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.
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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. :)
You know a recipe is a hit when you make a double batch and there are no leftovers. Used a bag of coleslaw to make this a super easy dinner!
I want to try making this as a quick dinner for me and the girlfriend, but, she’s been more strident lately about wanting me to stick to making vegetarian dishes. I figure I will serve it with some noodles, but any suggestions for bringing back some of the missing flavor cutting the beef will lose?
I think the sauce will provide enough flavor for you. :) You might think about using some soy crumbles or something for more texture and protein to help this be a little more filling, though.
My goodness gracious, delicious! Thanks! I used some thin sliced beef instead of ground, and chili garlic sauce v Sriracha, turned out wonderfully. Great! Real, real, reeeeeal close to actual Chinese restaurant food. Happy dinner.
Oh, L-rd, my second-favorite BB recipe. I am about to make it for the 20th time. If you’re not huge of ground beef and/or cabbage, do not worry. It is seriously crack. I cannot believe how much I adore this dish.
But question: although it is sooo filling, has anyone added a cup or two of rice?
I also double the sauce (besides the oil) because yaaaas that sauce! Thank you, Beth.
I’ve definitely served it over a scoop of rice and it’s awesome!
This recipe appears to be just what I was trying to find. Does anyone have suggestions as to whether to serve over rice (white/brown) or noodles?
I think most people just eat it as is, but I have definitely served it over regular rice and loved it that way, too! :) You could also cook a brick of ramen noodles and then stir them into the beef and cabbage mixture to turn it into a noodle stir fry.
I made this ahead in the morning to reheat for dinner but I see some liquid accumulating. Is this going to be ok for when is time to eat? 😄
Yes, the liquid is fine. :) It may get slightly softer throughout the day because the salt in the sauce will pull moisture from the vegetables.
Ok thank you!!
Can this be made with out toasted sesame oil?
Technically it can, but the toasted sesame oil adds quite a bit of flavor.
This was yummy! Found you doing a Pinterest search for Low GI foods! My husband was recently diagnosed as prediabetic so I;ve been looking for low GI foods. I made this tonight, but cut the brown sugar amount in half and served it for dinner. It was delish!! Thanks for a great healthy recipe!! BTW – I used napa cabbage and it was delish!
This stir fry is yuMMy delicious *cRAcK*!!
This recipe is on my must try list, it looks wonderful. I really appreciate that it is low carb , very low in fact (I’ve calculated it at 6.42 carbs – 1.81 = 4.61 total carbs). Many people don’t realize that many people with prediabetes & Type 2 diabetes eat low carb to control their blood sugar better. I have 2 requests. Please put a section for Low Carb recipes like you have for Vegan. As well, please consider putting nutritional information on your recipes.
Has antone made this with bok choy instead of head cabbage?
How did it hold up?
I added garlic salt to the meat along with more garlic minced. so flavorful and delicious! My second time making it and its so much better the second time around!
I have made this dish twice. My husband and I love it!! I will be making it again. Some of my friends have asked for the recipe.
I made this tonight but I did the already pre-bagged coleslaw since it was just shredded cabbage and carrots already. Just made it a little easier to throw together a fast meal. It was very tasty but I think next time I will try it with ground chicken or turkey for a slightly healthier option. Also, for more punch of flavor I added some sweet n spicy tobasco to it and it was amazing flavor wise.
This looks amazing. I’m making it Vegan tonight with sliced mushrooms instead of beef.