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Almost Instant Red Curry Beef and Garlic Noodles. Homemade garlic oil with Thai red curry and frizzled scallions. All tossed with quick-cooking ground beef, garden vegetables, and egg noodles. This comes together quickly, all in one skillet, with minimal prep work involved. Delicious for nights when you’re craving spicy Chinese noodles, but need them to be homemade – and quick!
The past couple of weeks here at home have been filled with such nice summer weather. It’s made being in the kitchen so hard! In an effort to spend a little time outside each night, I’ve been making a lot of under-30-minute dinners.
Sometimes it can be fun to spend all day working on an amazing meal. But when the weather is so nice, I really rely on simple recipes like these beef garlic noodles for family dinners. We love this recipe, Creighton even thinks it’s much better than ordering out Chinese!
That’s such a compliment coming from him, he’s a tough critic!!
When creating this recipe, I knew I wanted the beef and noodles to have some spiciness to them. I also knew that incorporating summer produce would be so delicious!
For spice, I took a shortcut and used Thai red curry paste. And for the vegetables, I used red bell peppers and broccoli – two of my favorites!
Ingredients
- Sesame or olive oil
- Butter
- Green onions
- Thai red curry paste
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Lean ground beef
- Egg
- Bell peppers
- Chopped broccoli florets
- Chili flakes
- Chopped fresh Thai or regular basil
- Ramen noodles, egg noodles, or rice noodles
- Tamari or soy sauce
- Honey
Here are details
Step 1: make the oil
The oil is the heart of this recipe. The beef and noodles are, of course, important, but it’s really the oil that adds all the flavor. You’ll want to start out by warming together the sesame oil and green onions (or scallions…what do you call them?). Warm until the green onions are super fragrant and frizzled up.
Frying the onions in the oil creates a really wonderful flavor. Once the onions are frizzled up, stir in the Thai red curry paste. Allow the curry paste to cook a minute or so to really intensify the flavors. Then mix in the garlic and an extra pinch of chili flakes. I love to use a Korean-style chili flake, which I purchase at Whole Foods.
Step 2: add the beef
Now, mix the beef into the oil. As it cooks, break it up into smaller pieces. Then add a splash of tamari and a squeeze of honey.
Let the beef caramelize, then mix in an egg.
Step 3: the vegetables
Now it is time for the vegetables. As mentioned, I use red bell peppers and broccoli. I love this combo of veggies, but you can use what you love!
Zucchini would be delicious too. Or try snap peas, corn, and or shredded cabbage. Oh, mushrooms would also be so delicious!
Add the vegetables to the beef, toss, and cook for a few minutes.
Step 4: the noodles
I love using an Asian-style egg noodle (look at Whole Foods for some good options, or Amazon has options too). I love using Brown Rice Ramen (which you can find at Whole Foods and in many grocery stores). These noodles taste just like real-deal ramen noodles, but they’re much healthier, gluten-free, and vegan.
Mix the noodles into the beef and vegetable. Then add the remaining tamari, and let the sauce cook into the noodles until they are coated.
At this point, remove everything from the heat.
Serve the beef and noodles immediately topped with fresh green onions and basil. I like to add peanuts too. So yummy!
Looking for other fun noodle recipes? Here are some favorites:
Crispy Sesame Garlic Chili Oil Noodles
Stir Fried Honey Ginger Sesame Noodles
Creamy Thai Turmeric Chicken and Noodles
Lastly, if you make these Almost Instant Red Curry Beef and Garlic Noodles, 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! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Almost Instant Red Curry Beef and Garlic Noodles
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 477 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
- 1/4 cup sesame or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup green onions, sliced
- 1-3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1-2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 1 cup chopped broccoli florets
- chili flakes
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh Thai or regular basil
- 4 squares ramen noodles, egg noodles, or 6 ounces of rice noodles
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- 1. In a skillet, cook the oil and green onions over medium heat until very fragrant, 3-5 minutes. Lower the heat, stir in the butter, red curry paste, garlic, shallots, and chili flakes, cook 2 minutes.2. Add the beef and brown all over, 5 minutes. Pour over 2 tablespoons tamari and 1 teaspoon honey. Let the beef caramelize for 2 minutes. Mix in the egg and vegetables.3. Cook the noodles according to package directions, then drain and toss with the beef mix and 1/3 cup tamari. Cooker 2-3 minutes. Then remove from the heat. 4. Serve the noodles with additional green onions and basil. Top with peanuts.
This post was originally published on July 20, 2023
What the heck…this was AWFUL!!! I have made and loved many of your recipes but I can’t remember making such a disappointing dish…such a waste of effort!
What a hit!! I made this with ground venison, and it was delish!!
Hi Dorothy,
Happy Holidays!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it turned out well! xx
Tried this dish tonight and it was a huge hit! My husband said he’d prefer it over anything the restaurants have to offer. Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Sharon,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Love to hear that it turned out well for you:) Happy Thursday! xT
Have made this several times! Good as-is, I am a sauce loving gal so I add broth & cornstarch to this to make it more of a beef-veggie sauce for the noodles. Both versions are great! The recipe seems really customizable and yields great flavor no matter what I add to it.
Hey Maria,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Hope you are enjoying fall! XxT
Tried it and left out the red pepper. Toddler and partner approved!!!
Hey Haley,
Awesome! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xT
Very good. Excellent flavor! The step “carmelize 2 minutes “ is misleading. It takes at least 15 minutes to caramelize the beef.
Hey Joanna,
Wonderful! Thanks so much for your comment, love to hear that this recipe turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you giving it a try! x
We loved this recipe! I want to try it with chicken next time, do you think that would pair okay with this?
Hey Bailey,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe, love to hear that it was a winner! Sure, chicken sounds great! Have the best weekend! x
Delicious meal!! I added cashews when I mixed in the egg and veggies and it was great. I keep thinking about it and can’t wait to make it again!
Hey Callie,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you giving it a try and your comment! x
This is a keeper. Loved everything and it turned out so well! Husband can’t stop commenting how good it is. Thank you Tieghan we will be making this often!
Hi Katy,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! xT
I usually love your recipes, but this lacked flavor and heat. I’m not sure what it needs. Any suggestions to pump up the flavor and heat.
Hi Michelle,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. You could increase the Thai red curry paste next time and maybe do a drizzle of sriracha? I hope this helps! xT
Not sure what I did wrong. Every recipe of yours is always a favorite but this one didn’t have much flavor. I used the ramen noodles because that’s all I had. I will try it again soon with egg noodles and see if that helps.
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry it was not enjoyed! Please let me know how I can help! xT
Easy and delicious. My one comment for me, a little too salty – so less Tamari for me next time.
Hi Mary,
Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Xx
This recipe is a keeper! We couldn’t believe how much flavour it had—even my picky 9-year old went back for seconds! T, you never disappoint, thank you so much! We will be making this regularly!
Hi Melissa,
Love this!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Xx
We substituted bison for ground beef and cashews for peanuts. Everyone agreed it was awesome!
Hi Erik,
Love to hear this! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment:) Great idea to use the bison. Happy Sunday! Xx
So loved this recipe. I omitted the butter and added more vegetables.
Hi Kathy,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and your feedback! Love to hear it turned out well! xT