Ground beef and broccoli sounds a little boring, but this sticky sweet BBQ beef with broccoli is far from it. We’re talking charred broccoli cooked in rendered bacon fat, crispy browned ground beef, and a sweet yet umami black pepper BBQ sauce.
Every serving has 18 grams of protein with only 160 calories. It’s perfect for serving with rice or cauliflower rice and packing up for meal prep. And you’ll only need 6 ingredients and about 20 minutes to make it. So let’s get after it!
Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli Ingredients
Even with a short ingredient list, there are lots of possible modifications. I’ll run you through every ingredient with ideas for alternatives so you can take this recipe and run with it. You’re one sauce or veggie swap away from an entirely different recipe (that’s still super simple).
Bacon
If you’re revisiting this recipe since it was first published in 2018, you may notice it calls for center cut bacon as opposed to pre-cooked chicken bacon.
In the original recipe I recommended using real bacon for more flavor and using the rendered fat to cook the ground beef and broccoli like in my bacon cheddar ground beef and potatoes skillet. So that’s exactly what I did for the updated version.
You can still use the chicken bacon, adding it at the end with the sauce.
Broccoli
Another change with this updated recipe is the switch from frozen broccoli to fresh. Using fresh allows you to add some char to the broccoli while also keeping some crunch and texture.
If you still wanted to use frozen broccoli, simply microwave a steamable bag according to its directions and stir in at the end up of the cook with the sauced ground beef.
Broccoli Alternatives
If you wanted to swap broccoli for something else, you could try brussels sprouts, green beans, bell peppers, or just about anything. Though you may want to consider a different sauce pairing for certain vegetables. Here’s a handful of ideas:
- Sweet Chili Ground Beef and Brussels Sprouts
- Beijing Beef with Ground Beef
- Ground Chicken and Greek Veggies
- Honey Balsamic Ground Chicken and Brussels Sprouts
Ground Beef
The recipe calls for 96% lean ground beef, which is my go-to for all my macro friendly ground beef recipes. With a minimal recipe like this, it’s even more important to maximize on flavor everywhere you can. So make sure you get some actual browning on your beef.
For optimal browning, you need a hot and dry environment. Turning up the heat under the skillet and patting the ground beef dry with a paper towel should help. Check out my high protein taco soup post for more in-depth tips on browning ground beef.
Ground beef alternatives include proteins like the shaved beef steak from my black pepper beef bowls or the ground turkey and chicken from my sweet and spicy ground chicken and broccoli or crispy garlic ground chicken.
Sticky Sweet BBQ 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 great barbecue sauces that are relatively low calorie. This is the same sauce I used in my pressure cooker BBQ pulled pork and Sriracha BBQ Ground Beef and Green Beans recipes.
For an even lower carb option, check out G Hughes sugar free BBQ sauce like I used for my air fryer chipotle BBQ chicken tacos. The Trader Joe’s sriracha garlic BBQ sauce I used for my BBQ chicken meatballs and smoked pork tenderloin is also a great option.
And for a slightly different flavor profile, check out my homemade Japanese barbecue sauce or the hoisin sauce from my crispy ground beef and rice.
Serving Your Ground Beef and Broccoli
Rice or a blend of rice and cauliflower rice are the no-brainer pairings for this recipe. I like to make rice bowls for meal prep with about 2/3 cup basmati rice and 2/3 cup cauliflower rice per serving. You can easily adjust the amount of rice to fit your calorie needs.
Non-rice pairings might include anything else that goes with BBQ flavors. Similar to my ground beef and cabbage recipe, potatoes come to mind, whether that’s a stuffed air fried baked potato or on a bed of low fat mashed potatoes. (If you’re short on carbs, check out my low carb potato substitutes guide.)
I’m curious to see what you can come up with. Let me know how you serve your sticky sweet ground beef with broccoli in the comments or in a recipe review. And if you have any questions about the recipe or ingredient swaps, leave them in the comments as well.
Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 4 slices Center Cut Bacon, diced
- 12 oz Broccoli Florets, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 pound Extra Lean Ground Beef, 96/4
For the Sauce
- 1/2 cup 140g Stubb’s Sticky Sweet Barbecue Sauce (or your choice of BBQ sauce)
- 2 Tablespoons 30g Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add the diced bacon to a cold skillet over medium heat. Fully cook the bacon and transfer to a paper towel, leaving the bacon fat in the skillet.
- Add the broccoli to the skillet and sauté until vibrant green and browned in spots, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Increase to a medium-high heat and add the ground beef. Brown one side for 2-3 minutes before breaking apart and fully cooking.
- Once fully cooked, add the sauce ingredients and stir together until thick, about 30-60 seconds.
- Turn off the heat and add the cooked bacon and broccoli to the skillet with the ground beef.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice and garnish with chili flakes and sesame seeds, if desired.
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.
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!