One-Pan Basil Beef (Ready in 20 Mins!)

This easy Basil Beef is a quick one-skillet dinner made with ground beef, fresh basil, garlic, and a savory sauce. Ready in just 20 minutes! Recipe adapted from Joie Warner's "All the Best Stir-Fries" cookbook.

Recipe by Sylvia Fountaine | Feasting at Home on August 10, 2026

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT10M

Total time: PT20M

Rating

4.5 stars ( reviews)

Keywords

Basil Beef, Thai Basil Beef, One-pan ground beef dinner, ground beef dinner idea, one pan beef recipes, high protein dinner, ground beef recipes, easy ground beef recipe

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (or other ground meat, or plant-based meat)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1-2 teaspoons olive oil (see note)
1 medium shallot, diced
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
½-1 teaspoon red chili flakes (or sub Sambal Olek or Garlic Chili paste to taste)
1 – 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce (or sub vegan fish sauce) *See notes
1- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce (or sub GF liquid aminos) *See notes
1 cup basil leaves, torn (or sub Thai basil- the BEST)
*see notes for veggies
Garnish with 1-2 tablespoons Chili Crisp (Use Trader Joe’s brand or make your own homemade chili crisp) or thinly sliced red chilies.

Cuisine

Asian

Steps

Set jasmine rice to cook if using. This takes about 20-ish minutes.
Heat a large skillet to medium-high; if your meat is very lean, add a little olive oil; otherwise, a dry skillet is fine. Add the ground beef, breaking it apart with a spatula. Season with salt and pepper and brown all sides well, crisping it up a bit. Drain any excess fat, and set meat aside.
Wipe out the skillet, add olive oil, and set heat to medium. Add the shallot and garlic, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant and golden. Add the chili flakes, and cook for one more minute.
Add the cooked meat back into the skillet, along with the fish sauce and soy sauce, stirring to combine. Once heated through, fold in the basil and wilt.
salt and chili flakes. If needed, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Drizzle with the chili crisp and serve over rice.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: ¾ cup
Calories: 301 calories
Carbohydrates: 3.9 g
Protein: 31.9 g
Fat: 16.8 g
Saturated Fat: 6.2 g
Trans Fat: 0.8 g
Cholesterol: 97.9 mg
Sodium: 1521.9 mg
Sugar: 2.1 g

Reviews

Hilary Laing on 2026-08-23 (4 stars):
A good simple quick dinner- served with brown rice and red lentil soup. I only uised 1 t of fish sauce because I like only a hint of that flavor.
Ann on 2026-08-25 (5 stars):
Been making it every week. It is salty so second time around did not add as much soy sauce and fish sauce. Added spinach and instead of rice did quinoa and mixed it in to make lettuce wraps with a red cabbage slaw. It’s been a hit, even the kids like it. The second time I also did the onion and shallots first and then the beef right after in the pan. I was in a rush.