If you love copycat takeout recipes that you can make at home, be sure to also try our Sweet and Sour Pork, Easy Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Orange Chicken! And don’t forget the Egg Rolls! Go to any Chinese restaurant in the USA and you are going to find beef and broccoli somewhere on the menu. It’s classic, iconic fare and our little Rosie’s (age 3) favorite dish when we get Chinese food – she hoards it like a dragon hoarding treasure. (UPDATE: It has been FIVE years since I first shared this recipe and now 8-year old Rose still loves beef and broccoli better than any other dish and claims rice as her favorite food). This recipe was shared with permission from my friend Charmaine from the Wok and Skillet blog. Charmaine and I met in a small blogging mastermind group. She was born and raised in Malaysia but spent much of her adult life in the U.S., and was in the process of writing her first cookbook, The Healthy Wok Chinese Cookbook. I even got to test some of her recipes early on. They are easy to follow and way better (and healthier!) than take-out. When Charmaine told me that I could share a recipe from her book here on the blog, I knew I wanted to make the beef with broccoli, since everybody in my house loves it and it comes together quick and easy.
Why this Recipe Works
Slicing the beef as thinly as possible and tossing it in a little cornstarch before stir-frying helps make the meat extra tender.The broccoli florets get a quick stir-fry in the same pan with a little garlic and water to help it steam to a perfect tender-crisp. One of my pet peeves is overcooked broccoli!Everything gets tossed and coated in an easy beef and broccoli sauce that cooks for just a minute or two to thicken ever so slightly so it’s silky and not heavy or gummy.
Ingredient Notes
This is a quick overview of some of the important ingredients you’ll need for this beef and broccoli recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Beef: Thin strips of a lean cut of meat like beef tenderloin or sirloin steak are best for this dish. We like beef tenderloin best for flavor, but sirloin is much less expensive and still works very well with the quick, hot cooking method.Broccoli: You can purchase broccoli florets (we buy the big bags from Costco and use the rest of it for other meals or to make Better-Than-Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup) or buy a couple whole heads of broccoli and cut it into florets yourself.
How to Make Beef and Broccoli
First, combine the cornstarch, soy sauce, freshly ground black pepper, and beef in a medium-size bowl and stir to coat the meat. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put all the brown sauce ingredients into a small jar with a tight seal. Shut the lid tightly and shake to combine. Set aside. Add the peanut oil to your wok and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef and stir-fry 3-5 minutes, just until the meat is no longer pink. Remove the meat from the wok and set aside. Add the garlic to the wok and stir-fry just for a few seconds, then add in the broccoli and water. Stir-fry until the water has evaporated and the broccoli is tender-crisp. Return the beef to the wok and add the brown sauce to the beef and broccoli. Toss and stir another 2 minutes, until the sauce has thickened just a bit, then remove from the heat and transfer the prepared beef with broccoli to a serving dish. Serve with rice.
Storage & Reheating
Leftover beef and broccoli will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days and it reheats well. I recommend reheating it in the microwave until hot before serving.
Recipe Tips & Variations
Slice the beef into thin strips. This allows it to sear quickly and results in tender bites. It can help to stick the meat in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing so that it is a little firm first.Don’t overcook the broccoli. Nobody likes mushy, soft broccoli. You want it to be tender, but still have a little bite of bite to it.Use a different protein. You could technically make this dish with 1-inch pieces of chicken instead of beef.Make it vegetarian. Rather than using beef, you could use chopped root vegetables or mushrooms to replace the meat and vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock in the sauce. They would also taste amazing coated in the savory sauce.Serve with white or brown rice.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
One Pot Bruschetta Chicken PastaBest Beef Kabob MarinadeHawaiian Teriyaki Chicken SkewersBest Ground Beef Stroganoff Recipe
This post was originally published in May, 2017. The photos and content were updated in January, 2022. Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
