Broccoli Rice Stir Fry

This broccoli rice stir fry uses broccoli rice as a base and is topped with marinated beef or chickpeas depending on your personal preference. Both are great options and add protein to this low carb meal! 

Serious question: why should cauliflower have all the fun? This stir fry recipe uses—wait for it—broccoli rice as a base instead of cauliflower rice. It’s gluten free, dairy free, and includes an option to use chickpeas instead of beef if you want to keep this recipe vegan. YES REALLY. 

I got the inspiration for this recipe from my favorite paleo broccoli beef, because just like how broccoli stem noodles are underrated, so is broccoli rice. They’re both delicious and I’m determined to make them popular because they’re so good!

WHY BROCCOLI RICE IS SO GOOD

• It’s an excellent low carb alternative to traditional rice.
• It adds extra nutrients to the dish, like Vitamin K, A and calcium.
• Broccoli pairs well with any sort of Asian-inspired dish, and this is no exception.
• You can make it in just 5 minutes! 

HOW TO MAKE BROCCOLI RICE

Broccoli and cauliflower are similar, and in the same way that cauliflower can easily be turned into “rice”, so can broccoli. 

1. Chop both the broccoli stem and florets into 1” pieces. Yes that’s right–make sure to use both the florets AND the stems.
2. Place the broccoli into your food processor with the S blade.
3. Pulse broccoli for 15-20 seconds to form “rice”. You don’t want to over-process it or it’ll be mushy, but you want to make sure the broccoli is broken down into a rice-like texture. 

BROCCOLI RICE STIR FRY

Once you have your broccoli rice, you’re ready to turn it into stir fry. There are two variations for this recipe, one using beef and one using chickpeas, but both use a very similar sauce. 

For the sauce: Whisk broth (beef for the beef and vegetable for the chickpeas), soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, coconut sugar, and flour together in a bowl and set aside. I recommend using all purpose flour or arrowroot starch. 

Beef option: Place sliced beef in a large bowl, then add 3 tablespoons of flour and use a spoon or your hands to make sure beef is coated in the flour. Then, heat a skillet with a little bit of oil and add the beef, searing on all sides until it’s cooked to your liking. Once it’s cooked, turn the heat to low and slowly pour the sauce into the skillet and stir to combine. 

Chickpea option: Pour chickpeas into a mesh strainer, then rinse them with water for 15 seconds or so. Pour chickpeas into a skillet and heat over medium heat. After 1-2 minutes, pour sauce into the skillet and stir to combine. The sauce will start to thicken, but as soon as it starts getting really thick, remove chickpeas from the skillet and pour them over the broccoli rice. 

OTHER QUICK DINNER RECIPES

• honey garlic chicken with cauliflower rice
• one pot tomato soup
• beef ragu with sweet potato noodles

Broccoli Rice Stir Fry

This broccoli rice stir fry is a 30 minute meal that uses broccoli rice as a base and is topped with marinated beef or chickpeas--your choice!

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

for the bowl:

• 1 head of broccoli
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1-2 carrots sliced

for the beef:

• 1 lb. beef*
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 cup arrowroot or all purpose flour divided
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• Optional: 1/2 tbsp sugar

for the chickpeas:

• 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp arrowroot or all purpose flour
• Optional: 1/2 tbsp sugar

Instructions

• Start by whisking the sauce ingredients together in a bowl (the chickpea and beef sauce ingredients are the same minus the kind of broth you use); set aside.
• Make the broccoli rice by cutting the broccoli--stem included--into 1" pieces and placing them into your food processor. Pulse for 15-20 seconds until the broccoli resembles rice; set aside.
• Cook mushrooms and garlic in a skillet with a bit of oil until they're slightly golden on each sides. The more golden-brown they are in color, the crispier they'll be.
• Place the broccoli rice in a large skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes until it's warm. You don't want to cook it too long or it will get soggy.
• For the beef: place beef in a plastic bag and add the flour, then shake the bag so that the beef is coated in flour. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the beef until it's done to your liking. Remove skillet from the heat, then pour in the sauce, slowly stirring. You want the sauce to thicken a bit, so if it doesn't thicken right away, turn the heat back on to medium-low and it will.
• For the chickpeas: place chickpeas in a skillet over medium heat and heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly pour in the sauce ingredients and stir. You want the sauce to thicken, but be careful that it doesn't thicken TOO much. If it does, quickly remove it from the heat.
• To assemble: pour broccoli rice into a bowl, then top it with the mushrooms, sliced carrots, and beef or chickpeas. Drizzle a little extra soy sauce over top and enjoy!

Notes

*I bought pre-cut beef for stew (I know they sell this at Whole Foods and Giant Eagle), but you can also just buy 1 lb. beef and cut it yourself

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Asian

Author: Erin