Ground Beef and Broccoli

4.88 from 8 votes

This ultra tasty ground beef and broccoli recipe is a budget-friendly way to enjoy your favorite takeout flavors at home! It takes the intimidation out of cooking Asian-style meals.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: ground beef and broccoli

Servings:

Author: Natasha Bull

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil divided
3-4 cups broccoli florets see note
1 pound lean ground beef

Sauce ingredients:

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil see note
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or more, to taste

Instructions

Prep everything ahead of time as the actual cooking part goes fast. Add the sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined.
Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Let the pan heat up for a few minutes (the oil should be shimmering).
Add the broccoli and cook for 4-5 minutes, tossing/stirring often (it'll be tender-crisp). Transfer it to a plate.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, then add the beef and cook it until browned and cooked through, breaking it up with your spoon as you go along (about 5 minutes). If there's lots of excess fat, spoon some out.
Reduce the heat to medium, then add the broccoli back to the pan and pour the sauce in. Stir/toss until coated and the sauce has thickened (about 1-3 minutes). Take the skillet off the heat and serve immediately.

Notes

Cut the broccoli into fairly small florets so they cook fast and evenly. One pound of broccoli typically makes 3-4 cups once cut into florets.
If the sauce gets too thick, simply add a splash of water to thin it out a bit.
You can find toasted sesame oil in the Asian foods aisle of your grocery store ( sometimes it's labeled as "pure" sesame oil). It's darker in color and tastes different than regular sesame oil. It's a flavor enhancer with quite a strong taste.
Fresh ginger is much easier to grate when frozen! I always keep fresh ginger in the freezer (in a ZipLoc) and I use my Microplane grater/zester to effortlessly grate it.
I love to serve this recipe with rice. I typically measure out 1 cup of uncooked rice to serve 4, but feel free to make as much rice as you normally do. Start the rice before the beef & broccoli so that it's ready at the same time.

Nutrition