Quick and flavorful Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry made with tender steak, onions, and a sweet-savory sauce. Ready in 30 minutes for a perfect weeknight dinner!
Dinner in 30 minutes? Yes, please! This Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry is your ticket to a quick and delicious meal that will have everyone coming back for seconds. Juicy, tender strips of flank steak are tossed with crunchy onions and a savory-sweet sauce that’s packed with layers of flavor. Soy sauce, sesame oil, and oyster sauce bring a rich umami base, while fresh ginger and garlic add a burst of aromatic freshness. A touch of brown sugar balances the bold ground black pepper and tangy wine vinegar for the perfect harmony of sweet, savory, and spicy.
This dish is ideal for those hectic weeknights when time is short, but you still want something homemade and satisfying. Pair it with fluffy rice or crisp vegetables, and you’ve got a balanced, family-friendly dinner that’s sure to become a go-to favorite. Whether it’s your first stir fry or one of many, this recipe is simple, quick, and guaranteed to impress!
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Jump to:
- Busy Families Will Love Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry
- Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
- Simple Equipment
- Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps
- Talking Tip!
- Talking Tip!
- Cooking Steps
- Variations to Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry
- Recipe FAQs
- Want More Recipes like Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry?
- Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry Recipe
- Comments
Busy Families Will Love Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry
- Ready in 30 Minutes: Perfect for hectic weeknights when time is tight.
- Family-Friendly Flavors: The sweet and savory combo appeals to both kids and adults.
- Customizable: Add your favorite veggies or adjust the spice level to suit your family’s preferences.
- Budget-Friendly: Made with affordable ingredients like flank steak and pantry staples.
- Versatile Protein: Swap flank steak for chicken, tofu, or shrimp to keep it exciting.
Simple Ingredients and Substitutes
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- Flank Steak – Flank steak is really the best steak for this recipe, as it’s thin, tender, and so easy to slice. However, skirt steak, sirloin, or even pre-cut stir fry beef are great options.
- Olive Oil – The olive oil is for cooking the onions and beef, so you can substitute any vegetable oil.
- Yellow Onion – I used yellow onion, but you can use white onion, red onion, or shallots. You can also use bell peppers.
- Oyster sauce – Oyster sauce is a sweet and salty condiment made primarily from oyster juices. I love it because it brings umami to the dish. If you don’t have it, you can substitute hoisin sauce, fish sauce, or teriyaki sauce (will be thinner). You can also just use soy sauce.
- Soy sauce – I used regular Soy Sauce, but you can also use dark soy sauce or low sodium or light soy sauce, or Gluten Free Soy Sauce. If you don’t have Soy sauce, you can add Worcestershire sauce or beef, chicken, vegetable, stock or broth.
- White wine or rice vinegar – You can use any vinegar that you have on hand, with the exception of sweetened vinegars, like balsamic or raspberry.
- Brown Sugar – You could use honey or white sugar if you cannot get brown sugar.
- Sesame oil – Sesame Oil is really for flavor and a little goes a long way. If you don’t have it, just eliminate it altogether. Or you can substitute with another deep umami ingredient, such as oyster sauce.
- Ground Black Pepper – You can use freshly ground or pre-ground for this recipe.
- Ginger, minced or grated about 1 inch fresh root
- Garlic, minced – Fresh is best when it comes to garlic, but you can buy pre-minced garlic to save time or mince it in bulk and freeze it for use when you need it! If you do not have fresh garlic, you can substitute dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
- Ginger – I love to buy the fresh root and then mince it in bulk in the food processor, so that I can freeze and always have it on. You can also find pre-minced ginger at the store these days. If you do not have fresh ginger, you can substitute ginger powder.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch is mixed with cold liquid, in this case the sauce ingredients, to create a cornstarch slurry. This is the thickener for the sauce.
See recipe card for quantities.
Simple Equipment
You will need a wok or large skillet or large frying pan for cooking the onions, beef, and sauce. I use my absolute favorite 12″ Ceramic Pan, which is great because food really does slide right off with minimal oil and I don’t have to worry about food sticking and burning.
Mincing garlic is made super easy with a Garlic Press. You can also grate the fresh ginger root using a grater or microplane.
Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps
We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you can prepare ahead to save time on busy nights! (See the full recipe below)
For this recipe, you can prep the onions and steak, but you will want to wait to cook the steak until ready to serve since it cooks so fast.
Slice the raw flank steak into thin strips going across the grain (the lines in the meat).
Add the slices to a glass container. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil, and mix to coat. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
Talking Tip!
Marinating: This may seem like too little marinade, but you just want to flavor the meat. You don’t want excess liquid as that will result in the beef steaming vs. searing. You can marinate the night before or morning of to get ahead, but it doesn’t require more than a few minutes, since you will get so much flavor when adding the sauce.
Peel off the skin off the ginger root with a knife or peeler and then use a microplane to grate it.
Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and mix to combine. The cornstarch will dissolve.
Talking Tip!
Fresh ginger really is best in this recipe and you can keep ginger root in the freezer and pull it out to use whenever you need it!
Cooking Steps
Preheat a large pan over medium heat cook the onions until they are glistening and starting to soften.
Move the onions off to the side, then the flank steak slices to cook.
add the sauce and cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring as it thickens. Serve over rice or noodles and enjoy!
Variations to Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry
There are lots of variations to this recipe so that you can reinvent it and enjoy it over and over.
- Different Proteins – Swap the flank steak for chicken strips, shrimp, or pork tenderloin strips.
- Add veggies – add red pepper, green pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, or carrot slices.
- Spicy – For a spicy version, add crushed red pepper flakes, sliced red chilis, sriracha sauce, or cayenne pepper.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, flank steak works best for tenderness, but skirt steak, sirloin, or even pre-cut stir fry beef are great options.
For Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry you can use hoisin sauce or soy sauce with a dash of fish sauce for a similar flavor profile.
While it’s best fresh, you can prep the ingredients ahead of time (slice the beef, chop veggies, mix sauces) and cook it quickly when ready to serve.
Serve it over steamed rice, fried rice, noodles, or even cauliflower rice for a low-carb option.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
The cooked stir fry can be frozen for up to 2 months, but the vegetables may lose some texture after thawing.
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Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry Recipe
Ingredients
Steak and Marinade
- 1 lb Flank Steak
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Oyster sauce
Sauce and Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Yellow Onion
- 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
- ¼ cup Soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons White wine or rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Ginger, minced or grated about 1 inch fresh root
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
- Slice the raw flank steak into thin strips going across the grain (the lines in the meat). Add the slices to a glass container. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil, and mix to coat. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.1 lb Flank Steak, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon Oyster sauce
- Cut the onion into quarters, then cut the quarters into 3-4 pices. Mince or grate the ginger. Mince the garlic.1 Yellow Onion
- Make the Sauce. Mix together in a bowl: oyster sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, ground black pepper, minced/grated ginger, minced garlic, and cornstarch.2 tablespoons Oyster sauce, ¼ cup Soy sauce, 2 tablespoons White wine or rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, 1 tablespoon Ginger, minced or grated, 3 cloves Garlic, minced, 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Cook
- Preheat a large pan over medium heat and then add a tablespoon olive oil. Add the onions. Stir and let cook for 2-3 minutes, just until they are glistening and starting to soften.
- Move the onions off to the side, turn the heat up to medium-high, and add another tablespoon of olive oil and then the flank steak slices in a single layer and let sear for 2-3 minutes. Then stir to flip the steak slices and mix with the onions and cook for another minute.
- Turn the heat back down to medium then add the sauce and cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring as it thickens. Serve over rice or noodles and enjoy!
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