Gluten Free Mongolian Beef

This gluten free ground Mongolian beef is an easy to make dinner recipe that is on the table in just about 30 minutes! It’s packed with flavor and made with simple, pantry staple ingredients.

30 minute dinners are my favorite kind of dinner! Especially when they also require just a few pantry staple ingredients. Like my honey sriracha salmon bowls!

This gluten free Mongolian ground beef is such an easy and flavor packed recipe that your whole family will love. So good with my spicy Asian cucumber salad on the side.

Mongolian beef is stir-fried on a griddle and has a thick brown sauce with a savory, subtly sweet taste. On the other hand, Szechuan Beef has a sweet and spicy flavor with chili peppers and peppercorns. If you love this recipe, try my Korean gochujang beef noodles, or my ground beef taco bowls next!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Easy to make
• Packed with flavor
• Gluten free
• Meal prep friendly

Key ingredients

Ground beef. I like using organic grass fed beef here, sometimes I use 93% lean, sometimes 85%, just whatever you have on hand or can find in the store!

Tamari. If you aren’t familiar, tamari is just gluten free soy sauce. I don’t know why they add wheat to soy sauce, but it’s one of those sneaky, not gluten free items! Be sure to use low sodium here or it will end up being way too salty.

Pineapple juice. This adds such a great flavor to the dish and sweetens it up a bit without adding too much extra sugar. If you don’t have any, you can swap for chicken broth or some kind of broth or just use water!

Sugar/honey. A mix of brown sugar and honey will add some sweetness and balance the flavors from the tamari. You need two tablespoons of each, but you can also just use all of one or the other if you prefer.

Onion/garlic/ginger. Fresh garlic and ginger and some green onion will add a lot of flavor to this dish. We’ll saute them before adding the beef.

Tapioca starch. Tapioca will help thicken the sauce so it’s not soup! You can sub for cornstarch or arrowroot if that’s what you have.

How to make Mongolian ground beef

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add in the garlic, ginger and green onion. Saute for about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the ground beef and saute until cooked through. Meanwhile, whisk up all other ingredients in a bowl until no chunks of tapioca starch remain.

Once the beef is cooked through, stir in the sauce.

Let simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened. This should take about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust flavors as desired. If you want more spice, you can add more red pepper flakes.

Garnish with sesame seeds, diced green onion and red pepper flakes. Serve with rice or cauliflower rice and enjoy! Try my ground beef tacos or gluten free beef and broccoli next!

Serving suggestions

I am a big rice girl (peep my instant pot jasmine rice), so I like to serve this gluten free Mongolian ground beef with fresh white rice and some steamed or pan fried broccoli, green beans or some other crispy green veggie!

If you’re looking for a lower carb option, you can sub rice for cauliflower rice, enjoy as is, or make lettuce cups with some butter or romaine lettuce.

Sliced vs. ground beef

Many Mongolian beef recipes call for flank steak that is cut thinly. I love flank steak, but I also love the ease and convenience of using ground beef. You can very easily swap the ground beef for 1 pound of flank steak, cut that thinly, coat in a bit of cornstarch, then cook in a hot and greased pan for about 2-3 minutes or until browned.

Ground beef should be cooked through, but the flank steak does not need to be. It will also continue cooking in the sauce, so a bit of pink on the inside is ok, and usually preferred!

More easy dinner recipes you will love!

• Gluten Free Orange Chicken
• Air Fryer Salmon
• Gluten Free Beef Chili
• Spicy Ramen Noodles
• Beef Teriyaki Bowls

If you try this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out! Be sure to follow me on instagram and subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes.