Pepper Steak combines tender strips of beef with colorful bell peppers and onions in a sweet and savory sauce. Marinated for extra flavor and finished in one skillet, it’s an easy weeknight meal that’s delicious served over a bowl of steamed rice.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Pepper Steak
- Flavor: This pepper steak is savory and sweet with a honey soy sauce marinade, tender strips of beef, sweet bell peppers, and onions.
- Technique: Marinating the beef helps to tenderize top round while infusing it with flavor. Searing it before simmering helps to create a rich, caramelized crust with a tender, juicy inside.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve over instant pot white rice, brown rice, fried rice, cauliflower rice, or egg noodles for a complete meal.
Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins (2 hours marinating) Servings: 4 Cooking Method: Skillet
Ingredient Notes
- Beef: Slice top round beef thinly against the grain to help keep it tender. Replace with flank steak, sirloin, or skirt steak.
- Onion: Thinly sliced yellow onion softens quickly and adds natural sweetness to the sauce, or swap it for white onion for a sharper flavor.
- Peppers: Green bell pepper gives this recipe its classic earthy flavor, while red bell pepper adds natural sweetness and vibrant color. The red bell pepper can be swapped for an orange or yellow bell pepper for a similar flavor.
- Honey or Brown Sugar: Honey adds a light, natural sweetness, while brown sugar creates a deeper, richer flavor. Both options balance the savory soy sauce and round out the sauce beautifully.
- Mirin or Dry Sherry: This optional ingredient adds a subtle sweetness and extra flavor to the sauce.
How to Make Pepper Steak
- While the beef is marinating, stir-fry the peppers and onions and set aside.
- Sear the beef in the same skillet and set aside (full recipe below).
- Whisk cornstarch with the reserved marinade and bring to a boil, then add the steak, peppers, and onions back to the skillet.
Serve over rice, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds.
Save It For Later
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave until just heated through.
Easy Takeout-At-Home Dinners
Did you enjoy this Pepper Steak Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet or wok
Ingredients
- 1 pound top round beef sliced into strips against the grain
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper cored and sliced
- 1 red bell pepper or orange/yellow, cored and sliced
Marinade:
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup honey or brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin or dry sherry, optional
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Garnish:
- green onions sliced
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- To make the marinade, in a medium bowl, combine water, honey, soy sauce, mirin (if using), Worcestershire, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and whisk.
- Add the beef strips to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours, stirring occasionally.
- To cook the beef, remove it from the marinade, reserving the marinade.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add canola oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onion and green & red peppers and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Transfer to a plate.
- Add beef to the skillet and cook for 1 minute without moving it to get a nice sear on it. Stir the beef and continue cooking until browned (the beef doesn't have to be cooked through), about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer the beef to the plate with the peppers.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the reserved marinade. Pour it into the skillet and, while whisking over medium-high heat, bring it to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, peppers, and steak back to the skillet.
- Stir to combine all the ingredients and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through.
- Remove from heat and garnish with sliced green onion and sesame seeds if desired. Serve with rice.
Video
Notes
- Additional vegetables can be added along with (or in place of) the peppers.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until just heated through.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 193 | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 851mg | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1083IU | Vitamin C: 66mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
Cuisine American, Asian Fusion, 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.
family loved this…will add into rotation. Thank you…
This is delicious! Awesome recipe and easy, I keep ginger root in the freezer so I can make it again with any other protein. So good.
Can I use Sirloin Tip for this recipe?
Yes, sirloin tip is great for this recipe!
It was okay, I wasn’t crazy about the sweetness, I’m not used to Pepper Steak being so sweet. Also it barely made enough for five people, very small portions, there also wasn’t enough sauce. It was very gloppy like.
The serving size stated 4 servings . Click on 2X next time for more servings.
My kids all loved this recipe (which isn’t always the case). Great flavor and easy to follow instructions.
So good! Made this for my family last week and every one devoured it. SWP Employee
Great dish
This was wonderful! I used 1.25 pounds of 96% lean ground beef because that’s what I had on hand. I only used a tablespoon of brown sugar in the sauce. I mixed all the sauce ingredients together (water and cornstarch first, then everything else). I browned the meat and took it out of the skillet. Then I stir fried the onions and peppers until they were crisp-tender, added back the meat and then the sauce, and heated it through. Easy and no marinating required! Served it over brown basmati rice. Husband loved it (so did I)!
This was really good and easy to make. Add mushrooms and broccoli along with the onions and peppers. Will be making it again!
love the recipe seen easy to follow
I plan on trying this recipe. Can I use extra virgin olive oil in place of canola or veg? Looks good, thanks
You sure can Loretta. Enjoy!
Really good but next time I will use a little less sugar and just a little more soy sauce.
This meal is
Was the sauce supposed to be so sweet? I used 1/4 cup of brown sugar
It does have some sweetness from the honey or the brown sugar.
Excellent!
Too much cornstarch!! Flavor was good but my meal was bathed in a pudding like mixture :(
I had the same problem, but I thinned it with some water. I also think maybe a little more soy sauce would cut the sweetness some.
Very good!
Blessed evening!! Absolutely love this recipe!! I gave it 4 stars because it requires to undercook the steak. Please make sure to cook the steak longer. Besides that it’s mouthwatering!!
Hi Dorothy, steak needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F to safely consume but if you prefer it well done you can certainly cook it longer!
I am from Puerto Rico. I just tried your recipe, and it was great. I think from other comment’s made that everyone should decide how much to use, from the ingredients, remember everyone taste bud is different. Good luck. Thank you!
Family loved it. I added fresh French green beans and served it over basmati rice.
I like the recipe for easy pepper steak look delicious
just delicious and easy fast just love it tastes so good.