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These colorful 20 Minute Thai Basil Beef Rolls are full of Thai-inspired flavor and made so simply. The beef (or use chicken or pork) is cooked in a spicy chili sauce until caramelized around the edges, then rolled up in tortillas with fresh cucumbers, cilantro, and Thai basil. Serve with extra soy sauce, chili paste, and toasted sesame oil. Each roll is spicy, sweet, tangy, and salty. Enjoy as an appetizer or serve alongside steamed rice for a quick dinner.
My brother Malachi’s girlfriend, Caitlyn, lives in LA. She’s been telling me about beef rolls she’ll sometimes get when she out to dinner. She’s been on me to make a spicy, sweet, salty roll with Thai-inspired flavors for weeks. I was so hesitant at first because a beef roll didn’t sound all that appealing.
But then I actually put some thought into it. I did some research on how beef rolls are made and decided I could make super quick beef rolls at home with delicious flavors. Most classic beef rolls are made using a homemade wrap and thinly sliced marinated beef. They often use a spice used in Vietnamese and Hawaiian cooking, called Chinese 5 Spice. It’s a blend of cinnamon, black pepper, star anise, cloves, and fennel.
Of course, all rolls are made differently, but the process is a bit lengthy. So I took some inspiration from the beef rolls Cait has been telling me about and created my own simplified version. And I love the way they turned out!
Since I like to serve these rolls as a dinner, the first thing I make is a big pot of rice. It actually takes longer to cook the rice than the rolls. It’s totally up to you, whether to add rice, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Especially since I know many of you need fast dinner options.
The details
I like to cook the rice in coconut milk for a creamy, coconut flavor. Simply let the rice steam while you prepare the beef rolls.
For the beef, I used ground beef, garlic, and ginger cooked together with Chinese 5 Spice, Thai chili sauce, and green onions. You can easily use whatever you enjoy here, chicken or pork would both be great.
If you’re having trouble finding Thai basil, traditional Italian basil works in a pinch! Or just use extra cilantro or even an additional green onion.
Since most store-bought chili sauce is full of sugar, I like to make my own chili sauce. I use a mix of honey, chili paste, a touch of ketchup, and then some garlic, ginger, and lime!! It’s really easy to mix up if you’re looking for a healthier sauce option.
Then just put everything together. Layer your warm tortillas with the hot beef, cucumber, cilantro, basil, green onions, and peanuts. Then, tuck and roll the rolls up nice and snug.
I serve these warm, with extra Tamari, chili paste, and toasted sesame oil. Plus, green onions too.
These wraps come together so quickly and have so much flavor, which you know we love! And I really appreciate all the fresh colors – the best kind of recipe!
Looking for other quick weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites:
Chili Crisp Chicken Mango Cucumber Rice Bowl
30 Minute Caramelized Shallot Beef Ramen Noodles
Healthier Homemade One Pot Hamburger Helper
Coconut Popcorn Chicken with Sweet Thai Chili Lime Sauce
30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs with Sesame Noodles
Better Than Takeout Sweet Thai Basil Chicken
Spicy Chipotle Honey Salmon Bowls
Thai Basil Beef and Lemongrass Rice Bowls
Lastly, if you make these 20 Minute Thai Basil Beef Rolls, 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!
20 Minute Thai Basil Beef Rolls
Servings: 8 rolls
Calories Per Serving: 392 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (or chicken or pork)
- black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger ( or 1/4 cup candied ginger)
- 1-3 teaspoons Chinese 5 spice
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Thai chili sauce (homemade in notes)
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
- 4 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 2 cups cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup Thai basil, chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts
- 8-10 flour tortillas, warmed
- chili paste, for serving
- toasted sesame oil, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a large skillet, cook the beef with black pepper over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and Chinese 5 spice, cook another minute. Add the tamari and sweet Thai chili sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the sauce coats the beef, 3-5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped green onions. remove from the heat. 2. Place one tortilla at a time in the microwave for 15 seconds. Spoon the beef down the center, then top with cucumber, cilantro, basil, green onion, and peanuts. Fold the tortilla over the filling. Then fold the sides and ends of the tortillas over the filling and roll forward. Repeat with remaining ingredients.3. Serve warm with extra soy, chili paste, and toasted sesame oil for dipping. To make this a dinner, serve with rice on the side.
Notes
Homemade Sweet Thai Chili Sauce: Mix 1/3 cup honey, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1-2 tablespoons chili sauce, 2 teaspoons lime zest, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, and 1 clove grated garlic in a glass jar. Shake or stir well. Use as directed.
Simple and delicious! This recipe is a keeper.
Hey Julie,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it:)
REALLY GOOD! I substituted carrots for cucumbers as suggested below, made the wonderful sweet chili sauce and wrapped them in your homemade tortilla recipe – A++++. Thank you ~ again!
Thanks so much Steph!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
Delicious, quick, easy! Really really love the veggie crunch in there!
Hey Monica,
Fantastic!! 🌴🍌 I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it turned out well for you! xT
These are so quick, easy, and DELICIOUS! A big hit with the family (even though they aren’t real fans of spicy food! I’d call that a win.)
How many did it make?
Hey Ashton,
Fantastic!! 🌴🍌 I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it turned out well for you! xT
These look great! Do you think I could prep the meat mixture and keep warm in a crock pot until serving? Busy youth sports nights call for things to be pretty much ready when we walk in the door.
😉 Thank you!
Hey Emily,
Totally, I think that’s a great idea! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it’s delish! xT
These look amazing! What happened to the shop the recipe feature? I am so bummed that is now gone or am I missing it? It was such a game changer to be able to add all the recipe ingredients to the target cart with one click. Please consider reinstalling the shop the recipe feature 🙂
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks so much!! We still have the feature, maybe we were experiencing a glitch when you tried with this recipe? Give it another go and let me know if you are still having issues! I hope you love this recipe! xT
EPIC. This was sooooo good Tieghan!! Definitely adding this to our regular rotation. It was a huge hit! I know you linked some mission tortillas, but yours looked different and are so big!! Where did you get them?
Hey Cary,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a hit! I made mine homemade:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/homemade-flour-tortillas/
Let me know if you have any other questions! xT
We had this for dinner last night and it was a hit! The only change I might make would be to drain the fat off of the meat before adding the five spice powder. We used lean and not extra lean ground beef, so it was a touch oily, but otherwise we’ll definitely be having this again!
Thanks so much Kellie!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying it! xT
I made these with pork and what I had on hand. Result, the best marinaded pork street tacos I have yet accomplished at home! TNX!
Hey Rick,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it:) xT
Absolutely delicious and easy to follow recipe! I also made the thai chili paste per your instructions and it was EXCELLENT!!! So much healthier than the store bought stuff loaded with sugar. Thank you for this delicious recipe… I made this with ground turkey because that is what I had, would have preferred beef but it was still good.
Hey Rachel,
Wonderful!!😃 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad it was a winner! xx
I used chicken instead of beef – the flavors are definitely suited to beef but my husband and I both loved the chicken version too. I do think it takes longer than 20 min unless you’ve got everything prepped, the chopping takes some time. Recommend the home-made Thai chili sauce. I wanted to make my own tortillas but ran out of time. Store bought worked well though. Will definitely make these again.
Hey Anna,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well! xT
Really delicious! I took the time to make the homemade chili sauce and the tortillas. Worth it! If I used store bought tortillas and sauce I think I possibly could have even had this one together in 20 minutes compared to some of your other 20 minute recipes I have found aren’t possible to do in 20 minutes unless you have all the ingredients prepped ahead of time. Would have been good served over rice too!
Hey Kara,
Happy Monday!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
So easy, so delicious. Longest part was of the process was prepping the ingredients but I find it soothing. Next time I’ll make my own tortillas for sure. Or maybe make this into a bowl and skip the tortilla all together and put all the stuff over rice. As always thanks for the home run recipe!
Thanks so much Michelle! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you:) Happy Monday! xT
I made this tonight…..super good! I used pork and loved it! I like mine spicy as well. Also made another version with tofu for my daughter she loved it also. I adjusted the ingredients for hers.
Hey Michelle,
Happy Monday!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
Excellent easy fast meal next day we made turkey burgers followed this recipe used a lettuce wrap and added chopped veggies then Thai sauce over loved it this way as well
Hey France,
Awesome!! What a fun way to follow this recipe, so glad to hear that the flavors were enjoyed! Happy Monday! xx