This Beef Stir-Fry combines tender beef, crisp veggies, and a homemade sauce that brings restaurant-style flavor to an easy weeknight dinner. Serve it over seasoned rice, low-carb cauliflower rice, or sesame ramen noodles to soak up every bit of the delicious sauce.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Beef Stir Fry
- Flavor: Savory, slightly sweet, and citrusy, with bright orange, a warm spicy kick from the ginger and garlic, and a rich sesame-soy finish.
- Why Make It: Cooking the beef and vegetables separately keeps the steak browned and the vegetables crisp-tender.
- Tools: A wok is handy, but a large skillet works just as well and gives the beef room to brown.
Total Time: 50 Mins (20 Mins Prep) Servings: 4 Cooking Method: Stovetop
- Total Time:
- 50 mins
- Serves:
- 4 servings
- Rating:
- 5.0/5
Ingredient Notes
- Steak: Flank steak or sirloin steak both work well. Flank steak has a rich, beefy flavor, while sirloin is a little more tender. Or replace with skirt steak.
- Vegetables: Use about 4 cups of your favorite mixed vegetables. Bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, mushrooms, and onions all work well. Cut everything into similar-sized pieces so the vegetables cook evenly.
- Orange Juice: Adds natural sweetness and bright acidity to balance the savory soy sauce. Pineapple juice is a good substitute if you prefer a slightly sweeter, more tropical flavor.
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce: Adds salty, savory flavor without making the sauce overly salty. Tamari or coconut aminos can be used as alternatives.
- Brown Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar both work well, or swap for honey.
How to Make Beef Stir Fry
- Whisk the sauce ingredients (full recipe below), slice the beef across the grain, and toss it with cornstarch.
- Cook the beef in batches in a hot skillet, then set it aside.
- Stir-fry the vegetables, then remove them from the skillet.
- Simmer the sauce, whisk in the cornstarch slurry, then return the beef and vegetables to the pan.
Reheat and Repeat
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Store rice or noodles separately when possible so they don’t absorb all of the sauce.
- Freeze the beef stir fry in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. The beef and sauce freeze well, although some vegetables will be softer after thawing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheat leftovers in a skillet over medium heat. If the sauce has thickened, add a splash of water or broth.
Stir-Fry Favorites at Home
Did you enjoy this Beef Stir Fry? Leave a comment and rating below.
Beef Stir Fry
Tender strips of beef and crisp vegetables are tossed in a sweet and savory orange ginger sauce. This easy beef stir fry brings takeout-style flavor to the dinner table.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak or sirloin steak
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 cups mixed vegetables
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
For the Sauce
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ⅓ cup water
- ¼ cup less sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar light or dark
- 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk the sauce ingredients except cornstarch. Set aside.
- Trim any silverskin, connective tissue, or large bits of fat from the beef. Cut ¼-inch slices across the grain.
- Season the beef with salt & pepper and toss with cornstarch. Set aside while you prepare the vegetables.
- Cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
- In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef and cook until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes (beef does not need to be cooked through). Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the remaining beef.
- Add the vegetables to the skillet, adding more oil if needed, and cook until tender-crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the beef.
- To make the sauce, reduce the heat to medium. Stir the sauce, pour it into the skillet, and bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water (or broth).
- Gradually add the cornstarch slurry to the simmering sauce while whisking to reach the desired consistency, you may not use all of the cornstarch mixture. Let simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetables and beef with any juices to the pan and cook until heated through. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
- Serve with noodles or over rice.
Notes
- For easier slicing, place the beef in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting.
- Prepare all ingredients ahead of time, as a stir-fry comes together quickly.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan, or the beef won’t crisp.
- The meat, vegetables, and sauce can be prepared and stored separately for up to 48 hours before cooking.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 423 | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 681mg | Potassium: 863mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 9285IU | Vitamin C: 29.9mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 3.9mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian, Chinese© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Love that recipes are doable for the noncook!
Let’s cook I am ready for new food recipes 2020 I’m ready new ideals
Looks yummy.
Cannot open recipe ingredients just goes straight to method very annoying
Ready ti delete the whole link
Julia, you’ll find the ingredients above the instructions on the recipe card. You can scroll down or you can click the Jump to Recipe button at the top to find it. Hope that helps!
I would love to try your recipes. Please add me to your mailing list. Thank you
Hi Nancy, to receive our newsletters, you can sign up here or scroll down to the bottom of the post and you will see a green signup box.
Love the food
Awesome!! I want to try new recipes.
Can’t wait to try this !
Awesome quick recipe. I used some left over thin sliced London broil we had doggie bagged from eating out. It worked great ! I followed the recipe other then that and served it over rice. Very good very quick and very forgiving as far as ingredients go
This was so good! I served it over Pad Thai noodles. I didn’t have ginger and had to use juice from canned mandarin oranges, BUT it turned out great! I also used frozen Asian style veggies like another commenter. Will definitely be making it again.
Excellent recipe! I did use frozen stir fry veggies from Costco… was a perfect meal!
I didn’t have orange juice, was still very good without. Also used sirloin instead of flank.
Love it! I made it for hubby using a thinly sliced NY strip steak marinated in cornstarch, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, s&p. Otherwise exactly as recipe specified and it was awesome! He’s picky and asked for more. Win-win!
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Your marinade sounds good, I am going to have to try it Lucy!
Awesome
I’m not a good cook but this came out great. Marinaded the beef with spicy rice wine vinegar and an egg in addition to the corn starch. Used not much broccoli wit carrots, snap peas and sweet peppers. Other than that followed the recipe and here I am responding to a recipe post.
Thank you
Glad to hear this recipe was a hit Rob! Thanks for sharing.
SO, there are noodles in the photos, but not part of the recipe. Thus the nutrition does not reflect the suggested preparation in the lead photo?
Correct, this can go over rice, cauliflower rice or noodles. I served it with dry chow mein noodles but any will work.
The stir fry beef looks amazing, as does all your recipes
Thank you Maria :)
Quick meal and easy to make! Tastes great. I’ll be making this again.
I’m so happy to hear that you love this beef stir fry! It’s quick for any day of the week!
I don’t want to leave a bad review but my go at it failed pretty miserably! An average rating of 5 is very impressive, and maybe one day I will retry this recipe. As for this try, the cornstarch gave the beef a disgusting texture. The sauce tasted too much like soy sauce. When it came time to have dinner, after working on this for three hours and trying to scrape all the cornstarch off individual pieces of tiny beef, it was a fail. I truly don’t know if there was something wrong with the recipe or my skill.
I’m so sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this beef Zaira! This recipe has always been a success for us. The cornstarch does change the texture by velveting the meat.
love your recipes
Thank you Sharon! :)
It’s me again. I was getting ready to do the stir fry, but now I’m confused. What are we marinating the beef in???? Are we to buy a teriyaki sauce? Are you just using the cornstarch? Help.
Apologies for the confusion Shirley, it should just be tossed with the cornstarch while you’re prepping the other ingredients.
I love stir fry recipes. Almost anything goes. My late husband used to do the best stir fry. Of course you understand that it was up to me to prep the meat and veggies. He just manned the wok. LOL. As for meat, we we just bought ONE thick tenderloin steak, sliced it through the middle to make two thinner steaks and then sliced it into the thin slices. I found that so many steaks are so tough and have tons of gristle in them. Where are the wonderful meat markets. The supermarkets suck.
Incidentally, my husband also was a great grill master, but again, he just manned the grill.
I love stir fry recipes too Shirley! I hope that you enjoy this recipe if you get a chance to try it. I love the tip about one thick tenderloin!
Sorry about your husband