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These colorful 20 Minute Thai Basil Beef Rolls are full of Thai-inspired flavor and made so simply. The beef (or use chicken or pork) is cooked in a spicy chili sauce until caramelized around the edges, then rolled up in tortillas with fresh cucumbers, cilantro, and Thai basil. Serve with extra soy sauce, chili paste, and toasted sesame oil. Each roll is spicy, sweet, tangy, and salty. Enjoy as an appetizer or serve alongside steamed rice for a quick dinner.
My brother Malachi’s girlfriend, Caitlyn, lives in LA. She’s been telling me about beef rolls she’ll sometimes get when she out to dinner. She’s been on me to make a spicy, sweet, salty roll with Thai-inspired flavors for weeks. I was so hesitant at first because a beef roll didn’t sound all that appealing.
But then I actually put some thought into it. I did some research on how beef rolls are made and decided I could make super quick beef rolls at home with delicious flavors. Most classic beef rolls are made using a homemade wrap and thinly sliced marinated beef. They often use a spice used in Vietnamese and Hawaiian cooking, called Chinese 5 Spice. It’s a blend of cinnamon, black pepper, star anise, cloves, and fennel.
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Black pepper
- Garlic
- Fresh grated ginger
- Chinese 5 spice
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Thai chili sauce
- Chopped green onions
- Persian cucumbers
- Cilantro
- Thai basil
- Chopped roasted peanuts
- Flour tortillas
- Chili paste
- Toasted sesame oil
Of course, all rolls are made differently, but the process is a bit lengthy. So I took some inspiration from the beef rolls Cait has been telling me about and created my own simplified version. And I love the way they turned out!
Since I like to serve these rolls as a dinner, the first thing I make is a big pot of rice. It actually takes longer to cook the rice than the rolls. It’s totally up to you, whether to add rice, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Especially since I know many of you need fast dinner options.
The details
I like to cook the rice in coconut milk for a creamy, coconut flavor. Simply let the rice steam while you prepare the beef rolls.
For the beef, I used ground beef, garlic, and ginger cooked together with Chinese 5 Spice, Thai chili sauce, and green onions. Cook over medium-high heat. You can easily use whatever you enjoy here, chicken or pork would both be great.
If you’re having trouble finding Thai basil, traditional Italian basil works in a pinch! Or just place extra cilantro or even an additional green onion in a small bowl for a great garnish.
Since most store-bought chili sauce is full of sugar, I like to make my own chili sauce. I use a mix of honey, chili paste, a touch of ketchup, and then some garlic, ginger, and lime!! It’s really easy to mix up this stir fry if you’re looking for a healthier sauce option.
Then just put everything together. Layer your warm tortillas (or delicate rice paper rolls if you prefer) with the hot beef, cucumber, cilantro, basil, green onions, and peanuts. Then, tuck and roll the rolls up nice and snug.
I serve these warm, with extra Tamari, chili paste, and toasted sesame oil. Plus, green onions too.
These wraps come together so quickly and have so much flavor, which you know we love! And I really appreciate all the fresh colors – the best kind of recipe! I absolutely love Thai-inspired dishes.
Looking for other quick weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites:
Chili Crisp Chicken Mango Cucumber Rice Bowl
30 Minute Caramelized Shallot Beef Ramen Noodles
Healthier Homemade One Pot Hamburger Helper
Coconut Popcorn Chicken with Sweet Thai Chili Lime Sauce
30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs with Sesame Noodles
Better Than Takeout Sweet Thai Basil Chicken
Spicy Chipotle Honey Salmon Bowls
Thai Basil Beef and Lemongrass Rice Bowls
Lastly, if you make these 20 Minute Thai Basil Beef Rolls, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
20 Minute Thai Basil Beef Rolls
Servings: 8 rolls
Calories Per Serving: 392 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or chicken or pork)
- black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger ( or 1/4 cup candied ginger)
- 1-3 teaspoons Chinese 5 spice
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Thai chili sauce (homemade in notes)
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
- 4 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 2 cups cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup Thai basil, chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts
- 8-10 flour tortillas, warmed
- chili paste, for serving
- toasted sesame oil, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a large skillet, cook the beef with black pepper over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and Chinese 5 spice, cook another minute. Add the tamari and sweet Thai chili sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the sauce coats the beef, 3-5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped green onions. remove from the heat. 2. Place one tortilla at a time in the microwave for 15 seconds. Spoon the beef down the center, then top with cucumber, cilantro, basil, green onion, and peanuts. Fold the tortilla over the filling. Then fold the sides and ends of the tortillas over the filling and roll forward. Repeat with remaining ingredients.3. Serve warm with extra soy, chili paste, and toasted sesame oil for dipping. To make this a dinner, serve with rice on the side.
Notes
Homemade Sweet Thai Chili Sauce: Mix 1/3 cup honey, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1-2 tablespoons chili sauce, 2 teaspoons lime zest, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, and 1 clove grated garlic in a glass jar. Shake or stir well. Use as directed.
This post was originally published on April 17, 2023
Uh oh, she’s appropriating again! Please learn something about food. Maybe instead of trying to be an NY influencer, you should travel to different places in the world to learn from other cooks and gain more of an understanding about the ingredients you’re using.
Claire, why don’t you find something better to do than write nasty comments. Do you wake up angry!
Did you see where she wrote Thai-inspired? It’s not appropriation. It’s introducing us to flavors that we might not otherwise try. Have you ever had fusion food? Do you storm into a fusion restaurant and demand they stop appropriating? Not every dish has to only use flavors and ingredients from one country or region. Honestly, this is getting really old.
It looks like you may have confused Taiwanese with Thai. Taiwanese or Chinese beef rolls are pretty common and look somewhat similar to what you’ve created here. There’s really not a commonly known Thai version of a wrapped beef roll that looks like this though.
I think she is referring to the ingredient that is flavoring the roll, Thai basil, rather than implying that the dish is Thai.
That’s certainly possible, I could see that now that you mention it. It just seems like these were modeled after the Taiwanese or Chinese beef roll and it would be cool if she just said as much. Reading her words, it seemed implied that the beef rolls that her brother’s girlfriend loved so much in LA were Thai when in reality they’re much more likely to be Chinese/Taiwanese.
Could this be made without tortillas? Just like a bowl?
Hi Christina,
Sure, go for it!! Let me know how this dish turns out, I hope you love it! xx
That was fabulous! I also made the pickled carrots and cucumber herb salad from your *whispers* banh mi bowl, and served it all with leftover egg fried rice. *chef’s kiss* Thanks for another great recipe!
Hey Lesley,
Wonderful!!🌴🍍 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, love to hear that it turned out well! xx
I used ground turkey instead of beef, they were delicious. I used large flour tortilla, but recommend noting that the street size or taco size are what is recommended. Every night, my husband says, “I just had my favorite meal!”
Hi Mandy,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
Made this tonight after seeing the recipe on Facebook. I actually had all the ingredients except basil. Which would add a lot but not a game changer. Only sad thing was when I pulled the tortillas out I only had 2. And no time to make homemade. But one for me and one for my husband, it was delicious!
Hey Mary,
Happy Tuesday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear both you and your husband enjoyed! xT
Delicious! Saw this recipe this morning in my inbox and raced around town today finding the goods to make it. Delicious! I’m a big lime fan, so squeezed a little more on it after. A big flavour explosion! Thank you for being a part of nightly dinners every week here in Ontario Canada!
Hey Brooke,
Wonderful!!🌴🍍 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, love to hear that it turned out well! xx
I can’t find Thai Basil anywhere, can regular basil be used?
I used regular and it was great.
Hi Kami,
Totally, that would be just fine for you to use! Let me know if you have any other questions:) xT
For homemade sauce, you call out chili sauce…can u give an example? My mind is going to the stuff served with shrimp but that can’t be right
Hey Kimberly,
Gochujang and sriracha are great options, if you want something with less heat a sweet Thai chili sauce would also be delicious! I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hold on. For homemade sweet Thai chili sauce, you are recommending using sweet Thai chili sauce (for less heat) for the chili sauce? There would be no need for a homemade sauce then.
If you want to use my homemade recipe, I would use sriracha or gochujang:)
These sound so good, but not a fan of Chinese 5 spice is there a good substitute?
Thanks so much Janet!! Chinese 5 spice is a blend of cinnamon, black pepper, star anise, cloves, and fennel. So if you like any of those spices I would just sprinkle some in:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
I’m not a fan of Chinese 5-spice either, but didn’t want to miss out on the Asian spice profile of this dish so I used only 1 teaspoon. I have to say it the first time I’ve enjoyed 5-spice in a dish! Was just enough for great flavor. Give it a try!
In the photo, the tortilla wraps looked slightly deep-fried? Is this so?
Hey Joy,
You can follow the recipe as written, no deep-frying needed:) I used my homemade flour tortilla recipe:
https://fett-weg.today/homemade-flour-tortillas/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
What type of wraps are you using? They looked cooked or fried, not microwaved before wrapping.
Hi Kelly,
I used homemade flour tortillas:
https://fett-weg.today/homemade-flour-tortillas/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
Looks wonderful. Has anyone found a good gluten free tortilla or would these work with corn?
Try Siete almond flour tortillas. They are delicious and a good substitute.
Mission is making GF tortillas, they are good!
Hey Dawn,
Corn tortillas might be a bit tricky with the folding, Siete brand has great GF options! I hope this helps, let me know if you give the recipe a try! xx
Dawn, I love Tofuyan brand GF wraps. They are great as is, but my favorite is used for Brie and prosciutto quesadillas. Sometimes I need to search a bit, but they’re worth it. For this recipe I might use Vietnamese rice paper wraps, which can be found in Asian markets. Soak them in warm water for a ten seconds, shake off water and wrap. They’re super sticky, and take awhile to get accustomed to, but have no taste. I hope you try.
Thanks for sharing!!
I am going to make these this week, they look wonderful but I’m wondering .. Did you fry or bake yours at some point? As they look so in the beautiful picture 😊
I thought so too . I would think airfrying them would be delicious
Sure, I bet that would work well! Let me know if you give this recipe a try:)
Thanks so much Donna!! Nope, I used my homemade tortilla recipe and just popped them in the microwave:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
What type of wrap do you use
Hey Deborah,
I used my homemade flour tortillas:) https://fett-weg.today/homemade-flour-tortillas/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT