Save money by making your very own restaurant style beef broccoli recipe. It's so good you won't miss your go-to restaurant beef & broccoli. Plus it takes 30 minutes, less time to make than to pick up or have it delivered.
[This recipe was originally posted in March 2017. It has been updated with new cooking instructions, expert tips, FAQ, related recipes, and ways to repurpose/use up ingredients]
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Table of contents
How will this beef and broccoli stir fry make your life easier?
Broccoli and beef is a delicious, bright dish on lots of restaurant menus. But it's also one that you can easily make at home. One you can make in just about as much time as it takes to order & grab it or have it delivered, plus it'll save you money.
Here are a few other delicious beef dishes: Thai beef bowl with garlic & spinach, Easy stuffed squash with ground beef & rice, Easy Korean beef bulgogi.
What makes this beef dish so good?
How do I make broccoli beef?
Prepare rice according to package directions. After getting the rice started, you will then thinly slice skirt steak, chopped onion, broccoli, and thaw frozen edamame if not prepared already.
Place a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat, add neutral or vegetable oil. Once the pan is hot, cook onions and minced garlic over medium-low heat. It'll take about 5 minutes, and onions will be translucent and soft when they're ready.
Once onions are softened and turning translucent, add sliced skirt steak to onions. Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side, then flip each slice to cook for 3 minutes on the other side. This will give you medium-rare beef slices.
While beef is cooking, prepare your beef broccoli sauce by pouring beef stock and soy sauce into a small mixing bowl, then add dark brown sugar. Whisk until smooth.
After the beef has started cooking, add sauce and veggies. Stir every few minutes and cook for about 7-10 minutes or until veggies are tender and sauce has thickened.
Once sauce is almost as thick as you'd like it, take pan off the stove and dish up. The sauce goes from too think to too thick quickly, so remove right before you think it's thick enough.
Serve your beef broccoli over rice immediately.
Substitutions/Tips
- You can swap the skirt steak with hanger steak, flank steak, flat iron, or tri-tip steak in this broccoli beef recipe. Ask your butcher, or choose a thin cut of beef.
- Buy pre-chopped/sliced ingredients to make this recipe faster. Also, quick cooking or frozen rice will save you time too.
- Don't cook your broccoli and beef over medium or higher heat because it'll get too hot and the onions will burn.
- Use Better than Bouillon beef flavor instead of beef stock. It's easier to use!
- You can use light brown sugar instead of the dark kind if you have it.
- Other great add-ins: sesame seeds, ginger, sesame oil, red pepper flakes.
FAQ
The sauce in this beef broccoli recipe has beef stock, soy sauce, and brown sugar in it. I like to use Better than Bouillon paste + water instead of stock. Other sauce have ginger, sesame oil, and cornstarch.
Definitely, you'll cook it similarly to this recipe. You can use other cuts too, since some take extra tenderizing, not all cuts will work for this quick cooking dish. You can use strip steak, hanger steak, flat iron, or tri-tip.
If you're eating ¼ lb beef (or 4 oz), which is what's in one serving of this recipe, you'll get almost 30g of protein from the skirt steak. You may get more or less protein depending on how big your serving of steak is.
How can I repurpose?
- If you want to make it super easy, just swap out the rice for ramen, rice noodles,
- Make extra sauce & serve it over a bed of lettuce for an easy salad. I'd recommend adding rice or a grain to the salad so it's filling and exciting.
- Add it back to rice & an egg to make an easy fried rice dish
What can I make with leftover ingredients?
- Beef: you can swap ground beef for the leftover steak) Thai beef bowl with garlic & spinach, Easy stuffed squash with ground beef & rice, Easy Korean beef bulgogi. You can also add some beef to this vegetarian stroganoff.
- Broccoli: Broccoli Salad, add it to this Parchment Paper Salmon, Chicken & Broccoli, Shrimp Sheet Pan Dinner, add to Sheet Pan Winter Veggies or this 15 Minute Stir Fry Noodles.
Did you make this beef broccoli? Leave me a comment & rating to share how it turned out!
Restaurant Style Beef Broccoli
Equipment
- Large Skillet/Cast Iron Skillet
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- knife
- cutting board
- tongs
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown rice quick cooking
- 1 tablespoon mild oil I used grapeseed
- ⅛ cup chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- ½ pound skirt steak sliced thinly
- ¼ cup beef stock or equivalent bouillon paste
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 pound broccoli pre-chopped (fresh or frozen)
- ⅓ cup frozen edamame beans removed from shells
Instructions
- Prepare ½ c rice according to package directions. Then thinly slice ½ lb skirt steak, ⅛ c chopped onion, 1 chop chopped broccoli, and thaw ⅓ c frozen edamame if not prepared already.
- Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat, then add 1 T neutral oil. Once pan is hot, cook ⅛ c chopped onions and 1 clove garlic, chopped over medium-low heat. It'll take about 5 minutes, and onions will be translucent and soft when they're ready.
- Once onions are softened and turning translucent, add ½ lb sliced skirt steak. Cook for about 3 minutes on the first side, then flip each slice to cook for 3 minutes on the other side. This will give you medium-rare beef slices.
- While beef is cooking, prepare sauce. Pour ¼ c beef stock and ¼ c soy sauce into a small mixing bowl, then add ½ teaspoon dark brown sugar. Whisk until incorporated.
- After the beef has started cooking, add sauce and veggies. Stir every few minutes and cook for about 7-10 minutes or until veggies are tender and sauce has thickened.
- Once sauce is almost as thick as you'd like it, take pan off the stove and dish up. The sauce goes from too think to too thick quickly, so remove right before you think it's thick enough.
- Serve over brown rice.
Notes
- You can swap the skirt steak with hanger steak, flank steak, flat iron, or tri-tip steak. Ask your butcher, or choose a thin cut of beef.
- Buy pre-chopped/sliced ingredients to make this recipe faster. Also, quick cooking or frozen rice will save you time too
- Don't cook over medium or higher heat because it'll get too hot and the onions will burn.
- Use Better than Bouillon beef flavor instead of beef stock. It's easier to use!
- You can use light brown sugar instead of the dark kind if you have it.
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Jenny Shea Rawn says
Love chinese food but rarely have it because it is SO heavy - this dish looks amazing. Will be trying!
Rebecca says
thanks Jenny! let me know how it goes
Bethany @ athletic avocado says
I love takeout, but this dish look way yummier and healthier! Love that its so easy to make!
Rebecca says
thanks! I'm all about easy right now
Liz says
This is perfect- pinning now! My husband is OBSESSED with this at restaurants!!!! Great job!
Rebecca says
perfect excuse to make at home!
Lauren Harris-Pincus says
Love the whole grains and edamame 🙂
Rebecca says
thanks Lauren!
Julie Harrington says
So much better than take out!
Rebecca says
totally! thanks Julie!
EA The Spicy RD says
Great recipe! Beef w/ Broccoli has become my daughter's favorite dish to get when we order Chinese food. I love the addition of edamame too!
Rebecca says
yay! Love beef & broccoli too 🙂
Diane Boyd says
Looks delicious. Will try. I love an occasional meal with flank steak.
Rebecca says
me too!
Kushigalu says
What a great recipe. Love this combo alot. Better than any take out.
Rebecca says
thanks
Scarlet | Family Focus Blog says
I love beef and broccoli take out. Thanks for this recipe so I can try it at home.
Rebecca says
awesome!
Toni says
This is so good!! A new favorite for weeknights!
Rebecca says
great to hear!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
I was looking for a recipe like this, thank you for sharing!
Rebecca says
yay!
Angela says
My family loves Beef and Broccoli, we make it all the time. I like the idea of serving it over brown rice.
Rebecca says
awesome! it's so good over brown rice
Heidy L. McCallum says
Beef and broccoli happens to be one of my favorites and I really enjoyed this recipe. Everything turned out as it should have and I had no issues with the recipe which is awesome since in the past I have been disappointed in a few recipes on the net that was misleading. My family loved your recipe and asked that I make it again next week!
Rebecca says
great to hear