Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
If you’re one that struggles to work vegetables into your diet (isn’t that pretty much all of us?) you’re going to love this Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry. It’s full of vegetables and absolutely addictive. And the best part? I only use vegetables that are super inexpensive so you can know that you’re doing your body and your wallet good. Winning!
“Love, love, love! I have been making this for years with many iterations of different meats and different vegetables. The sauce is perfect. Sometimes I will sprinkle with chopped almonds or sunflower seeds on top. Delicious, healthy, and frugal. What more could you ask for?”
jEN
Easy Beef and Cabbage Stir fRY rECIPE
This stir fry is seriously quick and delicious, thanks to some super versatile ingredients. Cabbage is the real MVP because it’s affordable, long-lasting, and adds the perfect texture to this recipe. Along with the cabbage, I use carrots, green onions, ground beef, ginger, and garlic to make a flavor-packed stir fry that comes together in no time. Top it all off with a simple stir fry sauce made from soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and brown sugar, and you’ve got a mid-week meal that will seriously satisfy your takeout cravings!
Budget-Friendly Tips!
- I think pork or even ground turkey would work just as well or better in this recipe and will most likely be less expensive than beef. So, feel free to swap out the ground beef for another, cheaper ground meat, and I promise it’ll still be delicious.
- You can totally take a shortcut here and buy a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix to replace the 1/2 head of green cabbage and carrots listed below. Sometimes, that’s a more economical purchase and saves you from having a half head of leftover cabbage. 😊
Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
Cost $7.14 recipe / $1.79 serving
Ingredients
STIR FRY SAUCE
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.18)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil* ($0.33)
- 1 Tbsp sriracha** ( $0.05)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar ( $0.02)
STIR FRY
- 1/2 head green cabbage ($1.78)
- 2 carrots ($0.22)
- 3 green onions ($0.17)
- 1/2 Tbsp neutral cooking oil ($0.02)
- 1/2 lb. lean ground beef*** ($3.90)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger ( $0.13)
- Pinch of salt and pepper ($0.05)
GARNISHES (optional)
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds ($0.08)
- 1 Tbsp sriracha ($0.05)
Video
Instructions
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Prepare the stir fry sauce first. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sriracha, and brown sugar. Set the sauce aside.
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Shred the vegetables so they are ready to go when you need them. Cut one small cabbage in half, remove the core, and then finely shred the leaves of one half the cabbage (4-6 cups once shredded, save the other half for another recipe). Peel two carrots, then use a cheese grater to shred them (1 cup shredded). Slice three green onions. Mince two cloves of garlic. Peel a knob of ginger using either a vegetable peeler or by scraping with the side of a spoon, then grate it using a small-holed cheese grater.
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Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add the cooking oil, ground beef, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the beef until browned (about five minutes).
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Add the cabbage and carrots to the skillet and continue to stir and cook until the cabbage is slightly wilted (or fully wilted, if you prefer). Stir in the prepared sauce and the green onions. Top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a drizzle of sriracha, then serve.
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Notes
**1 Tbsp sriracha makes a medium-spicy stir fry. If you don’t like spicy, I’d start with 1 tsp. The sriracha adds flavor as well as heat, so I don’t suggest skipping it altogether.
***You can use any type of ground meat you like in place of ground beef. You can even use a whole pound of meat if you like extra protein, but I found that the half-pound I had provided me with just the right ratio of meat to cabbage.
- Want to make it extra saucy? I think the amount of stir fry sauce in this recipe is the perfect amount to add flavor and moisture, but feel free to double the sauce if you like your stir fries on the saucier side!
Nutrition Information
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
Make the sauce: Prepare the easy stir fry sauce first, so it’s ready to go when you need it. In a small bowl stir together 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil (it has a dark amber color and VERY nutty flavor, not always labeled as “toasted”), 1 Tbsp sriracha, and 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar. This makes a medium-spicy stir fry, so if you’re sensitive to heat, start with 1 tsp sriracha.
Prep the veggies: Next, shred the vegetables. Cut one small cabbage in half, remove the core, then slice half of it into fine shreds (save the other half of the cabbage for another recipe). You’ll need about 4-6 cups of shredded cabbage. Peel and shred two carrots (about one cup). I used a large-holed cheese grater to shred the carrots. Slice three green onions. You’ll also want to mince two cloves of garlic and grate about 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger (I use a small-holed cheese grater for this). More info on working with ginger can be found here.
Cook the meat: Heat a LARGE skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 1/2 Tbsp neutral cooking oil (something like canola, corn, vegetable, safflower, peanut, etc.), 1/2 lb. ground beef, the minced garlic, grated ginger, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the beef until fully browned. I like to keep some of the beef fat in the skillet to cook the veggies in, but if you use a higher-fat meat, you might need to pour some of the fat away if there’s a lot.
Make the stir fry: Add the shredded cabbage and carrots to the skillet and continue to cook and stir until the cabbage has wilted slightly. I like my cabbage to still have a little crunch, so I only cooked it until it was partially wilted. If you like the cabbage fully cooked and soft, just cook it a bit longer.
Pour on the prepared stir fry sauce…
… and toss in the sliced green onions. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
Serve: Garnish your Beef and Cabbage stir fry with a little drizzle of sriracha and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. I particularly liked the sesame seeds for the texture they added to the dish! And that’s it! This stir fry is probably one of the easiest dishes I’ve ever made. 🙂
What Other Vegetables Can I Add?
In addition to the cabbage, I also added some shredded carrots and sliced green onion to this beef stir fry for color. There are so many other fun things you can put in your beef and cabbage stir fry. Try adding some of these mix-ins:
- sliced mushrooms
- thinly sliced red bell pepper
- water chestnuts
- snow peas
- broccoli
- baby corn
- chopped peanuts
What to Serve with Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
Most of the time, I just eat this stir fry as is! However, I recently served it over rice noodles, with a side of my sesame cucumber salad, and topped it with a fried egg…it was seriously SO good. It’s also delicious served on a bed of white rice to bulk up the servings, but I personally prefer my easy coconut rice because it’s perfectly savory and adds even more flavor. Or, if you want to up the spice level, I think our fresh kimchi spring rolls would be a delicious side dish to add some heat and crunch.
Try These Stir Fry Recipes Too!
- This Chicken Stir Fry turns tender chicken, colorful veggies, and a glossy sweet-tangy sauce into a takeout-style dinner in just over 30 minutes.
- I love Chicken Fried Rice for using cooked and cooled rice, which keeps the grains from turning clumpy or gummy!
- Ground Turkey Stir Fry comes together in about 25 minutes, which is my favorite kind of dinner math.
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