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Ground Beef and Broccoli

This Ground Beef and Broccoli is an easy 30 minute meal with a simple, flavorful sauce that your family will love eating with vegetables!

A bowl of rice with Ground Beef with Broccoli on top with bell peppers and green onions.

Ground Beef and Broccoli

I can’t pass up a good stir fry recipe, especially one that is truly a 30 minute meal.

You can make this recipe with ground beef, chicken, or turkey. Feel free to add in whatever vegetables you have on hand as well. It even makes a great freezer meal to reheat for easy, healthy lunches and dinners!

So….you sold yet?! See how easy this is to make below and don’t miss my pro tips for this recipe.

How to Make It

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Sauté the broccoli in oil for about 4-5 minutes, set aside. Add ground beef and onions and cook/crumble over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Add bell peppers and cook for 1 minute. 

Skillets with broccoli and ground beef with bell peppers.

Add sauce mixture and bring to a gentle boil. Let it simmer/reduce for 2-3 minutes. Remove cornstarch mixture from the fridge and give it a shake. Slowly stir it into the sauce. Let it continue to bubble gently until desired thickness is obtained.

Reduce heat to low. Add broccoli back and stir to combine and heat through. Garnish with green onions and serve.

Making Ground Beef with Broccoli in a skillet with bell peppers.

Keto Ground Beef and Broccoli

  • Cauliflower rice can be used instead of regular.
  • Brown Sugar and Honey can be replaced with more keto-friendly sweeteners. I do feel that sweetener of some sort is necessary in this recipe to balance out the savory flavor from the soy sauce and beef broth.
  • Consider skipping the cornstarch.

Pro Tips

  • Ground Turkey or Ground Chicken may also be used in this recipe. You can also make my Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry with chicken breasts!
  • Frozen Broccoli may also be used. Thaw and pat dry and proceed as outlined in the recipe.
  • Ingredient Additions include julienned carrots, water chestnuts, celery, kale, and more.
  • Topping Options include green onions, roughly chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, crunchy chow mein noodles, and sliced almonds.
  • To Control the Sodium in this recipe, consider using low sodium soy sauce and/or reduced sodium broth. Some soy sauce brands contain more salt than others.
  • Tip for cooking rice: Add chicken bouillon to the water for added flavor. Let it stand in the pot with the cover on for 10 minutes after simmering to let the rice release from the bottom.

Storage

  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. (Leftovers do freeze well!)

A bowl of ground beef and broccoli over rice with bell peppers.

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Ground beef and broccoli in a brown sauce over a bed of rice.

Ground Beef and Broccoli

4.98 from 108 ratings
This Ground Beef and Broccoli recipe is an easy 30 minute meal with a simple, flavorful sauce that your family will love eating with vegetables!

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon peanut oil, can sub vegetable or olive
  • 3 cups broccoli florets, washed and patted dry
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • Salt/White Pepper, to taste

Sauce

  • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, + 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

For Serving

  • 3 cups cooked rice, any kind

Instructions

Prep Work

  • Combine cornstarch + 2 Tablespoons water in a covered container and shake to combine. Place in a cool location.
  • Combine remaining sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. *Start with 1 tablespoon of honey and add another at the end if desired.

Cook the Broccoli

  • Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the broccoli and toss to coat. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until slightly softened. Remove and set aside.

Cook the Beef

  • Season the beef with salt/white pepper if desired. Cook and crumble the ground beef and diced onions over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through. Drain grease. Add sliced bell peppers and cook for 1 minute.

Add the Sauce

  • Add sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Let it simmer/reduce for 2-3 minutes. Shake the cornstarch mixture, then slowly stir it into the sauce. Let it continue to bubble gently until desired thickness is obtained.

Add the Broccoli Back

  • Reduce heat to low. Add broccoli back and stir to combine and heat through. Garnish with green onions and serve over rice! *See notes for my process on making perfectly cooked, flavorful rice.

Notes

  • Ground Turkey or Ground Chicken may also be used in this recipe. You can also make my Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry with chicken breasts!
  • Frozen Broccoli may also be used. Thaw and pat dry and proceed as outlined in the recipe.
  • Ingredient Additions include julienned carrots, water chestnuts, celery, kale, and more.
  • Topping Options include green onions, roughly chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, crunchy chow mein noodles, and sliced almonds.
  • To Control the Sodium in this recipe, consider using low sodium soy sauce and/or reduced sodium broth. Some soy sauce brands contain more salt than others.

My process for perfectly cooked rice:
  • Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. (I add 2 chicken bouillon cubes to the water for enhanced flavor.)
  • Add 1 cup of white long grain rice and let the liquid come back up to a boil.
  • Cover tightly and reduce heat to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. (I set my heat to low.)
  • Remove from heat and let it stand in the pot for 10 minutes with the lid on, any rice stuck to the bottom will release.
  • This yields 3 cups of flavorful, perfectly cooked rice. I use a Dutch oven for this which conducts heat well.
  • Note that other varieties of rice may require different liquid measurements and/or cooking times.

The Nutrition Information is per serving, there are 4 servings in this recipe, and the rice is included. Note that the nutritional information shared is an estimate.

Nutrition

Calories: 488kcal, Carbohydrates: 65g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 1138mg, Potassium: 842mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 1357IU, Vitamin C: 102mg, Calcium: 80mg, Iron: 4mg
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250 comments on “Ground Beef and Broccoli”

  1. My only question is how do you ”shake”…..
    2 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch… You can’t really shake a paste. Lol. I added a tad more water.  Otherwise…. Great recipe!!!!!!!!

    I kept peppers and onions separate for the kids, but my 12 yr old son ate the beef broccoli and rice!

    All very simple and I loved it! Siracha sauce was a bonus for me as well! As I read others comments about adding siracha sauce ….. I realized it had been awhile since I had the sauce….  

    Loved it!!!

    • Hi Crystal, I usually put the cornstarch and water in a small container with a lid and shake to combine, it’s still in liquid form when I use equal parts of each. (This resource confirms that equal parts water and cornstarch are used to make a slurry.) Glad that you enjoyed the recipe!

  2. Can I use fresh cauliflower instead of broccoli as my Husband dislikes broccoli.  Would I have to Pre cook the cauliflower?

  3. Excellent recipe. I added more broth and chopped mushrooms for a bit more oomph and I was super pleased.

    • I’m so happy you enjoyed the Ground Beef and Broccoli Mel! Adding chopped mushrooms is fantastic, I wish I could do it more often but my husband is a mushroom wimp!🙄 Thanks so much for the great review!

  4. I have a teenage son who is a very picky eater, he loved this recipe! As did the whole family. We’ll definitely make this again soon. Thanks so much for the quick & flavorful meal!

    • You’re very welcome Sara! I’m so happy your son enjoyed this! Teenage boys can be tough to please sometimes. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😍

  5. Absolutely delicious! My family compared it to Edo Japan’s Terriaki Beef and were thrilled with how it went with the rice! Next time, I’ll use the other commenter’s suggestion about using some sirracha sauce as well!

  6. Liked. I added shredded carrots and cooked my broccolli a little longer bc hubby likes it soft. But it had good flavor. Hubby not a casserole or one pot meal guy but he has enjoyed this one.

  7. Stephanie, this the best tasting ground beef and broccoli recipe I’ve ever tasted that’s worth a review. Extremely easy to follow recipe each step. I will check the rest of your recipes, thanks you.

    • Thanks so much Sharon, I’m so happy you liked it!😊 I love how simple and yummy this one is. I can’t wait for you to try others. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💖

  8. This was such an easy weeknight dinner! And so good.  I added a bit of siracha to the sauce, because we like a little heat 😉.  Definitely going into my regular rotation of recipes, thank you Stephanie!

    • You’re very welcome Jenny! I’m so happy you liked this one. Adding a little siracha sounds like a great idea! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️

  9. The flavors came together nicely. I had prepared this before for my family but not with ground beef. I sorta hot ahead of myself and cooked out order. However it still was great. I added my sauce ingredients directly to my cooking beef. I will make this again. It was easier than cutting steak meat.

  10. Yum!!!  Such a delicious and easy meal for a weeknight- I’ve made it with both ground beef and ground turkey.  The sauce is perfect.  Another winner!

    • That’s so great to hear Jenny! I’ve been using ground turkey a lot more often. Glad to hear you liked it in this recipe. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️

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