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This easy Steak Stir Fry recipe can be made in just 30 minutes! Tender beef, fresh veggies, and noodles tossed together in a delicious, savory sauce.
Steak Stir Fry is always a hit with my family. I like to throw this together on busy nights when I need to get dinner on the table fast. (Be sure to read all the rave reviews in the comments below!) Everything is all mixed into one easy dish for minimal clean-up as well. So many wins with this one!
What I love most about stir fry recipes is that you can mix-and-match everything. The types of meat, the noodles, and the variety of vegetables can all be hand picked to suit your tastes. You can make it any way you want! There are so many combinations!
How to Make Steak Stir Fry
With a homemade sauce, tender beef, noodles and all kinds of veggies, this really is the easiest beef stir fry recipe ever! Here’s how to make it:
- First, combine the marinade/sauce ingredients and set aside. You will use half of it as a marinade for the beef and save the other half to use as the sauce for later. Let the beef marinate for anywhere from 5 minutes to 4+ hours. The longer you marinate it the more flavorful it will be.
- Next, cook the noodles according to the package instructions to al dente and stir fry the beef.
- Remove the beef from the skillet and stir fry the veggies. Once the veggies are cooked, toss everything together in the skillet along with the sauce. I like to top it all off with some sesame seeds and a little sriracha or red pepper flakes for a kick.
Stir Fry Sauce
The only difference between the sauce and the marinade for this recipe is a little bit of cornstarch. The cornstarch just makes the sauce a little thicker and helps to coat the noodles. The sauce for this beef stir fry is a more savory sauce, which I like with beef dishes. If you want it to be sweeter and have a more teriyaki flavor, just add a little pineapple juice and/or a little more brown sugar. For a thicker sauce, add a couple tablespoons cornstarch. You can always thin it out with more water.
Stir Fry Vegetables
There are SO MANY different vegetables that you can use in stir fry dishes. Here are some of our favorites:
- Asparagus
- Baby Corn
- Bamboo Shoots
- Green onions
- Bean Sprouts
- Bell Peppers
- Broccoli
- Cabbagee
- Carrots
- Celery
- Mushrooms
- Onions (Red, Yellow, or White)
- Snow Peas
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Water Chestnuts
- Zucchini
Frequently Asked Questions
For the best beef stir-fry, we used sirloin steak. It is a nice, tender cut of meat that marinates and sautés well in a stir fry. It’s a very versatile cut of steak that you almost can’t go wrong with. The downside to sirloin steak is that it can easily get overcooked. For optimal results, stir fry until JUST cooked through. Other cuts of steak that work well for stir fry includes flank steak, skirt steak, and rump steak.
I like to slice my steak SUPER thin. Seriously, like paper thin (like at the Mongolian BBQ restaurants). The thinner, the better. An easy tip for slicing steak is to freeze the steak for 10-15 minutes before slicing, then slice it with a sharp knife. I also like to cut it on a 30 to 45-degree angle against the muscle fibers instead of slicing it straight down so I can get it even thinner. You will find that the flavor is better, and it is easier for kids to eat. It also absorbs the marinade better.
Store leftover stir fry in an airtight container or resealable storage bag in the fridge. You can microwave leftovers, but it will taste best reheated in a wok or skillet.
READ MORE: 35+ Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas
More Beef Dinner Recipes
Steak Stir Fry
Video
Equipment
- Fry Pan/Skillet
Ingredients
For the sauce/marinade:
- 2/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2/3 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the stir fry:
- 16 ounces boneless beef sirloin steak sliced thin
- 16 ounces linguini noodles
- 4 teaspoons canola oil divided
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
- 1 onion sliced thin
- 2 carrots sliced into match-sticks
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups cabbage shredded
- sesame seeds to taste (optional)
- red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Combine soy sauce, broth, brown sugar, garlic, and ginger in a small mixing bowl.
- Place half of the mixture in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, add sliced beef, seal (pressing as much air out as you can). Allow the beef to marinate in as long as time allows (the longer the better but if all you have is 5 minutes, that works)! If you marinate for longer than 20 minutes, marinate it in the fridge.
- Add cornstarch to remaining mixture in bowl and stir until smooth, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Prepare linguini noodles according to package directions.
- While noodles are cooking, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add steak slices, discarding excess marinade. Stir-fry until just browned, remove steak from skillet and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to the same skillet and stir-fry peppers, onion, carrots, and broccoli until onions become clear and soft. Add cabbage and beef to the skillet and cook until cabbage becomes soft.
- When noodles are done cooking, drain and toss with beef/vegetable mixture, adding the reserved sauce mixture. Toss until noodles are coated in sauce.
- Top with sesame seeds and/or red pepper flakes (optional) and serve immediately.
Notes
- Please note that the prep time and cook time on this recipe does not include the 2+ hours of time needed to marinate the beef.
- An easy tip for slicing steak is to freeze the steak for 10-15 minutes before slicing, then slice it with a sharp knife. I also like to cut it on a 30 to 45-degree angle instead of slicing it straight down so I can get it even thinner. You will find that the flavor is better, and it is easier for kids to eat. It also absorbs the marinade better.
- The key to slicing vegetables is to try to cut them all close to the same thickness. You want all your vegetables to cook as evenly as possible. Also, remember to keep your vegetables bite-sized. You don’t want to have to use a knife to cut up the vegetables after serving. Vegetables like celery and carrots can be cut on an angle.
This was absolutely marvelous. I’m gluten free so used some gf ramen noodles (4 minute cook time) and used broccoli, red bell peppers, snow peas and cabbage mix. I also used amino acids instead of soy which is good for those of us with thyroid conditions. Put few drops sesame oil and then the sesame seeds at the last, along with one little dash of siracha…cut recipe in half as making for one person, and this will stay in my rotations for sure. Thanks for the wonderful recipe 🙂
Oh yum! Thanks for sharing! I actually love using the gf brown rice ramen from Costco in this recipe. I love those noodles better than non-gf noodles. So glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for the nice comment!
You can always marinade it for less time or leave out the marinade altogether if you are in a hurry. Hope this helps!
I made this for my wife today for Valentine’s Day on a wim. I never cook. Spent most of my time finding things. My wife was so happy and absolutely loved the meal. Much needed after a weeks stay at the ER wit her Grammy. Thank you so much!
So glad you and your wife loved this recipe! Way to go cooking for your wife on Valentine’s Day– what an awesome husband! Having a loved one in the hospital is so hard, both mentally and physically. I am sure she truly appreciated your kind gesture. 🙂 Very best well-wishes to her Grammy!
Made it! It’s yummy but was a tad too salty. What can I add to balance it?
You can always use low-sodium beef broth, that will actually help the saltiness quite a bit or you can add a little more brown sugar. Hope this helps!
Really good! I only could marinate for 1 hour, and beef was still tender. I think we would like it even better over rice. My soy sauce was really salty, so I ended up adding about 2 T of heavy cream to cut it a little bit. Made it for a family who is grieving and they LOVED it. Thanks for sharing!
I am so glad you liked it! Have you tried using low-sodium soy sauce? Sometimes that helps cut down the saltiness.
Sorry to be dim but what does the ‘c’ stand for in the measurements pls?
c = cup 🙂 Hope this helps!
Just made this for the first time, but it won’t be the last. Delicious!!!
I am out of soy sauce. What else can I use. Also why can’t you use the sauce that you marinade the meat in as long as you are cooking it. I forgot to save any.
You can if you bring it to a rolling boil. If you are out of soy sauce, you can use teriyaki sauce, it will just be a bit sweeter. Hope this helps!
Loved this!! I don’t like a sweetish flavour in my mains so added just half a tbsp of brown sugar and it was perfect. So quick to make too! One for the weekday dinner list.
Thanks for sharing!
you are very welcome 😀 Glad you liked it!
Better than take out, marinated the meat for 24 hours and came out super tender and flavourful. My friend said she could eat this everyday! Thank you for sharing,
So glad you (and your friend) liked it! Thanks for the nice comment 😀
Doesn’t the reserved sauce mixture in step 9 need to cook some since it has cornstarch in it?
You toss it while it is still in the pan so the pan should still be hot enough to help it thicken. You can put it back on the stove if you feel like it needs a little more time. Hope this helps!
What is considered a portion size?
About 1 – 1 1/2 cups.
I used really cheap beef (chuck steak on sale for $2.47 a pound) and after slicing, marinating and browning, I threw it in the crock pot on low for a few hours. After that the dish came together quickly and the meat was tender and flavorful, just the way we like it. I will absolutely make this again but I think next time I’ll make double the meat and stick half in the freezer to use another time.
Great idea! I like the idea of putting the meat in the crock pot to make it more tender. Thanks for the comment! 😀
Everyone (even the picky eaters) in my family loved it!
due to stomach problems I can’t eat onions or the cabbage …and ideas for replacement of these …so want to try this !
Lila, you can eliminate both the onions and cabbage and increase the amounts of the other vegetables – maybe add yellow and orange peppers in addition to the red pepper. Thanks for asking!
I made this last night and it was amazing!! WOW, just WOW. SO much flavor and better than take out!
Thank you!!!
I have high cholesterol and have been taken off sugar, so was informed I can’t have sugar which is found in white pasta, potatoes, white bread, pizza, and rice (white) what do u reccomend sounds like a scrumptious meal otherwise any other helpful hints greatly appreciated Thank you
You should still be able to make this dish.. just be sure to check labels on the products you buy. Maybe check some of the whole wheat pastas?
We made this for dinner tonight & it was great!! Thanks for a new meal that’s sure to go on our rotation.
Thank you Betty Jo!
Oh wonder if anyone has come up with a calorie count per serving on this dish?
Is it just regular green cabbage or napa cabbage?
just regular green cabbage 🙂