Steak stir fry is just as easy as take-out, but it’s so much healthier. Low carb, keto friendly, and bursting with Asian flavors.
When I was a kid my parents used to make stir fry using a bag of frozen vegetables and some chicken breast.
I loved it then, but nowadays I just can not do the frozen vegetables.
Am I the only one who thinks they get terribly icky after being frozen? They just get so soggy when you cook them and I am definitely more of a tender-crisp girl when it comes to my veggies.
This steak stir fry recipe starts with fresh vegetables and they come out perfectly tender-crisp and bursting with flavor.
Also, did I mention there is steak? I mean, you literally can not go wrong with steak, in my opinion. It’s my absolute favorite thing to eat.
Anyway, this low carb stir fry can be totally customized using whatever low carb vegetables you prefer. This time around I went with bell peppers, broccoli, and onions. I’ve made this with cauliflower and either diced or spiralized zucchini as well. Brussels sprouts would be tasty and so would some chopped cabbage or green beans.
Basically, what I’m saying is that this low carb stir fry can handle just about whatever veggie you throw at it. So good!
Ingredient Notes:
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For the stir fry:
Steak – I’m using sirloin steak that has been cut into bite-sized pieces. Sirloin has lots of flavor and it’s one of the cheaper cuts, making it perfect for stir fry. You can use other cuts too, like flank steak, which is popular in many Asian beef stir fry recipes.
Veggies – We’re using some pretty standard stir fry vegetables in this dish. Broccoli, bell peppers, and onion! You’ll definitely want to use fresh, not previously frozen veggies for the very best tender crisp flavor! If you have something else in mind or want to add to this feel free to use whatever low carb stir fry veggies you’d like! Mushroom, cauliflower, squash, zucchini… all good choices!
For the stir fry sauce:
Soy Sauce – Probably one of my favorite ingredients, it just adds so much savory flavor! Some brands can be pretty salty, but the sweetness of the honey substitute will counter that a bit. If you’re worried about too much salt use a low sodium soy sauce.
Honey Substitute – This works just like honey would in this recipe and doesn’t have any funky aftertaste. This product uses xylitol and has 1 net carb per tablespoon. It’s safe for humans, but toxic for dogs so don’t feed any to your pets! If you have a preferred brand of honey substitute feel free to use that instead.
Vinegar – I’m using standard white distilled vinegar to add a bit of tangy flavor to the sauce, but if you prefer apple cider vinegar that will also work here.
Spices – To add lots of Asian flavor to the sauce you’ll mix in some minced garlic, minced ginger, and my favorite Sambal Oelek chili paste! That chili paste is especially flavorful. It’ll add a bit of heat to the sauce but the sweetness from the honey substitute should balance that out.
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Like Costco, this is a membership site, but we find that it’s more than worth it based on the amount we save over the regular grocery store.
They have monthly or yearly plans. Check it out here.
- The easy Asian stir fry sauce goes perfectly on the steak and veggies with sweet, savory, and spicy flavors!
- Many Asian recipes are full of sugar, but our low carb steak stir fry uses safe substitutes.
- This steak stir fry recipe is infinitely adaptable. Use whatever veggies you have in the fridge!
Helpful Tools:
Cast Iron Skillet – You’ll need either a large cast iron skillet or a wok for this recipe. I like the cast iron skillet this recipe because it does a good job of searing the steak, but a wok will also work!
Wok – We love our wok and use it often! If you decide to use one, make sure to keep stirring! A wok is pretty thin and all the stuff on the bottom of the pan will start to burn quickly if you aren’t careful. I think a skillet is a little more forgiving but use whichever you like best!
How To Make Steak Stir Fry:
- Sauce – Let’s whip up our sauce by adding the honey substitute to a mixing bowl with the rest of the sauce ingredients and give it a good whisk.
- Steak – Slice your steak into strips (or bite-sized chunks) and cook it over high heat with some olive oil just long enough to brown the outside.
- Stir Fry Veggies – Next, I pour in my low carb vegetables – in this case, we’re using fresh broccoli, bell peppers, and onions. You’re welcome to use any other low carb stir fry ingredients you’d like to add!
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- Stir Fry Sauce – Once your vegetables have cooked for a couple of minutes, pour in that tasty sauce. Cook for another couple of minutes, stirring the whole time, until everything is cooked to your liking and coated in that glorious stir fry sauce. You’re done! Wasn’t that easy?
FAQs:
You definitely can use frozen vegetables in our steak stir fry, but we really prefer the taste and texture of fresh vegetables here. Use what you have and love though!
This steak stir fry recipe should keep in the fridge for 4-5 days in a closed container. You can heat it back up on the stove or in the microwave!
More Low Carb Asian Recipes:
- Szechuan Green Beans
- Keto Chicken Stir Fry
- Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice
- Keto Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Steak Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the stir fry:
- 1 pound sirloin steak
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 medium bell peppers any color
- 1 medium onion
For the stir fry sauce:
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey substitute
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon chili paste
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add one tablespoon of vegetable oil to the skillet to heat.
- Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces. Slice the onion and bell peppers into strips.
- Add the steak to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes over very high heat.
- Stir in the broccoli, peppers, and onion and let cook for 5 minutes or until tender-crisp, stirring often.
- Stir together soy sauce, vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, and chili paste in a small bowl. Add to pan and stir to coat. Cook 3 minutes, stirring often.
- Serve immediately.
Steve says
Can I use brown vinegar?
Karly Campbell says
If you like that flavor, it should work fine.
Don L Johnson says
Do you really need the honey/honey substitute in the recipe? Your recipes are really good. I have made a few but plan on making many more.
Karly Campbell says
You could skip it, but most Asian sauces are sweet and we think it helps to balance the flavors. You could use a granular sweetener too, so long as you let it dissolve.
Stacy says
making this now! So excited, it looks and sounds sooooo good!!
Lan says
This recipe sounds great! Can’t wait to try it. I took a fall in September just after I found your web site and started getting the Keto recipes collected. I broke my left wrist and had a laceration on the left side of my face from that fall. I have been in a brace for 8 week on that wrist but have been working on getting recipes and ingredients together. Along with reading up on Keto and reviewing the information you send me. Think I am finally ready to proceed. This will be among the first recipes I will try. Thanks for all the information and recipes you provided.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Lan! So glad that you’re healing and doing better! Hope you love the recipes. 🙂
David Milz says
Great recipe!! Just tried it!! I didn’t use the sweetener subsitute, but I did have candied ginger, so I just used that. It worked well!!
Kathy Ashton says
I also do the velveting with bi-carb of soda on all my stirfry meats – makes the meat so tender. I use 1/4 teaspoon bi-carb to 1/4 cup water and let sit for at least 45 mins in the fridge. Wash thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel.
Lori James says
Do you velvet the meat after you slice it or before?
Tachel says
We can have soy sauce
Karly Campbell says
I’m not sure what your dietary restrictions are, but if you’re following a strict/clean keto diet, you might want to swap in coconut aminos for the soy. I follow keto with a closer watch on carbs than ingredients so soy is fine for me.
Tara says
To make it just like the chinese take out we ‘velvet’ our meat which is just mixing 1tablespoon of water with 1 tablespoon of bicarb soda and mixing the paste through the sliced meat. Leave for 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly important to make sure all bicarb is rinsed off otherwise stirfry will bubble and taste soapy. Meat then melts in your miuth same texture as chinese takeaway! Can be done with all stirfry meats.
Karly Campbell says
Interesting – I’ve never heard of that before!
Chris says
What is a honey substitute?
Karly Campbell says
It’s just a sugar free option that tastes like honey. I like to the one I use in the post.
Kiki kane says
I just found your site. Your stk stir fry sounds great and I can’t wait to fix the egg Ava ado salad
Brian says
what kind of honey substitute do you use on your meals?
Karly Campbell says
I linked to the brand I use in the post. It’s by Nature’s Hollow.
Nicole Phyllis says
Not certain why you bother with the imitation honey. While nature’s hollow is 11 g of carbs, other honey substitutes are EXACTLY the same as sugar at 17 g. While the glycemic index may make a difference for diabetics, for those on keto carbs are carbs. Not just kvetching, looking for an explanation to learn from.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Nicole! I count net carbs rather than total, as do many people following keto. I deduct fiber and sugar alcohols – sometimes all of the sugar alcohols and sometimes just half, depending on the type. You’ll have to decide what you’re most comfortable with yourself and proceed accordingly. 🙂
Sandy says
Your recipe looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
The honey a substitute that you recommend contains xylitol. Fine for humans but deadly for dogs.
Xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs. Even small amounts of xylitol can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), seizures, liver failure or even death in dogs.
Only 0.1 gram of xylitol per 2.2 pounds of body weight can cause hypoglycemia, while only . 5 grams can cause liver failure. Since a piece of sugarless gum can have between 0.3 and 1 gram of xylitol, it will only take a few pieces to poison a dog. There are 190 grams of xylitol in 1 cup of the sweetener.
I never knew this and many other dog owners might not either. I’m sure people’s dogs would also love your beautiful stirfry so it will be good to warn people not to share.
Barbara Morgan says
Just found your site and I love the sound of your recipes. I’m looking forward to trying them out soon!
Karly Campbell says
Hope you enjoy them, Barbara!
Lisa harty says
I love all your keto recipes, thank you for the sharing:)
caren gittleman says
Thanks for this! I love that you didn’t include corn starch (like so many do!) Can I use apple cider vinegar or does that not matter?
Karly Campbell says
Either type of vinegar will work fine! I just prefer white vinegar, but I know a lot of people like the apple cider. 🙂