Ground Beef and Broccoli

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!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Servings: people

Calories: 488kcal

Author: Stephanie

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