Teriyaki ground beef stir fry is the epitome of weeknight cooking and ready in 30 minutes. If you're looking for a super easy dinner with insane flavor, you've gotta try this one. It's been part of my weekly rotation for months and I'm excited to share!
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This teriyaki ground beef recipe uses my homemade teriyaki sauce, scaled up a bit for extra sauciness. Wanna make it even easier? A store-bought teriyaki will totally work here and speed up the process even more.
Serve your stir fry with roasted veggies, fluffy basmati rice, or chow mein noodles. Lettuce wraps are another great way to eat teriyaki stir fry.
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Why It's Great For Busy Weeknights
Quick: This simple stir fry is made with only 9 ingredients (take that down to 4 if you use store-bought teriyaki sauce). It comes together in just 30 minutes.
Well rounded: Lots of protein and veggies all cooked together in one pan! Serve over rice, brown rice or chow mein noodles.
Low-chop: You won't have to chop much for this recipe, just a bell pepper and some carrots! Make it no-chop with options like shelled edamame, sugar snap peas, bagged shredded carrots, frozen corn or frozen chopped peppers.
Self serve: Different family members eating at different times? No problem! Make your stir fry, put a lid on the skillet to keep it warm, and let people serve themselves.
Leftovers: Leftovers reheat beautifully in the microwave for an easy lunch the next day.
Recipe Grocery List
The majority of the ingredients in this ground beef teriyaki recipe are for the stir fry sauce. Now this sauce is absolutely incredible, but there's no judgement in saving a little extra time with a store-bought teriyaki or stir fry sauce.
- Ground beef: I use one pound of 80/20% lean.
- Veggies: Carrots and a red bell pepper! Feel free to swap out veggies and use whatever you've got on hand. Stir fry is great for cleaning out the fridge.
- Soy sauce: The umami base for our savory teriyaki sauce.
- Mirin: Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine found at most grocery stores! Look near the vinegar, oil and cooking wines or try the Asian foods aisle. You can sub regular white cooking wine + 1 teaspoon sugar or white apple juice.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark, or sub honey.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger root lasts a long time, and it's a great thing to keep on hand. Dry ground ginger will also work.
- Garlic: Fresh grated garlic cloves are best! Garlic powder will work in a pinch.
- Corn starch: This is what causes the sauce to thicken as it heats.
- Optional: Rice or chow mein noodles for serving.
How To Make Ground Beef Teriyaki Bowls
Keep scrolling for the full recipe card and measurements. We’ll start here with a quick overview!
Make sauce:
- Measure soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, grated ginger, grated garlic and cornstarch into a mixing bowl and whisk well. Be sure the cornstarch is fully incorporated. Set aside.
Brown meat:
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat and drain excess fat if necessary.
Add veggies:
- Add carrot and pepper slices to the browned hamburger. Sauté everything together for 5-10 minutes until veggies begin to soften slightly.
Add sauce:
- Give sauce another quick whisk and then pour it over the meat and veggies.
- Mix well and allow everything to simmer, uncovered, for approximately 10 minutes and the sauce will begin to thicken. Once it's glossy and coats the back of a spoon, your stir fry is done.
Serve stir fry:
- Make rice bowls or serve teriyaki ground beef and veggies over chow mein noodles. Garnish with chopped green onion or sesame seeds, if desired. Enjoy!
Stacey's Top Tips 🍚
For this recipe I use my homemade teriyaki (scaled up a bit for extra sauciness). Want even more sauce? You can double the measurements shown in the recipe card below! Store-bought teriyaki sauce will also work great in this recipe.
Recipe Variations:
Vegetables: Use almost any veggie imaginable in your teriyaki ground beef, whatever you've got on hand! Zucchini, corn, asparagus, broccoli florets, peppers, onions, etc. It's great for cleaning out the fridge.
No-Chop: This recipe is already low-chop. Make it no-chop by using bagged shredded carrots, edamame, or frozen chopped peppers. I used a frozen pepper and onion mix the other night and my stir fry turned out fabulous!
Protein: This recipe is an excellent way to use up a pound of ground beef, but it can also be made with other proteins like ground turkey or ground chicken.
Flavors: If you like spicy stir fry, try cayenne or red pepper flakes. Add pineapple juice or chunks for a tropical flavor profile. Add a teaspoon of sesame oil for a nice nutty flavor.
Make Ahead & Storage
Make-ahead: Sometimes I like making my teriyaki sauce ahead of time! I'll just mix the ingredients, cover the bowl and stick it in the fridge to simplify my night-time cooking.
Storing leftovers: Let stir fry cool, then transfer leftovers to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freeze: This stir fry is also really freezer friendly! Store frozen for 3-4 months, or even longer. Quality and flavor may begin to decline over time.
How to reheat: Heat leftovers in the microwave, in 30 second bursts until warmed through completely. If microwaving from frozen, us the thaw setting. You can also reheat this recipe in a skillet on the stovetop!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Ground turkey or chicken will work great in this recipe.
If you don't have rice or chow mein, serving stir fry over any plain pasta shape can be a good option. You can also use big lettuce leaves to make wraps!
You can totally use your favorite store-bought teriyaki in this stir fry. This is a great way to save extra time in a pinch.
More Ground Beef Recipes
- Beef Taco Stuffed Peppers
- Ground Beef Sheet Pan Nachos
- Crockpot Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Hamburger Potato Soup
- Taco Orzo (One Skillet)
- Meatloaf Without Eggs
- Ground Beef Pot Pie
- Easy Sloppy Joes
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Ground Beef Teriyaki Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 medium carrots *thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper *thinly sliced
- ⅔ cup soy sauce *see note below
- ⅓ cup mirin *see note below
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar *light or dark *or sub honey
- ¾ teaspoon grated fresh ginger root *or ¼ teaspoon dry ground ginger
- 2 grated garlic cloves *or finely minced. *or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
Optional garnish:
- Chopped green onion, chives or sesame seeds
Recipe notes:
General: This recipe uses my homemade teriyaki sauce (scaled up a little in volume for extra saucy stir fry). There's no shame in using your favorite store-bought teriyaki if you need to speed things up! Craving more? Try my Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Thighs. Soy sauce: Can sub low-sodium soy sauce if desired. Use coconut aminos or tamari for gluten free. Mirin: Sub regular white cooking wine + 1 teaspoon sugar or white apple juice. You can also sub pineapple juice for a different and more tropical flavor profile!Instructions
- Add teriyaki sauce ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk very well. Be sure that all of the cornstarch is dissolved into the mixture. Set bowl aside.⅔ cup soy sauce, ⅓ cup mirin, ¼ cup packed brown sugar, ¾ teaspoon grated fresh ginger root, 2 grated garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons corn starch
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef crumbles completely, then drain excess fat if necessary.1 pound lean ground beef
- Add sliced carrots and bell pepper, sauté them with the beef for about 10 minutes, until they begin to soften slightly.2 medium carrots, 1 red bell pepper
- Give sauce another quick whisk and then pour it over the meat and veggies. Stir well to coat ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for approximately 10 minutes and the sauce will begin to thicken. Once it's glossy and coats the back of a spoon, your stir fry is done.
- I like to serve my stir fry over rice or chow mein noodles. Garnish with chopped green onion, chives or sesame seeds if desired. Enjoy!
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