This time of year is proving to be very busy for our family, with two boys playing baseball and still finishing out the school year. I love days when I can spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking an elaborate meal, but more often than not I’m looking for a meal that’s delicious but doesn’t take a lot of time to cook. It also needs to be something healthy to fuel my family as we move from one activity to the next! This Thai basil beef is the perfect option. It’s packed with veggies, makes excellent leftovers, and is a complete meal served over your favorite rice. Short on time? Pre-cooked rice is a great option.
This recipe for Thai basil beef uses carrots, peppers, and mushrooms, but it’s also a great way to incorporate some random leftover vegetables in the refrigerator. Half a zucchini? A few handfuls of spinach? A bag of snap peas you forgot about? Add them in, stir it up, and let the delicious sauce work its magic to deliver a flavorful stir-fry that everyone will want seconds of.
This recipe is called Thai basil beef because it uses Thai basil, which has a slightly different flavor profile than traditional basil and has more of a purple hue in its stems. Thai basil is a littler spicier and can have almost a licorice-like flavor. Thai basil also holds up a little better when cooked at high temperatures. If you can’t find Thai basil, regular basil will also work and taste delicious. For a traditional Thai recipe, I highly recommend you check out Thai food bloggers who can deliver authentic dishes and recipes. Again, this is not an authentic Thai dish, it is named the way that it is because it uses Thai basil!
This is one easy meal that I know you’ll want to make again and again. If you plan to make this ahead, I recommend storing the rice and beef separately. Enjoy!
- 1.5 lbs. ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch green onions (about 7), thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup mushrooms, diced
- 2 carrots, julienned
- ½ tbsp. cornstarch
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
- Cooked rice, for serving
- In a large pan, brown ground beef, using a spatula to break into small pieces.
- Add garlic, green onion, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook until they begin to soften.
- Add carrots and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add cornstarch and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add to pan with beef and vegetables.
- Add basil and still until just wilted.
- Serve over rice, noodles, or whatever your grain of choice is!
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Delicious and easy—subbed combo of lime juice and apple cider vinegar for rice vinegar since I did not have that on hand—always on the lookout for new things to do with ground beef, so this is a keeper—plus, I love all the veggies and how easy it will be to throw in whatever combo I might have available:)
That sounds delicious! So happy to hear you enjoyed it!