This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
This Beef with Snow Peas is an easy dinner recipe! Tender marinated beef and crisp peas toss perfectly over rice or noodles for a delicious weeknight supper.
Featured with this recipe
Beef with Snow Peas is one of those dinners I plan for and look forward to all week! It’s an absolute favorite. The tender sirloin or flank steak, sliced super thin and then marinated with garlic and soy sauce is then paired with vibrant, crisp snow pea pods for a filling, yet light meal. I love it served over fluffy rice or steamy noodles, with extra sauce for drizzling.
This dish has an Asian flair with regular ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. No fussy spices or anything. It’s mild enough for the young ones in your family too; my kids love the snow peas and eat them plain. This is a quick, healthy dinner for even the busiest of weeknights!
Ingredients in Beef with Snow Peas
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce – You can use regular one third cup soy sauce if you like, but low sodium tastes just as good and keeps the salt content down.
- Chicken Broth – again, you can use low sodium broth if you want. This also tastes delicious with beef broth or even vegetable broth.
- Garlic – two cloves garlic, or a couple of tablespoons minced garlic.
- Beef Sirloin Steak – For this beef with snow peas recipe I like to use a couple of good beef sirloin steaks and slice them as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. But flank steak or skirt steak will work wonderfully too. The longer you marinate the sliced meat, the more tender and flavor-filled it becomes. For even more tender steak, make sure to slice against the grain, and very thin. The slices of steak will cook up really fast and are never tough.
- Cornstarch – mix together with a bit of cold water or soy sauce mixture to thicken up the rest of the marinade for a delicious sauce.
- Fresh Snow Peas – find them in the produce section of the grocery store or grow garden pea pods. They’re yummy to eat in this recipe or alone.
- Canola Oil – for sautéing
All About Snow Peas
Snow Peas are similar to sugar snap peas. The whole crispy pod can be cooked and eaten or eaten raw. Plus they’re so good for you! Snow peas are a terrific source of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, iron, magnesium, and other nutrients. I love them on top of a green salad or in stir fry recipes like this beef with snow peas.
When cooked on a high heat for a good minute or two they turn a bright green. They add a sweet flavor and crunchy texture when they aren’t overcooked. Just chop the tops and bottoms of the pea pods off and cook for just a couple of minutes. Perfection.
How to Make Beef with Snow Peas
- First, add all your cooking liquid into a small bowl. Mix the soy sauce, broth and garlic together and save about a quarter cup.
- Place the rest of the liquid along with the meat into a resealable bag. Store the meat mixture in the refrigerator on a clean plate for at least an hour.
- Create a cornstarch slurry with the remaining soy sauce mixture, and whisk until smooth. Place cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir in reserved soy sauce mixture until smooth; set aside.
- Using a wok or a large heavy skillet, stir-fry the snow peas in about two teaspoons of hot vegetable oil or olive oil over medium high heat until the snow peas are bright green and crisp-tender.
- Set the snow peas on a separate plate and cover to keep warm.
- Drain and discard marinade from beef. In same skillet, add beef pieces with tongs and stir-fry beef in remaining oil for 2 minutes.
- Stir cornstarch mixture; add to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Add the snow peas back in and serve over white rice, long grain rice, or brown rice.
This simple beef dish can actually be changed up all sorts of ways. Try some of these additional ingredients to make the most out of your meal and stretch your dollar further:
- Diced or shredded carrots
- Sliced zucchini
- Bell peppers
- Whole scallions
- Broccoli
- Season with kosher salt, black pepper, basil or other herbs.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds
Frequently Asked Questions
You can blanch the peas before stir frying in this recipe, but it’s not necessary. It will soften the edges a bit, but they are tasty either way!
Snap peas can be used in this recipe. Cook them the same way you cook the snow peas. You’ll know when they are done when they turn a bright green. It will take a few more minutes to cook them the snow peas, but they will taste great.
If you can’t find snow peas or don’t like snow peas, you can use sugar snap peas, broccoli, or bell peppers as a substitute.
Read More: 35+ Quick and Easy To Follow Dinner Ideas
What to Serve with This Recipe
I love serving this beef with snow peas with simple white rice or egg noodles or any of these mouth-watering recipes!
Beef with Snow Peas
Video
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak (about 1 inch thick)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 cups fresh snow peas
- 4 teaspoons canola oil divided
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, broth, and garlic. Reserve ¼ cup.
- Cut steak into thin slices. Place beef in a resealable plastic bag. Add remaining soy sauce mixture, seal and mix. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
- Place cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir in reserved soy sauce mixture until smooth; set aside.
- In a wok or large skillet, stir-fry snow peas in 2 tsp hot oil for 3-4 minutes or until snow peas are crisp-tender and bright green. Remove and keep warm.
- Drain and discard marinade from beef. In same skillet, add beef pieces with tongs and stir-fry beef in remaining oil for 2 minutes. Stir cornstarch mixture; add to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Combine with snowpeas. Serve with rice (serve with brown rice if you want to be really healthy!)
Notes
- Nutrition Facts do not include rice.
- Looking to spice up the sauce? Add fresh ginger, Sriracha, or red pepper flakes.
- Add a few dashes of rice vinegar or sherry to the sauce for flavor.
Excellent flavor, simple prep🙂
I know my family will love this dish!
Yum! One of my favorite things to get at our local Chinese restaurant! Can’t wait to make it for myself!
What a savory dinner recipe! I will be adding this to my dinner line up for the week!
We couldn’t believe how easy it was to make this! Definitely going on our dinner rotation!
It’s the best!
I’ve never had beef and snow peas but this recipe looks like the perfect excuse to try this recipe!
I’ve made this receipe similar to this 1,000 of times. I use sherry in the sauce and at times( not all the time) minced ginger. You can use broccoli , mixed red and green sliced peppers, mushroom and bok Choy cooked crisp, bamboo shoots, shitake mushrooms , snow peas , green onions almost anything to your liking ☺️
Looks really good. Thank you.
With the snow peas, I wonder if you could add a little bit of bok choy to add some more veggies.
Could green beans be substituted for the peas and cooked the same way?
We haven’t tried green beans but we have substituted broccoli and it works great!
I've made this so many times now & it's one of our favorites! I was wondering if you have ever used snap peas & if they would still be good? Harmons didn't have any snow peas! I was so bummed but my meat was already thawed out when I was at the store. I even went to Smiths to see if they had some! NOPE! BUMMER!
This was so good! I had no leftovers which is a rare thing. One thing I did different was double the sauce so there would be extra for the rice.
Looks delicious. I love snow peas, and this looks like a great way to prepare them.
We have snow peas in our garden, so I better bookmark this recipe! Looks delicious.
YUM! I can't wait to try this one out 🙂 My husband loves snow peas and it gives me good reason the get the chop sticks out… the kids will LOVE that!