Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry

Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry tastes just like the one you love at your favorite Thai restaurant, without the junk ingredients! Simple to make with just a handful of items, one pan, and less than 30 minutes. Paleo and Gluten-Free!

When it comes to weeknight dinner, I can be particular. It has to be quick, have plenty of veggies, tons of flavor, not very many ingredients, and oh, it must be one the whole family will love. I’m not too difficult, am I?

Good thing I love to cook.

Lately my little guy and I have been loving Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry (similar to Pad Ka Prao) that we’ve enjoyed at a few different Thai restaurants. So when I received a big box of high quality meat from Ranchr to create new recipes for the beef subscription company, it came as no surprise that my little man requested I try to make this Thai beef at home! And I was determined that it meet all of my high maintenance weeknight dinner expectations!

How to make Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry

Obviously, I am pretty thrilled with the way this turned out! Even more thrilled with how easy it was to make. We start with a handful of ingredients:

• Skirt Steak: I used a high quality skirt steak thinly sliced against the grain. You can also use thinly sliced flank steak or top sirloin strips.
• Red Bell Pepper: Thinly sliced bell pepper for some added flavor and texture. And yes, yellow or orange pepper will also work!
• White onion: Thinly sliced white onion is also needed for the stir-fry effect
• Garlic: minced garlic, hard to go without this one! You can substitute garlic powder if necessary
• Coconut aminos: I use this in place of soy sauce, but you can use GF Tamari Soy sauce for a GF version
• Fish Sauce: only 1 tbsp of fish sauce to give us that yummy umami flavor. You can also substitute with an additional Tbsp of coconut aminos (my husband’s preference is to omit the fish sauce, but we don’t agree on this)
• Coconut Sugar: We do need a slightly sweet taste to balance out the salty taste (can also substitute with honey or brown sugar)
• Fresh lime juice: Just to add in a bit more tang and acid to this dish. You’ll love this addition!
• Thai Basil: The most important ingredient!!! This brings the dish altogether with an anise (licorice) and slightly spicy flavor. You can find this in most grocery stores. It’s not the same as sweet basil, but if you cannot find the Thai basil, sweet basil can be substituted.

We start off by sautéing the beef for a few minutes, then removing from the skillet. From there toss in the onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute for another 5-7 minutes. Bring the beef back to the skillet along with the coconut aminos, fish sauce, coconut sugar, lime juice, and Thai basil. Let the flavors meld for 3-4 minutes, and that’s it!

Serve on top of a bed of rice or cauliflower rice and spoon more sauce on top of the beef. You can also add in some more Thai Basil to serve, possibly garnish with some green onion.

Only 25 minutes from start to finish!

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Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Author Amy Rains

5 from 6 votes

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Ingredients

• 1 lb skirt steak
• 2 tsp arrowroot starch
• 2-3 tsp avocado oil or olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion thinly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 cup Thai Basil chopped

Instructions

1. Prepare the skirt steak by slicing against the grain into thin strips. Trim any large chunks of visible fat. Sprinkle arrowroot over the beef; place inside a large sealable baggie or container and shake to evenly distribute over the beef.

2. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Once hot, add the oil and toss in the beef. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until just browned. Remove to a plate, keep the skillet hot.

3. Add a bit more oil if needed, reduce the heat to medium. Now cook the onion, bell pepper, and garlic for a 5-7 minutes or until onions are softened and browned. 

4. Bring the beef back to the skillet, toss in the coconut aminos, fish sauce, coconut sugar, lime juice, and basil. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, allowing the basil to wilt, and mixing the sauce evenly among the beef and veggies. 

5. Serve hot over cauliflower rice.