Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry gets an upgrade with bold Thai basil and garlic in this quick dinner recipe! Flavorful flank steak is a perfect cut of beef to get a tender stir fry. Classic Thai takeout aroma is added to the simple stir fry sauce with fish sauce and brown sugar. This recipe is excellent year round, with fresh green beans in summer and frozen green beans working equally well any other time.
We love a stir fry for a quick dinner! This one is done in under 30 minutes, including a special step to make the beef extra tender. You'll want to start your rice or noodles before you begin cooking the stir fry so everything will be ready at the same time. Getting all of the vegetables, beef, and sauce ready (practice that mise en place) before cooking will also incur quick dinner success.
This stir fry is simple: beef, green beans, garlic, stir fry sauce, and Thai basil. Thai basil has a distinctive flavor that you'll love, making the beef and green bean stir fry extra special. This Basil Stir Fry or Thai Basil Pesto are two more recipes to try once you're hooked on it!
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Ingredients
I include ingredient notes here when I think they'll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!
- Flank Steak - Flank steak has long fibers that run the length of the steak, so it's important to slice it across those fibers for tender pieces. A flank steak is relatively inexpensive and has a lot of flavor! We usually purchase a large flank steak, trim and slice it into thin strips, and freeze the strips in 1 pound portions.
- Green Beans - Use fresh or frozen (and thawed) green beans in this recipe. We most often opt for frozen. I think Trader Joe's has the best quality haricot verts in the freezer section that always taste perfectly fresh in our meals.
- Thai Basil - Thai basil is easy to grow in your garden during the summer months. We are also lucky to be able to source it year round at our local Asian grocer. Thai basil has leaves that are smaller and narrower than Italian basil, and has purple stems and flowers. It has licorice and peppery flavor notes.
- Garlic - Measure this with your heart, but we find that 4 cloves is a good amount.
- Brown Sugar - Brown sugar is great for balancing the flavors in a stir fry sauce, with a bit more complexity than standard granulated sugar.
- Fish Sauce - Don't be afraid to grab a bottle of fish sauce next time you see it at the market! Fish sauce is made from fish, water, and salt and has a pungent aroma. When added to recipes, however, the salinity and umami flavor is mellowed.
- Canola Oil - Use this for the stir fry. Feel free to substitute with avocado oil, vegetable oil, or corn oil.
- Baking Soda - Use baking soda for an optional tenderizing step.
Instructions
This beef and green bean stir fry is ready in a flash. Before you start the stir fry, prepare any rice or noodles you want to serve it with so that everything is ready at the same time.
Add the sliced beef, baking soda, and ½ cup of water to a medium bowl. Stir everything to coat and allow the beef to sit for 10 minutes.
While the beef is tenderizing, trim the green beans by removing both ends and cutting them into 2-inch pieces. Mince the garlic. Remove the leaves from the Thai basil stem.
Whisk together the fish sauce, brown sugar, and ¼ cup of water to prepare your stir fry sauce.
Drain the tenderized beef, rinse it well, and pat it very dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. The meat will be more pale in color than it was before tenderizing.
Heat a large skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the canola oil and allow it to heat up for 30 seconds.
Add the tenderized beef in a single layer as much as possible. Cook the beef without disturbing it for 3-4 minutes, until the first side is browned and the beef releases easily from the pan.
Start to stir fry the beef, flipping the strips to brown the second side. Cook until any moisture has evaporated.
Add the green beans and garlic and cook for 2-4 minutes, until the beans are tender. Stir constantly so that the garlic doesn't burn. Fresh beans will take longer to cook than frozen and thawed beans.
Add the basil and the stir fry sauce to the pan and cook for 30 seconds to a minute, letting the basil cook and the sauce coat the stir fry.
The stir fry is ready when the ingredients are well mixed, the basil is wilted, and the sauce has deglazed the pan.
Steak Slicing Tip
Slicing your flank steak is easiest when the steak is still a little bit frozen. When it hasn't completely thawed you'll have an easier time getting thin slices against the grain, perfect for stir fry!
Substitutions and Variations
The substitutions listed below have been tested in this recipe and work well. If you successfully make any other ingredient substitutions, let us know in the comments!
- Other Beef Cuts - We most often use flank steak for this recipe, but you can also cut a ribeye, strip steak, or round roast in strips for stir fry. The most important thing is to cut any piece of meat against the grain.
- Swap Garlic for Shallot - Shallot can be a great swap for the garlic (or an addition) in this beef and green bean stir fry. Mince the shallot or cut it into fine strips.
- Use Any Basil - If you can't get your hands on Thai basil, give sweet Italian basil a try. The flavors aren't the same between the two basil types, but the stir fry is still going to be tasty with the garlic and stir fry sauce.
Equipment
No special equipment is needed to make this recipe, but here are some notes on my favorite kitchen basics:
- Stainless Steel Skillet - A large and sturdy stainless steel skillet is great for developing flavor while browning the beef. A 12-inch skillet with sloped sides will have the capacity to hold all of the meat in a single layer for the best chance at searing and not steaming it. If you only have a non-stick skillet the recipe will still be delicious, so don't let this stop you.
- Chef's Knife - An 8- or 10-inch chef's knife is an essential tool in any kitchen. I use it for crushing garlic cloves on the broad side of the blade and then finely mincing the garlic. It will slice through your semi-frozen flank steak for perfectly thin slices.Find a knife that is comfortable in your hand and keep it sharpened for the best results.
- Whisk - I have what may be an excessive number of whisks to choose from, but an 8-inch whisk I got years ago as a wedding gift is my favorite for whisking the stir fry sauce in a smaller bowl and dissolving the brown sugar completely.
Serving Suggestions
This beef and green bean stir fry is a perfect pairing with some steamed rice. You can also serve it with rice or wheat noodles. Whichever pairing you choose, get it started before you start the stir fry so that everything is ready at the same time.
We love this stir fry with a side of Cucumber and Carrot Salad for a crunchy, sweet, and sour contrast!
Make This Recipe Kid Friendly
This beef and green bean stir fry is fairly simple and has no "hidden" ingredients. Kids can see what it is made up of and identify every component easily. One kid might only want the green beans on rice while another will only want the meat, but it's generally a kid-friendly option.
If you are making it for the first time for your family, provide a few familiar food options alongside the stir fry to promote a willingness to try something new. You can find more tips and strategies like this in my Keeping Peace with Picky Eaters post!
Storage
Keep any leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The beef and green bean stir fry will reheat well in the microwave for lunch the next day.
FAQ
Tenderizing the beef with baking soda is not required, but it makes a big difference on tougher cuts of meat like round roast or flank steak. It's important to rinse the meat once it has been tenderized, though. You don't want that much baking soda in your final dish.
To successfully make a quick stir fry, you need to have all of your ingredients prepared ahead of time! Once you start the stir fry, things move quickly and you'll have things burning or drying out if the next ingredients aren't ready.
We make this stir fry all the time with frozen green beans. They only need to be partially thawed to trim to bite size and they will cook well in the skillet. In summer when green beans are plentiful we make this stir fry with fresh beans. It will be delicious either way!
Big Flavor from Fish Sauce
Don't be afraid to pick up a bottle of fish sauce from your local Asian market! Here are some other tasty dishes that you can use it in:
More Quick Dinner Ideas
There's nothing better than a delicious dinner that gets to the table in a flash. Here are some additional quick dinner options:
Try It and Share
I hope you try this Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry with Thai Basil and enjoy the recipe as much as I do. I want to see your results! Tag your photo with #planeatpostrepeat and mention me @planeatpostrepeat on Instagram or Facebook. I can give you a virtual high five and thank you for cooking one of my recipes! Comment below with any questions and please leave a review so others can find this recipe more easily.
This post was originally titled Thai Basil Beef and Green Beans. The post was updated in August of 2025 to change the title, refine the preparation steps, and provide much more prep detail along with photos. The original September 2020 recipe has been changed to add an optional beef tenderizing step and more green beans, but the rest of the recipe is the same.
Recipe
Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry with Thai Basil
Ingredients
Stir Fry Ingredients
- 1 pound flank steak (sliced thinly across the grain)
- 2 cups green beans (trimmed to 2", about 12 ounces)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Stir Fry Sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Add beef slices, baking soda, and ½ cup water to a medium bowl. Stir everything together and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Trim the green beans into bite-sized pieces. Mince the garlic and remove the basil leaves from the stem.
- Whisk together the sauce ingredients and set them aside.
- Strain the beef and rinse it well. Pat it completely dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel.
- Heat the skillet high heat for 2 minutes. Add the oil and heat it to a shimmer.
- Add the beef in a single layer. Cook without disturbing until the beef is deeply browned, 3-4 minutes.
- Stir fry and continue to cook beef on the other sides until the moisture has evaporated.
- Add the garlic and green beans to the pan. Cook 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Fresh green beans will need more time, frozen will need less.
- Add the basil and the stir fry sauce to the pan, tossing to mix all ingredients. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, wilting the basil and allowing the sauce to coat all of the stir fry well.
- Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately with steamed rice or noodles.
Nutrition facts are sometimes provided below and are calculated using an online calculator. With specific brands of ingredients and additions, omissions, or substitutions the nutrition facts may change. We encourage you to use your own nutrition facts calculator to obtain the most accurate nutrition facts for your meal.
Linda says
An absolute favorite of mine; full of flavor and so easy to prepare.
Cassie Waltman says
So glad you enjoy this recipe!