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? It uses vegetables that are super inexpensive so you can know that you’re doing your body and your wallet good. Winning!
Can I Substitute the Beef?
Yes, you can definitely make this cabbage stir fry recipe with other types of ground meat! I think pork or even ground turkey would work just as well or better, and will most likely be less expensive than beef. You can 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.
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 vegetables:
- sliced mushrooms
- thinly sliced red bell pepper
- water chestnuts
- snow peas
- broccoli
- baby corn
Make it even FASTER!
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 left over cabbage. :)
What to Serve with Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
This Ground Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry goes great with Easy Egg Drop Soup, Thai Cucumber Salad, Savory Coconut Rice, Pork Gyoza. Although most of the time I just eat it as is! You can also serve it over a bed of rice to bulk up the servings.
Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
Servings 4 (1.5 cups each)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)
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Video
P.S. If you love cabbage as much as I do, check out our Cabbage Soup Recipe!
How to Make Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
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.
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.
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.
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.
Garnish the 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 Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry is probably one of the easiest dishes I’ve ever made. :)
Easy, fast, cheap, healthy, and tastes great! I used a whole pound of ground pork, my Kroger affiliate regularly has it priced at .99/lb. I also served it over jasmine rice to make my growing sons happy. I’m not sure how I missed this recipe, it’s going in the rotation.
Love this recipe!! I added cilantro and it was perfect! A quick and good meal to make. Perfect for Weight Watchers! 5 points for 1 serving.
I’ve made this twice and love it! The only issue I have is the cabbage completely fills up my pan which makes it take awhile to cook. I’m thinking of trying it in my Instant Pot, sauteing the beef first to brown it, then adding the cabbage, carrots, and sauce. Has anyone tried this before? I’m not sure if there is enough liquid for pressure cooking as I’m brand new to this. I was thinking of high pressure for 5 minutes?
I think the IP instruction manual says that you have to have at least 1 cup water to make enough steam for it to come up to pressure. I think a larger skillet or wok might work better, or even if you have a super large soup pot?
IP? Ideal protein?
Instant Pot. That’s what the other commenter was asking about. :)
This is an excellent recipe. I’ve made it twice now this month. My daughter has asked for it tonight. Fast, healthy and tasty!
I think I know why some people say this is bland and double the sauce and others say it is tasty because I have now experienced both. If you eat this, as it is intended, as a no carb recipe it is tasty. If you serve it with rice, you need to add more sauce to compensate. Either way, it is a good recipe healthy, tasty and easy.
Amazing! Even my little kids like it mixed with some rice! My husband asks for this all the time haha
This was so bland! I added more soy sauce but I won’t be making it again!
Didn’t have Sriracha sauce so I used Cholula green pepper. I thought it was great and my 11yr old daughter liked it as well. Will definitely make again, but anxious to try with Sriracha.
Made this today, was very good. Made with 1 pound of very lean ground beef. Though my half a cabbage was a little bigger. Added a little more soy than recipe stated. Will definitely make again.
Does anyone know the macros break down of this? Calories, fat, carbs protein??? Thanks in advance!
This is one of my favorite things to make. I, too, was surprised by how strongly I crave this. I make it at least once a month! The only difference is that I use a large bag of coleslaw mix (cheap! It’s about $1.75 at Ralph’s, or sometimes 99 cents on manager’s special markdown if I’m lucky), and I add a can of water chestnuts for crunch. I love it with 93% lean turkey. This is a perfect meal to prepare during this cold and flu season — all the ginger and garlic can help in warding off sickness. Thanks for your blog, I can’t wait to make your coconut lentil soup!
It looks so delicious & easy to prepare.
I am going to cook it for my potluck for my Church for the Sabbath.
Really delicious! Quick and so healthy! Making this again for sure!!!
I have tried this recipe a couple of times now I always double the sauce. My husband and I love it! Making it again tonight, thank you so much for a wonderful recipe.
My two year old LOVED this! He had a big bowl and still asked for seconds. I doubled the sauce (kept the sriracha sauce the same) and added an extra tablespoon of soy sauce, and took away 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil. We also made this with ground chicken rather than beef. Topped it with sesame seeds and green onions. Everyone loved it!