It’s no surprise this Healthy Beef and Broccoli recipe is a family fave, since it’s easy to make, absolutely delicious, and ready in just 30 minutes! This Beef and Broccoli is great for meal prep, is clean-eating, paleo, Whole 30, and keto friendly, and is easily altered for GF diets.
This Healthy Beef And Broccoli recipe is one of our favorite family meals. And, when I say favorite meals, I mean we probably have it at least every other week. Ooh, and it makes a yummy meal prep lunch, too!
Not only is this absolutely delicious, it’s also super fast to prepare and healthy, too.
While we very often have this healthy beef and broccoli recipe just by itself, it’s really yummy with some simple steamed brown rice. Serving it with rice is also a great way to make this recipe go farther for more servings (hello, budget meal prep!).
Is Beef and Broccoli Good Healthy?
Unfortunately, restaurant-style beef and broccoli isn’t that healthy for you. While it is a better option to order for takeout than some high-sugar, deep-fried options, it still is:
- very high in sodium
- has added sugars
- cooked in unhealthy oils
So, instead, to make a healthier version of Beef and Broccoli, I made the following tweaks:
- cooked the ingredients in olive oil instead of deep-frying anything;
- used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar;
- used low sodium soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce;
- serve with steamed brown rice, not fried rice (but if you want fried rice that’s actually healthy, you could check out this healthy cauliflower fried rice recipe).
That all being said, even restaurant beef with broccoli is well-balanced with protein and fiber, and isn’t deep fried or coated in a sweet glaze – this is simply a way to make it even healthier and get your beef and broccoli fix at home!
For more healthy takeout options, check out my post on 3 Healthier Takeout Options to Make at Home!
How To Make Beef Tender (Not Chewy) For Beef and Broccoli
For this beef and broccoli recipe, I use flank steak because it is very flavorful, and full of nutrients without too much fat — as compared to a ribeye, for example. With any steak you choose for this recipe, however you’re going to want to slice it ACROSS the grain in as think of slices as possible.
Why do we do this? Slicing across the grain essentially means you’re not eating the entirety of a muscle fiber, but instead a bunch of cross sections of it. This is the difference between very chewy meat and very tender meat.
A tip on thinly slicing the beef: If you pop it in the freezer for 20-ish minutes and allow it to just start to freeze, you will more easily be able to slice the beef into small slices.
Also, overcooking the beef will also make it overly chewy, so try to just cook it through, and not overcook it.
How To Store Beef and Broccoli
This Beef and Broccoli stores very well in the fridge or freezer, making it a great make-ahead meal for meal prep. If properly stored in an air-tight container (like these meal prep containers), left-over beef with broccoli will last for 5-6 days in the refrigerator.
To store it for longer, you can also freeze your beef and broccoli. To freeze it, store in an airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags (I like these re-usable storage bags). You can store beef with broccoli for up to 4-5 months in the freezer.
When ready to enjoy, allow to thaw, and then reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through. You can also reheat thawed beef and broccoli on the stove in a fry pan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Substitution Ideas For Beef and Broccoli
The good news is it’s very easy to swap out ingredients for this recipe to make it better suit your dietary needs. As written, this recipe complies with clean-eating, paleo, Whole 30, and keto. Here are some common substitutions to help you out for other healthy lifestyles.
- Vegan Substitutions: Replace steak with tofu or mushrooms.
- Gluten-Free Substitutions: Replace low sodium soy sauce with liquid aminos or GF soy sauce.
- Vegetarian Substitutions: Replace steak with tofu or mushrooms.
- Red Meat Substitutions: Replace steak with chicken, shrimp, tofu, or mushrooms.
Did I miss a substitution you’re needing? Add a comment below and let me know!
It’s no surprise this Healthy Beef and Broccoli recipe is a family fave, since it’s easy to make, absolutely delicious, and ready in just 30 minutes! This Beef and Broccoli also makes great meal prep, and is easily altered for GF diets. This recipe is clean-eating, paleo, Whole 30, and keto friendly!
- 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, very thinly sliced across the grain
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 4 cups broccoli florets, about 2 small crowns
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
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Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until well-browned, about 6-8 minutes. Once well-browned, remove from pan and set aside.
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In the same pan, add garlic, shallot and green onions to the beef drippings. Cook one minute, stirring frequently. Add broccoli and cover for 5 minutes.
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In a small mixing bowl, combine water and arrowroot starch and mix until no longer lumpy. Combine soy sauce, coconut sugar, ginger and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Add arrowroot starch mixture and stir to combine. Set aside.
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Remove cover from pan and add sauce. Cook until sauce starts to thicken, about 3-5 minutes. Add beef and stir to combine, cooking an additional 2-3 minutes.
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Serve over brown rice, if desired.
Recipe Video
Nutritional info provided does not include brown rice. Including 1/2 cup steamed brown rice would increase calories by 108 calories, 2 g fiber, and 2.5 g protein.
This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Hi Lacey,
I am going to try this because of the rave reviews, but wonder what you use to evaluate the nutrition, and what brand of soy sauce might be that low in sodium?
Like Mike, I feel the sodium is off – the lowest sodium soy sauce I have (Kikkoman less sodium – not technically low sodium) by itself yields 788 per serving of this recipe. And the nutrition analyzer I use indicates about 900 mg sodium total. Given CDC recommends 1500 max for those over 50, African Americans, and individuals with health issues, I will have to let folks know when I serve it.
And like Kali, I seriously question the calcium. I don’t see where it can be coming from, and my program gives me only 8%, not 121%, of the daily value. Also 413 calories, however that could be in expectation of untrimmed fat from the meat.
Don’t mean to be a pill, but I found this recipe by googling lower sodium beef with broccoli. I still intend to try it and am sure it will be delicious.
Hi Maril, thanks for your comment and bringing this to our attention. We recalculated this recipe to reflect more accuracy in the nutritional information. Thanks again! -Jen
Wow so I have never left a comment on a recipe but this one I just had to! Looking for easy meal prep food and gave this one a try. I used raw honey instead of coconut sugar since I didn’t have that, used a tad bit of flour since I didn’t have the other recommended item, I also used ginger powder since I didn’t have fresh, added some mushrooms at the end and I couldn’t stop eating this meal so that I could pack it up for another day. I’ve never had beef and broccoli from takeout but was pleasantly surprised at how easy and delicious this was to make. I am so glad I found this and tried it. Look forward to making this more often and introducing the family to it someday. Just amazing!! You have GOT to make this recipe
OMG!
This is a great recipe. Really delicious. Ok, so I made a change. I didn’t have a shallot so used a whole brown onion (I love onion) and only had cornstarch.
The sauce was great! 🙏
How did you figure over 1200 mg of calcium per serving?
thank you for sharing this tips, i have read your article and i also like it.
Found this recipe at the last minute and decided to make it for dinner tonight. I usually never have luck with new recipes, but this one totally rocked it! Flavor was amazing and it was only a few simple ingredients. Came together so quickly and we served it with egg noodles, because that’s what I had on hand. Will probably use jasmine rice next time. Kids loved it, husband loved it…nothing else to say but this one is a keeper! Used sesame oil to cook the meat and added mushrooms to amp up the veggies. Other than that, followed recipe as listed. Thank you for a fab recipe! Going in my regular rotation.
Only comment is that there is no way this recipe is only ~300mg of sodium. The lowest sodium soy sauce I have ever found was around 470mg for a tablespoon. This recipe is, at a minimum, ~700 mg of sodium per serving.
Other than that, the taste is great!
Great recipe! Thanks for providing a healthy and lower sodium way to have this Chinese dish. My wife loved it and now believes me when I say Asian food can be delicious and healthy.
I did add extra water/ drippings to the pan with the broccoli to avoid it burning at the high heat. I also turned down the heat when adding the sauce so it would not burn off too much. Result was a delicious saucy healthy dinner!
Can I use coconut amino’s instead of soy sauce
My family loved this dish, would definitely recommend. Thanks for the tips for tender meat!
Made it with Flank Steak and then another time with Chicken! Kids ask for it all the time!! Delicious!
Great recipe! Thank you! My husband hates broccoli so I used broccoli rabe instead. I also added a squeeze of fresh lemon before serving.
Wow! Just made this tonight for my family and everyone loved it…even my extremely picky eater. It’s super easy to adjust with what you have on hand…left out the green onions and used top sirloin. I bet it would also be amazing with chicken breast pieces. This will definitely be one of my go to weeknight recipes. Thank you so much!
This recipe is delicious!! I also added mushrooms to amp up the veggies and served it over wild rice. I will definitely make this easy and yummy recipe again! Thank you!!
LOVE hearing that, Emily!! 🙂
Looking around our dinner table tonight and seeing 4 totally empty bowls says it all – this recipe is a keeper and expands my stir-fry repertoire. Thank you! Highly recommend!
Yes! That’s my fave 🙂 xoxo
I made this and it was super easy to make and super delicious.
Wooot! Thanks for letting us know 🙂
The dish was very good. I did add a quarter of a jalapeñ0 (no seeds), as we like a little more spice in our dishes. Next time I make it, I plan to add a little sesame oil when frying the meat. I will also salt & pepper the meat right before frying. I also plan to add some celery and mushrooms to get some more veggies in there. I used gluten-free, low sodium soy sauce. Lastly, I think I will toast some sesame seeds ahead of time to add before serving. Just my thoughts. But great dish overall. We enjoyed it.
Thanks for the suggestions, Jennifer!!
Ive made this at least 5 times. LOVE IT!! 10/10 highly recommend! Easy, quick and healthy- everything I wanted from a recipe!
Thanks so much for the great review, Roxanne!
I tried this last week. It was amazing! It tasted better than what you get at a restaurant and is very healthy. Thanks for posting this receipe!!
This dish is so delicious
2 options, reduce the heat a bit or add a tbsp or so of water before you cover. It’ll add moisture and prevent it from burning, second option is what I do.
Hi, silly question here- how do I keep the aromatics from burning when I add the broccoli to the pan and put the lid on? After four minutes there was a burnt mess on the bottom of my pan. While the recipe still tasted good, it had a burnt, bitter undertone from the overdone garlic and shallots. Thanks!
This was amazing! And, I used Braggs Liquid and it was still delicious. I made it for my family, and they all loved it too! Thank you, I’ll definitely be making this again!
I had some leftover steak bites, so I decided to try making this dish. I used fresh broccoli and some leftover roasted green beans. Even though I used some leftovers…it was delicious! The sauce is AMAZING!!! This one will definitely go in my recipe box. Thanks so much for sharing!
This was such a delicious recipe and so easy to make! I had a craving for Chinese, but didn’t want to order in, so you saved the day! Thanks so much for sharing.
This was delicious! And so easy to make. You’re absolutely right – it’s a no fail recipe! The quick video on how to make it was incredibly helpful. Can’t wait to search your website for more recipes and subscribe to your e-newsletter!
LOVED this! So delicious and easy. I used a giant bag of frozen stir fry mixed vegetables and this was so quick and easy. Cutting the meat takes the most time, but it is worth it. So tender! Sauce is also addictive. I used flour instead of cornstarch and it worked just fine.
SO Good!!!
Just started getting into cooking this year. Made this last night and it was delicious AND didn’t take longer than posted (30 minutes). I’ll definitely keep this in the rotation. Thanks!
Just made this, came out really good. Very simple to make.
Made this for my parents tonight, they loved it! As I’m a vegan, I’d like to try it with tofu instead of the steak.
Love this recipe! We actually add sugar snap peas and carrots to it and it is wonderful with all the extra veggies!
I’ve also marinated the beef in some lime juice and a bit of soy sauce beforehand to give a little extra kick. Delicious
Made this for me and my picky girlfriend. Its one of our new favorites. Thumbs up on this one!
Made this last night and it was super yummy! We ate it without rice too!
I made this today for my family and they loved it. They asked me what I’m making tomorrow for dinner and I laughed at them. Not knowing what half these things were or how to chop them, it took me a bit of time. However it was well worth it, not only for what I’ve learned today, but because the meal turned out so well. I left out the coconut sugar and cornstarch, and used a spoon with drain slots to serve. I will definitely be making this again.
I doubt I will find coconut sugar at my local grocery store (Lagos, Nigeria) . What can I sub it with? Welldone Lacey!
Thank you so much for the Healthy Beef & Broccoli stir-fry recipe! I’ve got to run to the store for the ingredients and get everything together for dinner when hubby gets home, + my dd has a friend over.
We just moved a month or so ago, and I can’t find the book with my “Asian Beef w Broccoli” recipe, and yours looks like mine, so thx for helping out in a pinch!
I blog at www.thewritesteph.com and work as a freelance writer. Hope you’ll pop over to say “hi!”
Blessings!
Stephanie
Can one use jasmine rice with this dish
You can use any kind of rice you want, obviously.
I tried this with bell peppers and onions instead of broccoli and it was awesome. Thanks!
Wonderful recipe! I used 1 1/2 lbs of the flank steak and added 50% more of the other ingredients and it worked out great! Also, I added some mushrooms after the broccoli was almost finished cooking and let them cook for a short time before adding the sauce and beef back in to heat through. My 12-year-old daughter and husband loved it, so I’ll definitely be making it again – I might even add some snow peas next time!
Had some frozen chicken breasts in the freezer and didn’t know what to do with them. Wanted something different…Sliced the chicken thinly while partially thawed, and followed the recipe…Absolutely fabulous!
Wide noodles instead of rice is a good option. Also, try breaking an egg over the bowl of stir fry and run it under the broiler for a minute or two. To make the sauce go a little farther, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of rice wine. It’s great just as it is, too!
Love those suggestions!!
Hi! this looks amazing! is it possible to skip the cornstarch and sugar? How badly will it effect the recepie?
Yes, you totally can skip them if you’d like. The flavor wont be as sweet and the sauce won’t be thickened, but it will still taste good 🙂
Just made this for the first time- amazing! Will definitely be making again. Just as good as any beef and broccoli I’ve ordered from a restaraunt 🙂
Woohoo! Another convert!! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it…we LOVE this recipe as well.
This might sound like a silly question but how big is the serving?
lol, not a silly question but I’m realizing I don’t have a great way to answer other than about 1/4 lb. of the beef strips and about 6-8 florets of broccoli. I hope that’s what you’re looking for! 🙂
Sorry I meant I see it serves 4 people but do you know how much each person would get? For example does it mean a cup each or more?
Roughly 1 1/2 cups per serving.
Absolutely love this recipe! Like your family, it has quickly become my family’s most favorite dishes. In fact, we’re making it again tonight! 🙂 Thank you!
YAY! That makes me so happy to hear, Bryan! 🙂
Tried this recipe about two month ago and forgot to save it & had been search for it ever since. I absolutely loved this and so did everyone else who tried it. Im normally horrible at eating leftovers but I enjoyed it so much that I ate every last bit! SO glad I found it again. Bookmarking!
That’s awesome, Britney! My husband hates eating reheated broccoli but is the same way about this recipe – this is one of our faves 🙂
This was amazing!! Better than any I’ve ever eaten! Thanks Lacey!!
WOOHOO! That’s awesome, Jessica – thanks for the feedback 🙂
Very easy and delicious recipe. I used venison tenderloin instead of beef, used a little less soy sauce, and used extra red pepper. Very delicious and light. Thank you.
Very cool! Thanks for letting me know, Matt! 🙂
Lacey,
I made your healthy beef and broccoli and had to come back and let your readers know it was delicious! Simple, easy, and delicious just like all of your recipes I’ve tried. Thanks again!
lol, thanks so much for coming back and sharing how it went, Katherine 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it enough to share! 🙂
We just finished eating this for dinner. DELICIOUS! Such a great recipe. The only thing I changed was I added about another half cup of water to make the sauce go a bit further. We like lots of sauce in our house. Otherwise, an amazing recipe. Thank you.
Yay! So glad you all enjoyed it – thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Beef and broccoli is a great combination.. so I can imagine this tastes just as great as it looks!
And it does 🙂 So good. Thanks for stopping by, Thalia!
This looks amazing. I love beef and broccoli, but it is so often unhealthy. This recipe looks pretty healthy to me. Can’t wait to try it.
Yay! I hope you love it as much as we do, Esther 🙂
Thanks Lacey, This was amazing. I made this last week and can’t wait to make it again. So tasty and easy to follow directions. I won’t be ordering this out again because this came out better then any I have had in my area. Keep up the great work, I love your blog and recipes.
Wow, Nancy, I’m so glad you enjoyed the beef and broccoli and that you enjoy this blog o’ mine – I totally agree and love this recipe so much! 🙂
Thanks for another winning recipe! Used pork because I had it on hand and YUM. The freeze your meat for slicing tip was helpful too. 🙂
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Susan. It’s one of my favorites. Yea, that partial freezing really does the trick, huh? 🙂