Ginger beef made easy by cooking everything on a sheetpan! Flavourful, delicious, & healthier, with a ton of veggies!
Ginger beef is my all-time favourite “Chinese” takeout dish. I put that in quotations because I know that the food we associate with Chinese restaurants in the Western world isn’t commonly what’s actually eaten in China.
In university I took a class where we learned all about cultural food traditions. We did group projects where we taught the rest of the class about one culture’s food ways. A group of Chinese international students presented on cultural food from Northern China. Honestly, I don’t think I recognized even one dish they presented!
I asked them if there were any restaurants in our city where you could find these foods. They said said “yes”, there was one, but then chuckled and informed me that I wouldn’t be able to order any of these dishes, because the restaurant had two separate menus: one in Mandarin and one in English. However… it wasn’t only the languages that made the menus different:
Each menu had completely different dishes than the other one!
Ginger Beef: Uniquely Canadian
It wasn’t until I started researching for this recipe that I discovered that ginger beef isn’t common in the United States or other Western Chinese restaurants! Imagine my surprise to discover that my beloved ginger beef owes its start to a chef from Calgary in the 70s. Ginger beef was an instant hit and other restaurants started to make their own copycat versions to capitalize on its popularity.
And now you can enjoy your very own ginger beef at home with this easy, no deep-fryer needed, sheet pan recipe!
This ginger beef is DEFINITELY ginger-y. And garlick-y… And spice-y. If you’re sensitive to heat, stick to the low end with the chili flakes.
Why Sheet Pan Ginger Beef is a Smart Choice
I think the fact that this dish is “baked, not fried” already speaks for itself in how it’s more nutritious than deep-fried takeout. But I think it’s also worth noting that this dish has:
- less sodium
- MORE veggies! One bowl has over 2.5 servings of veggies!
Just look at that pan full of veggies! My dietitian heart swoons with how vibrant, colourful, and tasty those vegetables look! (If you’re not like me and veggies don’t get your heart beating faster, check out this article to learn more about how to increase your love for vegetables)
Sheet Pan Ginger Beef & Veggies
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 large carrot julienned
- 1 bell pepper any colour, julienned
- 2 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 small or half a large onion
- 6 cloves garlic sliced thinly
- one thumb sized chunk of ginger julienned
Beef and Batter:
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp mayo
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 lb flank steak
Sauce:
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ -1 tsp chili flakes
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ginger (powdered)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare two baking sheets. Spread 1 tbsp canola oil and 1 tbsp sesame oil on EACH pan.
- Chop the veggies and arrange on a single layer on one of the baking sheets. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Bake the veggies for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the batter ingredients in a bowl.
- Slice the meat as thinly as you can, going against the grain. Add to the batter bowl and stir to coat. You could also whisk the batter in a resealable container, place the lid on tightly, and shake to coat.
- Arrange the battered meat on the second baking sheet.
- Bake the meat and the veggies for 10 minutes (the veggies will be baked for a total of 20 minutes).
- Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat. Remove from heat once the sauce has thickened.
- Once the meat and veggies are cooked, scrape them onto one of the baking sheet. Drizzle with the sauce and toss to coat evenly.
- Eat immediately, or keep in the oven (turned off but still warm from having just been used). The dish does taste better if it’s allowed to sit for a short while.
- Serve over rice! My preference is a short grain brown rice.
Nutrition
Sheet Pan Meals to the Rescue!
Here are some more ideas for harnessing the power of the sheetpan + oven for easy, weeknight dinners!
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Sheet Pan Pork and Prunes
- Sheet Pan Pesto Gnocchi
- Sheet Pan Pineapple Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw
And if you want to harness more power for getting homemade meals on the table, download my e-book that will teach you 10 of my favourite meal planning hacks!
Valerie Lugonja says
What a smart idea! We’re always looking for healthier alternatives to foods we love and I am definitely trying this one!
🙂
Valerie
Jessica Penner says
Thank you for your comment! Hope you enjoy!
Laura says
This was absolutely delicious!! Used pea pods instead of peppers because we didn’t have any and it still turned out well. Easy & efficient!
Jessica Penner, RD says
Sounds like a great substitution! So glad you enjoyed it!
Andrea Butterworth says
I’ve made this twice now and my husband and I love it! It’s easy and flavourful and I can feel my body thanking me for the wholesome meal!
Jessica Penner says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Wilma Pries says
We made this for dinner tonight and really enjoyed it. I will use less batter on the meat next time. The flavour was so good! We will definitely be making this again.
Jessica Penner says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for your feedback!
Natasha M says
My husband and I loved it! Will be making again for my family!
Jessica Penner says
Thanks for sharing! So glad your family enjoyed the recipe!
Robyn B says
My husband and I tried this recipe tonight and we both loved it! We will definitely make it again.
Angeline says
Made this recipe this week and it is DELICIOUS!! Ginger Beef is one of our favourite dishes to order and I was skeptical but it exceeded my expectations AND it was even better as leftovers the next day, you can’t say that about take-out!! I ended up with too much batter on the pan with the meat so next time I would be a bit more careful with that next time. It only meant that cleanup was a bit more of a pain. Can’t wait to make this again!!
Jessica Penner says
Thanks for the wonderful review! Love that it tasted better as leftovers, we don’t get many of that with this meal here, I’ll have to make more next time!