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This quick and easy Thai Basil Beef recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and is so delicious! It's made with ground beef (or steak) and a homemade Thai basil sauce that's easy to customize to your preferred spice level.
Want more 30-Minute Meals? Try Salmon Bowls, Orzo Salad, or Kung Pao Shrimp!
We absolutely love Thai food, wether we make homemade Thai food, or go to our favorite restaurants. My husband's favorite dish is Pad Gra Prow, AKA Thai Basil Beef, and I love this quick and easy version that mimics the flavors we love, even if it's not truly authentic! For authentic Pad Gra Prow, try this recipe from Hot Thai Kitchen!
I love this recipe because it uses ground meat, so it's inexpensive and soaks up more flavor, like I image Thai street food. It's practical for a regular weeknight meal and you can have it on the table in less than 30 minutes!
Let's Talk Basil:
There are a few different types of basil used in Thai cooking.
- Holy Basil (or hot basil) is known for adding heat to dishes. It can be harder to find so Thai basil is often used as a substitute.
- Thai Basil (or Thai sweet basil) has purple stems and a spicy licorice-anise flavor. Thai basil can be difficult to find in American grocery stores but can be found in most Asian grocery stores (I've seen it in every Asian grocery store I've ever been in!). If you can't find it, regular old sweet basil will work as a substitute.
- Sweet Basil is the type of basil we are all probably most familiar with. It's the most common type of basil found in grocery stores and is used in all types of sauces, marinades, and other recipes. This is a perfectly good substitute for Thai basil in any recipe, you just loose a little of the pungent taste that comes from Thai basil.
How to Make Thai Basil Beef
Cook Veggies: In a wok or large skillet over medium high heat add the oil, shallots, garlic, ginger and bell peppers. Sauté for 3 minutes. Push the veggies off to the side.
Add Ground Beef: Turn the heat to high and add the ground beef, breaking it up into small bits. I like to spoon the cooked ground beef into my food processor and pulse it a few times to break it into really small pieces.
Make Sauce: Stir together the brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch beef broth and water. Add to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
Add Basil and stir-fry until wilted.
Serve over hot cooked rice.
Recipe Variations:
- Meat: Use ground chicken, ground pork, or extra firm tofu (and vegetable broth) to make it vegetarian. Flank steak would also taste delicious in this recipe. Slice it thinly, against the grain.
- Oyster Sauce: You could substitute more soy sauce.
- Vegetables: Use any color bell pepper and add more vegetables if you like. Try shredded carrot, thinly sliced zucchini, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, or mushrooms.
- Chili Sauce: Substitute sriracha hot sauce in place of the Asian Garlic Chili Paste.
- Rice: Use any kind of rice you like, or skip the rice and serve it in a lettuce wrap!
More Thai-Inspired Recipes:
- Pad Thai
- Green Curry Meatballs
- Spring Roll Bowls
- Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Chickpea Curry
- Thai Quinoa Salad
- Red Curry
Thai Basil Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 shallots, , chopped
- 8 cloves garlic, , minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, , minced
- 1 red bell pepper, , thinly sliced
- 1.5 lbs lean ground beef*
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1.5 Tablespoons oyster sauce*
- 2 or 3 Tablespoons chili paste with garlic*
- 3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1.5 cups holy basil leaves*, , chopped
- 3 green onions, chopped, for garnish
- 5 cups hot cooked rice
Instructions
- In a wok or large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil, shallots, garlic, ginger and bell peppers and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Push the veggies off to the side and add the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. (I like to use a meat chopper to break up the meat in very small pieces.)
- In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, chili paste, cornstarch, beef broth, and water and add to the pan. Simmer for 5-10 minutes
- Add the basil and stir. Serve over hot steamed rice, with chopped green onion on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe September 2019. Updated July 2020 and August 2023.
I used regular soy sauce without noticing it called for low sodium soy. It was inedible. Big huge waste of time and ingredients. So disappointed.
Thank you for trying our recipe, and I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out well for you. We understand how important it is to follow the recipe instructions, including the specific ingredients and measurements. Using regular soy sauce instead of low-sodium soy can definitely affect the overall taste and saltiness of the dish which is why we started to use low-sodium soy sauce. If you’d like to try the recipe again with the correct ingredients, we’d be happy to answer any questions you may have and would love to have you update your review. Thank you for your feedback
Great recipe, added other vegetables on hand. Super tasty.
3 Tbsp of soy sauce would have been plenty. 6 Tsbp is WAY too much. Otherwise, pretty solid, but I would also add a good amount of sambal or a couple of thai chiles for some extra heat
All of your recipes are reliably great, but this one is top-notch. 💯 I make it often for my family and friends, and everyone loves it. Thank you, Lauren.
WAY WAY WAY too salty. I thinned it with more beef broth, added sugar and green onions and still way too salty.
Loved the recipe I used lime squeezed over the finished product. I also palm sugar instead of brown sugar. It could have been hotter. Next time slice some jalapeños in it.
Really yummy thank you Jenny Webb Zimbabwe
Delicious! I had to use regular basil (frozen as I didn’t have fresh and I didn’t have the Thai one) and used regular soy sauce (halved it to 3 tbs) and it came out very tasty. Can only imagine how better it is with Thai basil!
Awesome flavor, added zucchini, served over thai noodles
Really good. I used just a touch of fish sauce but otherwise followed the recipe. Thanks!