Skip the trip to your favorite Chinese takeout restaurant and treat yourself instead to this Keto Beef and Broccoli dish! It’s beefy, meaty, saucy, low in net carbs, and easy to make!
This classic Chinese take-out dish is so much better when you make it from scratch. Typically, Chinese food is loaded with starches and even sugars. Meats are often marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and sugar, and these thick, gloopy stir fry sauces are a starchy nightmare.
But if you make this keto stir fry recipe from scratch, you can enjoy the same fabulous flavors without all the extra carbs. And, as an added bonus, you can control the sodium, and make this dish as beefy as you like. Hungry? Let’s get started!
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What You Need To Make Keto Beef and Broccoli
- A wok or large skillet
- Avocado or olive oil
- Beef – see below
- Soy sauce / Coconut aminos – coconut aminos are a gluten-free soy sauce alternative
- Unseasoned rice wine vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Broccoli crowns
- Garlic – fresh is best!
- Ginger – fresh, not dried powder
- Salt and pepper
- Beef broth
- Xanthan gum (optional)
What Kind of Beef To Use in This Keto Beef and Broccoli Recipe
You’ll want to use a good-quality cut of tender beef because this dish cooks up quickly and the beef needs to be tender before you use it. It won’t simmer for hours in the sauce to tenderize. My favorite picks for this dish are:
- Striploin steak
- Flank steak
- Ribeye
- Eye of round – sliced thinly
- Tri-tip tails (or sirloin tails)
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How to Make Keto Beef with Broccoli
- Slice the beef and get it marinating with the soy sauce (or coconut aminos), half the rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil.
- Blanch the broccoli – see notes below
- Stir fry the beef in hot oil until barely cooked. Set aside.
- Cook the garlic and ginger in a tsp of oil.
- Add the broth, remaining rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce (or coconut aminos) and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Thicken the sauce – see below.
- Add the beef and broccoli back to the sauce and toss to coat. Enjoy!
How To Blanch Broccoli
Because we’re not simmering this sauce on the stovetop, the broccoli needs to be tender-crisp when it goes into the sauce. If you overcook the broccoli in the sauce, it becomes limp, gray, and lifeless. Keep your veggies bright and happy by blanching them first. Here’s how:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces and when the water is boiling, drop the broccoli into the pot.
- Set a timer for 1 minute once the pot starts to boil again. No more, no less – just 1 minute.
- After boiling for 1 minute, drain the broccoli and get it into a bowl of ice water or very cold tap water. This will stop the cooking process and will help keep your broccoli bright and green. Drain before using.
How to Thicken this Keto Beef and broccoli stir fry
Most Chinese food recipes are thickened with a slurry, a combination of cornstarch and water.
You can use this technique to thicken your sauce (add 1 tbsp of cornstarch to 3 tbsp of water and mix, then add to the simmering sauce), but cornstarch isn’t keto and will add carbs to your count. If you don’t mind an extra carb or two per serving and are doing dirty keto, go for it.
Or, you can let the beef and broccoli sauce reduce a bit to thicken. If you choose to do this, don’t season it with salt or pepper until you’re done with the sauce, or it’ll just concentrate the salt and it could end up too salty.
Another option is to use xanthan gum. This is a pretty powerful natural thickener, so go easy! The trick to using this is to start small! Start with a 1/8 tsp and whisk it in. Xanthan gum thickens as it sits, so don’t make the mistake of adding more and more. Add a tiny bit and give it a few minutes to thicken up. For this recipe, you probably won’t need more than 1/4 tsp.
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- This dish is perfect for prepping ahead of time and cooking at the last minute.
- Buy beef when it is on sale and stock up for dishes like this.
- The beef will slice easily and thinly if you pop it into the freezer for 20 or 30 minutes before slicing.
- Want more flavor? Add more garlic, more ginger, or even some red chili flakes for a bit of heat.
- Switch things up with chicken, pork, or even shrimp.
What To Serve With This Keto Broccoli and Beef Recipe
My favorite way is to serve this keto beef and broccoli with cauliflower rice. You can make your own with this recipe or you can buy it already riced. It comes fresh and frozen now in most grocery stores. Or, bust out some more ingredients to make this delish keto fried rice.
Alternatively, you can serve this beef and broccoli stir fry recipe with shirataki noodles. Simply drain the noodles and rinse them very well. Drain them again. Then, add them to the sauce just at the end of the cooking time. You don’t need to cook the noodles, just heat them through. But note: shirataki noodles don’t freeze well so your leftovers are best eaten fresh.
Can you Freeze Keto Beef and Broccoli?
You can freeze this dish. In fact, pair it with Simple Cauliflower Rice and you’ll have a full meal!
To freeze it, chill it thoroughly chill this dish first, then package it in freezer-friendly containers or plastic bags, and freeze for up to three months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight, then heat it in a microwave-safe dish until warmed through, or cover it and heat it in a 350-F oven, but don’t overcook it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this dish has some carbs in it but they’re low. We keep it keto by using xanthan gum as a thickener, and by not adding any additional sugar. There are 4 net carbs per serving of this easy beef and broccoli recipe.
It can be. Use tamari or coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce to keep it gluten-free.
Yes! This is a super simple dish that’s ready in about 20 minutes.
Step By Step Process
Keto Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds beef flank steak, inside round, tri-tip are all good choices
- 6 tbsp soy sauce divided (or use coconut aminos)
- 3 tbsp unseasoned rice wine vinegar divided
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 4 each broccoli crowns
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp oil divided
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1/8 tsp xanthan gum optional
Instructions
- To marinate the beef, slice it thinly (this is easy if it is still a bit frozen) and combine the beef with 4 tbsp of soy sauce or coconut aminos, 2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar, and 1 tsp of sesame oil. Set aside.
- Cut the broccoli into bite size pieces. Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it liberally. Add the broccoli at once and let the pot come back to a boil. Once the pot boils, drain the broccoli and shock it in a bowl of ice water or run very cold tap water over the broccoli. Set the broccoli aside.
- Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Set this aside to make the sauce.
- Add 1 tbsp of oil to a large skillet and heat it over high. Working in batches, cook the beef until browned but not quite cooked all the way through, about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the cooked beef and keep cooking the beef in batches, adding more oil as needed, until it is all browned.
- Add 1 tsp of oil to the skillet. Cook the garlic and ginger over medium-high heat until fragrant and soft, about 3-4 minutes. When the garlic and ginger are cooked, add the beef broth and simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors combine. Add 2 tbps soy sauce and 1 tbsp of rice wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
- Optional step – thicken the sauce with 1/8 tsp of xantahn gum whisked in, or use a cornstarch slurry of 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp of cold water. If using cornstarch, you need to bring the sauce back to a boil.
- Add the beef and the broccoli to the sauce and heat over high heat until warmed through and combined. Dig in!
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed. Erythritol carbs (sugar substitutes) are not included in the carbohydrate counts as they have been shown not to impact blood sugar, and they have zero calories and zero carbs. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Want More Easy Keto Recipes?
I’m always creating new and exciting dishes in the kitchen, but a few are among my favorites that I make again and again. They are:
- Keto breakfast hash
- Grilled veggies
- Dash egg bites
- Ground Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry
- and if you need help counting carbs, this Net Carb Calculator can help!
Definitely so much tastier than any take out option –
and better for you too. A great recipe 🙂
Beef and broccoli is one of my favorite dishes, yum!
Hi there, I found your recipe on Pinterest and it looks amazing. Totally perfect for the Chinese New Year Potluck we are attending. I’m excited to try it.
Beef and broccoli is my favorite at Chinese restuarants. I love that this is healthy and low carb.
The sauce on this is perfect! The flavor is spot on for my favorite takeout beef and broccoli.
It is so good, and so much better for you! ~Jenn
I have been keto for 6 years. I made this recipe using glutton free tamari and Tri Tip Steak. It was fabulous. I used the Xanthum Gum but it did not help with thickness of the sauce. I would have had to use much more. Very tasty.
So glad you loved it!