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In less than 30 minutes, you can have this healthy ground beef stir fry ready and on the table. It’s high in protein and packed with bright veggies, crunchy peanuts, and a whole lot of garlic and ginger. Much like my reader-approved beef stir fry with Ramen noodles, this recipe packs a punch without any heavy sauces, so you can fill up and feel good!
Table of Contents
I think you’re going to LOVE this healthy ground beef stir fry. It’s great for weeknight dinners or meal prep, and it’s packed with colorful veggies, garlic, ginger, and crunchy peanuts! It’s also light on the sauce, so you can fill up and feel good.
Looking for more easy weeknight stir fry recipes? Check out my ground turkey stir fry with cabbage or this slurp-worthy beef stir fry with Ramen noodles. This yummy sesame shrimp stir fry is also great for my fellow shrimp lovers out there.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s healthy—This high-protein stir fry gets its flavor from a generous amount of fresh garlic and ginger, plus variety of spices. So there’s no need for a heavy, sugary sauce. You also get a good helping of colorful veggies!
- It’s adaptable—You can easily play around with this dish and make it your own by swapping certain veggies, etc. You can also amp up the heat if you like things spicy!
- It’s quick and easy—Prep is unfussy and the cooking time goes quickly. The whole process takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish!
Ground Beef Stir Fry Ingredients
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Ground beef—I experimented and made this with lean ground beef, and it still turned out to be super flavorful. But whatever ground beef mixture you prefer will work.
- Vegetables—I love using red cabbage, bell peppers, and scallions because they cook at the same rate. I opt for red, orange, or yellow peppers because they’re sweeter—but green will also work.
- Peanuts—Already roasted and lightly salted peanuts are my go-to when adding them to a dish. If they aren’t roasted, you could lightly toast them in a dry pan before adding them.
Recipe Variations & Modifications
- Vegetables—When you want to change things up, great additions or swap-ins are baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, baby spinach, chopped broccoli, carrots, snap peas, zucchini, baby corn, and water chestnuts.
- Nuts—You could easily swap out the peanuts for cashews in this recipe if you prefer.
- Proteins—Of course you can use ground chicken, ground turkey, or crumbled tofu to try a vegetarian variation if needed. I have not tried this with tofu, so
How to Make Healthy Ground Beef Stir Fry
Step 1. Cook your rice, grain, or noodles as per the instructions on the package (depending on what you’re serving with the stir fry). To cook the beef, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil over medium heat in a large frying pan or wok. Then add the ginger and garlic, and sauté for about 30 seconds.
Step 2. Add the ground beef, 2 tablespoons of water (or beef broth if you have it), 1 teaspoon of sea salt, 2 teaspoons of onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the hot pan. Stir, mixing the seasoning into the beef while also breaking the it up into crumbles as it cooks.
Step 3. Cook until you not longer see pink bits, then transfer the beef to a paper towel-lined plate.
Step 4. Add the other tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan and bring the heat up to medium-high. Add the vegetables—they should sizzle on high heat! Let them simmer, stirring every now and then, until they’re tender. This should only take 3-5 minutes.
Step 5. Turn the heat off, then add the ground beef to the pan with the veggie medley. Stir in 1/4 cup of low-sodium soy sauce, lime juice, and the peanuts. Toss to evenly coat.
Step 6. Serve over rice, or any other grain your prefer, with a lime wedge for extra lime juice when serving. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and cilantro on top for garnish (optional), and for heat, add some hot sauce like Sriracha, or sambal oelek!
Recipe Tip
For a super efficient dinner, you could use one of those quick microwaveable 90-second rice packets. They’re great in a pinch!
How to Serve Ground Beef Stir Fry
Over rice is the way to go! I go back and forth between regular jasmine rice, black rice, and this coconut ginger Instant Pot rice (so good). Quinoa also works. If you’re eating low carb, you can stuff this stir fry into lettuce wraps like I did with my sesame hoisin chicken lettuce wraps. Beef stir fry is also great when served with seared baby bok choy, sautéed broccolini, or a nice and refreshing smashed cucumber salad.
Storage & Reheating
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, transfer to a microwave-safe plate and reheat in increments of 25 seconds until heated through. You could also pop leftovers into a pan and heat them on the stove over medium-low until heating through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ground beef is healthy in moderation and there are leaner options available if it’s a concern to you. If you’re avoiding red meat, most recipes that call for it can easily swap it out for ground turkey instead. Check out my collection of ground turkey recipes for dinner!
Adding water or broth to ground beef as you cook it keeps the meat moist and helps distribute the flavor from seasonings.
Yes! When you think about stir fry meat, you probably think about steak strips, cubed chicken, or shrimp. But ground beef makes for a delicious stir fry, too!
More Weeknight-Friendly Stir Fry Recipes..
If you try this healthy ground beef stir fry, please pop back in and leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Ground Beef Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP sesame oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated to a paste or minced, To grate, use a microplane
- 1 TBSP freshly grated ginger
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp crushed chili flakes
- 2 cups thinly shredded red cabbage, Best to sliced/shred with a mandolin
- 1 bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 limes; 1 juiced, and 1 cut into wedges for serving
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (a roasted, lightly salted variety)
- 3 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
Instructions
- Cook your rice, grain, or noodles as per the instructions on the package (depending on what you're serving with the stir fry).
- Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil over medium heat. Then add the ginger and garlic, and sauté for about 30 seconds.
- Add the ground beef, 2 tablespoons of water (or beef broth if you have it), 1 teaspoon of sea salt, 2 teaspoons of onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of crushed chili flakes to the hot pan. Stir, mixing the seasoning into the beef while also breaking the it up into crumbles as it cooks.
- Once the beef is fully cooked, transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add the other tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan and bring the heat up to medium-high. Add the vegetables—they should sizzle! Let them simmer, stirring every now and then, until they’re tender. This should only take 3-5 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, then add the ground beef to the pan with the veggies. Stir in 1/4 cup of soy sauce, lime juice, and the peanuts. Toss to evenly coat.
- Serve over rice, or any other grain your prefer, with a lime wedge for extra lime juice when serving. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top if you’d like, and for heat, add some hot sauce like Sriracha or sambal oelek!
This looks amazing, and I have literally all the ingredients on hand! I’m thinking this would be perfect for a week of meal prepped lunches. Thank you for the idea! Also, I love your wooden spatula-stick-thing – where can I find one?
Oh yay, definitely keep me posted, Lindsay! :)
I love love love that spatula-stick-thing (it’s exactly what I call it, too). It’s this!
Yaaaas, awesome! Thank you! Picking one of those up ASAP.