Did you know that ground beef can be transformed into a quick and delicious stir fry?
This easy Ground Beef Stir Fry recipe is made with seasoned ground beef and fresh vegetables in a quick sesame sauce.
It’s a great weeknight dinner!
Holly’s Notes For Ground Beef Stir Fry
- Flavor: The sauce for this recipe is sweet and savory; I love that it’s not overly sweet.
- Difficulty: This recipe is easy to make in one skillet. Prepare all of the vegetables before starting because it comes together quickly.
- Technique: Cut the vegetables on the bias (diagonally), this gives the vegetables a larger surface area for better stir frying.
- Stretch it further: This ground beef stir fry is budget-friendly—it turns ½ pound of ground beef into a meal for four!
- Swaps: It’s made with simple ingredients; you can change the veggies based on what’s in your fridge.
- Serving suggestions: Spoon it over rice or noodles or over cauliflower rice.
Ingredient Tips
- Beef: Use lean ground beef (80/20) and drain the fat after browning. Beef can be replaced with ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Vegetables: Onion, celery, cabbage, and bell pepper keep this dish crunchy, but if time is short, you can toss in a bag of coleslaw for the cabbage or your own favorite vegetables.
- Sauce: Broth, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and a little hoisin are the foundations for this rich sauce.
Variations
- Make it spicy: For some heat, add red pepper flakes, chile paste, or sriracha.
- Less prep: Skip the chopping and replace the fresh vegetables with a frozen stir-fry blend.
- Make it sweeter: For a sweeter sauce, add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
How to Make Sesame Ground Beef Stir Fry
- Combine sauce ingredients (full recipe below) and set aside.
- Cook beef with garlic and ginger and transfer it to a bowl.
- Sauté vegetables, return meat to the pan with water and the sauce. Simmer until thickened.
Serve this stir fry over rice or noodles.
Storing Stir Fry
- Keep leftover stir fry ground beef stir fry in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze portions in zip storage bags but add freshly shredded cabbage to crisp up the dish when reheating.
- Reheat on the stovetop on medium heat with a little water to loosen the ingredients.
More Asian Stir Fry Recipes
Did you enjoy this Sesame Ground Beef Stir Fry? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Sesame Ground Beef Stir Fry
This easy Asian-inspired recipe comes together fast and so much better than takeout!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces lean ground beef
- ½ cup finely diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup sliced celery
- ½ cup chopped green cabbage
- 1 bell pepper sliced
- ½ cup sliced water chestnuts drained, optional
- 4 cups cooked white rice or noodles
Sauce
- ½ cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine beef broth soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook the beef and onion over medium-high until no pink remains. Drain fat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 2 more minutes or until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl to keep warm.
- Heat oil in the pan. Add the celery and cabbage and cook for 3-4 minutes or until it begins to soften. Add peppers and cook 2-3 minutes more.
- Add the ground beef mixture, water chestnuts if using, and the sauce to the pan. Stir to combine. Allow sauce to simmer and thicken, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over rice and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Notes
- Assemble and prep all ingredients before starting. This recipe comes together quickly.
- Use the vegetables in the recipe or the ones you like best.
- Vegetables that take longer to cook (carrots, celery) should be added first. Bell peppers and broccoli take less time and can be added during the last few minutes.
- Replace the homemade sauce with a purchased stir-fry sauce if desired.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 471 | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 744mg | Potassium: 497mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 998IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 2mg
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© 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.
Recipe Adapted Manchak. “Beef Chop Suey”. Recipe. Cooking with Class. Beaumont, AB, 2011. 43. Print.
Very easy and delicious. Perfect.
GG, I’m so glad you found it easy and delicious! Perfect combo every time. Thanks for sharing!
I made this tonight. It is very quick and easy. Very tasty.
Rebecca, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Quick, easy, and tasty—what more could you ask for? Thanks for making it!
my mouth is watering.
I made this recipe over the weekend. It’s a keeper.
I do have to say I had to make a few changes to idems I had on hand. The first was I used ground turkey in place of the beef,( we don’t eat much beef). Second I use coleslaw cabbage. And I added broccoli florets & celery slices. I served it over cooked roman noodles.
It turned out great, and was so easy to make.
I have added it to my files so I don’t lose it.
Thank you!
That sounds delicious, Anita! Thank you for sharing.
Very good love it ,nice flavor mix I made it with Asian noodles ♥️
Delicious! I didn’t have any water chestnuts, so I subbed in some sliced almonds, for some crunch.
That sounds delicious Kathleen!
Great meal! We love this dish.
Fantastic recipe! It was easy, delicious, and really inexpensive! I didn’t feel like having rice, so I subbed wide, flat rice noodles (packaged dry), and it worked perfectly! I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a noodle alternative that meshes well with the flavor and the vibe of this dish. I will definitely be making this one again! Thank you for sharing!
I harvested a couple of tiny purple peppers, okra, onions, some celery and cabbage from my garden. Not enough of each to eat on their own, so I looked up a recipe that included them all (minus the okra of course, but it was super good in this). I had to make my own hoision sauce, but this recipe is super delicious and even my picky 6 year old (who only wants to eat cereal 95% of the time) is chowing down. I didn’t feel like rice, so I made Ramen noodles and put this on top of them….SO STINKIN’ GOOD.
Garden fresh veggies are the best, Bree! I love that you were able to use them in this yummy recipe.
Didn’t use cabbage. Used snow peas, peppers and asparagus instead. It’s a winner and will be repeated.
Very tasty stir-fry. Added broccoli and green beans to appeal to family & use up produce from fridge. Doubled the recipe since we had extra ground beef also.
Delicious! Glad your family enjoyed it, Suzan!
The food looks delicious. Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome, Laura! Glad you are enjoying our recipes :)
Made this last night! Amazing recipe! The whole family loved it and requested that it should be made again soon! Thank you for all the amazing, wonderful, delectable recipes.
That is awesome, Narina! You will definitely have to add this to your rotation :)
I just love Asian cuisine and this just fills the need even more. I love the presentation, the smells and above it all the taste of good Asian food. You have done it again. Thanks so very much.
Thank you, Paul! I am glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Holly, I’ve noticed a lot if your quick beef recipes have soy and/or hoisin sauce. These have a lot of salt in them what do you suggest to use as a more healthy alternative as mt husband needs to watch his sodium and cholesterol intake.
Hi Kim, I have only made this recipe as listed but I wonder if you could try liquid aminos or coconut aminos. I am not sure how they would affect the flavor and texture of the sauce but I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Hi again Holly,
I sincerely hope that I am not being a nuisance, but this I just gotta say:
I am totally stoked that I have found http://www.spendwithpennies.com because, I have found the ONLY US or Canadian ‘recipeist’ that is not totally fixated on both chilies and cheese of all description.
I have always wondered why North Americans bother to put anything other than chili & cheese in their recipes.
It seems that we are on a par, both wanting to taste the food that we are actually bothering to cook.
One other point Holly, I am totally against all so called ‘Social Media’ because I will NOT line the already bulging pockets of multi billionaires who get richer by the minute by selling their customer’s data! Not only that, I spend far too much time sitting in front of this infernal machine as it is!
I rest my case!
All the best to you,
Derek Cridland.
We are happy to have you join us, Derek! Although I must warn you, we do love our cheesy recipes!
Reviewing the ground turkey bowl. Amazing! Made the lettuce wraps. And the variations are endless!! Best recipe yet!
So happy you hear you loved it, Kathy!
The set-aside sauce smelled great while prepping the vegetables. I had carrots and cauliflower that needed using so I threw those in too. Easy and delicious!
This was so flavorful. One mistake I made is I used 1# gr beef so I should have doubled sauce spice for more taste.
Will certainly make again
Thank you
You’re welcome Linda!
This was very good and easy to make, I served it with rice. For the leftovers I used it as filling for lettuce wraps, it was great. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
You’re very welcome Julie!