes to Chinese Food Recipes, one of the healthiest dinners you can get is Beef and Broccoli. This faster version is just as healthy but made in half the time. Plus no marinating!

Sabrina’s Ground Beef and Broccoli Recipe

Nothing comes in quite as handy on a busy weeknight than a pound or two of ground beef. It takes minutes to cook and goes with just about everything. This recipe gives ground beef an Asian takeout twist that everyone, even picky eaters, will love.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Ground Beef and Broccoli Recipe

Ground Beef and Broccoli is an easy one-pan meal, ready in 15 minutes that is tasty, healthy, and inexpensive. A Chinese classic made at home!
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American, Chinese Food
Author Sabrina Snyder
meat and broccoli in a green skillet with whole broccoli beside it
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (85/15)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 2 teaspoons ginger , minced
  • 1 pound broccoli , cut into bite-sized chunks

Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup cooking sherry
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

  • To make the sauce, whisk oyster sauce, cornstarch, cooking sherry, soy sauce, and sugar together. Set aside.
  • Steam broccoli slightly in the microwave for 1-2 minutes in a covered microwave safe bowl.
  • In a large skillet over medium high heat, add oil and ground beef. Cook 6-8 minutes, until cooked through, breaking up after a crust has formed. Drain fat.
  • Add garlic and ginger to the pan, cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Stir in broccoli and sauce until well combined, cooking 1-2 minutes for sauce to thicken.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 724mg | Potassium: 607mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 471IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 3mg

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About this Recipe

Ground Beef and Broccoli is a quick and easy way to make one the best Chinese dinners. You still get the same beefy flavor and crisp veggies in a savory sauce that you love, but with way less work. No freezing and slicing flank steak, or marinating it to make sure it stays tender. Using ground beef also makes this dish more affordable too! This recipe has more of the traditional flavors of Chinese restaurants without being overly sweet or spicy. It’s a mild, savory sauce that goes perfectly with the beef. The broccoli is cooked just until crisp-tender, not a mushy veggie to be found!

Chef’s Note- Specialty Ingredients

This recipe uses a couple special ingredients, like oyster sauce and minced fresh ginger, but you can easily swap them out with what you have on hand. Check out the Variations for common switches to these traditional Chinese flavors and save an extra trip to the store.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

  • Make sure to steam the broccoli first so it only needs about 2 minutes in the pan, just long enough to coat in the sauce.
  • To make sure your broccoli steams evenly, make sure all the pieces are about the same size.
  • You could also use frozen broccoli in this recipe, just thaw it first and only barely heat it in the microwave.

What to Pair With

Making Chinese takeout at home means you can get all your favorite side dishes without breaking the bank! The leftovers reheat way better, too! Serve your Ground Beef and Broccoli with Chow Mein, White Rice, Steamed Greens, and Spring Rolls for an Asian feast in less than an hour.

How to Store

  • Serve: Ground Beef and Broccoli can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Cool before storing.
  • Store: Place leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet or microwave.
  • Freeze: Once cooled, store in a freezer-safe bag, squeezing the air out, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.

Variations

  • Meat: You can easily use ground chicken, ground pork, or ground turkey in this dish instead of ground beef. Leftover Grilled Chicken would be fast and delicious too, just dice, heat, and toss in the sauce with the steamed broccoli.
  • Veggies: Other stir-fry veggies you might like are snow peas, carrots, bell peppers, onions, or baby corn. Use either fresh or frozen and steam for a few minutes before adding to the pan.
  • Sauce: If you have them on hand, try this sauce with a tablespoon of Hoisin sauce. If you prefer sweeter sauce, change the sugar to 3 tablespoons brown sugar.
  • Spicy: For a more spicy dish, add 1 minced jalapeño with garlic and ginger. You can also add Sriracha or chili garlic sauce to the sauce.
  • Oyster Sauce: Instead of Oyster Sauce, increase the Soy Sauce to 2 tablespoons and add 1 teaspoon each honey and Worcestershire sauce.
  • Ginger: If you don’t have fresh ginger, replace with 1 teaspoon dried ginger. Technically it would be ½ teaspoon exchange, but you want the ginger flavor to be noticeable in this sauce.

More Ground Meat Chinese Food Recipes

beef dish Pin Collage

Photos used in a previous version of this post.

Beef dish collage for Pinterest

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

    1. Always enjoy hearing that the kids enjoyed the recipe! Thank you Jenn and thank you for the five star review!

      Reply

  2. So toddler friendly, and so easy to make. I had no cooking sherry, so I used mirin instead, and no oyster sauce, so I just used soy sauce cup for cup.

    This is delicious and so approachable to whip up as a quick weeknight dinner. Thank you for another household favorite!

    Reply

  3. I can’t believe I’ve been living under a rock this whole time when it comes to learning how to cook while living on my own. This recipe makes me look like a pro. It’s quick, easy, yummy!

    Reply

  4. I’m curious about the sub for oyster sauce as the extra tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon each honey and Worcestershire sauce does not equal 1/2 cup. Does it matter that the volumes are not the same?

    Reply

  5. This looks amazing and though I haven’t yet made it, I make your orange chicken regularly (my whole family LOVES it!!) and we also love your General Tso’s! Can you suggest a substitution for the oyster sauce? I don’t have it and have so many sauces in my fridge and pantry, I am trying to avoid buying more items which I won’t use much.

    Reply

  6. What a yummy recipe that tastes like what you would get at a restaurant! One of the best things is that it only takes ground beef, not any hard-to-find cuts of meat. My family loved this! Will be making again!

    Reply

  7. I made this on a fast dinner for the family and EVERYONE FELL INLOVE! Thank you so much it was so amazing!!!

    Reply

  8. I tried this recipe for my boyfriend and daughter. They ate the whole pan that night and wanted more. It was very good. I did substitute some things out to make kind of make it my own.

    Reply