This recipe for stir fry beef makes a quick, easy and delicious weeknight dinner. It includes a flavorful stir-fry sauce made with pantry staples. Flavorful and always a crowd-pleaser!
Using this simple recipe, you can have tender beef, crispy veggies and a homemade stir-fry sauce for dinner. The entire meal comes together in just over 30 minutes! Plus, everything cooks together in one pan. This meal has lots of protein and plenty of fresh vegetables to keep you satisfied.
Also, the homemade stir-fry sauce tastes great with other meat and vegetable combinations, too. Chicken, pork, and shrimp are all delicious choices.
If you love this recipe, be sure to also try my recipes for Sticky Chicken and Pineapple Pork Stir-Fry
What is the best beef for stir-fry?
Flank steak and round steak are the most popular choices for making stir fry.
Flank steak is an affordable and flavorful cut of meat to use in weeknight dinner. It is a lean and quick and easy to cook. The best way to cut flank steak to ensure it is tender is to cut it against the grain.
Tips for cutting flank steak
- Meat is easier to slice when it’s cold. Placing the meat in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before slicing will help.
- Use a very sharp knife.
- Always cut across the grain. Do you see the horizontal lines in the steak? This simply means cut the other direction of the lines. See the photo above!
- Slice the meat as thinly as you can. This makes a flavorful stir-fry that’s easy to eat!
Preparing the vegetables for stir-fry
The best way to prepare the vegetables for a stir fry is to slice them into matchsticks, otherwise known as julienne cut. These slices are long and thin, creating plenty of surface for the sauce.
To achieve these perfect results in your recipe for stir fry beef , follow these steps:
- Use a very sharp knife.
- Cut longer veggies such as carrots and zucchini into two-inch long pieces.
- Stand each piece on its end and slice down from the top, to create slivers about a quarter of an inch thick. Thicker vegetables will need to be cut in both directions while veggies like green peppers just need to be sliced thinly.
For this recipe for beef stir fry, I slice onion, green peppers and celery, but I shred the carrots. However, stir fry is a great way to use any vegetables you have in the refrigerator. Others veggies that are delicious in stir fry include:
- Zucchini
- Bok choy
- Mushrooms
- Brussels sprouts
- Green beans
- Broccoli
- Water chestnuts
- Baby corn
What makes this the best recipe for stir fry beef?
There are plenty of reasons to love this recipe. First, the entire meal can be prepared in one pan, in about 30 minutes. It’s easy to customize with whatever you have on hand, and it’s just as good eaten as leftovers as it is on the night you make it.
To make the beef stir fry recipe:
- Make the stir fry sauce. Before you begin cooking, place all the ingredients for the stir-fry sauce in a bowl or large glass measuring cup. Whisk to combine, then set it aside.
- Saute the beef with ginger and oil over medium-high heat. When it’s ready, the meat should have a brown color all over.
- Add the onion, green pepper and celery. Saute each until they start to soften. Add a little more oil if they stick to the pan.
- Finally, add the shredded carrots and the sauce. Cook just long enough to heat everything evenly.
Save time and make the sauce ahead
This easy stir fry sauce is best to make from scratch just before you start cooking the meal. This being said, you can make it up to 24 hours ahead. If the ingredients appear to have separated, just whisk them to recombine. Preparing the sauce right before you make the dish ensures that your meat and vegetables won’t cook too long.
I hope you like this recipe as much as we do! If you try this recipe be sure to leave me a comment/review below. I’d love to hear from you!
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Beef Stir-Fry Recipe (with Vegetables)
Ingredients
- 12 ounce flank steak or round steak, sliced very thinly
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1/2 white onion onion, diced
- 1/2 green pepper, diced
- 1 cup celery, cut into thin, 1-inch matchsticks
- 3/4 cup shredded carrots
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 6 tablespoons tablespoon water
Instructions
- Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat for 30 seconds. Then add the beef and ginger. Cook until browned and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add more oil if needed followed by the onion and green pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the celery saute for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the shredded carrots and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes until hot. Serve over rice if desired. Enjoy!
