Ground Beef and Broccoli is the perfect easy dinner recipe. Your family will love this simple weeknight dinner.
Our family loves simple easy stir fry dinners. In fact, they are one of our very favorites. You can see several linked below the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
And while we love Beef and Broccoli made with a nice flat iron steak, this Ground Beef and Broccoli recipe is a great way to make that dinner a little more affordable. You get the same great taste at a lower price point.
This was perhaps an even bigger hit with my kiddos than the original. I hope your family loves it as much as mine.
I sent this recipe to my son, and his girlfriend made it for dinner tonight, she added sliced mushrooms to it. They loved it!
How to Make Ground Beef and Broccoli
This is a brief overview of how easy this recipe is to make. For the full recipe with all of the measurements, see the recipe card in the bottom of the post.
- Make the sauce. In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, corn starch, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chili paste, and red pepper flakes.
- Cook the ground beef. Break up the meat and brown it. When it’s almost cooked through, drain all but two tablespoons of grease from the pan.
- Cook the broccoli. Add the broccoli to the pan and cook until it is tender, about four minutes.
- Stir in the sauce. Let the sauce thicken and then serve it over rice.
Cooking with Soy Sauce
I use soy sauce a lot in recipes. I especially love it in marinades, like my chicken marinade. It is what brings the salt and helps bring flavor into the meat. In those recipes I love to use regular soy sauce.
In this recipe, I opt for low sodium soy sauce. It is the base of the sauce, and because we are using a lot of it, if you use regular the dish will be too salt. If you don’t have low sodium soy sauce, I suggest using 1/3 cup regular soy sauce + 2 1/2 tablespoons water.
Chili Paste
I love cooking with chili paste. You can usually find it in the international food aisle of the grocery store. Otherwise, if you click the link right above it can be purchased on Amazon.
My kids are pretty averse to spice, but this chili paste (in this quantity) brings just a little bit of heat. It isn’t too spicy for them, but if you are concerned you can cut it back to 1 teaspoon.
Substituting Ground Turkey
If your family prefers ground turkey, that can be used in this recipe in place of ground beef. Use about a tablespoon of olive oil to grease the pan before adding the ground turkey. Proceed with the recipe as written.
How to Serve Ground Beef and Broccoli
We love this dish over rice. I also love it garnished with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
If you want to keep this a low carb recipe, you could serve it over cauliflower rice. I have instructions for how to make a big batch and keep it in the freezer in the post linked below.
Cauliflower Rice
Storing
Store any leftover ground beef and broccoli in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. I find that it works best if I keep rice separate from the rest of the leftovers.
Leftovers can be reheated on the stovetop by adding a bit of beef stock to keep it from drying out. Alternatively, you can reheat leftovers in the microwave while covered.
Other Great Ground Beef Recipes
If you make this great easy dinner or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Ground Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 head of broccoli cut into florets approximately 4 cups
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce see note 1
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 – 2 teaspoons chili paste see note 2
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Whisk together the soy sauce, corn starch, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chili paste, and red pepper flakes.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook, breaking it up. Drain the excess grease from the pan.
- Add the broccoli and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in the sauce. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about three minutes. Serve with rice.
Notes
- If you don’t have low sodium soy sauce on hand, use 1/3 cup soy sauce and the rest water to make 1/2 cup total liquid.
- If you like your dishes spicy, make sure to add two teaspoons of chili paste. Just 1 teaspoon will give it just a small, nice little kick.
- Please note that the nutritional information does not include the rice.
Michelle says
One of our favorites-easy & delicious!!
I’m so glad you enjoy this! Thank you for coming back to tell me.
Michele taylor says
I looked this for my husband tonight and he really liked it. I did add some onion, diced zucchini, and red bell pepper for color. I only used the 1 tsp of chili sauce, but next time it will definitely be 2 or maybe 3!! Keep up the good work!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Louise Bridges Kelley says
I sent this recipe to my son, and his g/f made it for dinner tonight, she added sliced mushrooms to it. They loved it!
I’m so happy to hear that, Louise!
Melissa says
This was super salty even though I used low sodium soy sauce. I didn’t add any salt either. I had to had a lot of sugar to try and even it out. It was still a bit salty but it was edible.
Hi Melissa! I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. Tastes vary so greatly, especially when it comes to salt.
cindy says
Is there a substitute for the chili paste? I would really hate spending $14 for only 1-2 tsp. Thank you
You could leave it out or add in some crushed red pepper flakes.