The Best Easy Beef Thai Basil Stir Fry Recipe – Takeout style Thai basil beef stir fry recipe that tastes just like it’s from your favorite Thai Food Restaurant but takes less time than driving to pick it up! 

If you love Thai basil from your local Thai food restaurant, you’ll LOVE this super easy and addictive recipe – and it even works in all sorts of healthy eating plans, including the keto and paleo diet!

This Thai basil beef stir fry recipe is fantastic for busy weeknights – it goes from fridge to your dining room table in under 15 minutes, and makes fabulous meal prep since it reheats well and makes delicious leftovers you can take to work or eat for lunch the next day!

This recipe is naturally gluten free, low carb, and can work into a paleo or keto diet or paleo diet – but is full of flavor that the whole family loves.

If you are following a strict keto diet, please look over my keto considerations in the post below.

If you’d rather skip my (very helpful, i think) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the recipe – simply click the “skip to recipe” button in the top left corner, or scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

Thai Basil is a spicy, minty herb similar to basil – with a bit more flavor and kick than standard basil.

Thai Basil (or Holy Basil) used to be hard to find at most grocery stores, but is now a lot more widely available.

Thai Basil/Holy Basil can be found at many grocery stores (our local Kroger and Safeway stores in rural Northern Colorado almost always have Thai Basil in stock in the produce department), and almost always available without fail at Whole Foods.

If your local stores don’t seem to have it in stock, pop into a local Asian Foods market, and you should be able to find it – or you can always order it online from Amazon.

Look for Thai Basil in your grocer’s produce department with fresh boxed herbs – sometimes it will be set out in the non refrigerated area next to tomatoes.

This recipe is definetely better with Thai (or Holy) Basil, but if you can’t find any fresh Thai Basil or Holy Basil, regular fresh basil leaves can be used in a pinch.

The dish will not have quite the same flavor (you can toss in a clove and a spring of fresh mint for a closer flavor profile) but will still be incredibly delicious.

Beef is both one of the easiest and hardest meats to stir fry – if it is cooked wrong, it can be rubbery, soft, and a bit tough to chew.

When cooked right, it is fabulous in stir fried dinners!

To cook your beef perfectly, there are a couple easy tips and tricks to help you get perfect stir fried beef every time.

To stir fry beef under the best conditions, the right pan is essential.

I prefer a wok or a very large, heavy pan that conducts heat well and gets very hot.

To see my favorite naturally nonstick mineral pan, click here.

Before adding oil or beef, heat pan to scorching hot for best results.

When you add oil into pan it should instantly become thin and shimmery and ready for your beef.

Beef is best str fried as hot and quick as possible – slowly cooking beef in a stir fry will cause it to boil instead of stir fry, making the meat tougher to chew and soggier feeling.

Crowding your pan reduces the heat, which makes beef cook slower. If you don’t have a large pan, stir fry the beef in batches and remove from heat, then cook vegetables, then add them both back together to finish cooking with sauces for best results.

Thinly sliced beef works the best in stir fry recipes. While I prefer to buy very thinly sliced beef, you can always ask your butcher for even more finely sliced beef – or try to slice your own by lightly freezing a raw steak and slicing by hand.

This easy delicious Thai Basil Beef is an easy low carb and keto meal that works into any healthy eating plan as it is naturally gluten free, and can be made low carb with a couple of easy swaps.

Thai Basil Beef is a naturally low carb recipe, but there are a couple of easy adjustments you can make to adapt this recipe into an even lower carb profile.

The sugar in this recipe is optional to taste more like takeout – if you’re preparing this to fit into a keto diet, skip the sugar.

Fish sauce is a fabulous flavor addition to dishes on a keto recipe – IF – the fish sauce is made from simply fish and salt.

Check our fish sauce closely to find fish sauce without any sugar or additives.

Oyster sauce should be low in carbs if made without sugars and additives – check the label of your oyster sauce to be sure you’re buying one without added sugars.

Reduce the amount of onion and add celery instead. 

If you love this delicious Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry recipe, be sure to check out some of my other favorite Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food restaurant copycat recipes – simply click the links below to find each easy printable recipe:

10 Minute Pan Seared Thai Chili Scallops Recipe

The Best Easy Kung Pao Shrimp Recipe

Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken Copycat Recipe

If you love this recipe much as I do, please write a five star review, and be sure to help me share on facebook and pinterest!

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