Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli

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.

You could also use ground turkey or chicken like in my sweet and spicy ground chicken and broccoli, chili coconut ground chicken, or Greek ground chicken and rice skillet.

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 – check out my air fryer baked potatoes recipe
• Quinoa – like my spicy sesame ground beef and quinoa
• Air Fryer Roasted Carrots and Potatoes

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!

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Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

A 10-minute, 6-ingredient ground beef recipe that's packed with flavor.

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Ingredients

• 1 lb Lean Ground Beef, macros with 93/7
• 6 Tbsp (105g) Stubb's Sticky Sweet Barbecue Sauce
• 3 Tbsp (45g) Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 6 slices Precooked Bacon, or raw bacon, cooked
• 1 lb Frozen, Steamable Broccoli Florets

Instructions

1. Microwave the broccoli as directed on its packaging. If you're using fresh broccoli, steam or cook it first.
2. Add the ground beef to a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
3. 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.
4. Use a knife to cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces before adding to the skillet with the ground beef and sauce mixture.
5. Cook the beef until no pink remains before reducing the heat to low and adding the broccoli. 
6. Stir to fully incorporate the broccoli before serving. 
7. Serve with rice or cauliflower rice, pasta, potatoes, baked beans, or on its own.

Notes

Each serving has 5 Smart Points.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Servings Serving Size: 150g
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 190Total Fat: 8gCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 20g

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