Keto Mongolian Beef Recipe

Some fans had asked me if I could make a Mongolian Beef Recipe that was not only Keto-friendly, but delicious. This might seem like a tricky task to pull off, but it was actually very easy in the end. There were a few key substitutions that had to be made to alter the traditional recipes found online to make them low carb enough for our enjoyment, yet still sweet and tasty.

Usually this dish calls for Dark Brown Sugar in the sauce to sweeten it and to make it more of a glaze that sticks to the beef. I opted for the next best thing in my pantry, which is the Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener, which is like a Light Brown Sugar alternative that is non-glycemic and completely Keto-friendly. You can use other keto-friendly sweeteners if you want, but make sure they are a brown sugar alternative and not just a plain sugar flavored sweetener.

Additionally, this dish traditionally uses Soy Sauce, which is also not keto-friendly, nor low carb enough. Bragg makes a Liquid Amino that is soy-based, but has the inflammatory ingredients removed from it that would normally render soy products not keto-friendly, plus it is also much lower in carbohydrates than Soy Sauce. If you prefer you can opt to use Coconut Aminos instead, but you will want to add an extra TBSP or two of that if you do compared to the stronger flavored Liquid Aminos I used.

Traditional Mongolian Beef is also typically coated in Corn Starch, which we switched out in this recipe for Coconut Flour. You could get by without coating the Beef, but it does come in handy in the pan later to help thicken the sauce a little bit too. We also swapped out the usual canola oil for a keto-friendly and healthier alternative of Chosen Foods Avocado Oil, which also happens to handle the high heat used in the skillet for this dish without smoking or risking any fires.

Aside from that, the rest of the dish pretty much goes together just like the real deal. You could opt to leave all of the sweetener out if you want to, but then it would taste more like a plain beef stir fry I suppose.

Keto Mongolian Beef Recipe

KETO MONGOLIAN BEEF RECIPE

Ease of Preparation: Moderate

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 35 Minutes

Keto Mongolian Beef Recipe Nutrition Facts

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Chop up the Head of Cauliflower into smaller pieces and discard most of the large stem pieces.
  2. Place Cauliflower into a Food Processor and pulse until the cauliflower is roughly the size of grains of rice. Set Aside for now.
  3. Cut Flank Steak into 1/4 thick strips no longer than 2-3 inches in length. Place into Gallon size Storage Bag and add 2 TBSP of Coconut Flour to it and shake around until evenly coated.
  4. In a Large Cast Iron Skillet or Seasoned Wok heat up a couple TBSP of Avocado Oil, and add in the Cauliflower. Cook for approximately 5 minutes on High Heat until well cooked, but not to the point of making it mushy.
  5. Add some more Avocado Oil to the Skillet and add in some of the Beef and sear it on both sides for a few minutes, and then remove from the skillet and set aside. DO NOT cook it all the way through in this step.
  6. Add the remaining Avocado Oil to the Skillet and add in the Minced Ginger and Garlic. Saute for a couple minutes, and then add in the Red Pepper Flakes, Liquid Aminos, Water, and Golden Monkfruit Sweetener and simmer on high until it begins to reduce down.
  7. Add in the Celery and Green Onion Stalks and saute for a minute before adding the Beef back into the skillet.
  8. Stir and cook on high until the beef is cooked to you liking and glazed all around with the reduced sauce. Serve on a plate or bowl on top of the Cauliflower Rice and enjoy!

SPECIAL NOTE: Most of the Carbohydrates and Sugars in this dish come from the Cauliflower. If you would like to reduce the sugars and carbs in the dish you could opt to serve it with a different side dish that the cauliflower used if you want. It is recommended that you do eat vegetables and source many of your daily net carbohydrates from them, but the choice is yours on what to do. Think of this as just a serving suggestion in my book.

Keto Mongolian Beef Recipe

Keto Mongolian Beef Stirfry

Some fans had asked me if I could make a Mongolian Beef Recipe that was not only Keto-friendly, but delicious. This might seem like a tricky task to pull off, but it was actually very easy in the end. There were a few key substitutions that had to be made to alter the traditional recipes found online to make them low carb enough for our enjoyment, yet still sweet and tasty.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 470 kcal

Equipment

  • Wok

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 pounds Flank Steak
  • 1 head Cauliflower
  • 4 stalks Green Onion
  • 2 stalks Celery
  • 3 tbsp Liquid Aminos or Coconut Aminos
  • 3 tbsp Golden Monkfruit Sweetener
  • 2 tbsp Coconut Flour
  • 0.25 cup Avocado Oil
  • 0.25 cup Water
  • 1 tbsp Ginger
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 0.25 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
  • 2 tbsp Sesame Oil Optional

Instructions
 

  • Chop up the Head of Cauliflower into smaller pieces and discard most of the large stem pieces.
  • Place Cauliflower into a Food Processor and pulse until the cauliflower is roughly the size of grains of rice. Set Aside for now.
  • Cut Flank Steak into 1/4 thick strips no longer than 2-3 inches in length. Place into Gallon size Storage Bag and add 2 TBSP of Coconut Flour to it and shake around until evenly coated.
  • In a Large Cast Iron Skillet or Seasoned Wok heat up a couple TBSP of Avocado Oil, and add in the Cauliflower. Cook for approximately 5 minutes on High Heat until well cooked, but not to the point of making it mushy.
  • Add some more Avocado Oil to the Skillet and add in some of the Beef and sear it on both sides for a few minutes, and then remove from the skillet and set aside. DO NOT cook it all the way through in this step.
  • Add the remaining Avocado Oil to the Skillet and add in the Minced Ginger and Garlic. Saute for a couple minutes, and then add in the Red Pepper Flakes, Liquid Aminos, Water, and Golden Monkfruit Sweetener and simmer on high until it begins to reduce down.
  • Add in the Celery and Green Onion Stalks and saute for a minute before adding the Beef back into the skillet.
  • Stir and cook on high until the beef is cooked to you liking and glazed all around with the reduced sauce. If you choose to use the Sesame Oil, add that near the end of the cooking process as a finishing flavor and stir in well while cooking. Serve on a plate or bowl on top of the Cauliflower Rice and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Most of the Carbohydrates and Sugars in this dish come from the Cauliflower. If you would like to reduce the sugars and carbs in the dish you could opt to serve it with a different side dish that the cauliflower used if you want. It is recommended that you do eat vegetables and source many of your daily net carbohydrates from them, but the choice is yours on what to do. Think of this as just a serving suggestion in my book.
Keyword Dinner, Keto, One Pan

Amanda Dawn

HI! I'm Amanda. A trained chef, nutritionist, and writer who is passionate about helping people live a healthy lifestyle. I lost 75 lbs in my journey and I love to help others enjoy great, wholesome food!

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21 Comments

  1. I am leaning how to use the keto diet. Your recipe looks good.

  2. I have reall enjoyed the recipes from you

  3. Is there a way to cut the sodium? Where does it come from, since there is no added salt?

    1. Pickles have a lot of sodium in them, it comes from the brine.

      1. Looks like a great recipe but what pickle brine are you referring to?

        1. The juices that the pickles come packaged in while in the jar.

          1. I don’t see any pickles in this recipe.

          2. Does your Mongolian Beef usually have pickles?

    2. I am laughing about the other comments on this… actually I would say the sodium comes from the liquid aminos … which is like soy sauce and is really salty… sometimes I water mine down… you could also use low sodium soy sauce just adjust the carbs accordingly (if applicable).

  4. Could I use “Just like Sugar – Brown” , or would an erythritol/stevia combo be better?

    I also have some really low carb soy sauce. Would that work better (flavor wise) than the liquid aminos?

    1. If you’re adding brown sugar and low carb soy… then it is FAR from Keto. Might as well find a regular recipe…

      As for the recipe in general, I would cook the cauliflower separately from the beef. Flank steak released a lot of juice and drowned out most of the flavor from the sauce. Cook the flank steak then remove it (like I did) wipe out the pan, then add the sauce, cook it down, then add the steak back.

      1. There is no brown sugar being added here, it is Golden Monkfruit Sweetener, and you can use coconut aminos as a non-soy alternative to soy sauce too.

  5. What’s the best oil to use in place of avocado oil? Olive Oil?

  6. New to the Keto diet…and I was weary about this…BUT IT WAS AMAZING!!! my husband and my kids couldn’t get enough! I didn’t use the cauliflower, but instead just sautéed broccol spears with the same ingridents (sauce) and then added it to the meat at the end! Incredible!

  7. Can you use xanthan gum instead of coconut flour? New to keto eating and learning every day!

    1. I wouldn’t coat the meat in Xanthan Gum personally.

  8. this recipe looked good. so I’m wondering what other recipes are going to be like?

  9. I could not find monkfruit sweetener; however, i DID find a stevia leaf and monk fruit blend. Would this be an acceptable substitute?

    1. Your measurements with that would probably be completely different. I haven’t used that Stevia/Monkfruit blend in particular.

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