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Ground Beef and Broccoli

4.72 from 7 votes
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posted: 07/25/21

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy
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This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy

Ground Beef and Broccoli is the perfect easy dinner recipe. Your family will love this simple weeknight dinner.

side view of a bowl of ground beef and broccoli over rice

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.

Reader Review

I sent this recipe to my son, and his girlfriend made it for dinner tonight, she added sliced mushrooms to it. They loved it!

overhead of a beef and broccoli stir fry in a frying pan

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.

  1. Make the sauce. In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, corn starch, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chili paste, and red pepper flakes.
  2. 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.
  3. Cook the broccoli. Add the broccoli to the pan and cook until it is tender, about four minutes.
  4. 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.

How to Serve Ground Beef and Broccoli

We love this dish over rice. I also love it garnished with sesame seeds and sliced scallions.

overhead of ground beef and broccoli recipe in a bowl over rice

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!

side view of a bowl of ground beef and broccoli over rice
4.72 from 7 votes

Ground Beef and Broccoli

Serves: 4 people
(tap # to scale)
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Ground Beef and Broccoli is the perfect easy dinner recipe. Your family will love this simple weeknight dinner.

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Please note that the nutritional information does not include the rice.
Author: Lisa Longley
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: asian
side view of a bowl of ground beef and broccoli over rice

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Ground Beef and Broccoli

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Hi! I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here.

Reader Interactions

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  1. Michelle says

    5 stars
    One of our favorites-easy & delicious!!

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so glad you enjoy this! Thank you for coming back to tell me.

  2. 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!

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so glad you liked it!

  3. Louise Bridges Kelley says

    5 stars
    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!

    • Lisa Longley says

      I’m so happy to hear that, Louise!

  4. Melissa says

    3 stars
    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.

    • Lisa Longley says

      Hi Melissa! I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. Tastes vary so greatly, especially when it comes to salt.

  5. cindy says

    Is there a substitute for the chili paste? I would really hate spending $14 for only 1-2 tsp. Thank you

    • Lisa Longley says

      You could leave it out or add in some crushed red pepper flakes.

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