This pepper steak with rice is an easy flat top grill recipe to make on your Blackstone griddle, or even in a skillet on your stovetop. Sliced steak and bell peppers are mixed with a sweet Asian style sauce and served over rice for a filling and flavorful griddle dinner.
This easy dinner brings up memories of my days as a US Navy cook, because this pepper steak recipe is actually very similar to the pepper steak that we would prepare for a hungry crew of about 3,000 sailors and marines. But making this simple dinner for the family on your flat top grill or griddle is definitely easier than that!
What is Pepper Steak?
If you’ve never heard of pepper steak, you may be a little confused… No, it is not just steak with black pepper, though black pepper is one of the spices used in this recipe. Instead, pepper steak refers to thin slices of steak cooked with bell peppers in a sweet Asian-style sauce.
Beef pepper steak is considered a Chinese-American dish, and you can often find it on Chinese take-out menus, but it’s super easy to make at home with just a few basic ingredients.
Ingredients for Pepper Steak with Rice
- steak – We used chuck eye steaks to keep this dinner on the cheaper side, but ribeye or sirloin would work also.
- bell peppers – We used a combination of red, green, and yellow bell peppers for a bit of color.
- onion
- black pepper
- rice – Or substitute cauliflower rice like we did for a lower carb dinner.
- soy sauce
- brown sugar
- tomato paste
- minced garlic
How to Make Pepper Steak on the Blackstone Griddle
This Blackstone griddle dinner idea is super easy to make and it comes together in just a few minutes. Once your vegetables and steak are sliced, you really just have to cook those items and make the sauce.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Make the sauce for the pepper steak and a cornstarch and water slurry.
Start by making the pepper steak sauce. Just combine soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, and tomato paste in a small bowl and mix well. Then, set the sauce to the side for later.
In a separate small bowl, add about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. A slurry is a thickening agent that is often added to hot soups, sauces, or other liquids to thicken them. The perfect slurry is more about feel than measurements. When the water and cornstarch are combined in the bowl, you should feel the mixture slightly “pull” on your spoon as you scrape it across the bottom of the bowl. The slurry should still appear to be very liquid, but you’ll notice that it will coat the spoon.
Set the slurry to the side. You’ll want to mix it again later right before you add it to the cooked steak, vegetables, and sauce.
Step 2: Saute bell peppers and onions on the griddle until about halfway tender.
Next, add the sliced peppers and onions to the preheated griddle, because they take the longest to cook. Don’t worry about seasoning the vegetables at this point, because the pepper steak sauce has a lot of flavor and you’ll pepper the beef as well.
Step 3: Prep your steak.
First, cut your choice of beef steak into strips against the grain. Then, sprinkle on a moderate amount of black pepper. You don’t want to go too crazy with the pepper, but you also want it to stand up to the Asian style sauce. You can watch my YouTube video for pepper steak on the Blackstone griddle to see exactly how much pepper I added to the beef.
Step 4: Add the cut steak to the griddle.
When the bell peppers and onions are almost done cooking, it’s time to add your peppered steak to the griddle. Move the vegetables to the side of the griddle (which should be your cooler zone) to allow the steak to sear on the hottest part of the griddle.
Then, place each piece of meat so that it has its own spot on the griddle so that it can get a good sear. Once you add the steak to the flat top, let it cook untouched for about 2 minutes before you start to toss it together… similar to browning a roast in a skillet.
Here’s what my Blackstone griddle looked like at this stage:
Step 4: Combine cooked steak, peppers, and sauce to make the beef pepper steak.
When the steak is almost cooked through, go ahead and toss the meat together and add the bell peppers and onions. Saute the vegetables and steak for a minute or two. Then, add the pepper steak sauce that you made earlier. Stir the meat, vegetables, and sauce to make your pepper steak.
Then, add the slurry that you made earlier, one tablespoon at a time. You’ll notice the pepper steak sauce start to thicken almost immediately. Stir everything well. If you feel that your sauce is too thin, you can add more of the slurry. If you want a thinner sauce, you can add some water.
Cook the pepper steak for a few minutes and then it’s time to serve! Add white rice or cauliflower rice to a bowl and top with the pepper steak mixture. Enjoy!
And if you want to try some other Asian-inspired dishes for your flat top grill, check out these griddle recipes:
- Egg Roll in a Bowl – Easy Low Carb Blackstone Griddle Recipe
- Ground Chicken Lettuce Wraps on the Blackstone Griddle
- Hawaiian Beef Teriyaki on the Griddle (Authentic and Easy!)
Pepper Steak Recipe for the Griddle
Want to try this easy Chinese beef pepper steak recipe on your Blackstone griddle or other flat top grill? Just print out the recipe card below:
Beef Pepper Steak with Bell Peppers and Onions
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound beef steak – like flank steak sirloin, or chuck eye steak, cut into strips
- 1 1/2 bell peppers cut into strips – We used 1/2 each of a red, green, and yellow pepper
- 1/4 sweet onion cut into strips
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat griddle on low.
- While griddle is heating up, make the pepper steak sauce by combining soy sauce, minced garlic, brown sugar, and tomato paste in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. The slurry should be pretty runny yet still coat the back of a spoon. If needed, add more water or cornstarch. Mix the slurry well and set to the side.
- Begin cooking sliced bell peppers and onions on one side of the griddle.
- Season the cut steak with a moderate amount of black pepper.
- Add the cut steak to the hottest side of the griddle, taking care to not crowd the meat. Give each steak piece its own spot on the griddle to be able to develop a nice sear. Allow the meat to cook for about 2 minutes untouched, then begin to toss it together.
- Add the cooked peppers and onions to the steak on the griddle and stir to combine. Then pour the pepper steak sauce on top of the beef and vegetables. Stir to combine the sauce, steak, bell peppers, and onions.
- Add the slurry to the pepper steak, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir to combine. You should notice the sauce start to thicken almost immediately. For a thicker sauce, add more of the slurry. To thin out the sauce if needed, add some water.
- Cook the pepper steak an additional 2-3 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Then remove from the griddle.
- Serve over cooked white rice or cauliflower rice.
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Comments & Reviews
Dave Haddock says
We cooked this tonight with a few alterations; used coconut aminos as my wife’s allergic to soy and I adjusted the brown sugar since that’s much sweeter to begin with. It was so good! The tomato paste in a tube was also a great tip; I didn’t even know they sold it like that. Your channel is awesome; inspired me to get my first Blackstone a few months back! You and your wife do a fabulous job!