Skip the takeout. These 21 beef stir fry recipes are faster than delivery, and most hit the table in 30 minutes or less. Sticky Mongolian beef bowls, garlicky Filipino salpicao, beef udon, ribeye fried rice. One hot pan, one quick sauce, done.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
One hot pan. One quick sauce. Dinner is done before the delivery app even loads. I have made every recipe here in my own kitchen more times than I can count, because stir-fry is how I feed my boys on a busy night.
I sorted them so you can pick by what is in your fridge: sliced steak, ground beef, noodles, or leftover rice. If you only make one, start with spicy Mongolian beef, my 10-minute beef rice bowl, or beef salpicao.
What Makes a Great Beef Stir-Fry?
Three things: the right cut, a thin slice, and a screaming hot pan. For sliced beef I reach for flank, sirloin, NY strip or ribeye. Slice it thin against the grain and it stays tender instead of chewy.
Ground beef counts too. It is cheaper, there is zero slicing, and it gets crispy edges that soak up every drop of sauce. Almost half the recipes on this list use it.
Tips for Better Beef Stir-Fry
A few things I swear by after a lot of stir-fry nights:
- Freeze the steak for 20 to 30 minutes. Firm beef slices thin and clean. Soft beef slides all over the board.
- Velvet sliced beef. Toss it with a pinch of baking soda and a little cornstarch for 15 minutes before cooking. I use this trick in my beef udon noodles and beef and broccoli fried rice, and the beef comes out silky every time.
- Do not crowd the pan. Cook beef in batches so it sears instead of steams. Crowded beef turns gray and sad.
- Use a high heat oil. I use avocado oil. Extra virgin olive oil starts smoking before the pan gets hot enough to sear.
- Prep everything first. Stir-fry moves fast. Slice the veggies and mix the sauce before the stove goes on.
- Sauce goes in last. Let it bubble for 30 seconds so the cornstarch thickens into a glossy glaze.
Find Your Stir-Fry Fast
- Under 15 minutes: 10-minute beef rice bowl, chili beef noodles, ribeye steak fried rice
- Budget friendly ground beef: Mongolian beef bowls, beef and onion stir fry, beef egg roll in a bowl
- Noodle night: beef udon, Thai basil beef noodles, crispy beef ramen
- Steak night: shaking beef, miso garlic butter steak bites, hibachi bowl
The Best Beef Stir-Fry Recipes
Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac)
Cubes of NY strip seared in a screaming hot pan and shaken with garlic, brown sugar and cracked black pepper until caramelized. Sounds fancy. It is not. 20 minutes start to finish.
Filipino Beef Salpicao
Ribeye cubes and a ridiculous amount of sliced garlic. Eight ingredients, 20 minutes, and my family goes nuts every time I make it. Pile it on garlic fried rice.
Miso Garlic Butter Steak Bites
Seared steak bites finished with a miso gochujang compound butter that melts into every piece. Not your average butter and parsley situation. Steakhouse energy in 20 minutes.
Steak Stir Fry (Asian Steak Bites)
NY strip bites seared hard, then tossed with ginger, garlic, butter, soy and oyster sauce. A pinch of baking soda keeps the steak crazy tender. A family favorite for years, done in 25 minutes.
Hibachi Bowl with Steak and Vegetables
Steak bites, zucchini and mushrooms seared teppanyaki style, piled on fluffy rice and smothered in Japanese steak sauce. The longest recipe on this list at 40 minutes, and still faster than booking a hibachi table.
10-Minute Beef Rice Bowl
Pre-sliced shabu shabu beef seared in a sticky teriyaki chili crunch sauce. Five ingredients, zero chopping, 10 minutes. My laziest dinner and one of my best.
Beef and Onion Stir Fry
Ground beef and a whole sliced onion cooked down with garlic until sweet and saucy. Pantry staples, one pan, 25 minutes. Proof a weeknight stir-fry does not need a long shopping list.
Korean Ground Beef Bulgogi Rice Bowl
Ground beef in a bulgogi sauce with gochujang, ginger and grated Asian pear for that sweet savory Korean flavor. All the bulgogi vibes in 20 minutes, way faster than marinating sliced beef.
Mongolian Beef Bowls
All the sticky sweet Mongolian beef flavor with crispy ground beef instead of sliced steak. Spoon it over rice with broccoli and dinner is done in 20 minutes. Cheaper than the steak version, same addictive sauce.
Crispy Beef Rice Bowl
Ground beef fried until crispy, then glazed with sweet Thai chili sauce, oyster sauce and soy. This one comes in clutch on nights I need dinner on the table fast. 20 minutes.
Teriyaki Beef Bowls
Ground beef stir-fried with bell pepper, cabbage and carrots in teriyaki sauce with honey and a little chili crisp. Loads of veggies, one pan, 30 minutes. My favorite clean-out-the-fridge dinner.
Spicy Mongolian Beef
Tender sirloin strips in a glossy hoisin sauce with garlic chili paste for a little heat. This is the beef stir fry that made me stop ordering Mongolian beef for delivery. 30 minutes, and rice is not optional.
One Pot Crispy Beef Ramen Noodles
Instant ramen gets a serious upgrade with crispy ground beef, garlic and a sweet savory sauce, all in one pot. 20 minutes and way better than the flavor packet ever was.
Beef Egg Roll in a Bowl
Everything you love about an egg roll minus the wrappers and the deep fryer. Ground beef, cabbage, bell pepper and carrots stir-fried in a savory sauce. 20 minutes, no rolling required.
Beef Noodle Stir Fry with Thai Basil
Wheat noodles, ground beef, cabbage and carrots in a sweet, savory, spicy sauce, finished with a big handful of Thai basil. The basil is the whole point, so do not skip it. 25 minutes.
Beef and Broccoli Noodles
Beef and broccoli, but make it noodles. Ground beef and broccoli in an easy beef and broccoli sauce with chewy frozen udon. One pan, 25 minutes.
Chili Beef Noodles
Crispy ground beef, chewy rice noodles and whatever veggies you have, tossed in a chili crunch sauce. One pan, 15 minutes. Do not crowd the pan and you get the best crispy beef bits.
Beef Pepper Rice (Pepper Lunch Copycat)
My copycat of the Pepper Lunch sizzling plate. Thin steak, onion, corn and rice seared in one pan with cold butter and a peppery soy honey sauce, then mixed together. 20 minutes, and the crispy rice on the bottom is the best part.
Ribeye Steak Fried Rice
Juicy ribeye, crispy day-old rice, chili crunch and a runny egg yolk on top. One wok, 15 minutes. This is how I use up leftover rice and feel fancy doing it.
Beef and Broccoli Fried Rice
Velveted steak and broccoli tossed with fried rice in one pan. It looks and tastes like you ordered delivery, and it takes 20 minutes.
Beef Udon Noodles
Thin beef slices velveted with baking soda and cornstarch, tossed with chewy udon and a savory sauce with a kick of chili crisp. Velveting is the restaurant trick that keeps the beef silky. 20 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Beef Stir-Fry
Flank steak is the classic pick for beef stir fry because it is lean, beefy and slices thin against the grain. Sirloin, NY strip, skirt steak and ribeye all work great too. Ribeye is my splurge pick because the fat keeps it juicy even if you overcook it a little.
Slice it thin against the grain, velvet it, and cook it fast over high heat. Velveting means tossing the sliced beef with a pinch of baking soda and some cornstarch for about 15 minutes. Then sear it in batches so it browns instead of steaming.
Thinly sliced beef only needs 1 to 2 minutes per side over high heat. Pull it out while it is still a little pink, then toss it back in with the sauce at the end. Ground beef takes about 5 to 7 minutes to brown and get crispy.
Yes, ground beef makes a fast, budget friendly stir fry with zero slicing. Brown it in a hot pan without stirring too much so it gets crispy edges, then add your sauce and veggies. Mongolian beef bowls and beef egg roll in a bowl are good places to start.
A basic beef stir fry sauce is soy sauce, oyster sauce, a little sugar or honey, garlic, ginger and a cornstarch slurry to thicken. From there you can swap in hoisin for Mongolian beef, teriyaki for a sweeter bowl, or chili crunch for heat.
No, a large cast iron or nonstick skillet works just fine. The key is getting the pan really hot before the beef goes in and cooking in batches so you do not crowd it.
Yes, most beef stir fry keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Store the rice or noodles separately if you can so they do not get soggy. Reheat in a hot skillet with a splash of water, or microwave in 1 minute bursts.
Pick one, grab your biggest pan, and make takeout jealous. Want more beef? Check out my Asian beef recipes and Asian ground beef recipes, or browse every beef recipe on the blog.
Leave a Reply