When you need a nutritious and flavorful dinner on the table fast, make my ground beef stir fry! It’s loaded with crisp, tender vegetables, plenty of lean ground beef, and a sweet and savory stir fry sauce. Serve it on top of rice or noodles and dinner is ready!
Craving more stir fry? Try this sweet and sour shrimp stir fry!
Why You’ll Love Ground Beef Stir Fry
I never considered making stir fry with ground beef, but after I made ground turkey stir fry I figured, why not? Ground beef stir fry is a great weeknight dinner option for multiple reasons.
- Budget-friendly – Grocery prices keep going up and I know how important it is to provide affordable recipes for you to make. Ground beef is a protein that’s budget friendly and delicious in so many recipes.
- No slicing – Unlike chicken stir fry and beef stir frythis ground beef stir fry recipe doesn’t require slicing any meat. Just dump it in the pan and crumble it with my favorite ground meat chopper!
- Stir Fry sauce – My homemade stir fry sauce is the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and a touch of spicy flavors. It’s better than any bottled store bought stir fry sauce in my opinion, and it’s easy to make.
- Lots of veggies – Stir fry isn’t just about the meat. The crisp veggies not only add flavor and color, but nutrients and fiber too!
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef – Lean ground beef is best for stir fry so that it doesn’t get too greasy.
Snow peas, green onions, edamame, red bell pepper – All of these vegetables cook at similar times and won’t get mushy during the quick cooking process. See below for substitutions.
Beef broth – Use low sodium beef broth so the sauce isn’t too salty. Chicken broth can be used if needed.
I am Sauce – Low sodium should be used. You can also use low sodium tamari to make the sauce gluten-free.
Maple syrup – Give the sauce the perfect amount of sweetness! You can also use honey.
Rice Vinegar – A mild vinegar often used in Asian cooking. A little acid is needed to balance all the flavors in the stir fry sauce.
Chili paste – For a spicy garlic kick add a tablespoon of chili paste.
Ginger – Fresh ginger is the star of the sauce. It’s fresh, a little spicy and gives the sauce AMAZING flavor. Use a microplane zester to finely grate it.
Garlic powder – A convenient alternative to fresh garlic and you don’t have to worry about it burning while cooking at a high heat. Use 2 cloves of garlic if you prefer to use fresh.
Toasted sesame oil – Be sure to use toasted and not regular sesame oil or you won’t have that wonderful nutty sesame flavor.
Cornstarch – Cornstarch thickens the stir fry sauce.
Tips for Making Ground Beef Stir Fry
- Have the stir fry sauce made and veggies prepped and ready to go before you start cooking. This is a quick cooking dinner and you won’t have time to do prep work once you start.
- Use a large skillet or wok. You want the veggies to have enough room so they sear nicely and have a crisp tender texture. If they’re crowded they’ll steam and get soft.
- Since you’re cooking at a high heat, you’ll need to use an oil with a high smoke point such as avocado oil or canola oil.
Substitutions and Variations
- Skip the spicy component of the stir fry sauce and omit the chili paste.
- Use different veggies. Carrots, sugar snap peas, green beans, broccoli, and bok choy would be good alternatives.
Storage
Storage – Leftover ground beef stir fry will keep for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Freeze – Freeze the stir fry for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Reheat – Reheat the leftover stir fry in a large skillet or wok over medium heat until warmed through. You can also microwave it.
More Easy Ground Beef Recipes
If you make this Ground Beef Stir Fryplease leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you and do my best to respond to your comments. And if you’re on Instagram tag @reciperunner so I can see your beautiful creations!
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the stir fry sauce in a measuring glass or bowl. Set aside.
Add a couple teaspoons of oil to a large skillet or wok. Heat the oil over medium-high heat, then add in the ground beef. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Crumble and cook the ground beef until it’s cooked through then dump it out onto a plate.
Add a couple more teaspoons of oil to the skillet, then add in the red bell pepper, green onions, and snow peas. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until crisp tender. Stir in the edamame.
Add the ground beef back into the skillet and pour in the stir fry sauce. Stir everything together until it’s coated in the sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Taste for seasoning, then remove from the heat. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve over rice or rice noodles.
- Leftover stir fry will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
- Nutrition info doesn’t include rice or noodles.
Calories: 340kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 30gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 710mgPotassium: 828mgFiber: 3gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 1295IUVitamin C: 55mgCalcium: 75mgIron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
