Easy Beef Teriyaki Skillet

Beef Teriyaki Skillet is an easy dinner with only 6 ingredients and it's all made in just one pot. Lean ground beef, teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic are all you need for this super easy dinner recipe. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions. 

For more teriyaki recipes try these teriyaki chicken rice bowls, this one pan chicken teriyaki, these delicious pineapple teriyaki chicken meatballs, or this crockpot teriyaki chicken. 

Easy Beef Teriyaki Skillet Recipe

One pot dinners literally save my life on so many busy weeknights. With school starting back up here for my kids in just a few weeks, I always make a list of those quick dinners and this beef teriyaki skillet is always on that list. 

Easy to make with only 6 ingredients, ready in 15 minutes, and it's kid friendly with small chunks of ground beef and it's served over rice. 

Teriyaki is a sweet sauce that pairs really well with the ground beef and onion. You use a store-bought bottle of teriyaki sauce but don't let that fool you. It provides so much flavor and there are so many options of teriyaki sauce in the store so you can make this recipe different each time! Read below for all my tips and variation ideas for this recipe. 

What You'll Need

You only need 6 simple ingredients to make this beef teriyaki. 

• Lean Ground Beef - I always use 93/7 ground beef but you could go leaner and use 96/4 ground beef. The recipe calls for sesame oil which infuses a lot of flavor in the ground beef and provides a little fat with the oil so it still cooks nicely. 
• Onion - Use any kind you prefer! I normally use a yellow onion or white onion. But you could use a sweet Vidalia onion if you don't want a strong onion flavor. 
• Sesame Oil - Adds so much flavor to the ground beef. Don't skip this one. You can find it by the other Asian sauces and ingredients, like soy sauce and the teriyaki sauce.  
• Teriyaki Sauce - So many options for this! I love the Soy Vay brand but I have used them all. 
• Garlic - 1 teaspoon garlic is equal to one fresh garlic clove chopped or minced. I use garlic paste from a tube and you can also use chopped garlic from the jar. 
• Ginger - You can substitute with dried ginger if wanted. Use half the amount if using dried (½ teaspoon). I use the garlic paste in the tube. You can also use fresh ginger that you peel and then grate. 

How To Make This Recipe

Making this beef teriyaki skillet is so easy and requires just one skillet pan plus a cutting board and knife to chop up the onion. I also think a meat chopper is a must-have tool when cooking with ground meats. 

Cook the Ground Beef : In the skillet pan add the ground beef, chopped onion, and sesame oil. Cook and crumble (I use a meat chopper to crumble it) until the ground beef is no longer pink. Drain the excess liquid/grease from the pan. 

Teriyaki Time : Add the teriyaki sauce, garlic, and ginger to the cooked ground beef. Stir and let it come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Eat! : Serve the beef teriyaki over cooked white rice or brown rice. We love it garnished with chopped green onions, it adds a nice punch of flavor. 

Tips For Success

Here a few of my tips so you can have success making this in your own kitchen!

• Meat Chopper : My #1 tip for any recipe that uses ground meat. I buy mine from Amazon but you can get them at any store. It's a kitchen tool that chops up the ground beef into really fine pieces. 
• Teriyaki Sauce : Use one you love! There are so many different kinds of teriyaki sauce at the store so try a few and see what you like. You can also add more teriyaki sauce to the ground beef if you want more "sauce" in your teriyaki beef. Be sure and shake the bottle before using! 
• Onion : For an even faster dinner use pre chopped onion. You can find this in the refrigerated area of the produce section and also in the freezer section. I don't use this because I like onion into really fine pieces, but it's an option if you are short on time. 
• Rice : Remember to put rice in the rice cooker, or on the store top, before you start making the beef teriyaki. That way the rice is done when the beef is done and you're ready to eat!

Variation Ideas

There are not a lot of variations for this recipe but there is one that I think is worth mentioning. 

• Teriyaki Sauce - Don't feel like you have to use the same teriyaki sauce each time! Change it up. There are so many choices at the store. Panda Express makes one that is good. There are also some with pineapple in it. Lots of choices so it's an easy way to mix it up and change the recipe a bit. 
• Use a Different Ground Meat - If you don't like ground beef or want to use up what you have in your fridge, try using ground turkey or ground chicken instead. 

Serving Suggestions

We serve this over white rice and garnish with green onion.

You can serve it over brown rice.

Make it really easy and use the microwave pouches of rice. There is a garlic rice (microwaveable pouch from Uncle Ben's) that is really good. 

You can also make some minute rice.

Try it with some coconut rice. 

I love to cook up some vegetables or put these slow cooker carrots in the crock pot in the morning to serve with this dinner. 

How To Store Leftovers

Leftovers keep well in a covered container in the fridge for 3-4 days. I reheat leftovers in the microwave.

You may want to add some additional water or teriyaki sauce to moisten up the leftovers.