Mongolian Style Ground Beef
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Easy Mongolian Style Ground Beef
Updated August 2025
Homemade, hearty, and ready on the table in under 30 minutes! This recipe for Mongolian Ground Beef is easy to make and a crowd-pleaser the whole family will enjoy. Ideal for busy weeknights or when you need to clean out the pantry, it can be tailored to your palate and dietary needs. Full of flavour and a little kick of heat, this simple recipe is sure to become your next go-to!
What is Mongolian Sauce?
A balanced blend of sweet and savoury ingredients with a little bit of spice, Mongolian sauce can also be a marinade or a dip. In addition to the garlic and fresh ginger added directly to the ground beef, the main ingredients in our Mongolian sauce for this recipe are:
Soy Sauce: For a dose of umami flavour and some salinity, we used a low-sodium soy sauce. If you’re gluten-sensitive or gluten-free, you can also opt for tamari sauce instead of soy sauce in this recipe. (Using a low-sodium soy sauce also helps ensure this recipe won’t be too salty and can be seasoned to taste.)
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is sugar mixed with molasses and offers a bit of sweetness to this Mongolian sauce. Be sure to break up your brown sugar if it’s hardened so that it can be better incorporated into the sauce.
Chicken Broth: We chose our Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth in this recipe. Full of flavour and made without artificial flavours or colours, you can also swap this broth for our Organic Low Sodium Beef Broth or Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth if needed. Any of these options help add a layer of deliciousness to this ground beef recipe while helping you control the level of salt.
Cornstarch: A necessity for the Mongolian sauce, making a slurry from Farm Boy™ Cornstarch and water helps to thicken the sauce. You can add the 1 Tbsp of cornstarch to 2-3 Tbsp water, stir, and let it dissolve before adding it to the rest of the sauce ingredients, or add it directly to the pan and whisk well to combine.
Sambal Oelek: Sambal oelek is a chili paste popular in Southeast Asian cuisines. We’ve recommended using it to taste to control the amount of spice you prefer. If you don’t have sambal oelek, you can also use sriracha sauce. If you’re not partial to heat at all, you can omit this ingredient entirely.
Green Onions: For a touch of freshness and brightness to this Mongolian ground beef recipe, we’ve included chopped green onions. Added towards the very end of this dish so as not to burn them, they add a mellowness and slight onion flavour to help bring this dish together.
Sesame Oil: We love the nutty, savoury notes of sesame oil. Also incorporated towards the end of this recipe, it adds a luscious, robust taste to the ground beef mixture.
Tips for the Best Mongolian Ground Beef
Sauce trouble: If you find your sauce is too thin even after mixing it in with the ground beef, you can sprinkle a bit of cornstarch all over the dish and stir until it’s properly dissolved. If, on the other hand, your sauce appears too thick, add a little bit of water to thin it out. This will help make the sauce less viscous without imparting any extra flavour.
Drain the fat: No one wants a greasy bowl of Mongolian ground beef. Draining all but 1 Tbsp of fat when you’re browning your meat is necessary to ensure the meat and sauce comingle properly for the best flavour and texture. Keeping a little bit of fat provides extra yumminess, but too much can taste oily and unappealing.
Variations and Substitutions
There are plenty of ways to customize this Mongolian ground beef recipe! Try any of these substitutions to this easy dinner and enjoy it multiple nights in a row.
Swap meats: Instead of ground beef in this recipe, you can substitute ground turkey, chicken, or pork. Turkey and chicken are a lighter choice, while pork provides a different kind of flavour.
Skip the soy: If you can’t handle the soy in soy sauce, you can make an easy swap with coconut aminos. Made with fermented coconut palm sap and salt, coconut aminos have a slightly sweeter flavour profile than soy sauce. They also happen to be gluten-free!
Go gluten-free: If you can’t get your hands on coconut aminos but gluten is still a concern, try tamari sauce. Made from soy and rice, it contains little to no wheat. If your gluten intolerance is an allergy rather than an aversion, look for bottles explicitly labelled as gluten-free to be sure.
Make it vegetarian: While meat swaps are easy in this Mongolian beef recipe, what about vegetarians? Those who don’t eat meat can still enjoy all this flavour by swapping the ground meat for crumbled tempeh or extra firm tofu. Be sure to press your tofu to remove moisture (if using) and sauté it well to have the best result and most flavour.
What to Serve with Mongolian Ground Beef
We’ve opted to serve our Mongolian ground beef over steamed rice, but there are plenty of options when it comes to serving this dish.
Rice: A classic choice to pair with this Mongolian ground beef recipe, rice helps soak up all that delicious sauce. We like the fragrance and flavour that comes with our Jasmine Rice best, but you could use any rice you prefer. Short on time? Our Organic Jasmine Rice and Brown Rice & Quinoa Side Dishes cook in the microwave in just one minute!
Ramen Noodles: Transform this ground beef recipe into Mongolian beef noodles with a little help from Farm Boy! Our Ramen Noodles cook in under three minutes for maximum convenience. Simply cook them separately and add them to your pan with the ground beef mixture and sauce and toss to coat evenly. With an extra sprinkle of green onions and Farm Boy™ Sesame Seeds, you have a fresh twist on this flavourful dish!
Quinoa: If rice or noodles aren’t your starch of choice, we recommend serving this Mongolian beef over a bed of fluffy quinoa. Quinoa is gluten-free and loaded with important nutrients like protein, fibre, and zinc. For a faster, more convenient choice, we suggest our Mixed Quinoa Side Dish. Made with organic red and white quinoa, it helps soak up all that delicious sauce and leaves you satisfied.
Fried Egg: This ground beef recipe is already loaded with protein, but maybe you’re looking to really hit your protein goals and need a little extra. We recommend topping this dish with a fried egg. Once you pierce that perfectly cooked yolk, you get an extra luscious burst of umami flavour that can’t be beat.
Steamed Veggies: In this recipe, we’ve added fresh bell peppers right in. However, if you’d like veggies on the side, that’s another wholesome option to bulk up this dish. Broccoli, carrots, and snow peas would be a delicious addition to this recipe and provide some extra fibre and vitamins. You can steam them and serve them on the side or mix them into the sauce—the choice is yours!
More Beef Recipes from Farm Boy
Looking for more beef recipes? Check out any of the dishes below!
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More Ground Meat Recipes from Farm Boy
Looking for more recipes that use ground meat? Check out any of the dishes below!
Turkey Kofte with Sumac Onions
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Farm Boy™ Virgin Cold Pressed Sunflower Oil
- 750 g lean ground beef (or ground pork, chicken, or turkey)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger cut into thin matchsticks
- 2 red bell peppers diced
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce (or tamari sauce)
- 2-4 Tbsp brown sugar or to taste
- ¾ cup Farm Boy™ Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 1 Tbsp Farm Boy™ Cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp sambal oelek or sriracha sauce to taste
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 3 green onions cut into 1 ½" pieces
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds for garnish
- 2 Tbsp Farm Boy™ Sesame Seeds for garnish
- steamed rice or ramen noodles to serve
Directions
- In a large frying pan or wok, het Farm Boy™ Virgin Cold-Pressed Sunflower Oil over high heat.
- Add ground beef (or ground pork, chicken, or turkey) and cook, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink (about 5 minutes). Drain all but 1 Tbsp of fat.
- Add fresh ginger, minced garlic, and bell peppers. Cook until vegetables are tender and meat starts to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine soy sauce (or tamari sauce), brown sugar, Farm Boy™ Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth, Farm Boy™ Cornstarch, and sambal oelek (or sriracha). Mix until combined and sugar and cornstarch have dissolved. Add sauce to meat and vegetable mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add salt and pepper and stir in sesame oil and green onions.
- Serve Mongolian ground beef over steamed rice or ramen noodles, garnish with Farm Boy™ Sesame Seeds, and enjoy!