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Ready in under 30 minutes, this flank steak stir fry is a quick dinner, packed with veggies, and perfect for a weeknight dinner. The homemade stir fry sauce coats the fresh vegetables and tender beef. Serve it with white rice or brown rice for a wholesome meal.
Want more easy dinners? I love Instant Pot Mongolian beef, ground turkey Teriyaki rice bowls, and firecracker meatballs!
This beef stir fry recipe is just as good, dare I say, better, than Chinese restaurants. The homemade stir fry sauce thickens and coats all of the tender beef and veggies in a perfectly balanced way. If you’ve every had this ground turkey teriyaki rice bowl, you know how good a veggie and protein bowl with rice can be.
Why You’ll Love this Flank Steak Stir Fry
- Simple to prepare
- Completely from scratch
- Packed with veggies and protein
- Great recipe to use up leftover veggies (it’s versatile!)
- Low carb option (serve it with cauliflower rice)
- Done in 30 minutes or less
Do you have chicken to use up? Try this chicken stir fry instead, featuring fresh veggies and tender chunks of chicken.
Best Cut of Beef for Stir Fry
The secret to a great stir-fry is selecting the right protein and flank steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef. I love beef flank steak for stir fry because it’s a really tender cut of beef and cooks quickly. If you don’t happen to have flank steak, there are some great flank steak substitutes including:
- Top sirloin steak: a flavorful cut that’s versatile and juicy
- Inside or outside skirt steak: both are known for their robust flavor profile
- Flat iron steak: similar to flank steak and needs to be cut against the grain.
Each one of these is lean, benefits from a marinade, and cooks quickly. Learn more about the characteristics of each in our flank steak substitute guide.
Have extra flank steak? Try stuffed flank steak, one pan steak and potatoes, or carne asada tacos.
How to Make Flank Steak Stir Fry
Here are the instructions, with step-by-step photos, to make this easy beef stir fry. Skip down to the recipe card for the full printable recipe.
Make the teriyaki stir fry sauce: Whisk all of the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl until combined.
Sear the flank steak: Cut the steak against the grain then heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry them in a single layer in batches for 1-2 minutes on each side to get the outsides brown and crispy and the centers medium to medium rare. Remove the steak to a paper towel.
Cook the veggies: Add the vegetables, except the leafy bok choy ends, to the same wok or skillet and cook for 6-8 minutes, until soft and just tender.
Add the sauce: Pour the prepared sauce over the veggies and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat. Stir until thickened then turn the heat down and stir in the cooked steak and boy choy and cook to wilt.
Serve: Serve this over white jasmine rice (we love coconut rice), brown rice, or rice noodles. You could also serve them inside lettuce cups or over cauliflower rice for a low carb option. Garnish it with sliced green onion, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds.
Expert Tips
- Use a sharp knife to trim away any silver skin, fat or connective tissue that could make it tough
- Cut the beef against the grain into thin slices. You’ll notice long pieces of tough muscle fibers along the steak. Cut perpendicular to the tough fibers to cut the fibers shorter, resulting in thin strips. Learn more about how to cut flank steak.
- Place the beef in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to slicing because it makes it easier to cut.
Recipe Variations
- Use any color pepper, like green bell peppers, instead of red pepper.
- Mix baby corn into the veggies.
- Stir in some sliced yellow onions if you have them on hand.
This recipe is sponsored by The Ohio Beef Council. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to brands like them who believe in my recipes so I can keep sharing them for free! For more info, visit www.OhioBeef.org, and follow the Ohio Beef Council on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
More Easy Beef Dinners
- Mexican Beef and Rice
- Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
- Healthy Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Beef Stew
- Healthy Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
Flank Steak Stir Fry
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Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1/4 cup fresh squeeze orange juice (about 1 medium-large naval orange)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or tapioca starch
Flank Steak Stir Fry a
- 2 lbs flank steak sliced thinly against the grain (Note 1)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil (olive oil or avocado oil works too)
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 3 cups chopped broccoli florets
- 2 large carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 cups snow peas (Note 2)
- 1 bunch of baby bok choy chopped with leafy ends and stalks separated
- Garnish: Green onions, sesame seeds, or red pepper flakes
- To serve: White rice, brown rice, noodles, or lettuce cups Rice (I like it over coconut rice)
Instructions
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients to a small bowl, whisk together and set aside.
- Sprinkle both sides of the steak with salt and pepper then cut the steak against the grain into thin strips, about 3 inches long.
- In a large wok, cast iron skillet or deep saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil over medium-high heat until very hot and the oil starts to ripple. Working in batches, add the steak and cook for 2 minutes without touching then flip and cook on the other side for another 1-2 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 135°F and the outsides are brown and crispy. Too many pieces of steak at once will steam the steak rather than crisp the outsides. Transfer the cooked steak to a clean plate or bowl.
- Reduce the heat to medium then add the remaining Tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits off the bottom. Add all of the vegetables, except for the leafy ends of the bok choy, to the pan and stir to cook until almost tender, 5-6 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the vegetables and bring it to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. The sauce will thicken more as it heats. Add the steak back to the pan with the leafy ends of the boy choy and stir to coat the steak and wilt the bok choy. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve over white or brown rice, noodles or in a lettuce wrap.
Notes
Video
Equipment
- Large skillet or wok
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
One of the best meals I have made in a while. Absolutely delicious!
The best compliment! Thanks, Carly! I hope you try some more of my dinners!
Wow!!! Just wow!! Packed with amazing flavour ! My husband who is a super picky eater loved it and said it’s on the make again list and that speaks volumes !
That means so much! Thank you, Ashley!!