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Skip greasy take-out tonight and instead make this homemade Beef Stir Fry! It’s easy and flavorful as can be. Flank steak is tossed in a skillet with broccoli, carrots, snow peas, and more. Plus, the homemade savory, yet sweet sauce is guaranteed to make your mouth water!
Stir fry for dinner? Always count me in. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met a stir fry I didn’t like! There’s something so delicious about meat and veggies all tossed together in an Asian-inspired sauce. And while I do love just about every stir fry I’ve tried, they’re not all created equal. This one is one of the best!
Why You’ll Love This
This beef stir fry is going to be in your weekly rotation after you make this just once! Tender and crispy beef is tossed with a medley of vegetables in a thick sweet and savory sauce. It coats everything so well that you definitely won’t miss out on the flavor! The best part is that there is enough sauce to drizzle extra on top when you serve this on a bed of fluffy white rice.
Honestly this steak stir fry is the best of both worlds – it’s a well-balanced meal with loads of protein and vegetables and it gives you all the satisfaction of your favorite take-out order — all while staying in.
Ingredients for Beef Stir Fry
For the steak, you’ll need:
- Steak – Flank steak works best.
- Soy Sauce – Use a low sodium soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos.
- Cornstarch – This is what adds that perfect crisp!
- Oil – Vegetable oil is great for this recipe.
- Veggies – I like to use a combo of broccoli, carrots, snow peas, bell peppers, and green onions.
The sauce calls for:
- Soy Sauce – Low-sodium is best
- Dark Soy Sauce – I like adding a tablespoon of this in for that deep, rich color.
- Brown Sugar – This adds the best subtle sweetness to the sauce!
- Garlic Powder – Just a dash of garlic powder adds great flavor.
- Ginger – Careful not to add too much, as this is one strong ingredient!
- Sesame Seeds – They’re best after they’ve been toasted, but that’s not needed if you don’t have time.
Stir Fry Variations
- Use more or different vegetables. Some other vegetables that would work would be mushrooms, baby corn, zucchini, celery, bean sprouts, bok choy, or cabbage.
- Different cut of beef. Skirt steak will work well too, or if you can’t find that you could use sirloin steak. I also thought this pineapple marinated ribeye would work well if you had leftovers of it and cut it into smaller pieces (you can then skip the marinating part of this recipe). Pineapple + Asian flavors always work really well together.
- Make it spicier. This beef stir fry isn’t spicy so if you like it spicy, add in some chili garlic sauce. This one is my favorite.
Step by Step on How to Make Beef Stir Fry
For more detailed instructions and precise measurements, be sure to read the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Marinate. Cut the beef and let it marinate in a cornstarch and soy sauce mixture for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Prep. Chop all of your vegetables and whisk the sauce ingredients. That way, you have everything you need ready to go.
- Cook the meat. Fry up the meat in some oil in a skillet over high heat. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Cook the veggies. Add all of the veggies (except the green onions) to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir fry! Toss the meat and sauce into the pan. Stir fry it all together, and enjoy with sesame seeds and green onions on top.
Serving Suggestions
I serve my beef stir fry with whatever white rice I have on hand at the moment. Typically it is either jasmine rice or sushi rice. As you can see, long-grain and short-grain rice can be served with this. If you prefer brown rice, that works too! To be extra fancy, fried rice would be an excellent accompaniment.
Leftover Storage Instructions
In an airtight container in the fridge, any leftovers you have will stay fresh for up to 4 days. To reheat, you can reheat on the stovetop in a skillet until warmed through or in the microwave.
More Asian Favorites
Beef Stir Fry
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) flank steak
- 2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 cups (182 g) broccoli florets
- 1 cup (128 g) shredded carrots
- 1 cup (98 g) snow peas
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 green onion, sliced
For the sauce:
- ½ cup (118 ml) low-sodium soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, more for garnish
Instructions
- Cut beef thinly across the grain (no more than ½ inch thick, 2 inch long strips). Place it in a freezer bag (or medium bowl). Stir in 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce and the 2 Tablespoons cornstarch and set aside. Allow this to marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- Prepare the vegetables and set aside.
- Prepare the sauce: Whisk together soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds. Set this aside.
- Heat avocado or vegetable oil to high heat in a large deep skillet or wok.
- Add half of the meat to the skillet and fry for 3 minutes. Remove this meat from the skillet and place onto a paper towel lined plate to drain. Fry the other half and place on plate with the other already cooked meat.
- Add the vegetables (except the green onions) to the same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until veggies are tender.
- Add the beef back to the skillet.
- Stir in the sauce and allow to thicken. Stir and toss to incorporate everything. Sprinkle the green onions and more sesame seeds over top.
- Serve over white rice!
Was amazing, I used some skinless Muscovy duck (I breed and raise them) and they have a texture and flavor akin to beef and slightly reminiscent of dark meat turkey, and I didn’t include the sesame seeds, and added fresh squeezed orange juice to the brine, and it was outstanding!
Very good!
Delicious! Doubled the recipe. Feeding several folks. Used a medley of Frozen veggies with Broccoli, snap peas, carrots and water chestnuts. Plus added red bell pepper and edamame. Served over brown rice.
This recipe was the absolute bomb. This was the first time I made it so it was only for me but I can’t wait to make this for friends. The beef came out so tender and delish, it was crazy. I added some angel hair pasta (wasn’t in the mood for rice) and I ended up having 2 huge bowls. All I can say is wow wow wow
5 Star Rating!
This was delicious! My kids both took one bite and said it was a keeper. Thanks for a great recipe.
This is delicious. I used Bok Choy that I had on hand instead of snow peas. Also added an extra onion. I had to add extra oil to brown the second half of the meat. I always find that true with stir fry. Maybe I’m doing something wrong? I’m determined to add more vegetable to my diet and this recipe fits the bill. Thank you. It’s delicious and very authentic Asia.
For less sodium, i modified the sauce and used 2T soy sauce, chicken broth and a tiny dab of better than beef bouillon, along with a little sesame oil to make up the 1/2 c of soy sauce called for. Everything else the same and we loved it! The trick for crispy beef is a keeper!
Love this recipe! And my whole family too. I cooked some rice noodles instead of rice as a side dish. I also added a bit of minced garlic to the sauce when cooking it with the other vegetables, a little more of ginger powder and more salt. And I added mushrooms as one of my vegetables instead of carrots.
Delicious!
And thanks for the beautiful pictures! That was the first reason that made me choose your recipe.
thanks for the feedback! i’m so glad you and your whole family loved this recipe. thank you about the photography – they say you eat with your eyes first, right? :)