Quick Beef Teriyaki

This easy Beef Teriyaki can be made with store-bought or homemade teriyaki sauce and comes out tender and tangy with lightly charred edges and is just perfect over a big bowl of rice.

Today’s recipe is another super easy and fast dinner for weeknights, beef teriyaki.

This beef teriyaki is one of my current favorite weeknight meals. Depending on how ambitious you’re feeling, it can be a two-ingredient dinner (use store-bought teriyaki sauce) or follow my recipe to make your own and feel super smug about the amazing homemade teriyaki sauce you just made from scratch (seriously, this sauce is the best).

Whether you use store-bought or homemade sauce, this teriyaki beef comes out tender and tangy with lightly charred edges and is just perfect over a big bowl of rice.

Ingredient Notes

• Beef: I like to use flap meat in this recipe because it cooks nicely under the quick, high heat of the broiler and is relatively cheap. If you can’t find flap meat, you can substitute flank, hanger, or skirt steak in its place, though they will probably be slightly more expensive.
• Teriyaki sauce: You can use store-bought sauce or I included the recipe for my favorite teriyaki sauce in the recipe card below. The sauce will take an extra 15 to 20 minutes to make, but I think it’s SO worth it. 

How to Make Beef Teriyaki

1. You’ll start by cutting flap meat into strips and then tossing the meat with teriyaki sauce.
2. Lay the strips out on a heavy-duty baking sheet or broiling pan and then broil for just a couple minutes per side. Pull when your meat is medium-rare or your desired level of doneness and dinner’s ready.

FAQ

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes. You can cook the beef up to 2 days in advance.

Or if you’d like to prep the ingredients ahead of time for cooking, this is the ultimate make-ahead meal. Sauce can be made up to 1 month in advance, and you can pre-slice the beef and freeze it. So all you have to do on cooking day is defrost the meat, toss it with sauce, and broil. If you plan on serving with broccoli, broccoli can be chopped 3 to 4 days in advance.

What kind of meat is used for beef teriyaki?

We’ll be using flap meat for this recipe. Flap meat, which comes from the bottom of the sirloin, is also known as flap steak or sometimes by its French name, bavette d’aloyau. It’s one of my favorite cuts of beef because it has a really fantastic beefy flavor, is relatively cheap, and is at its best when cooked quick and hot, so it’s ideal for fast weeknight meals.

How do you make tender beef strips?

Aside from choosing the right cut of beef, you can keep your beef tender by 1) cutting the beef against the grain when slicing it into strips and 2) by not overcooking it. Cook your strips to 135°F for medium-rare, 145°F for medium, and pull them out of the oven when they’re just done.

A good instant-read thermometer makes this easy, and you can pull out strips out in batches if necessary, as thinner pieces will cook more quickly than thicker ones.

What goes with Teriyaki Beef?

Serve your teriyaki beef with rice (I’m partial to Calrose rice for Asian dishes) and a side of steamed broccoli or green beans.

More Easy Weeknight Meals

• Beef Ramen Noodles
• Chicken and Broccoli Orzo
• Salsa Chicken
• Slow Cooker Tri-tip Sandwiches
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Quick Chicken Tortellini Soup

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