Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli
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Let’s be honest, ground beef and broccoli on their own are kinda boring. However, this sticky sweet ground beef and broccoli recipe manages to combine the two with four other ingredients to create a simple meal that’s packed with flavor.
I say surprisingly because the ingredients are so simple. When I first tested the recipe, I felt like I needed to add more ingredients. Because, ya know, complex flavors and stuff. But the truth is, this recipe is amazing and if you’re familiar with my recipes, simplicity is key.
Long lists of ingredients you’ve never heard of? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Nutrition Facts and Ingredients for Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli
Even with a short ingredient list, there are lots of modification possibilities. Most of which will affect the nutrition facts more than flavor. If you make your ground beef and broccoli exactly as the recipe calls for, you’re looking at 1,138 calories, 118 grams of protein, 61 grams of carbs, and 48 grams of fat. Here are a few ideas for tweaks:
Ground Beef
I used 93/7 lean ground beef. Typically I use 96/4 which makes a bigger difference than you’d think in terms of fat and calorie content. If you can find a leaner beef, I would go that route. The difference between 90/10 and 96/4 ground beef, in my opinion, is nearly indistinguishable in recipes.
Bacon
The six slices of traditional precooked bacon I used have 180 calories, 12g of protein, 2g of carbs, and 16g of fat. You can see how replacing these with something like Al Fresco precooked chicken bacon (I find this at Walmart) could drastically reduce the fat. Six slices of chicken bacon, in this case, would cut the calories from bacon in half and reduce the fat by roughly 12 grams.
It’s worth mentioning that the bacon does provide a bit of flavor in the recipe. I love the chicken bacon I mentioned above, but there’s no replacement for real bacon. If you wanted to use real bacon, just fry it up and transfer to a paper towel before cooking the ground beef in the grease. My bacon cheddar ground beef and potatoes skillet is a great example of this.
Barbecue Sauce
Inspiring the title, Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli, Stubb’s Sticky Sweet barbecue sauce was my sauce of choice for this recipe. Stubb’s makes phenomenal barbecue sauces and marinades that are generally lower calorie than most sauces. This is the same sauce I used in my pressure cooker BBQ pulled pork and Sriracha BBQ Ground Beef and Green Beans recipes.
The three servings of Stubb’s Sticky Sweet this recipe calls for have (total) 150 calories and 39g of carbs. You could certainly reduce the carbs with a sauce like G Hughes sugar free barbecue or even Walden Farms barbecue sauce.
In my opinion, the 39 grams of carbs spread across the entire recipe are so worth the added flavor. Since the recipe makes at least six servings, that’s a little over six grams per serving. Not bad!
What to Serve with This Ground Beef and Broccoli Recipe
I love this recipe’s versatility. It’s perfect by itself, but you could pair it with all kinds of things for even higher volume meals. I’ll drop a few ideas below:
- Rice or Cauliflower Rice (or a blend like in my Tex-Mex ground beef and rice skillet)
- Stuffed Baked Potato
- Rosemary Parmesan Air Fryer Potatoes
- Air Fryer Potato Chips
Okay, you get the point. Just close your eyes and pick one—you’ll be happy. Before you save the recipe and head to the store, don’t forget to tag me in your eventual masterpiece on Instagram. I want to see what you come up with and what you pair your sticky sweet ground beef and broccoli with!
Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli
A 10-minute, 6-ingredient ground beef recipe that's packed with flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef macros with 93/7
- 6 Tbsp (105g) Stubb's Sticky Sweet Barbecue Sauce
- 3 Tbsp (45mL) Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 6 slices Precooked Bacon or raw bacon, cooked
- 1 lb Frozen, Steamable Broccoli Florets
Instructions
Microwave the broccoli as directed on its packaging. If you're using fresh broccoli, steam or cook it first.
Add the ground beef to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
While the beef cooks, mix the barbecue and Worcestershire sauce together in a small bowl. Add the sauce mixture to the ground beef as it cooks.
Use a knife to cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces before adding to the skillet with the ground beef and sauce mixture.
Cook the beef until no pink remains before reducing the heat to low and adding the broccoli.
Stir to fully incorporate the broccoli before serving.
Serve with rice or cauliflower rice, pasta, potatoes, baked beans, or on its own.
Recipe Notes
Each serving has 5 Smart Points.
Similar Recipes You Might Like
- Healthier Sloppy Joes
- Chipotle BBQ Ground Chicken Tacos
- High Protein Creamy Taco Soup
- High Volume Tex-Mex Meal Prep Bowls
- Spicy Ground Beef Mac and Cheese
I made this for dinner last night and my husband loved it too. So simply and tasted great.
This recipe was SOO good and easy!! I can’t believe how low the calories were because it was so saucy & tasty. Definitely making again and savoring my leftovers 🙂
Easy and delicious! I just changed the bacon for sliced almonds… different, healthy fat and more “Mongolian” flavor (kind of Kung Pao style). Everyone at home loved this recipe. Amazing combination, super healthy! Thanks!
This recipe looks great. Have to make it.
Oka,y, so I’m not a huge fan of ground beef, but this… I am a fan. I actually made it for my fiancé and then ended up eating half. 🤷🏽♀️
OMG family loves this – I make it in bulk then freeze extra. Fabulous reheated! Another hit from Mason!!!
Family favorite! I followed this recipe as written, do not change a thing, it is delicious!
Finally got around to making this for dinner last night and it was so flavorful! I think next time I will make just a tad bit more sauce so I can mix it in with the rice too.
This reply hits the spot when I’m craving Chinese food! Subb d for ground chicken and was just as good 😍
This dinner is incredibly quick and so simple. I used ground turkey and Walden Farms BBQ sauce (which is normal not great by itself) but this still turned out delicious.
We loved this! I made it and my husband even liked it even though it was supposed to be all for me.;) Was very good served with garlic mashed cauliflower. I thought I could even serve it to my in-laws with regular mashed potatoes for them, caulk for me. Easy to make and great flavors!
I LOVED it! I made a batch for the fam with ground beef and my picky 1.5 year old ate it up! I made a second batch for my meal prep using ground turkey. It obviously was a lottle drier than the ground beef but it was still really good!
I used ground turkey and turkey bacon and it was delicious! I also added cauliflower with the broccoli to add more volume. Even my picky boyfriend approved!
I used ground turkey and turkey bacon and it was delicious! I also added cauliflower in with the broccoli to add volume. Even my picky boyfriend approved!
So impressed with how quickly this came together and how tasty this was with just a few ingredients.
Whole family loved it – served it with mashed potatoes (because I’m filling up 2 teenage athletes!).
Okay, so I’m not a big brocolli fan, but this recipe is seriously amazing. I try and make this at least once a week, with enough for lunch leftovers because it’s even better the next day. The brocolli soaks up all the bbq and bacon flavor 🤤. I usually use the 94/6 ground beef and sometimes sub real bacon bits instead of cooking bacon, which speeds this up by a few minutes. Overall, highly recommend!
I made this recipe last night and oh my goodness! 😍 We are doing a challenge at my gym for the next 6 weeks and this will be one of my staple meals! I’m excited to look through the website and find more amazing recipes to use!!
Love this! So quick and easy! I used ground chicken instead and added cauliflower, carrot veggie medley mix with the broccoli to add volume. My 3 year old LOVED it!!
Made this for my lunches this week and seriously so good and easy to make and meal prep. I used turkey bacon and added a little brown rice to it! Will definitely be making again.
I made this for my family tonight and it was a hit. I love this recipe because the macros are easy to track, the ingredients were easy to find, it was super simple to cook, and super tasty. We have 4 people in our family, so I modified the recipe for 4 pieces of bacon so that each person could have one piece and it was easier to track. We had cauliflower rice as our side. Highly recommend!!
My husband and I had this meal the other day and it was amazing! My husband is a meat guy. He thinks every meal should include meat. So when he saw he was having 2 kinds of meat in our dinner he was pumped.
I used just a regular Heinz bbq sauce instead which probably changes out calorie amount but we don’t really count calories. Also, I used broccoli that was steamable in the produce section and I liked it way better than the frozen. It was easy and simple to make. Not a ton of Prep work or chopping which with our schedules is a win. Highly recommend this recipe and will definitely be making it again but trying it with other ground meats especially venison. 😊
Lemme tell y’all, this is absolutely delicious. It is seriously amazing. Hubs even liked it, and he doesn’t know it’s good for him apart from the green broccolis in there. This is the first of many times this will be made in our household.
I’ve made this recipe twice now and love it! So freaking fast to whip up and I love that I can eat 2+ servings without feeling guilty. Put it on top of cauliflower rice for even extra veggies.
This recipe is FANTASTIC. So quick and easy and tastes delicious with the bacon in there. I added a little soy sauce and used 96/4 lean beef, pre cooked Turkey bacon, and G Huges sugar free honey bbq to cut down on macros a bit. Killer work, Mason. You crushed it as always
I’m a firefighter and I made this recipe for the guys at work. It’s hard getting them to eat healthy. This recipe was perfect. Healthy without them knowing. I did it over a bed of rice. Amazing flavor that isn’t too over powering. Incredibly easy. Entire recipe took less than 10 minutes!
First…no one commented on the bizarre 3/8 cup barbecue sauce! What ???? All these women had a handy 3/8 cup measure in their cooking tools chest? Is that metric? Come on! Let’s start by rounding this to 3/9 or….1/3 cup!!!
Second …10 minute prep time? Guess everyone had six slices precooked bacon around too! Figures since they have that pesky little 3/8 cup measuring cup too!
3/8 C = 6 tablespoons for future reference 🙂 But yes, most use a food scale and grams to weigh ingredients so there’s no need for measuring tools.
Hi! Do you think this could be done in a crock pot with stew beef cubes? Thanks!
I’m sure it would. Just add the broccoli towards the end of cooking.
This recipe was so easy and satisfying!!! I had never tried this barbecue sauce before until now, and I can definitely say I’m a fan! Another barbecue sauce that I’m obsessed with is the sweet and spicey which is Kroger brand from Kroger. This would be an amazing substitute for sure!
This recipe is good and high volume, for sure. I used a super lean beef but I think it needs a fattier ratio.
i’ve made some variation of this recipe at least once a week for a while. I’ll usually substitute the bbq for a sugar free version, and sometimes even swap the beef out for any protein and it comes out great! it’s an amazing base recipe to work with and modify for a variety of different ingredients while following the basic framework.
I absolutely love this recipe, it so easy to make and it’s became a family favorite at our house.
I would’ve never thought about using ground beef for beef and broccoli, but it is so tasty and easy! This recipe is perfect for dinner when you are low on groceries. I always have these ingredients on hand. And. the sodium is much lower than traditional beef and broccoli.
Super easy to make, and delicious even if you substitute the beef for turkey or chicken. Definitely a meal prep go-to!
This recipe is so simple! I made it for my bf’s very picky family and they liked it a lot! It’s a good one to make in bulk, put in Tupperware and bring to work so you don’t get stuck with boring lunches! This was the first time I pan cooked broccoli and it’s a game changer! I do it all the time now
The Sticky Sweet Beef and Broccoli was the first Mason recipe I tried and I have been hooked ever since. They are so great and fun to make.
Easy to make go to week night meal . I use Trader Joes BBQ sauce . Also I eliminate the bacon and sometimes I use a frozen bag of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots 🙂
This is a staple in my house. I mean it makes it on the menu like every other week. I have been adding mushrooms to the mix lately because I’ve been on a kick with them. Tonight I served it over cauliflower rice and sprinkled some red pepper flakes. Delicious.
Once again Mason nailed it with this recipe. I make it frequently for my fiancé who has no idea it’s a healthier version. I do substitute ground turkey 94% for the beef (mainly because I have tons of it) and at times I use a different sweet barbecue sauce. Preferably I’d stick with the stubbs sticky sweet because it makes the dish thicker and more flavorful. Definitely a keeper in the rotation!
This meal has become a regular in the weekly rotation. Super easy to make and great taste.; the ingredients are east to find. Most of the time served over rice ; occasionally made with a side of potatoes.
My husband said this was one of the best meals I’ve ever made! Everyone went back for seconds, so there were no leftovers despite it making a LOT of food! DELICIOUS!
I couldn’t find a BBQ sauce that I was happy with as far as ingredients go so I used a teriyaki sauce that I found in the health section of my grocery store. I also roasted fresh broccoli instead of using frozen broccoli and added that. Cooked the bacon stovetop in cast iron and then proceeded with the recipe as is. DELICIOUS, definitely a must try!
Sauce did not want to stick to broccoli, but it was even better than I expected.
I love Asian-y beef and brocc, and this hit the spot without having to sacrifice in nutrition! Thanks Mason!
The tang in this is out of this world – will need to double recipe next time.
Loved this recipe! I only had regular bbq sauce so I added a little brown sugar to it. I also still seasoned the meat with adobo and creole seasoning (I use it for every meat can’t do no seasoning). I did also add some sesame seeds as well. It came out soo good and goes great with the seasoned white rice I make.
Oh and I also didn’t add the bacon. (We had bacon in last night’s casserole didn’t want to do it twice) I will definitely save this recipe tho. Thank you for sharing!
Made this recipe for my meal prep this week! It’s so easy! I was substituted the bacon for precooked turkey bacon and my grocery store was out of the Sticky Sweet BBQ so i substituted it with the Honey and a Spice flavor! 10/10 would highly recommend!
This is on weekly rotation for me! I’m all about the dinners that don’t require much cleanup. I love how simple it is. I like to add more broccoli and less ground beef to get in the extra veggies. I can’t say how well leftovers are because there are never any. 😅
I made this for our family and everyone loved it. I used ground turkey. Kid and husband approved and SO easy to throw together quickly between practices!!
Literally a STAPLE in my house. Perfect for nights when we don’t have much time for dinner and even my picky eaters love it!
When I’m feeling stuck on dinner and want something easy this is our go to. I typically have the ingredients on hand, and even my two year old eats the broccoli without a second thought.
Delish, quick and easy! A fantastic meal for a weeknight that’s done in 10-15 minutes. Super tasty with the sweet-sticky BBQ sauce and the salty punch of crispy bacon. We make this a few times a month!
This is by far my most favorite recipe he has. I have made this countless times. It’s stupid simple and I love it. It’s a go to when I am in a pinch or a time crunch! Do yourself a favor and “print” or ” save as” this one!
This recipe is on repeat for my family. I use a little less bacon right now, as my fat macros are low and one of my kids isn’t a bacon fan (Insane, I know!). I often serve this with roasted broccoli, and some regular and/or cauliflower rice. Great dinner that everybody likes!
This recipe is super easy! I used ground turkey because that was the best option at my local store. Turkey isn’t my favorite, but I actually didn’t mind it with this recipe. I used frozen broccoli, but I think I want to try fresh broccoli next time (I love baking my broccoli so I’m going to try that! It makes it a little crispy rather than mooshy steamed broccoli). Then I added in some garlic roasted cauliflower rice. Super easy and yummy meal prep!!
I’ve made this several times. It is great on its own, but I like to put it on top of jasmine rice to make it a fuller meal. I used HEB turkey bacon instead of the chicken bacon listed. Definitely in my frequent rotation of meal prep recipes!
This has become a staple in my house! Super easy and quick to make!
I made this using a bag of fresh broccoli slaw instead of broccoli florets and loved it!!
One of my favorites! Not only is it good fresh, but it freezes super well! I like to use ground turkey and frozen broccoli with G Hughes BBQ sugar free bbq sauce. I often serve it over frozen cauliflower rice and it’s so filling! It’s on permanent meal prep rotation at my house.
A weekly favorite! I use Kirkland’s crumbled bacon already cooked, I love this for meal prep with either brown rice or cauliflower rice
First night we had the ground beef with steamed broccoli and rice. Next night I used the leftover beef and rice in stuffed green peppers- And wow those were some tasty stuffed peppers!
Made this last night and it was a huge hit!!! Used elk instead of beef, added garlic and red onion. I might make more sauce next time for juicier rice. Thanks!