you're making mealtime meaningful.
It never fails that I’m looking for yet another idea for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. It also (almost) never fails that I have ground beef in my fridge or my freezer, so it’s a natural last minute go-to even if I weren’t thinking of its quick-cooking properties. (But it does cook quick. Extremely quick, and that’s a nice thing.) This Ground Beef and Broccoli takes a takeout staple and remakes it with ground beef, just for a little more convenience and a little time saved, but all the same yummy flavor.
I like to mix up my sauce first and then set it aside. It’s an easy sauce, just soy sauce, beef broth, some rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch. Then, you start with the broccoli.
Sauté the broccoli in some oil until it’s just tender, then remove it from the pan and set it aside too.´
Then, add your ground beef and start to brown it up…
… When it’s just barely pink, add in the onion and continue cooking until it’s soft. Add the broccoli back to the pan, give the sauce one more whisk, and pour it in too.
It’ll thicken quickly, in just a minute or two, and then all that’s left to do is serve.
You can garnish this with some sesame seeds or green onion, but if you’re trying to get this on the table quick, you won’t miss those garnishes at all.
If you’re serving this over rice (which is my favorite way to go), make sure to get your rice cooker or pot going before you even start on the beef and broccoli. It goes that quick and you certainly don’t want to be impatiently waiting for rice to finish once this deliciousness is ready to eat.
Ground Beef and Broccoli
Yield(s): Serves 4
5m prep time
15m cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
For the sauce:
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
For the stir fry:
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as avocado, vegetable)
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons green onion, chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Cooked white rice, for serving
Preparation
- In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, beef broth, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Cook until barely tender, stirring often, then remove from pan and set aside.
- Add ground beef to pan and season with salt and pepper. Brown ground beef until no longer pink, breaking it apart as it cooks. Add onion while beef is still barely pink and cook until softened.
- Whisk sauce once more, then pour into pan along with broccoli. Stir to coat and let cook until sauce has thickened, just 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve over rice, topped with green onion. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Unbound Wellness.