This is the EASIEST beef stir fry recipe with the best stir fry sauce made with just two ingredients! It's a great back-pocket pantry meal.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Sesame oil – use another cooking oil like grapeseed oil or canola oil instead.
- Sirloin steak – or another tender cut of beef like tenderloin or ribeye. You can also buy pre-cut strips at the grocery store.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best but the jarred variety will work in a pinch.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Broccoli – cauliflower, bok coy and cabbage would all be good too.
- Carrot – swap out for another veggie of your choice like mushrooms, onions or water chestnuts.
- Baby corn – you can use frozen corn kernels, they just won’t be as crispy.
- Red pepper – or any other colour bell pepper like yellow or red.
- Rice – I like using white rice but you can use another rice of your choice or even quinoa.
Stir fry sauce
- Low-sodium soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are the best substitutes here.
- Hoisin sauce – substitute for oyster sauce or use 2 tbsp. of honey instead.
How to make beef stir fry
Step 1: Cook the rice and make the stir fry sauce.
Cook rice with water and butter together in a rice cooker. Meanwhile, mix stir fry sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
Step 2: Sauté the steak.
Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add steak, garlic, salt and pepper, sauteeing for 2-3 minutes until seared. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate.
Step 3: Cook the veggies.
Without wiping pan clean, add broccoli and carrots, then cover skillet with a lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.
Step 4: Toss everything together then serve and enjoy!
Add in baby corn and red pepper, sauteeing another 2 minutes. Add steak back to pan, along with stir fry sauce, tossing well to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Serve overtop of rice and garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Beef stir fry sauce
The great thing about this beef stir fry recipe is that the sauce comes together with just TWO ingredients: hoisin sauce and soy sauce. If you don't have hoisin sauce already on hand at home you can substitute the same amount of oyster sauce or add two tablespoons of honey instead. This beef stir fry sauce is super versatile and there's no need to overthink it.
Frequently Asked Questions
You’ll want to use a tender cut of meat for this beef stir fry recipe. Stir fries are ready in about 10 minutes (the beef cooks for even less time), so you should use a cut of beef that has little to no fat or muscle fibres. I use sirloin steak and slice it against the grain into thin bite-sized slices, but other options for a beef stir fry include tri tip, tenderloin, top loin, flank steak, rib eye and shoulder cuts.
In order to tenderize the beef ahead of time, you can add 1 tsp of baking soda and 1 tsp of cornstarch to the beef along with 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Let it all sit in a large bowl or Ziploc bag for 30 minutes before sauteing on high heat. This should result in more tender beef, especially if you're using a tougher cut of meat. The baking soda and cornstarch will create a layer that will prevent the meat from drying out and overcooking. You don't have to do this step if you're in a hurry, but it will result in tastier, more flavourful meat for your beef stir fry and who doesn't love that?!
If you'd like a thicker beef stir fry sauce, you can feel free to add in 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and add the sauce towards the end just like you would do if you were making the recipe normally. This will make the sauce a bit thicker and have more substance if you're choosing to serve the stir fry over rice or noodles.
Storing and reheating
This beef stir fry recipe is perfect for meal prep because it comes together in less than 30 minutes and in one skillet to boot. You can enjoy this stir fry for dinner, of course, but it also makes for amazing weekly lunches for work. Just divide everything up into glass meal prep containers and it will keep in the fridge up to 5 days.
I find that you don't get the same “leftovers” taste with beef as you do with chicken so that's always a bonus! To reheat, just pop the glass bowls into the microwave for 2-3 minutes and you've got one tasty lunch!
Freezing this recipe
You can technically freeze this beef stir fry for up to 3 months, just keep in mind that some of the veggies don’t freeze well. They might come out soggy when you reheat them, so as long as you don't mind that aspect you should be okay to freeze it. Make sure to freeze it in glass meal prep bowls, then reheat in the microwave for 6 to 7 minutes from frozen.
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More easy stir fry recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this beef stir fry into your weekly lunches.
- A rice cooker will automatically cook the side dish of rice for you.
- I get all my grass-fed beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen so I always have steak on hand!
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're marinating the steak ahead of time.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Easy Beef Stir Fry Recipe {2-Ingredient Sauce!}
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 8 oz sirloin steak, thinly sliced against the grain
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
- 1 head broccoli, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 can baby corn, drained and rinsed
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
Stir fry sauce
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
Rice (optional, to serve)
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp butter
Instructions
- Cook rice with water and butter together in a rice cooker (if serving with stir fry).
- Optional step for more tender beef (skip if you're in a rush): Add 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp baking soda and 2 tbsp soy sauce to sliced steak. Toss to combine and let marinate for 30 minutes in a large bowl or Ziploc bag.
- Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add steak, garlic, salt and pepper, sauteeing for 2-3 minutes until seared. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Meanwhile, mix stir fry sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Without wiping pan clean, add broccoli and carrots, then cover skillet with a lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Add in baby corn and red pepper, sauteeing another 2 minutes.
- Add steak back to pan, along with stir fry sauce, tossing well to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens slightly.
- Serve overtop of rice and garnish with sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Sara Mayer says
Followed the recipe exactly as written and it was so good!! Veggies were nice and tender with a lot of good flavour. Next time I will add water chestnuts.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed!
Debra says
How many carbs would that be without the rice?
Taylor Stinson says
I’m not able to give that info. You are welcome to calculate it using Myfitnesspal.
Maria V Arnold says
Hi Taylor, how crucial is the sesame oil? I don’t seem to have any and wondered if there was a suitable substitution. And apparently my local grocery stores don’t carry baby corn? So I grabbed little cans of bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, so hopefully that will work!
Taylor Stinson says
Those sub ins work perfectly! And you can use canola oil instead, the flavour will only be subtly changed 🙂
Robert Wagner says
You can sub canned or fresh corn