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!
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“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
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
- 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
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.
This is the recipe that made me a Budget Bytes believer forever. It’s so flexible. Beef, pork, turkey… Everything works well with this stir fry sauce. It’s also a great way to use up any veggies!
I love love that.
My family loves this recipe. We have made it (and variations) several times a month over the last few years. It’s a helpful example of how to cut back on the meat in a recipe without losing the taste – or the family carnivores’ enthusiasm.
I made this and used a bag of prepared coleslaw mix along with some snap peas, fresh ginger and fresh broccoli. I doubled the sauce and added hioson sauce. It was very good. It was full of flavour and even though the cabbage cooked down it still had a lot of texture. I served with rice and spring rolls. Delicious. It was super simple to. Will keep this recipe on hand for sure.
I used garlic from a jar mixed with red chili peppers instead of fresh garlic. I omitted the sriracha, brown sugar, salt & pepper, and ginger. Although I had ground beef on hand, I opted to use plant-based meat crumbles. Both hubby and I loved it. Will be making it again and possibly add the sriracha and some of the veggie options listed.
Don’t skip the sriracha or other spicy addition! I didn’t have any sriracha so I substituted sambal oelek, about 1/2 tablespoon and also added 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar. I used steak instead of the ground. Good flavor and enjoyed by my family.
I love it I added more soy sauce but it was awesome thank you
I did too. Saved some for lunch the next day and added more soy sauce after reheating it.
This was very bland; it had virtually no flavor except for the sesame oil. I followed the recipe as written. I gave this two stars because it’s a good starting point.
I added garlic from a jar with red chili peppers mixed in it. Added extra to keep it from being too bland.
Not a lot of flavor. And the flavor is not a stir fry flavor I was expecting.
I added garlic mixed with red chili peppers from a jar for more flavor.
What an easy, yet versatile recipe! I omitted the sriracha :( because my toddler won’t eat it, but I just added it later to my own individual plate. I also added the juice of half a lime to cut the sweetness of the brown sugar a bit. I had a can of baby corn I threw in there too. The whole family loves it!
This is such an easy, delicious, and nourishing stir fry. Really healthy and satisfying. I often add a little squeeze of ketchup to the sauce because I love a little extra sweetness and tang.
Can you use regular sesame oil in place of the toasted? Would there be a big difference in the taste?
If you already have regular that’s fine. Don’t go out and buy toasted just for this. :)
Thank you for including the “cup” measurements for the veggies – very helpful. I don’t like spicy so I was thinking of subbing with hoisin sauce. Would you still use the soy sauce with the hoisin, or would it be too salty?
A deliciously versatile recipe! This is similar to a homestyle curried cabbage stir fry I encountered decades ago on an Indian restaurant buffet in the Middle East. I usually make it vegetarian–no meat–but have sometimes used ground chicken or pork. I most often use about 1 shredded or sliced onion instead of green onions. I add plenty of minced garlic and ginger, more than as written in this recipe. Sometimes I use gochujang instead of sriracha and up the sesame oil for a more Korean flavor. More often I add a shredded jalapeno and 2 T of garam masala for a more Indian flavor. The recipe as written is sort of Chinese, and jarred Chinese chili sauce with either garlic or beans will fit that profile, while the sriracha is Thai. This recipe is infinitely variable–use Frank’s or Texas Pete hot sauce for a more North American flavor. The recipe is inexpensive and delicious! Try the original and then make it your own!
One of my favorites for a busy weeknight meal! I found this recipe when I was trying to use up cabbage I had in the fridge and we now we have it at least twice a month!
I am so excited to try this recipe. It is something different. I feel like I do nothing with ground beef but make tacos and meatloaf! I will let you know how it turns out. I really appreciate you sharing these menus because my ADHD mind freaks out at the thought of planning, but I freak out even more when I think of the cost of groceries!