Beef and Broccoli
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This beef with broccoli recipe delivers all the savory, saucy flavor you love from takeout—and it’s easy enough to whip up any night of the week!
Beef and broccoli is one of those takeout favorites that’s surprisingly easy to make at home. It features tender steak, crisp broccoli, and a rich, savory brown sauce that comes together in no time. While most restaurants (and beef with broccoli recipes) use marinated flank steak, I go with flat iron steak—it’s naturally tender, budget-friendly, easy to find, and great for quick cooking.
With just 40 minutes and a handful of everyday ingredients, you can have this delicious beef and broccoli dinner on the table. Just add white rice or fried rice and you’re done! If you love recreating Chinese restaurant dishes at home—they’re often better and definitely cheaper—be sure to check out my orange chicken and General Tso’s chicken recipes. They’re a bit more involved but totally worth it!
“My family and I loved this! The sauce is tasty and flavorful, probably the best beef and broccoli recipe I have ever made.”
What You’ll Need to Make Beef and Broccoli
- Flat iron steak: My go-to cut of beef for this dish—it’s tender, flavorful, and cooks quickly. Plus, it soaks up the marinade nicely. Feel free to substitute flank steak if you prefer.
- Soy sauce + Shaoxing wine or dry sherry: These add that deep, savory flavor you expect in restaurant-style beef and broccoli. They season both the beef and the sauce.
- Cornstarch: Works double duty—helps tenderize the beef and gives the sauce that glossy, velvety finish.
- Oyster sauce: Adds a rich, savory-sweet depth that really brings everything together.
- Low-sodium chicken broth: Creates a light, savory base for the sauce without making it too salty or heavy.
- Sugar: Just a touch to balance out the salty and savory notes.
- Toasted sesame oil: Adds a nutty, aromatic finish. Make sure it’s the dark, toasted (Asian) kind—not the light, untoasted version.
- Scallions: I separate the whites and greens—the whites go in early for depth, and the greens get sprinkled on at the end for a fresh, oniony bite.
- Garlic and fresh ginger: Can’t skip these! They add warmth, spice, and that unmistakable stir-fry aroma.
- Vegetable oil: Great for stir-fries and high heat cooking—helps everything cook quickly and evenly without sticking.
- Broccoli florets: Bright, tender-crisp, and the perfect fresh contrast to the rich beef and sauce.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Slice and marinate the beef. Slice the beef into ¼-inch strips and toss with 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce and rice wine (or dry sherry). Let it marinate while you chop the scallions, garlic, and ginger. It’s important to do this prep work prior to cooking because the dish cooks very quickly.
Step 2: Make the sauce. For the sauce, mix the remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce with the cornstarch until dissolved. Stir in the remaining rice wine, oyster sauce, chicken broth, sugar, and sesame oil. Set it aside.
Step 3: Cook the broccoli. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan or wok over high heat until smoking. Stir-fry the broccoli for 30 seconds, then add the water. Cover and steam over medium heat for about 2 minutes until tender-crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Step 4: Cook the Beef. Wipe out the pan, crank the heat to high, and add a tablespoon of oil. When it’s just starting to smoke, add half the beef in a single layer and sear for about 1½ minutes without touching it. Stir and cook for another 30 seconds—it should still be a little pink in spots—then transfer to a plate. Add another tablespoon of oil and repeat with the rest of the beef.
Step 6: Add the aromatics and finish the dish. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and cook with the beef for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the rest of the beef, the broccoli, the sauce, and the scallion greens, and toss everything together until evenly coated. Bring to a boil and stir-fry for about 45 seconds until the sauce thickens slightly. Serve with rice and enjoy!
Video Tutorial
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Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 pound flat iron steak, cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) thick strips (flank steak, skirt steak, or hanger steak may be substituted, but won't be as tender)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- ⅓ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 4 scallions, whites finely sliced, greens cut into ½-inch (13-mm) segments on the diagonal, reserved separately
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger (see note)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound bite-size broccoli florets, from about 1½ pounds (680 g) broccoli crowns
- ⅓ cup water
- Rice for serving
Instructions
- Combine the beef with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of the Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry) in a bowl and toss to coat. Let marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature or 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce with the cornstarch and stir with a fork until the cornstarch is dissolved. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry), oyster sauce, chicken broth, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir and set aside.
- Combine the scallion whites, garlic and ginger in a bowl and set aside.
- When you're ready to cook, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan or wok over high heat until smoking. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the water. Cover the pan with a lid (or tightly with foil) and lower the heat to medium; steam the broccoli until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.
- Wipe any excess water out of the pan. Increase the heat to high and heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan until smoking. Add half of the beef, so that it is in a single layer, and cook without moving until the beef is well seared, about 1½ minutes. Continue cooking while stirring until the beef is lightly cooked but still pink in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and heat until smoking. Add the remaining beef and cook without moving until the beef is well seared, about 1½ minutes. Add the scallion whites, garlic and ginger mixture and cook, stirring constantly with the beef, for about 30 seconds.
- Return the reserved beef and broccoli to the pan, along with the reserved sauce and scallion greens. Bring to boil and cook, tossing and stirring constantly until the sauce is lightly thickened, about 45 seconds. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with rice.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I’ve always liked making Chinese recipes because of the flavors and the speed of cooking. Your beef and broccoli recipe is unmatched. The only change I made was to use low salt soy and stock. A new go to recipe. Thank you.
I made this for Valentine’s Day for my husband and 3 teenage boys. I cannot tell you how much they LOVED it! They told me it was one of my best dinners EVER! So tender. So flavorful. So awesome! I will make this for my dinner club.
After reading other reviews I opted to make this with low sodium soy sauce and low sodium chicken broth and it was fantastic! Will definitely be making again! Plus I discovered a new cut of meat (the flat iron steak) and learned an easy way to steam vegetables that I hadn’t done before.
Hi,
Love your site! Keep up the great work! How can I adapt this for chicken and broccoli?
Hi K, The method would actually be exactly the same. I’d love to know how it turns out!
Beef and Broccoli is my go to order at any Chinese place. If their beef and broccoli isn’t good I don’t want to eat there. Over the years, I’ve tried several recipes to replicate beef and broccoli but the sauce never turns out and never has the flavor that I want. I found Once Upon A Chef about a year ago and absolutely everything that we’ve tried has been fantastic! I decided to see if Jenn’s beef and broccoli recipe would make the Chinese restaurant cut. It absolutely does!!! I think it’s even better than what you can get in restaurants. This is my go-to beef and broccoli from now on. No need to even go out to eat.
I made this recipe with few substitutions.
– used tri-tip steaks cut into strips as directed , low sodium soy sauce, water instead of chicken broth due to being salt sensitive and mushroom sauce instead of oyster sauce. It turned out delicious. My family loved it. The recipe was easy to follow and less time to make it. No more Beef & Broccoli take outs. Thank you Jenn for posting the recipe. Feel confident to make again and again.
One of my all time favorite dishes to make! Jenn’s recommendation to use flat iron steak made for an incredibly tender bite (we live in Georgia and my local Publix always has them available). The sauce is easy to assemble yet so flavorful and delicious!! For my family of 5 (3 teens) I always double recipe and serve with steamed jasmine rice. You won’t want to order take out again, it’s that good!
This recipe looks delicious and I’d like to try it with chicken instead of beef. Are there any changes that you would recommend, or can I just make the substitution while leaving everything else as is? I’ve made so many of your recipes since I discovered your site 2 years ago and they have all been delicious. Thank you!
So glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Donna! Chicken would be fine here; no changes necessary!
I could see how people would think this is salty. I love salt and I didn’t go out of my way to use low sodium ingredients. Different brands have different salt content, so it’s something to pay attention to! My boyfriend and I are really good home cooks (I’m almost modest. Both worked in commercial kitchens) and I made this as an easy weeknight meal. I was surprised to hear my boyfriend say that it was one of his favorite things I’ve ever made! Considering we’ve been cooking for each other almost daily for the past 4 years, that’s huge. I just wanted to leave a review to say that you’re my absolute favorite food blogger! Your recipes are fresh and sophisticated without being pretentious and you don’t use canned crescent dough, etc regularly. I first came to your site while looking for a Caesar dressing recipe (the. best.) and have since made several things. It’s clear you know what you’re doing and that you test the recipes. I enjoy that you post photos of important steps and don’t share 700 photos of just the finished product. Anyway, I’m done gushing and need to find a recipe to make for dinner, but wanted to let you know that I can’t wait for your cookbook!
Thanks for the sweet note, Hannah– you made my day! (And glad you enjoyed the Beef with Broccoli 🙂
I’ve been looking for a beef and broccoli recipe for a while so I was glad that I found this one. I actually use low-sodium soy sauce in addition to low-sodium chicken stock and I found that the salt level was not overwhelming and it came out tasty.