Everyone’s favorite Pepper Steak, cooked little differently – Jamaican style!
Instead of flash cooking the meat, like a Chinese pepper steak, cook the meat low and slow until it melts in your mouth.
This Jamaican style pepper steak ends up with tender strips of beef in a tasty, savory sauce, with colorful bell peppers cooked to sweet perfection.

I have been cooking this dish for years, and it’s about time I present it to my readers. You will absolutely love this beef dish, which is not the usual stir fry pepper steak.
The meat is braised in a soy-tomato-beef broth sauce for almost an hour. This creates the tasty morsels that are incredibly tender, with one amazing tangy savory sauce.
What is Pepper Steak?
Pepper steak originated in China, but is a popular stir-fried Chinese-American dish. It has thinly sliced steak pieces that are stir-fried to a beautiful, juicy texture. The meat is cooked with a savory sauce along, with red and green bell peppers.
Most of the times, the beef that is used is meant for flash cooking, like flank steak or rib eye.
Contrary to that, sirloin or top round cuts are traditionally used for Jamaican pepper steak, and these cuts need more cooking and simmering than prime cut.
Usually, the beef takes 30-40 minutes to cook until it is tender. Beef strips are cooked along with onion and garlic (sometimes ginger too) in a beef broth + tomato + soy + hot sauce mixture that yields a tasty, savory stewed dish.
Ingredients for Jamaican Pepper Steak
- Steak – We are using sirloin steak cut into strips, which is considered one of the best steaks for making this dish. You can also use flank steak or round steak.
- Veggies – Onions, bell peppers (the more colors, the prettier it will look).
- Aromatics and seasonings – Garlic, soy sauce, beef broth, hot sauce, salt, pepper, sugar.
- Diced or crushed tomatoes
- Oil
How to Make Pepper Steak, Jamaican style
Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the meat, along with some of the garlic, in two batches. Plate it out.
In the same pan, sauté the onion for couple of minutes. Add in the rest of the garlic and give it a stir.
Add in beef broth, soy sauce, sugar, and hot sauce. Stir to deglaze the pan, then add browned beef along with tomatoes.
Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for one hour, or until beef is tender. Stir the mixture every now and then. If the sauce is getting too dry, you can add in 1/2 cup of water.
Add in bell peppers and cook for 8- 10 minutes, or until they are to your desired tenderness.
TIP: If you want a thicker sauce, stir 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and mix until smooth. Slowly stir this cornstarch mixture into meat and vegetable mixture until the sauce is your desired thickness.
Serve immediately over rice or noodles.
Variations
There are many versions of this popular dish all over island, from one chef to other.
Ingredients such as thyme, ginger, scotch bonnet pepper, and scallions often find their way into this dish. Try adding any of them to the mix, to get a little different flavor.
Storing the leftovers
This dish lasts beautifully up to 4-5 days in the refrigerator, stored in an air tight container. So go ahead and make a big batch, if you are looking for a meal prep idea for the week.
Similarly, it can be frozen up to a couple of months in the freezer. Simply thaw overnight, then reheat it either on stove top or in the microwave.
Give these island flavors a try the next time you’re wondering what to cook with that sirloin you have in the freezer. Sure, it takes little more time than the conventional stir fry pepper steak, but the outcome is totally different in terms of flavors and textures.
Let’s us know if you like this new spin on your regular pepper steak.
Personally, we are craving some beef. We have been in India for almost one and a half months with no access to beef, as India is predominantly a non beef eating county. So we know this is one of the dishes we will be cooking very soon.
By the way, lots of India stuff, and posts on India, coming in the near future. Stay tuned, and take care…
Jamaican Pepper Steak, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!
Try these other great Caribbean inspired dishes!
Caribbean Coconut Mussels
Trini Curry Chicken
Jamaican Curry Chicken
Bahamian Boiled Fish
Rasta Pasta
Carne Guisada
Jerk Marinade
Jamaican Style Pepper Steak
This Jamaican Pepper Steak is a spin off of the popular Chinese dish, this time featuring tender beef and peppers braised in a flavorful and tangy sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1.5 lbs beef sirloin, cut into thin strips
- 1 large onion, cut into rings or slices
- 3 bell peppers (multicolored), seeds removed, cut into strips
- 4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1.5 cup beef broth
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 15oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 to 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Season beef with salt and pepper, and about half of the garlic.
- Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Brown the meat in 2 batches, then plate it out.
- In the same pan, sauté onion for couple of minutes. Add in the rest of the garlic and stir for a minute.
- Add in beef broth, soy sauce, sugar and hot sauce, then stir to deglaze the pan.
- Add browned beef along with tomatoes. Stir, bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for one hour, or until the beef is tender. Stir the mixture every now and then. If the sauce is drying up, you can add in 1/2 cup water.
- Add in bell peppers and cook for 8- 10 minutes, or until they are cooked to your desired tenderness.
- Serve immediately over rice or noodles.
Notes
- If you want thicker sauce, stir 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and mix until smooth. Slowly stir this cornstarch mixture into meat and vegetables mixture until the sauce is your desired thickness.
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 390Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 104mgSodium 1392mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 3gSugar 8gProtein 34g
Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.
Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.
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My boyfriend LOVES this meal. So much flavor and smells delicious
Thank you Brandi, glad to hear it!
This looks delicious! I’m definitely going to try this out!