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This easy Ground Beef and Broccoli Skillet is a quick and flavorful meal that tastes even better than take out. The entire recipe cooks in one pan in only 20 minutes!
This beef and broccoli skillet is a classic dish that I’ve made many times over the years. It’s a great way to use a pound of ground beef while also packing in some fresh veggies.
There is nothing complicated here, just a simple, fresh and delicious dinner anytime. It’s quicker, more flavorful and even better than take out.
Serve this dish on it’s own or over a bed of rice or noodles. It tastes great as leftovers too!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The entire meal cooks in one pan in 20 minutes or less!
- It’s packed with flavor and is healthier than takeout.
- Kids and adults love this easy dinner recipe.
Ingredients You Need
This recipe comes together with fresh broccoli, ground beef and a few simple seasonings to make the teriyaki-style sauce.
- Ground Beef: Choose any ground beef. We prefer 80-90% lean beef.
- Broccoli: You can use fresh or frozen broccoli.
- Coconut Aminos: You can substitute with low sodium soy sauce or tamari sauce. If you are concerned about salt content, be sure to choose one that is low salt.
- Rice Vinegar: You can substitute with apple cider vinegar but it will alter the flavor slightly.
- Cornstarch: You can substitute with arrowroot powder.
- Spices: This recipe uses garlic powder, ginger powder, salt and pepper.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: You can also use avocado oil.
- Water: You can substitute the water for beef broth, but I think the dish has plenty of flavor with just water.
- Garnishes (Optional): Sesame seeds and sliced green onions are the perfect garnishes for this dish.
Serve this dish on its own or over a bed of rice or noodles. This Instant Pot Brown Rice is the perfect addition.
How to Make Ground Beef and Broccoli
This dish comes together in 4 simple steps!
- Prepare the Asian-inspired teriyaki sauce: Whisk together the coconut aminos, water, rice vinegar, cornstarch, garlic powder and ginger in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cook the broccoli: Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the broccoli and saute for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup water or broth to the pan, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the broccoli is steamed. Transfer the broccoli to a plate.
- Cook the beef: Add the ground beef to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to crumble the beef. Cook until browned, then drain any excess fat.
- Combine everything: Add the broccoli back to the pan and pour in the sauce. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
Serve the beef and broccoli over a bed of lettuce, rice, cauliflower rice or noodles. Or simply serve it on its own!
Recipe Tips
- Chop broccoli into small, even sized pieces. This helps the broccoli to cook quickly and evenly.
- Switch up the vegetables: You can substitute the broccoli with another vegetable like snow peas, carrots, chopped bell peppers or baby bok choy. Firmer vegetables like carrots will need a few extra minutes of cooking time.
- Swap the meat: Use ground chicken or ground turkey instead of ground beef.
- Add a spicy kick! If you’re looking to add more heat, add a dash or two of red pepper flakes or sriracha sauce to the pan during the last step. The dish with taste spicier.
- Make it gluten-free: This dish is gluten free, but be sure to check to make sure your soy sauce, tamari sauce or coconut aminos sauce is gluten free. You will also want to confirm that your rice vinegar and cornstarch are gluten free. Serve on its own or with rice or gluten free noodles.
- Make it paleo: To make this dish paleo, be sure to use coconut aminos and arrowroot starch.
- Make it low carb or keto: This recipe is already lower carb if you use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch. You can substitute the broccoli for another vegetable like bell peppers or brussels sprouts or green beans to make it even lower carb.
Storage
Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat before serving.
To freeze, allow the dish to cool completely. Then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat before serving.
More Dinners in 20 Minutes or Less
- Lemon Garlic Shrimp
- Steak Nachos
- Creamy Chicken Florentine Soup
- Burgers (with homemade burger sauce)
Did you try this Ground Beef and Broccoli recipe? Leave a recipe rating and review below.
Ground Beef and Broccoli Skillet
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos, or low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 cup water, or low sodium beef broth
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, or arrowroot starch
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- green onion , sliced, for garnish
- sesame seeds, for garnish
- rice for serving
Instructions
- Whisk the coconut aminos, water, rice vinegar, cornstarch, garlic powder and ginger in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the broccoli and saute for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup water to the pan, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until steamed. Remove the broccoli from the pan.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to crumble the beef. Cook until browned, then drain any excess fat.
- Add the cooked broccoli back to the pan and pour in the sauce mixture. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
- Remove from heat and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- Make it gluten free: This dish is gluten free, but be sure to check to make sure your soy sauce, tamari sauce or coconut aminos sauce is gluten free. You will also want to confirm that your rice vinegar and cornstarch are gluten free. Serve on it’s own or with rice or gluten free noodles.
- Make it paleo: To make this dish paleo, be sure to use coconut aminos and arrowroot starch.
- Make it low carb or keto: This recipe is already lower carb if you use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch. You can substitute the broccoli for another vegetable like bell peppers or brussels sprouts or green beans to make it even lower carb.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Was too salty Added sweet chili sauce and water. Still a little too salty.
Hi Tess, did you use low sodium beef broth and soy sauce? The soy sauce and beef broth contain the salt, so if you didn’t use low sodium it would be salty.
Make sure you use garlic powder and not garlic salt. That’s a common problem that some people do that makes a dish too salty.
My whole family loved this. Thank you!
Made this tonight and used frozen broccoli. It was very good! Nice and simple, quick and easy. We only had regular soy sauce, so it was a tad saltier than we would have liked, would definitely make sure to let the low sodium soy sauce or aminos for next time. I really liked that it was ground beef, made it nice and quick! Both our kids loved it too, which is always a win. We will likely be adding this to our regular rotation. Thank you!
Hi Torrie! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. I’m so glad you love your kids loved it.
Absolutely delicious! I made this and tripled the recipe. Husband ate two huge plates and said he could eat this every day! Thank you
Will not be making this again. My husband and I found it very bland and boring.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear this. With the seasonings and ingredients, I’m surprised you find it bland. But I really appreciate your feedback and hope that you also leave positive reviews on recipes you love.
I didn’t love this, but will probably make it again because my toddler ate it well. I’ll take any option that gets veggies in her belly. The sauce tasted like a standard at home stir fry sauce – not like the sauces that I typically associate with beef and broccoli.
Hi, Mia! Thanks so much for your feedback. I’m sorry you were disappointed with the flavor but happy that your toddler enjoyed. It is definitely more of a teriyaki style sauce, as mentioned in the post.
Great recipe for beef and broccoli. Love that it’s ground beef, it makes it so much simpler! Delicious!
I love how quick and easy is and with so much flavor!