A delicious beef stir fry recipe, this Easy Beef Stir Fry is based on a Jamie Oliver classic, with great flavors, easy fried rice and plenty of protein and vegetables.

Easy Beef Stir Fry Recipe with Rice

Anyone else always make way too much rice or pasta?

I’ve gotten better about cooking the right amount of pasta (practice makes perfect) but I still end up with way too much leftover rice every time we make some.

This recipe is the perfect way to use up leftover rice to make a delicious meal. First, you season and cook your cubed beef, then you toss it together with your chopped vegetables and even more seasoning and cook to soften those veggies. Remove from the pan and add an egg, scramble it, and then add the rice and some additional flavors. Ta-da. Done – less than 15 minutes and you have a delicious home cooked meal that tastes way better than take-out, in less time than it would take you to order and drive to pick it up.

Unlike my Mongolian Beef Stir Fry recipe, I don’t coat the beef in this stir fry in cornstarch to give it crunch, and just browned it naturally to achieve it. You can definitely toss your beef in a bit of cornstarch for added crunch.

The aromatic flavors in this beef stir fry are perfect: garlic, ginger and onion, hit with some sesame oil and lime juice. I use a bit of tamari in place of soy sauce because I’m super picky about soy sauce – I don’t like it too salty – but you can definitely use soy sauce, or even some black bean sauce.

This recipe is very loosely based on Jamie Oliver’s Sizzling Beef with Scallions and Black Bean Sauce stir-fry recipe featured in his Food Revolution cookbook.

PS – I loved the Food Revolution series. Did you watch it? If you’re not a huge fan of Jamie’s, it will likely make a convert out of you. I loved his heart and how much effort he put into teaching people how to cook so that they could change the direction of their families’ lives.

What kind of beef is best for stir fry? I tend to just buy sirloin roasts and cut them into cubes myself. You can just buy steak strips or cubed steak, or buy a flank steak and cut it yourself. Ideally, you want a tender cut that isn’t too tough. If your beef is tough, you can marinade overnight in sesame oil, lime juice, soy sauce and a bit of beef stock. This recipe will also work with ground beef, if that’s all you have on hand.

What vegetables are best for stir fry? Honestly, you can use whatever vegetables you like in this recipe. I prefer recipes with a bit of crunch to them in stir fries so I avoid adding anything too soft (like potatoes or squash), but I also don’t want anything too hard, like carrots. You can use chopped broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, mini corn, water chestnuts, etc. (You can even use frozen vegetables.)

Do I have to use rice in this recipe? No, you can use cauliflower rice, sesame noodles, quinoa, pasta, egg noodles – or just skip those altogether and serve this beef-vegetable medley on wraps or in taco shells (or even in lettuce wraps).

Check out our quick recipe video (sorry, totally a phone video) to see just how quick and easy this beef stir fry recipe is to make, and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab our free printable recipe:

Beef Stir Fry Ingredients

• Peanut Oil
• Beef, cubed
• White Pepper <– more fruity and hot than black pepper, but you can use black pepper instead
• Cornstarch, optional <– this helps give the beef the golden, crunchy outside
• Garlic
• Onion
• Ginger
• Sweet bell peppers
• Sesame oil
• Egg
• Cooked Rice
• Lime juice
• Soy sauce or Tamari

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Tip: you can also add a few sesame seeds on top of this recipe to give it a bit of visual interest and also hint at the sesame oil used in the recipe.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Sharp kitchen knife
• Cutting board
• Mixing bowl
• Spatula
• Stockpot or Dutch Oven <– highly recommended for even cooking and seamlessly transferring this recipe from the stove to the oven
• Meat Thermometer <– This is the meat thermometer I have been using for the past 6 years – I’ve never had to change a battery and it’s super sturdy and reliable. It was a bit pricey, but unlike the $15 models that you can buy, this one isn’t going to need replacement. It is waterproof and comes with a two-year warranty. (Thermoworks also has a $15 pocket-sized model if you want to try that out first before investing in the MK4.)

How to Make Beef Stir Fry

In a stockpot over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of peanut oil or olive oil.

Season your cubed beef with a bit of white pepper, and optional cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly.

Cook the beef in the stockpot, being careful not to overcrowd, until browned and cooked through to a temperature of at least 145ºF.

Add the chopped vegetables (garlic, ginger, onion and sweet bell pepper) and season with sesame oil.

Cook until the onions are translucent and vegetables have softened slightly, then remove to a clean bowl.

Crack your egg into the same stockpot and stir until cooked through but still glossy.

Add the cooked rice and stir to coat completely in the egg.

Add the soy sauce and lime juice, to taste. Cook until the rice is heated through, about two minutes.

You can now either plate your stir fry by portioning out the rice and topping with the beef-vegetable mixture, or toss the beef and vegetables back in with the rice and serve altogether.

Pin this Easy Sesame Beef Stir Fry recipe:

Grab your free printable recipe card for our easy beef stir fry with rice recipe:

I hope your family loves this simple stir fry recipe as much as mine does!

Check out some of our other fun Chinese take-out recipes you can make at home, like our Mongolian Beef Stir Fry or our Korean Short Ribs recipe.