Crispy Chilli Beef
Here’s our slimming friendly version of Crispy Chilli Beef! A delicious fakeaway even if you are calorie counting or following a diet like Weight Watchers.
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories279
- Carbs19g
- Protein32g
- Fat7.2g
- Saturates2.6g
- Sugars10g
Your dishes
You’re amazing, look at the Crispy Chilli Beef dishes you’ve made…
For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!
You may ask yourself why did we come up with this Crispy Chilli Beef recipe when there are so many out there already? So let us explain. Since we started this website, we’ve been very aware of some recipes you find online not turning out as the pictures suggest. It’s a real pet peeve of ours!
We all know what it’s like. You find a recipe that looks amazing, off you pop to the supermarket to spend a small fortune on the ingredients. You gear yourself up thinking this is the recipe that will finally get you on Masterchef, then, disaster.
What you have bubbling away on your stove looks nothing like the mouth watering picture of the meal you’d set your heart on. And even worse, it tastes nothing like you expected.
So it ends up in the bin.
This is exactly the problem that a number of members on our Facebook page faced a few weeks ago with a Crispy Chilli Beef recipe. If you’re a regular Facebook user you’ll know that you see a lot of ‘recipes’ pop up in certain groups and on your timeline.
Some of them are pretty good, but sadly most of them are just spam, which will direct you to a website full of recipes that haven’t been tried or tested, and stock photos that have been passed off as the homemade version of the recipe.
The result is you waste an awful lot of time and money trying to achieve the impossible.
When you look at this recipe you may be put off slightly by the number of ingredients. Yes there are quite a few, but it’s well worth it, and we can guarantee this one tastes just as good as it looks!
What diets is this Crispy Chilli Beef recipe suitable for?
You can enjoy this Crispy Chilli Beef if you’re dairy free.
Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.
Do you need any special ingredients to make Crispy Chilli Beef?
You will need some granulated sweetener. This is the type with the same consistency as sugar rather than the powdered type, which can leave a bitter/chemical aftertaste.
If you chose to use a powdered sweetener, then please check how it compares to sugar. In some cases you’ll need to use less, as powdered sweeteners weigh less. The type of sweetener we use has the same weight and sweetness as sugar so you can substitute for the real stuff if you wish.
We use Franks Red Hot Wings sauce in this recipe which is available in many supermarkets. However, you could always substitute for another hot sauce like Tabasco or Sriracha if that’s all you have.
Hints & Tips
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‘Love this with salt & pepper chips and chip shop curry sauce. So easy, so quick and it’s just the same but so much better for us! We love this!’
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There are lots of high quality granulated sweeteners available from the supermarket, such as Canderel Sugarly, and Natvia.
We LOVE using our wok for dishes like these. It’s great for so many Asian dishes and when you need to cook something quickly and evenly!
How many calories are in this Crispy Chilli Beef?
There are 279 calories in each portion of this Crispy Chilli Beef. This means it falls into our Special Occasion recipe category, you can find all of our other Weekly Indulgence recipes here.
This Crispy Chilli Beef recipe fits in perfectly if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and works well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 190-200°C.
Step 2
Season the strips of beef, then dip each one into the beaten egg, then quickly drag it through the flour to give a light coating.
Step 3
Place each piece of coated beef on a baking tray sprayed with a fair bit of low calorie cooking spray, then give the strips a spray too. You could even put it on a piece of baking parchment to ensure it doesn’t stick.
Step 4
Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the beef is crispy. You can turn it over towards the end if needed.
Step 5
While the beef is cooking, spray a wok with some low calorie cooking spray. Then over a medium/hot heat fry the peppers, carrots, onion, spring onion, chilli flakes, garlic and ginger.
Step 6
Cook for 5 minutes, then add the lime juice, granulated sweetener, soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey.
Step 7
Stir, then add a couple of drops of Franks sauce and the 100ml of beef stock.
Step 8
Allow to cook for a minute and then add the cooked beef strips.
Step 9
Stir well and serve with your choice of accompaniment.
What should you serve with Crispy Chilli Beef?
Whatever accompaniment you choose, don’t forget to account for the extra calories and/or other nutritional values.
How do you know when Crispy Chilli Beef is cooked?
The beef is cooked when it is crispy on the outside. This should take approx 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 190-200°C.
Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.
There are 2 things to note with this recipe is this. First, traditionally Crispy Beef is cooked in a wok with a load of oil. That’s what gives the meat that crispy texture. However, this isn’t very slimming friendly, so we bake the beef strips in the oven instead.
Whilst this does make the meat crispy, it will never be ‘quite’ as crispy as the traditional method. But if you leave it until the last minute to add it to the sauce then it will retain it’s crispiness for a bit longer.
So the secret is don’t leave the meat in the sauce for too long.
Secondly, if you prefer a bit more sauce you can add a little extra stock, soy sauce and rice vinegar.
How long can you keep Crispy Chilli Beef in the fridge?
Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours.
If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Crispy Chilli Beef in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.
However, if leftovers are stored in the sauce, the beef will lose its crispy coating. We would advise setting any extra beef aside and storing separately to the sauce to prevent this.
Can I freeze Crispy Chilli Beef?
We don’t advise freezing Crispy Chilli Beef as the crispy coating will end up soggy!
How do I reheat Crispy Chilli Beef?
If you’ve stored the beef and sauce separately you can reheat the beef for around 10 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 190-200°C. Make sure it’s piping hot before serving.
Place the sauce in a microwave proof container with loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.
That being said, this dish is by far best when cooked fresh!
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Crispy Chilli Beef
Here’s our slimming friendly version of Crispy Chilli Beef! A delicious fakeaway even if you are calorie counting or following a diet like Weight Watchers.
-
Prep Time
10 MINS
-
Cook Time
25 MINS
- KCals 279
- Carbs 19G
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190-200°C.
- Season the strips of beef, then dip each one into the beaten egg, then quickly drag it through the flour to give a light coating.
- Place each piece of coated beef on a baking tray sprayed with a fair bit of low calorie cooking spray, then give the strips a spray too. You could even put it on a piece of baking parchment to ensure it doesn't stick.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the beef is crispy. You can turn it over towards the end if needed.
- While the beef is cooking, spray a wok with some low calorie cooking spray. Then over a medium/hot heat, fry the peppers, carrots, onion, spring onion, chilli flakes, garlic and ginger.
- Cook for 5 minutes, then add the lime juice, granulated sweetener, soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey.
- Stir, then add a couple of drops of Franks sauce and the 100ml of beef stock.
- Allow to cook for a minute and then add the cooked beef strips.
- Stir well and serve with your choice of accompaniment.
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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218 comments
See what others have to say
HeatherThursday 18th March 2021
One of my family is allergic to egg what can I use instead to dip the beef into ?
HollyMonday 22nd March 2021
Hi Heather, We haven’t tried it but you could try almond milk or coconut milk to dip the beef strips, hope that helps!
MicheleMonday 1st March 2021
Can I substitute the fresh ginger for ground ginger? If so how much should I use please.
Thanks
HollyMonday 1st March 2021
Hi Michele, I would suggest swapping the 1.5cm piece of fresh ginger for 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger taste the sauce and add more if you feel it needs it, hope that helps!
ChaThursday 25th February 2021
Hi my other half doesnt like honey could you use without or anything else? Thankyou
HollyFriday 26th February 2021
Hey, taste the sauce for the Crispy Chilli Beef once cooked and if you think it needs more you could add an extra pinch of sweetener, hope that helps!
Charlotte PowerWednesday 17th February 2021
I cant seem to get the coating on the beef crispy… it just stays soft is that normal? Otherwise its a hit every time
HollyThursday 18th February 2021
Hey Charlotte, Always make sure that the beef is lightly coated with the egg and flour and that the oven is hot before the beef strips are placed in there.Everybody’s ovens can be slightly different, it might take slightly longer or a slightly higher temperature to crisp them up. Hope that helps!
DonnaSunday 14th February 2021
Please could you help. Could this be made with chicken instead of beef please? Thank you
HollyMonday 15th February 2021
Hi Donna, we haven’t tried this recipe with chicken but it should work okay just make sure to check that the chicken is cooked through and that no pinkness remains. Hope that helps!
Anne NicholasSaturday 13th February 2021
Made this for a Saturday treat – not sure where I went wrong but it was SO salty – will try again but with less Oxo and less soy sauce ….
HollyMonday 15th February 2021
Hey Anne, if the Crispy Chilli Beef is too salty for your taste you could try using reduced sodium soy sauce or like you have suggested use less, hope that helps!
Chloe SpatchettTuesday 19th January 2021
Does anyone know which one of the books this comes from? I’m a sucker for proper books! I have skimmed through one and two but can’t seem to find it? Is this my excuse for purchasing no.3?
HollyTuesday 19th January 2021
Hey Chloe, this recipe can be found in our Quick & Easy cookbook, which you can buy or find out more information about HERE
Alicia HannahWednesday 6th January 2021
Absolutely delicious!!! I added a little more honey to the recipe & used fresh red chilli aswell as flakes! So impressed & will definitely be making again!
SharonThursday 7th January 2021
Hi Alicia, thanks for your lovely comment, it’s good to hear! So glad you’ll be making this again.
DaisySaturday 2nd January 2021
Hi, when I scan this into my fitness pal the calories are almost half of whats on this site. Does it include the rice on here? which calories are best to go by
HollyMonday 4th January 2021
Hi Daisy, the nutritional information for Crispy Chilli Beef doesn’t include an accompaniment this is so you can serve it with anything you fancy! Hope that helps!
Vicki WildWednesday 30th December 2020
Hi,
I made this for tea tonight and it was yummy! The kids even ate it too 😊
When I calculated my weight watchers points I worked this recipe out at 11 points per serving (plus rice) on the green plan.
I think on your website said it was only 5 points?
Please help!
Thank you, Vic x
HollySaturday 2nd January 2021
Hey Vicki, just had a double check and the WW points are correct on the recipe page. The nutritional information does not include accompaniments as we leave this up to you to serve with what you fancy! Have a look HERE at our guide on how we work out all nutritional information for our recipes. Hope that helps!
ClaireSunday 13th December 2020
This may be a silly question but could i ask what would a serving looking like. Im a bit of a beginner when it comes to portion sizes.
HollyMonday 14th December 2020
Hi Claire, the Crispy Chilli Beef recipe on our website serves 4 so the finished recipe is split equally into 4. If you scroll down to the recipe card there is also a tool to alter the servings of the recipe up or down to serve more or less people. Hope that helps!
EmilySaturday 14th November 2020
This was delicious, it satisfied my Chinese craving.
I did add more chilli and reduced the sauce for a bit longer to make it more sticky but another fab recipe thank you x
HollyMonday 16th November 2020
Hi Emily, glad you enjoyed the Crispy Chilli Beef!
Claire RussellTuesday 10th November 2020
Just made this and it was del7cious, beef was crispy and tender, can’t wait to make it again
SharonThursday 12th November 2020
Hi Claire,
We’re so glad you thought this recipe was delicious, thanks for letting us know!
Louise HughesSaturday 24th October 2020
Just made this and it was so salty, never add salt due to hubby’s heart. Unsure if it was the dark soy sauce? Maybe next time I use light? Any hints/tips would be great xx
HollyMonday 26th October 2020
Hi Louise, if it wasn’t to your taste you could definitely reduce the soy sauce down or use try a reduced salt soy sauce? Hope that helps!
MandySunday 10th January 2021
Light soya sauce is more salty than dark one
HollyMonday 11th January 2021
Hi Mandy, thanks for your help and suggestions!
LjsSunday 27th September 2020
I’ve typed in the nutritional info for this on my WW app and it says it’s 11 not 5 points?
HollyTuesday 29th September 2020
Hey Ljs, I’ve just double checked this recipe and the points are correct on the page. Have a look at our handy guide for how we work out all the nutritional information and points for our recipes: https://pinchofnom.com/how-to-work-out-calories-and-points-in-a-recipe/
KateFriday 21st August 2020
I forgot rice vinegar, is there an alternative?
HollyWednesday 26th August 2020
Hi Kate, the best substitute for rice vinegar is apple cider vinegar. Hope that helps!
Mary JonesWednesday 29th July 2020
What can I use instead of granulated sweetener I forgot to buy some ?
HollyThursday 30th July 2020
Hi Mary, you can substitute for sugar and alter the calories accordingly. Hope that helps!
Diane grogginsFriday 24th July 2020
Can you use an air fryer instead of a oven to cook the beef
HollyFriday 28th August 2020
Hi Diane, we haven’t tried cooking the beef in an air fryer but I’m sure it would work okay! Just follow your manufacturers instructions and as the recipe states add the beef to the sauce in step 8. Let us know how you get on!
SylviaSunday 5th July 2020
Can you substitute with chicken?
Steve CowderoyMonday 6th July 2020
Hi Sylvia, although we haven’t tried it ourselves, you should be able to use chicken instead of beef in this recipe. I would recommend using a chicken stock cube instead of the beef one. Hope this helps and let us know how you get on.
JonnyWednesday 24th June 2020
Honis plain flour ok to use rather than self raising .?
Holly LevellThursday 25th June 2020
Hi Jonny, yes plain flour is fine as a substitute as its just a light coating on the beef. Hope that helps!
Elaine McInallyThursday 18th June 2020
Can you make this recipe with chicken and if so would you substitute the oxo with a chicken cube
Steve CowderoyThursday 18th June 2020
Hi Elaine, yes although we haven’t tried it ourselves it should be fine with chicken, I would as you suggested change the oxo for a chicken one. Thanks for getting in touch with us and let us know how you get on.
EmmaWednesday 17th June 2020
Could beef mince be used in place of the beef strips?
SharonThursday 18th June 2020
Hi Emma, minced beef is not suitable for this recipe as moisture would seep out when cooked, and there would be no crispy coating at all. Hope this helps.
IzzyWednesday 10th June 2020
Could you just coat the beef in cornflour for the crispy chilli beef? I have an egg allergy
LisaWednesday 10th June 2020
Hi Izzy. Yes, that should be fine!
EilidhMonday 8th June 2020
Could I use my airfryer to make this?
SharonMonday 8th June 2020
Hi Eilidh, we haven’t tried this ourselves, but it should be fine to cook the crispy beef strips in an Actifry. Let us know how it goes.Thanks for getting in touch.
Laura FlySunday 7th June 2020
Hi, i love this recipe and make it quite often. But has the recipe changed slightly? I cant remember adding the oxo cube and honey in last time? Or am i imagining it? Thank you 🙂 love PON!
Steve CowderoyMonday 8th June 2020
Hi Laura, thanks for getting in touch with us, no its the same recipe, so glad you like it.
Danielle BarnardMonday 1st June 2020
Hi, is this 410 kcal for two or for one serving ? As iv put it into my fitness pal and it’s saying 200 kcal for one serving
Holly LevellTuesday 2nd June 2020
Hi Danielle, the calories are for one portion of the Crispy Chilli Beef if you have a look at this article it tells you how we work out the nutritional information for our recipes https://pinchofnom.com/how-to-work-out-calories-and-points-in-a-recipe/
Laura ProsserSaturday 25th April 2020
Don’t have any rice vinegar but what can I use instead or will I have to get some x
LisaWednesday 6th May 2020
Hi, Laura. You can use white wine or cider vinegar instead.
StephTuesday 21st April 2020
Because of lockdown we couldn’t get flour so we used a coconut flour, so this may be the reason as our beef didn’t stay crispy and when served with the sauce had a very powdery/ bitty consistency 🙁
LisaThursday 7th May 2020
Hi Steph. Sorry your recipe didn’t turn out as you expected. Coconut flour is a great alternative for baking, but it does behave differently to traditional flour, so wouldn’t really be suitable for this recipe. Cornflour would be a great alternative. Hope this helps.
SophieTuesday 14th April 2020
Do you have to use self raising flour?
HollyWednesday 6th May 2020
Hi Sophie, plain flour would work too!
Jade BromageMonday 30th March 2020
Wow….. ? this totally substitutes having a takeaway. So easy to prep and make, not everyone in the house likes it hot so I skipped out the hot sauce on this occasion but it tasted amazing. Enjoy!
Sharon FitzpatrickWednesday 6th May 2020
Hi Jade, so pleased to hear this, thankyou!
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