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 made this last night and it was a hit. I think it was a little salty so I will try low sodium soy sauce next time. I also used top round beef already sliced from the grocery store. The package said for fajitas or stir-fry. It was perfect.
Hi, would it be a problem marinating the beef for longer than 1 hour in the refrigerator, say for about 4 hours? The timing and prep time would work better. Thanks
No Andy- that would not be a problem at all!
Love this recipe. I used extra veggies I had on hand & dumped them in there. Delicious.
Would this work in the slow cooker?
Hi Tori, Yes, I think this would work in the slow cooker. I haven’t used a slow cooker a ton, so I unfortunately can’t tell you if the recipe would need to be modified at all :(. You could review here for some potential tips: http://www.epicurious.com/archive/howtocook/primers/slowcooking_adapting
Made this last night and it was really good. Definitely will make this again. My husband thought it was a little too salty so next time I will use low sodium soy sauce and also cut down a little on the fresh ginger.
Made this with London broil. This was so amazingly tasty!!! Made a double portion & used Costco frozen broccoli that I partially cooked in microwave; then I only used 1/2 amount of water & cut steam time by half. I also used the chinese wine. My husband loved it!!! He asked to have grape tomatoes added at the end when the liquid was added. The consistency of the sauce, the smell, the look…..it looked & tasted better than any chinese restaurant! I also used an enamel lined cast iron large pot to cook it instead of a pan or wok. Very easy to follow directions. Will absolutely make this again!
I followed the recipe as is and everyone loved it. I plan to make it again.
This is the closest thing I’ve been able to make to the real thing, very delicious. However, I feel like the ginger was incredibly potent. Is it really supposed to be a whole tablespoon? It was so strong it was almost burning my mouth. I did mince it pretty darn fine. Is there something I’m missing? Again, I love all the recipes here, and this one was delicious, but did anyone else feel the ginger was a bit intense? Thanks!
Hi Jen, My family and I love all your receipes I have made, which are many!! I want to try this Beef and Broccoli but I’m having a hard time finding flat iron steak 🙁
Any suggestions?? Thanks so much
Hi Vicky, You can use flank steak but try this tenderizing technique first: http://forkranawaywiththespoon.blogspot.com/2013/04/baking-soda-as-tenderizer.html. Please let me know how it turns out and glad you are enjoying the recipes!
Think you Jen!! It was delicious. I used the flank meat and used the baking soda as a tenderizing technique and it definitely worked! I can’t thank you enough for all your wonderful receipes. I’m so inspired every night to cook!! Any suggestions for a wild rice receipe as a side dish?
Hi Vicky, So glad that worked! I’d keep the rice as simple as possible so as not to compete with the beef 🙂
This Beef with broccoli recipe is the best home made beef with broccoli I have ever tried and tasted. I have tried many and even tried to create my own concoction. I don’t need to look anymore. To me, it is better than restaurant quality.
I made the beef and broccoli stir fry. It was better than take out from Chinese restaurant. The whole family lived it, even my picky 10 year old son. I will definitely be making this again and again. Everything I made from your recipes have been great. I look forward to making more of your creations.