Beef and Broccoli takes about 30 minutes, right in your own kitchen! Tender strips of beef and broccoli florets are tossed in a simple homemade sauce for the perfect weeknight meal inspired by a take out favorite.
There’s something so ridiculously fabulous about the combination of sweet, savory and spicy in this easy beef and broccoli recipe!
When you order takeout from your favorite Chinese restaurant, do you have a favorite dish? For me, it’s a toss-up between cashew chicken, fried rice and beef and broccoli.
What Cut of Beef Is Best for Stir Fry?
I’m a big fan of using flank steak for homemade takeout-style meals like this beef broccoli recipe or my almost famous and Easy Mongolian Beef. Once it’s cut properly, flank steak becomes so melt in your mouth tender!
To properly slice flank steak, you’ll need to examine the meat first. You’ll see lines running along the length of the beef. That’s called the grain, and it looks very similar to the grain on a piece of wood. If you cut alongside those lines (or WITH the grain), the steak becomes very tough and chewy. So instead, you’re going to cut across the lines (AGAINST the grain), which breaks down the connective fibers and gives you super tender pieces of meat.
Helpful Tip: It’s MUCH easier to slice flank steak thinly when the beef is partially frozen, so pop them in the freezer for 30-45 minutes before slicing!
To Tenderize Beef
In this recipe the beef is tenderized 2 ways.
- Marinating: adds great flavor and breaks down some of the tough proteins in the beef.
- Slicing: cut the beef very thin, cut across the grain
How to Make Beef and Broccoli
It is easy to learn how to cook beef broccoli inspired by a favorite Chinese take out dish. Flank steak is cut against the grain, then marinated in three simple ingredients at room temperature. This helps to tenderize and flavor the beef.
- Prep Beef: Thinly slice and add to the marinade
- Prepare Sauce: While the meat is marinating, a homemade beef and broccoli sauce is prepared. This sauce is super flavorful, making this beef and broccoli recipe tasty as can be!
- Stir Fry Beef & Broccoli: Cook the beef, cook the broccoli and cook the garlic and ginger. Then the magic happens, when everything is added together in this easy beef and broccoli dish. It’s that simple!
This can be made in a wok if you have one or just a regular skillet. Keep in mind, a non-stick pan won’t give a good sear.
To Serve
The rice is optional in this recipe, but I find it goes so well with the dish. You could also serve it on cauliflower rice or easy fried rice.
More Homemade Favorites
- Sesame Chicken
- Lemon Chicken
- Sesame Ramen Noodles
- Chicken Lo Mein
- Easy Pepper Steak
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Pork Stir Fry
Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
MARINADE:
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons rice wine (NOT rice vinegar)
- 6 tablespoons beef broth (low sodium is best)
- 7 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 6-7 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
STIR FRY:
- 1 pound flank steak sliced thinly across the grain
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil divided use
- 3 - 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 ½ tablespoons garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- ⅓ cup water
- sliced green onions (for garnish)
- sesame seeds (for garnish)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine sliced flank steak with all marinade ingredients (1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch). Let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes (or refrigerate for up to 4 hours).
- Whisk together sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside. Gather all stir fry ingredients and set aside. The key to a great stir fry is preparation!
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large skillet over MED-HIGH heat. Cook beef in a single layer, 1-2 minutes, turning halfway through. If you need to, cook the beef in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Transfer cooked beef to a plate.
- Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to same skillet and add broccoli florets. Cook broccoli 1 minute, then add water and cover the skillet to steam the broccoli for approximately 2-3 minutes. Remove broccoli to a plate.
- If needed, add a small drizzle of vegetable oil to the same skillet, then add garlic and ginger. Cook 30 seconds, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add cooked beef and broccoli to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Whisk sauce ingredients again to make sure they're combined, then add them to the skillet. Cook everything 1-2 minutes, stirring nearly constantly, until sauce is thickened to your liking, and all beef and broccoli is coated.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds if desired and serve. Can be served as is, or over white rice.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
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Followed recipe to a T….it was amazing!!! And my husband loved it too!
So happy to hear that, Amber!
What can I use if I can`t find rice wine ?
Sherry is a good substitute for rice wine.
NOT cooking sherry!!!
This is the best beef and broccoli recipe out there and much better than take-out. I can’t find oyster sauce in my area (bummer), but I found online that soy sauce can be used as a substitute so that’s what I did. I made it last Tuesday; we’ve not stopped thinking about it so it’s what’s for dinner on this lovely Sunday evening. Initially, it’s pricey to get all the ingredients but we’ll use this recipe over and over. I’ll make it saucier this time around, it will be easy to play with. Thanks so much for this great recipe!
This has got to be the best beef and broccoli I ever made. It’s even better than the restaurants. Thank you for sharing. I love your site!
Glad you enjoyed it Amy!
IS your nutrition panel for all of recipe or serving? I don’t see serving size.
Hi Regina, for all recipes it is per serving, and this recipe is broken into 4 servings. Actual serving size may vary dependent on the ingredients you use so we do recommend running it through a nutrition app like MyFitnessPal using your own ingredient brands and quantities.
I made Beef & Broccoli last night. It was fabulous! Husband still talking about it! Thank you.
Looks good. However, how many people (other than Oriental people) have a bottle of rice wine hanging around. To go buy one for 2 tablespoons seems silly. What can I substitute.
Hi Shirley, you can substitute it for regular oil but will lose the delicious sesame flavor it provides in this recipe. When it comes to sesame oil there are so many delicious recipes you can make with it, it is definitely a staple in my cupboard!
Hi! I’m assuming the rice wine you used here is the Chinese shao xing cooking wine and not the Japanese Mirin sweet rice wine, right?
For this recipe, we use a standard cooking rice wine Joahna. I hope that helps :)
Perfect restaurant style Beef and broccoli, so easy to make and delicious!
Thank you Michelle! We love it too!
Always looking for great recipes.
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G… Holly!
These recipes are so tasty and delicious!
Thank you for sharing them with us!
Thank you so much Kim! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Good recipe! Recommendations after my first attempt at making is to cut the light brown sugar amount. There are a lot of flarovable ingredients going into this sauce, and using 6 T. of sugar overwhelmed them. If you like sweeter sauces, follow the recipe, but if you like a more savory, salty sauce, cut the sugar to one or two tablespoons — just my humble opinion. And stay true to the instructions on steaming the broccoli — I added a couple more minutes of steaming, but then in the end, the florets were softer than ideal — still good! Hubby loved this recipe!
Thank you for sharing Lori Jo! Glad your hubby enjoyed it!
Made this for dinner last night and we absolutely loved it! It’s earned a regular spot in our menu rotation.
I’m so glad you loved it Lynne!! <3