Ground Beef Stir Fry

Ground Beef Stir Fry is a quick and easy dish packed with lean ground beef, fresh vegetables, and a savory homemade stir fry sauce. Ready in under 30 minutes, it’s perfect for busy weeknights and meal prep.

Prep Time15

Cook Time18

Total Time33

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Keyword: Ground Beef Stir Fry Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 384kcal

Ingredients

For the Sauce

½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons Mirin sweet cooking rice wine
3 tablespoons honey
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons freshly grated garlic
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the Stir Fry

1 pound lean ground beef, 93%-7%
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons peanut oil
¾ cup fresh broccoli florets, 1 inch bite size pieces
¾ cup large diced sweet yellow onion, Vidalia onion
¾ cup large diced red bell pepper, seeds removed
½ cup sugar snap peas, cut in half on a diagonal
½ cup carrots, from 1 medium carrot that has been peeled and cut into ¼ inch rounds
½ cup sliced button mushrooms

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk together the low-sodium soy sauce, water, Mirin, honey, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and crushed red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine to create the sauce for the vegetable beef stir fry. Set aside.
In a large (12-inch) skillet on medium-high heat, add the lean ground beef, salt and black pepper. Cook and brown the ground beef for 7-8 minutes or until no pink remains. When cooking the ground beef, be careful not to break it up into too small of pieces. You want to have some chunkiness to the ground beef when added to the stir fry.
Using a large slotted spoon, transfer the cooked ground beef to a paper towel lined plate to allow all the excess fat to drain from the sauteed ground beef. Remove the remaining liquid fat from the skillet, but do not clean the skillet.
To the same large skillet, on medium-high heat, add the peanut oil, broccoli florets, sweet yellow onion, red bell pepper, sugar snap peas, carrots and sliced button mushrooms. Cook the vegetables for 8-10 minutes or just until they are tender but still have a slight crisp to them.
Add the ground beef and sauce to the skillet. Stir to evenly coat all the ground beef and vegetables with the sauce. Allow the sauce to cook and thicken for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from the heat. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

Notes

Use Fresh Ingredients: Fresh vegetables and aromatics like garlic and ginger will provide the best flavor. Prepping them just before cooking helps maintain their freshness, too.
Keep the Beef Moist: Don't overcook the beef. As soon as it's no longer pink, remove it from the hot pan.
For the Best Texture: We don't recommend using frozen vegetables, as they release too much water and can end up mushy. We also recommend patting your vegetables dry so they sear in the pan. Otherwise, they tend to steam, and can end up less crisp.
Even Cooking: Slice vegetables evenly to ensure they cook at the same rate. This prevents some pieces from being overcooked while others remain undercooked.
For Extra Flavor: After cooking the beef, use a very small amount of water or broth to deglaze the pan before adding the vegetables. This picks up the flavorful browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

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