Ground Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry

This super fast and easy stir fry dinner has ground beef with cabbage, carrots, and scallions.

This stir fry is the fastest dinner I’ve made in a long time. It only takes 20 minutes — 5 minutes of prep plus 15 minutes of cooking — and you’ve got yourself a protein-packed dinner. This dish is perfect for those weeknights when you’re in a pinch and need to get dinner on the table in very little time.

Also, you only need one pan to make this dish, from browning the beef to stirring in cabbage to adding the sauce. There are only eight ingredients total, and the sauce itself is a simple mixture of soy sauce, sriracha, and a bit of ginger.

This ground beef and cabbage stir fry reminds me of a lot of things. Sometimes I think of it as a “healthy meaty cole slaw” or “exposed egg rolls without wrappers,” or as Mr. Savory Tooth eloquently puts it, “tastes like Asian taco filling.”

But one thing’s for sure — it’s very meaty, hearty, and filling. It has a high beef to cabbage ratio, so if you prefer having more frequent bites of cabbage, you can increase the cabbage up to 16 ounces. Just make sure that your pan is appropriately sized for the increased amount of cabbage.

The key to making this recipe super fast is using a pre-shredded bag of mixed cabbage (green and purple) and carrots. Most supermarkets sell something like this, whether it’s sold as “cabbage mix” or “cole slaw mix.” Just check its contents to verify that it has cabbage and carrots. I love these bags because they save you precious time compared to shredding the veggies yourself, and also because it gives you a fixed quantity of various raw vegetables without having to buy them separately, especially if you only plan to use a little of each.

If you’re looking for more cabbage recipes, you should make my fried cabbage and potatoes with bacon and my corned beef and cabbage. For more beef stir fry dishes, check out this delicious beef and broccoli recipe (or the low carb version).

5 from 5 votes

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Ground Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry

This is a super fast and easy stir fry dinner with ground beef, cabbage, carrots, and scallions.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 2 servings

Calories 410 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 9 ounce bag cole slaw mix or mix of green cabbage, purple cabbage, shredded carrots
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• black sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine soy sauce and sriracha in a small mixing bowl and stir until smooth. Set aside.
2. Heat a 3 quart or larger pan over medium-high heat. Add canola oil and tilt the pan to spread the oil. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and breaking the meat apart.

3. Add cole slaw mix to the pan and stir with the beef. Cook until cabbage is wilted and tender, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Pour sauce over the pan, and add ginger. Stir until everything is well-mixed. Add salt to taste, if needed.

5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in sliced scallions, and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve while hot.

Nutrition Notes

This recipe yields 9 g net carbs per serving.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving

Calories 410
Total Fat 15g	23%
Saturated Fat 5g	23%
Trans Fat 0.1g
Cholesterol 120mg	40%
Sodium 760mg	32%
Potassium 330mg	9%
Total Carb 14.5g	5%
Dietary Fiber 5.5g	21%
Sugars 8g
Protein 42g

Vitamin A 92% · Vitamin C 11% · Calcium 92% · Iron 36%