This deliciously saucy Thai Basil Beef dish is a quick and easy meal that really hits the spot when you are craving a flavourful stir fry. The meat is quickly marinated in a 3-ingredient sauce that tenderizes the meat in a matter of minutes and then is cooked until caramelized. It’s then tossed with a simple combination of bell peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, and chilies. Right before serving, the Thai basil leaves are stirred until they are wilted. Some may not be able to find Thai basil leaves, so don’t worry, regular Italian basil leaves will still do the trick. It might not be quite the same, but it will still be delicious! I love serving this on a bed of jasmine rice or cauliflower rice to soak up all of the delicious sauce, but if you are looking for a more refreshing option, you could spoon some into lettuce cups.
Omg…. This recipe is fire! Sooo goood…better than take out! Over cauliflower rice and cucumber salad on the side to cool things off. The beef was so tender and everything just worked.
Why You Will Love This Thai Basil Beef:
- In less than 30 minutes you will be eating as if you went to a Thai Restaurant.
- All your taste buds will rejoice! It’s packed full of umami flavor, saltiness, spice, and more, all in one bite!
- Make a double batch and enjoy Thai food all week long that the whole family will love.
- Choose your favorite side! Serve it along with rice noodles, coconut rice, jasmine rice, or cauliflower rice.
- This recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet legal, Keto, and Whole30!
Ingredients You Will Need For This Spicy Thai Basil Beef:
- Sirloin steak: I like to use sirloin for this recipe because it is the most tender of the steaks, but skirt steak or flank steak will work wonderfully too. Make sure you slice it nice and thin!
- Coconut aminos: To keep it gluten-free, coconut aminos are always my go-to. It has a delicious sweet and salty flavor to it. Tamari also works great, or soy sauce (gluten-free soy sauce is even better). For a richer flavor try dark soy sauce.
- Fish sauce: I love fish sauce and what it adds to this Thai Basil Beef stir fry. Red Boat is my favorite because it doesn’t have added sugar. You could also use oyster sauce. Some people don’t care for the fishiness of Fish sauce, though. Rest assured, the vegan fish sauce that is found on shelves will be delicious too!
- Baking soda: I always love to add baking soda to my marinades because it makes the meat melt in your mouth delicious! There is a science to it that I won’t bore you with.
- Veggies: Thinly sliced yellow onion, red bell pepper, and green onions are all I need in this amazing dish. It’s simple, but they are such flavorful ingredients. You can also use white onion instead of yellow if you want a sweet onion, or use yellow, orange, or green bell pepper too.
- Aromatics: You will want to roughly chop your fresh ginger and fresh garlic cloves to release tons of delicious flavors into this Thai beef recipe. They give a sweet and savory flavor that is classic!
- Fresno chili pepper: Fresno chili peppers have a mild to moderate heat level and a delicious sweet, fruity flavor to them. If you want a milder heat level, I recommend removing the seeds and thinly slicing them to evenly distribute the flavor. Red Thai Chilies are also a good substitute
- Sesame oil: Sesame oil is used to cook the steak in and will give a delicious nutty flavor to everything. If you prefer, you can use olive oil or avocado oil with delicious results to follow.
- Lime juice: A zest of fresh lime juice balances so deliciously with all the other sauce ingredients. If you don’t have fresh lime juice on hand, store-bought juice will work great. Just make sure there isn’t added sugar.
- Thai basil: Thai basil might be tricky to find, depending on where you are in the world, but don’t stress, while they are the ideal ingredient to use for this dish, Italian basil can be used instead, it won’t be quite the same but will still do the trick.
Kitchen Tools You Will Need:
- Cutting Board
- Sharp Knife
- Medium-sized Bowl
- Large Skillet or Wok
- Wooden Spoon or Tongs
How To Make This Thai Basil Beef:
- Slice the beef very thinly against the grain. Place the sliced beef in a bowl, add the coconut aminos, fish sauce, and baking soda over top, and stir to cover well with the sauce. Leave to rest while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok on medium high heat. Working in 2 batches to ensure that you don’t overcrowd the pan, cook the beef for 4 minutes until seared and caramelized. Remove the cooked beef and set aside on a plate, and then continue cooking the second batch of meat.
- Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chili pepper and cook for 4 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add in the sliced red bell peppers, scallions, coconut aminos, lime juice, and fish sauce, and leave to cook for approximately 5 minutes until the peppers are soft.
- Return the cooked beef to the pan along with the Thai basil leaves. Stir until well mixed, and then remove from the heat and serve.
Ways To Modify This Thai Basil Beef Recipe:
- The best kind of recipe is the one you can modify to meet your personal preferences. Try using chicken, pork, or shrimp as a meat swap. You can also use ground meat, like ground beef, ground chicken, or ground pork. If you are vegetarian, firm tofu will work great. Be sure to remove the moisture before cooking.
- If you want to level up the heat, you can use more spicy chilies like Bird’s eye chilies or serrano peppers. If you want it to be milder, remove the seeds of the Fresno chili peppers or use Jalapenos with the seeds removed.
- Can’t find Thai basil? While it is the star ingredient, regular basil will work, too. It won’t be quite the same, but it will still be delicious. You could also add fresh mint along with the basil for a delicious compliment to the fresh basil.
- Feel free to add more veggies for extra flavor, such as mushrooms, zucchini, green beans, shredded carrots, bok choy, or bell peppers.
- For an added kick of protein, many people enjoy an authentic Thai Basil Beef recipe with a crispy fried egg on top.
Dietary Customizations:
- Fish Allergy: you can substitute the fish sauce for more coconut aminos, soy sauce, or gluten-free hoisin sauce. You can also find vegan fish sauce at your local grocery store that will taste just as yummy.
- Paleo/Whole30: Be sure to serve it with cauliflower rice instead of white rice or brown rice.
Common Questions:
Thai basil beef is a popular Thai dish also known as Pad Gra Prow or Pad Krapow Gai. As a Thai food lover, it is one of my favorite Thai dishes to order at Thai restaurants that is quick, flavorful, and so easy to make. It features stir-fried beef with a generous amount of Thai basil, garlic, chili pepper, and other veggies. It is all tossed in an incredible savory sauce and served over rice. The key ingredient is Thai basil, which is a strong and slightly spicy basil that sets it apart from other types of basil.
Genovese, or Italian basil, has a unique spicy flavor with aromatic notes of mint and clove.
Sweet basil is slightly sweeter and milder than Genovese, and it is sometimes thought to have a slight hint of anise or licorice flavor.
Thai Holy Basil somewhat resembles Thai basil in appearance and taste, but the holy basil leaves are wavy and slightly wrinkled and have purple stems and small purple flowers. It is loved for its spicy taste in Indian and Thai cooking. You can likely find fresh Holy Basil in an Asian grocery store.
Yes, you can make this classic dish 2-3 days in advance! However, since it’s a stir-fry dish, the texture of the basil and beef can change when stored. To keep it as fresh and flavorful as possible, here are a couple of suggestions:
You can prep all the ingredients ahead of time and store them separately in airtight containers in the fridge until you’re ready to cook and enjoy.
Another option is to cook the Thai basil beef as you normally would and allow it to cool completely to room temperature before storing. This will prevent moisture from collecting inside and help maintain the texture and flavor.
The leftovers of this Thai basil beef will last 2-3 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. I recommend allowing it to cool completely before storing. To reheat, warm in the microwave for a couple of minutes or on the stovetop over medium heat. You may want to add a splash of water or broth to bring back the delicious sauciness of the recipe.
Yes! Making Thai Basil Beef in an Instant Pot is a great way to speed up the cooking process while still getting a rich and flavorful Thai cuisine result.
Place the sliced beef in a medium bowl, add the coconut aminos, fish sauce, and baking soda over the top, and give it a good stir to cover well with the sauce. Leave to rest while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Using the saute option, add the sesame and work in batches to brown the meat on each side for about 4 minutes. Remove each batch and place on a plate when you’re done. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chili pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add in the sliced red bell peppers, scallions, coconut aminos, lime juice, and fish sauce, and return the meat to the instant pot. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 2-3 minutes.
When the cooking time is up, carefully perform a quick release by turning the valve to venting. Once the pressure is released, open the lid and stir in the fresh Thai basil leaves until they’re wilted and fragrant.
Here are a few more Thai recipes that you might enjoy:
- Thai Red Curry Meatballs
- Thai Fish Cakes
- Thai Beef Salad
- Thai Green Curry with Chicken & Eggplant
- Thai Butternut Squash Soup
If you make this Thai Basil Beef recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Thai Basil Beef
Ingredients
Beef & Marinade
- 1 lbs sirloin or skirt steak
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp baking soda
Stir Fry
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 2 inch piece fresh ginger roughly chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
- 1 Fresno chili pepper thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari/soy sauce)
- 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 cup thai basil*
Instructions
- Slice the beef very thinly against the grain. Place the sliced beef in a bowl, add the coconut aminos, fish sauce and baking soda overtop and stir to ensure all of the slices are coated in the sauce. Leave to rest while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok on high heat. Working in 2 batches to ensure that you don't overcrowd the pan, cook the beef for 4 minutes until seared and caramelized. Remove the cooked beef and set aside on a plate and then continue cooking the second batch of beef.
- Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chili pepper and cook for 4 minutes until the onion begins to soften.
- Add in the sliced red bell peppers and scallions as well as the coconut aminos, lime juice and fish sauce and leave to cook for approximately 5 minutes until the peppers are soft.
- Return the cooked beef to the pan along with the Thai basil leaves. Give everything a stir to ensure its all well mixed and then remove from the heat and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
Omgโฆ. This recipe is fire! Sooo gooodโฆbetter than take out! Over cauliflower rice and cucumber salad on the side to cool things off. I used crushed red peppers in place of the chili pepper. The beef was so tender and everything just worked. Looking forward to trying your other 30 min meals! Thank you, Keysha, a new SCD cook โบ๏ธ๐ท
In order to make this recipe scd legal, I used tamari in place of the coconut aminos. It was good but very salty, as tamari is very salty. Can you recommend a way to deal with this?
This was AMAZING! ย My family loved it…we put it over cauliflower rice. Definitely will make again!
This recipe is great! My husband doesn’t like fresh basil so we’ve never put it in, but the rest of the recipe is easy and perfect. We’ve made it about 5 times. Thanks!
This was great!! Iโm not following any specific diet, so added a few things to the sauce… About 1 tbsp Splenda brown sugar, 1/2 tbsp Only Crack Sauce (we like spicy!!), and 1/2 tbsp cornstarch to thicken it all up. Weโll be making this again for sure. Thanks for such a quick and delicious recipe!!ย
I’m curious why there is baking soda? I’m not familiar with it used in a dish like this.
Hi Annie, baking soda is used to tenderise and soften the meat. Its a great little secret, especially when the budget dictates the cut of meat you have to use!
do you think this can be made in the crockpot?
What are the servings and the nutritional info?
So good and easy!! I used Italian basil and still tasted great. I also couldnโt find red chilis and the store so I used some left over Harissa sauce I had in the fridge. Highly recommend!
Excellent! I didnโt have fresh basil so I added some spinach and dried basil. Delicious!