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!
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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
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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. :)
Amazing just the way it was. Paired with sesame cucumber salad on the side. The peanuts in this salad sure add a twist. Thank-you!
This was so good. Thank you for the recipe. I used all my garden veges and we all loved it
I made this for lunch today. It is such a quick and yummy recipe. I took the wise advice of other reviewers and doubled the sauce. While I had some sauce left, maybe two tablespoonful, the extra sauce added substantial flavor. Because I love cabbage so much, I used almost an entire head versus just half. I didn’t have carrots and used a handful of cherry tomatoes instead. I would definitely make this again! I didn’t even need rice as the dish was delicious on its own.
I’ve made this and it tastes great and has a lot of crunchy texture. I have made it again with ground turkey instead and shouldn’t the calories be at least the same or less. Every recipe I’ve found for a Ground Turkey Cabbage stir-fry has almost twice the calories. Do you have this recipe with ground turkey instead and what the calories would be for it instead. On Noom, beef cabbage stir-fry is considered a Green food, but turkey cabbage stir-fry is Yellow, not as healthy.
No, sorry we don’t. XOXO -Monti
This is a great recipe and so quick and easy!! We are vegan so I appreciate the sauce and veggies and subbed crushed soy curls for ground beef. Worked perfectly!! Shared your recipe on my foodie page with options for everyone!! Thank you for this one :)
So easy and delicious! I should have doubled the amount.
I am not even sure this recipe took 30 minutes to make. I have seen a similar version of it called “crack slaw” before. You can’t mess this up! I usually use a bag of shredded cabbage and carrots but sometimes even use a bag of “broccoli” slaw. It was a hit with the picky eaters too.
I make this often. Super easy, cheap, and quick, especially if you use bagged coleslaw mix when it goes on sale for around a dollar. I add in whatever bits of veg that are in the refrigerator and also I use those frozen little ginger cubes that are so convenient. Leftovers are very yummy with an egg on top for breakfast.
sometimes water chestnuts can be expensive or hard to find. My son taught me that radishes (yes!), when cut up and cooked, have a texture and taste similar to water chestnuts.
I made this twice already. The second time I doubled the sauce. Both times it came out delicious. I’ll be making this on a regular basis.
No flavor whatsoever. I added rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, more soy sauce (low sodium) and some Polynesian sweet & spicy sauce. I like the concept, it’s almost like an unwrapped egg roll, but the sauce was just bland and if you add too much sriracha, it just becomes overwhelming with spice.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Sauce is so delicious. I was trying to use up some leftovers and it turned out wonderful. I added some ramen noodles and made it a bit crispy. It reminded me of chow mein.
I just finished making this and YUM! I doubled the sauce and added a head of broccoli. Didn’t have a big enough frying pan (downside to living on my own haha) so I had to set my meat aside and split my cabbage and veg between two until they were cooked down enough. I’m a big fan of fried cabbage but this is such a great way to bulk it up and stretch meals for the week! Will be eating with rice. Keeper!
I’ll be honest this wasn’t our favorite. But it was fast and easy! It ended up being too bland for us (plus we ate it with rice) so I think I would double to sauce or maybe add some beef broth next time. But at least it’s healthy!
Love this. Quick and easy! Sometimes I just use a coleslaw mix for a quick camping meal.
This is a simple recipe and was a hit with my wary kids, or at least a semi-hit with the pickier one :) I added in some zucchini and mushrooms as well because I needed to use them up.
This is a forgiving recipe, good for weeknights especially if you prep earlier. I could see peanut butter added to the sauce, all kinds of options. Thanks!