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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
Hi! We are going to attempt this recipe tonight! BUT we only have regular basil—do you think that will be OK?? Or should we wait until we can get Thai basil??
Thanks!
Hey Bridget,
Regular basil will be just fine for you to use:) Let me know how this recipe turns out for you, I hope you love it! x
Your photo looks like there are crispy, but the recipe just says to roll them and doesn’t say bake or fry. Are they cooked after being rolled?
Hi Jewlee,
I used homemade tortillas so I warmed them on a skillet before rolling them up:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Excellent. Didn’t change a thing. I used ground chicken but did add thinly sliced red cabbage for a little color and crunch. WOW!
Hey Samantha,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! I appreciate you giving it a try! xT
This was delightful. Thank you
Hey Jenny,
Yay!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! Have a great week! xT
Hello, I haven’t made this yet, but wanted to make your homemade sweet Thai chili sauce. Can you specify what “1-2 tbsp chili sauce” is. There’s so many chili sauces and I don’t wanna mess it up! Thanks!
Hey Holly,
You will want to use something like sriracha! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Perfect, thank you!
Hi! I had a question on your homemade Thai chili sauce. The ingredients listed include 1-2 tbs of chili sauce. Is that 1-2 tbs of the (Mae Ploy) sweet chili sauce or a different type? I wanted to clarify that you are adding ingredients to the already existing “chili sauce” that you would buy bottled to doctor it up.
Thanks!
Hi Nicole,
If you are making the homemade recipe, you’ll want to use something like sriracha! I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Would these work well to make and freeze ahead and heat up later? Looking for good camping meals to make ahead!
Hey Alice,
Sure, I bet that would work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This sounds amazing! Do you think ground lamb would work?
Hey Connie,
Totally, ground lamb would be great to use! I hope you love this dish, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Since I don’t make homemade tortillas, I was trying to decide between store-bought tortillas and egg roll wraps. Has anyone tried egg roll wraps?
Hey Becky,
I bet that would work nicely for this recipe! Please let me know if you give this a try, I hope you love the rolls! xT
We love this recipe! I’ve made them twice now and they will be on my rotation. So flavorful and quick to make.
Hey Susan,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for your comment and making this recipe, so glad it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend! x
What brand tortillas do you use?They don’t look like ones in the store 🤔 Can’t wait to try these !
Hey Nancy,
I used my homemade tortillas, here is the recipe:
https://fett-weg.today/homemade-flour-tortillas/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I am fully obsessed with this recipe and how easy and fast it id. I’ve made it with beef, pork, and turkey. All are amazing in their own ways.
I’ve also tried it with flour tortillas, spring roll wrappers, and as rice bowls. All are great, but the rice bowls make it much easier to eat a TON of this because it is so flipping flavorful and delicious! Also makes it a little easier to serve and customize if you have picky eaters in your house (aka kids).
I also added lots of different veggies – cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, the sky is the limit!
Lastly, add a little chopped mint with the basil and cilantro and a drizzle of hoisin sauce (you can thank me later).
Hey Courtney,
Wow!! Thanks so much for making this recipe so often and sharing all of the different variations that your family enjoys:) Love to hear this! xT
Made the beef from this but instead of making wraps, added in cooking up some red peppers and green beans and put over some brown basmati rice. It was SO stinkin’ good.
Hey Alex,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for trying it out! xx
Absolutely loved these! Just to clarify, you don’t actually use two cups of cilantro, do you? I love cilantro but that seems like a LOT of it!
Hey Brooke,
Awesome! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! I did use 2 cups of cilantro, but it’s 2 cups before being chopped:) I hope this helps! xT
These are delicious! Wonderful to have in 105 degree weather. Not alot of stove time and the cucumber is refreshing. Will be making throughout the summer.
Hey Rena,
Love to hear this! Thanks so much for trying this recipe:) I appreciate your feedback! xT
The best summer recipe!!