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To me, a successful Whole30 is all about simple but flavor-packed meals — and this Whole30 Peppered Steak Stir-Fry is exactly that!
I’ve made a lot of simple Whole30 stir-fry recipes over the years because of their simplicity and ability to pack in so much delicious flavor, but this new Whole30 Peppered Steak Stir-Fry is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. The Pepper-Garlic Sauce is seriously craveable and I cannot get enough of it!
Serve this as-is or pair with cauliflower rice to keep Whole30. And, if you are making this but do not need to keep things Whole30, I recommend adding a little honey to the sauce — it becomes even more craveable, trust me!
Whole30 Peppered Steak
Ingredients
For the Steak:
- 1.5 lbs flank steak
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour/starch
For the Pepper-Garlic Sauce:
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- ¼ cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp red boat fish sauce
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
For the Stir Fry:
- 2 tbsp avocado oil plus more if needed
- 1 medium-sized red bell pepper cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 medium-sized green bell pepper cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 small white onion cut into ½ inch cubes
Instructions
Prepare the Steak:
- Place the flank steak on a cutting board and cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet (or the bottom of a heavy skillet) pound the steak as thinly as possible. This also helps tenderize the steak. Discard the parchment paper, and using a good knife, cut the steak into 1.5 inch cubes. Now, depending on your cut of meat and how well you pounded your steak-- you’ll likely have some cubes that are much thicker than others. With the thicker pieces of steak, I like to take my knife and slice it lengthwise to create thinner pieces of steak-- so that each piece of meat is about ¼ inch thickness and 1.5 inches large.
- Place the steak in a large bowl and add the avocado oil, coconut aminos, salt and tapioca and toss until very well coated. Set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, Make the Sauce:
- Place the peppercorns in a zip top bag and using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet-- pound until coarsely ground.
- Place the coarse peppercorns in a medium bowl with the coconut aminos, beef broth, rice vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, garlic powder, and cayenne. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
Make the Stir-Fry:
- Heat the avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches so as to not overcrowd the pan, add the steak in a single layer to the skillet and cook until golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the browned steak to a plate and continue to brown the steak, add 1 tbsp of avocado oil in between batches as needed, until all the steak is browned and set aside.
- Add the bell peppers and onions to the skillet and cook, stirring, until they are slightly tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Pour in the pepper-garlic sauce and cook, stirring often, so that the sauce begins to reduce, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the steak, and any of its juices, back into the skillet and cook, tossing the steak in with the sauce until it is well coated in the sauce and the sauce is thick, 2 to 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and continue to toss the steak, until the sauce is glossy, 2 to 3 more minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
My husband said this was the best thing he had ever eaten…. No lie!!! And believe me… he’s done some eatin’! Thank you for posting!! Trying to focus on eating Whole Foods!
Delish! Question about the Tapioca as well— if I dredge the meat and let it sit for too long (like when I cook in 2 batches so as not to crowd the pan), I feel like the tapioca gets absorbed and doesn’t cook up as crisp for the second batch—am I imaging it? Or maybe doing something wrong? Either way, it still tasted amazing and I can’t wait to make it again! Thanks 😊
Have you ever traded the beef for chicken ? Just because I already have chicken breast thawed
Chicken will be great in this recipe!
Do you need the tapoica flour?
yes it helps thicken the sauce and crisp up the beef.
This was amazing! Will be a new staple in our kitchen.
Can I mix the sauce 1 day in advance?
Absolutely!
Are there other veggies you recommend adding?
Honestly– anything will be good here! Broccoli, chopped cabbage, snow peas would be some top picks.
This sound delish. If you don’t pound your own peppercorns, how much ground pepper should you use?
Made this tonight and it was so, so good. My husband went back for thirds! Thank you!!
Can you substitute arrow root for tapioca flour?
yes!! that will work (i do find that tapioca forms a better crispy crust, for what its worth).
YUM! question — do you have any good hacks to make the tapioca flower create as crispy a result as possible? sometimes feel like i’m not executing the best on that part. thank you!! <3