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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.
Made this with ground pork and it was sooo delicious! Such a great, quick recipe. Thank you!
Hey Stefanie,
I appreciate you giving this dish a try and sharing your feedback! Love to hear that it was a winner:) x
Made this for the second time. I grew Thai Basil in my garden, just because of this recipe (still have some!). For dietary reasons, I used Cauliflower Tortillas and used Apple Vinegar for the chili sauce. It was just as good as the first time!
Hi Lisa,
Happy Wednesday!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this dish, thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
The recipe is okay. Likely won’t make again.
Hi Penelope,
Sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed. Thanks for making it, please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! xx
Love this recipe, we’ve enjoyed it many times and our kids often request it! Thank you!
Hey Jessa,
That’s fantastic to hear! Thanks for trying this dish and your comment, love that it was enjoyed! xT
Your flour tortillas look nice and crispy in your photo but the recipe says to just soften then in microwave. Can you let me know how you would crisp them up as shown? Thanks!
The perfect busy weeknight dinner! The only thing I change is that I serve it over rice rather than in a wrap. Delicious, quick, easy, feels good in the stomach, and great for meal prepping for lunches over the next few days. Sometimes I’ll skip the cilantro and basil if I’m out or in a hurry to just get dinner on the table, and it’s still delicious. Thanks Tieghan!
Hi! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
Husband and I loved these. I used chicken and crumbled tofu and chopped water chestnut as the base bc I only had a pound of meat. I used the raw tortillas you can buy at Costco. It was salty, so will use a little less soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce next time. I made a side sauce with Thai sweet chili sauce, chopped cilantro, vinegar and sesame oil. Great recipe.
Hi! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
For your homemade Thai chili sauce, are you using the store-bought Thai chili sauce to make it and adding the lime juice, honey, rice vinegar and soy, etc. to offset using more of the store-bought chili sauce and therefore more sugar?
Is there a veggie side you would recommend to go along with this? Trying to round out my dinner plan!
Would be super yummy with a cucumber salad or maybe a side of steamed broccoli/carrots! xT
Second time making this recipe and definitely turned out better this time around! My suggestions would be ground beef works better than ground chicken, and if you use ground chicken maybe add some chicken broth so it doesn’t get too dry as you add in seasonings/sauces.
Also, I used the full amount of sauce/seasonings with just a little over a pound of protein which made it super flavorful!
Lastly, 5 spice is really strong, I only used 1 tsp for my smaller batch of ground beef, you don’t need a full 3 tsp unless you love it!
Thank you Tieghan for such awesome recipes!
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a great day! xT
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I wanted to make them healthier and gluten free so used rice wrapper, brushed with avoado oil and baked them. They crisp up and taste like egg rolls without the gluten! The chinese 5 spice is so good in it!
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! Have a great week! xT
Q: I know that peanuts are central in Thai recipes, but we have a peanut allergy in the house. Think these would work without the nuts?
Hi there! Yes, you can definitely make this without the nuts if you’d like!
We made these last night and they were absolutely spectacular! Another home run, Tieghan – thank you! <3
Sounds like you nailed this recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
Recommendation for heating the tortillas if you don’t have a microwave. Thanks! Sound delish and can’t wait to make it. Have not found a single recipe of yours that we didn’t love!
Hi! I would just heat in a pan on the stove!
What kind of tortillas do you like to use?
I usually make my own! Recipe is on my blog! xT
Oh wow! Delicious. Thank you for this recipe! So quick and easy and the family loved it! Quick question…did you cook the tortilla again after filling?
No I don’t usually cook the tortilla after filling! xT
The family loved the flavor of this!
I amped up the Thai flavor with a couple tablespoons of fish sauce in the sweet chili sauce! We will try it over rice or on French rolls (a la banh mi) next time and add some more veggies like carrot bell pepper and daikon. Excited to play with it!
So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for giving it a try! 🙂 xT