Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry

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No takeout menu is needed for this speedy and saucy Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry! Tender sirloin steak and crisp veggies dance in a sweet and savory homemade teriyaki sauce for a dish that’s as scrumptious as it is nutritious.

A plate with Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry with Rice

Why You’ll Love This Easy Stir Fry

Healthy. Just like my Healthy Beef and Broccoli, this is a recipe that your entire family will love! If you order takeout Chinese beef stir fry with vegetables frequently, I urge you to give this wholesome version a shot. It’s packed with protein-packed beef, an array of healthy veggies, and a lightened-up version of teriyaki sauce.
Choose Your Own Adventure. How you serve this delicious dish is totally up to you! This healthy beef stir fry recipe is delighted to be served with noodles, rice, or even wrapped in side lettuce leaves.
Uses What You Have. Stir fries like Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry make me feel like a kitchen wizard. From the fridge, there is but a hodgepodge of on-the-brink veggies; from the pantry, a bottle of soy sauce. A spell of garlic and a flash of the pan later, and we have magic. Each stir fry is different, but they have core ingredients in common.
Master of Meal Prep. Healthy stir-fries are our favorite dishes to make ahead. From Pork Stir Fry to this beef stir fry recipe, they’re easy to prepare in advance and enjoy for days to come.

A black skillet with a healthy beef stir fry with steak and vegetables

5 Star Review

“Delicious! The sauce was amazing!! My teenage son absolutely loved it. This recipe is definitely a keeper. YUM!”
— Liz —

How to Make this Beef Stir Fry Recipe

The Ingredients

For the Stir Fry

Sirloin Steak. A sirloin steak cut of meat is teriyaki’s best friend. It’s the best, most tender beef for stir fry. It cooks quickly and will soak up the flavors you cook it in (like our beef stir fry sauce). However, you can also use flank steak or chuck steak to make teriyaki beef.
Beef Stir Fry Marinade. Soy sauce and black pepper are used to make our easy marinade for stir fry beef. This umami-rich marinade gives the beef deep flavor right from the start.
Vegetables. Anything you have around! A red bell pepper adds beautiful color to our stir fry. For the mixed vegetables, try teriyaki beef and broccoli, snap peas, or carrots. Only have frozen veggies on hand? No problem. You can make a beef stir fry with frozen vegetables (see tips below).
Water Chestnuts. The crunchy element you didn’t know you needed. Once you try them in your stir fry, you’ll never want to make one without them.
Green Onions. A delicious, fresh crunch and subtle bite to finish off your stir fry.

For the Teriyaki Sauce

Soy Sauce. The umami bomb ingredient that makes this teriyaki sauce so delicious.
Maple Syrup. To naturally sweeten the sauce. Honey would also work well here.
Rice Vinegar. Adds acidity to the sauce.
Garlic + Ginger. Subtle but powerful ingredients in a stir fry recipe.
Red Pepper Flakes. For a touch of spice.
Cornstarch. You’ll need a little dash of cornstarch to help thicken up the stir fry sauce recipe.

The Directions

Marinate the Beef. Prepare the homemade teriyaki sauce.
Brown the Beef. You want to cook it all the way through.
Sauté the Vegetables. Use your favorites here!
Put It All Together. Combine all the stir fry ingredients in the pan with the veggies. ENJOY!

A healthy beef stir fry with teriyaki sauce and vegetables

Storage Tips

To Store. Place leftover stir fry in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To Reheat. Gently rewarm beef and vegetables in a skillet on the stove over medium-low heat. You can also reheat this dish in the microwave.
To Freeze. Store beef and vegetables in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Meal Prep Tip

Cut your beef up to 24 hours in advance, and store it in the refrigerator. Stir your sauce ingredients together up to 1 day in advance, and chop your vegetables up to 1 day in advance.

Leftover Ideas

For a spin on homemade Beef Lo Mein, toss beef stir fry leftovers with cooked lo mein noodles.

What to Serve with Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry

Noodles. This healthy beef stir fry with noodles would be scrumptious. For something different, you could do beef teriyaki noodles using Vegetable Lo Mein or Asian Noodle Salad.
Rice. Rice goes perfectly with a beef stir fry! Use my recipe for How to Cook Brown Rice, or Instant Pot Brown Rice. For a fun twist, use quinoa, my Homemade Fried Rice, or Cauliflower Fried Rice instead.
Lettuce Cups. Take a note from my Lettuce Wraps, and wrap your beef stir fry in a lettuce cup for a low-carb twist.
Vegetables. Both Air Fryer Green Beans and Sauteed Brussels Sprouts would be tasty.

Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry topped with green onions

Recommended Tools to Make This Recipe

Wok. While a wok isn’t necessary to make the best beef stir-fry, if you plan to make stir fries often (like Tofu Stir Fry), it’s a worthwhile investment. This saute pan would also work well.
Heatproof Spatula. Perfect for stirring this beef teriyaki recipe.
Liquid Ingredient Measuring Cups. You can measure and mix your sauce in these cups.

Beef teriyaki stir fry with vegetables on a blue plate with rice

Recipe Tips and Tricks

Use Frozen Veggies. One of the best parts about easy stir fries like this one is the ability to use frozen vegetables. They won’t be as crisp as fresh ones, but they’ll still be delicious if prepared correctly. The secret to good stir-fry vegetables is letting them thaw completely before adding them to the stir fry, and patting away any excess moisture prior to adding them.
Size Matters. How you cut your veggies makes a big difference. Make sure to cut your vegetables so that they all cook in roughly the same amount of time (harder veggies like carrots should be cut smaller and thinner than softer ones like asparagus, for example).
Get the Pan HOT. Using a pan that’s nice and hot is the secret to a successful stir fry. Both the teriyaki beef strips and the veggies need a hot, non-crowded pan to sear and caramelize properly. The sear ensures that the stir fry ingredients will have excellent texture and flavor.

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Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry

4.89 From 98 reviews . Help us out! Review HERE.Help out & review HERE

Prep: 15

Cook: 15

Total: 30

Servings: servings

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This healthy Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry comes together quickly and features tender beef in an easy homemade teriyaki sauce with any of your favorite vegetables.

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Ingredients

For the Stir Fry:

1 pound sirloin steak cut into thin, bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil divided
1 red bell pepper cored and cut into thin slices
3 cups chopped mixed vegetables of choice such as broccoli, snap peas, or carrots
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts drained
3 medium green onions finely chopped; divided
1 tablespoon sesame seeds optional
Prepared brown rice white rice, quinoa, noodles, or cauliflower rice — for serving

For the Teriyaki Sauce:

⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes plus additional to taste
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions

Place the beef in a bowl and top with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and black pepper. Stir to coat then set aside to marinade while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Prepare the sauce: In a medium mixing bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the soy sauce, water, maple syrup, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch. Set aside.
Continue with the stir fry: In a large, deep sauté pan or wok, heat 1/2 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the beef. Cook until the beef is browned on all sides and fully cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove the beef and any juices that have collected in the skillet to a plate and set aside.
Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil. Add the bell pepper and other vegetables. Cook for 4 minutes, or until slightly softened and lightly browned.
When the vegetables are ready, add the water chestnuts and return the beef and juices to the pan. Pour in the sauce and toss to coat. Let simmer 3 to 4 minutes to thicken and warm the beef through. Stir in about half of the green onions. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and remaining green onions over the top. Serve warm, with additional red pepper flakes and/or soy sauce as desired.

Video

Notes

TO STORE: Place leftover stir fry in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
TO REHEAT: Gently rewarm beef and vegetables in a wok on the stove over medium-low heat. You can also reheat this dish in the microwave.
TO FREEZE: Store beef and vegetables in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Nutrition

Serving: 1(of 3); about 1 2/3 cup of stir fry per serving (without rice)Calories: 436kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 39gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 92mgPotassium: 1119mgFiber: 6gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1978IUVitamin C: 136mgCalcium: 151mgIron: 5mg

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to Make Beef Super Tender for Stir-Fry?

Here are the 3 rules of stir-frying beef so it’s not tough or chewy:
1. Slice Across (not with) the Grain. When cutting your beef, slice thinly across (perpendicular to) the grain to make it tender. This helps break down the fibers and is how you make stir-fry beef so it’s tender.
2. Don’t Overcook It. Overcooking your beef will make it tough and unpleasantly dry. In this recipe, as soon as the strips of beef are no longer pink, they are ready to serve.
3. Marinate It. For this recipe, our beef teriyaki marinade not only flavors the beef, but it helps it tenderize as well. Even the few minutes while you prep the remaining ingredients can make a big difference.

Why Is My Stir Fry Meat Tough?

Overcooking is most likely why your stir-fry beef is chewy. If your beef isn’t overcooked, see the FAQ above for other suggestions.

What Are the Best Vegetables for Beef Stir Fry?

We love using a red bell pepper and some mixed vegetables. For the mixed vegetables, broccoli, snap peas, snow peas, carrots, mushrooms, eggplant, bok choy, or baby corn would all be tasty.

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Hi, I'm Erin Clarke, and I'm fearlessly dedicated to making healthy food that's affordable, easy-to-make, and best of all DELISH. I'm the author and recipe developer here at wellplated.com and of The Well Plated Cookbook. I adore both sweets and veggies, and I am on a mission to save you time and dishes. WELCOME!

Learn more about Erin

Teriyaki Beef Stir Fry

Why You’ll Love This Easy Stir Fry

5 Star Review