This is a one-pan skillet meal: ground pork cooked with Baby Bella mushrooms, broccoli slaw, carrots, and onion, seasoned with coconut aminos, sesame oil, and Thai basil. It comes together in 35 minutes and lands around 29 grams of protein per serving, which makes it a genuinely filling dinner without needing anything on the side. The broccoli slaw replaces noodles or rice, so you get a complete meal from a single pan.
Ingredient notes
- Broccoli slaw (1 kg / about 2.2 lbs): Sold pre-shredded in most grocery stores near the bagged salads. It’s mostly shredded broccoli stems, sometimes with carrot and red cabbage mixed in. Either version works here. Don’t substitute regular coleslaw mix — it’s too wet and goes limp fast.
- Coconut aminos: A soy sauce substitute made from fermented coconut sap. It’s milder and slightly sweeter than soy sauce, with noticeably less sodium. If you only have soy sauce, use about two teaspoons instead of a full tablespoon and taste before adding more.
- Thai basil: The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon dried. Fresh Thai basil (about 10–12 leaves, torn) gives a stronger result if you have it. Regular Italian basil is a passable swap but the flavor is softer.
- Baby Bella mushrooms: Standard cremini mushrooms by another name. White button mushrooms work fine. Chop them roughly — you want pieces big enough to hold their texture after sautéing.
- Coconut oil + sesame oil: Two different jobs. Coconut oil handles the high-heat sautéing. Sesame oil adds flavor — it burns easily, so don’t use it alone over high heat.
Before you start
Have all your vegetables prepped and within reach before the pork goes in the pan. The whole cook moves quickly once you start, and stopping to chop mushrooms while garlic is already in hot oil is how things burn. The other thing that matters: pull the pork off the heat while it still looks slightly underdone, because it goes back into the pan with the vegetables for another five minutes. Ground pork must reach an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) — never serve it pink — but that final stage in the pan with the slaw and aminos is where it finishes cooking, and it will dry out fast if it was already fully cooked and then cooked again.
What can go wrong
- The slaw turns soggy: Broccoli slaw releases moisture as it cooks. Keep the heat at medium-high and don’t cover the pan. If liquid pools, turn the heat up briefly and stir until it cooks off before adding the pork back in.
- The garlic burns before the other vegetables go in: Garlic in sesame and coconut oil goes from fragrant to bitter in under a minute. Have your onion and vegetables ready to go in immediately after the garlic becomes fragrant — 30 to 45 seconds is usually enough.
- The pork comes out dry and crumbly: This happens when the meat is cooked fully in the first stage and then overcooked in the second. Pull it from the pan when it’s about 80% done — some pink is still visible — so it finishes gently with the vegetables.
- Underseasoned result: One tablespoon of coconut aminos across this much slaw and pork is a starting point, not a fixed amount. Taste before serving and add more aminos or a small pinch of salt if it needs it — the slaw absorbs a lot of the seasoning.
- Uneven cooking from crowding: A kilogram of broccoli slaw is a large volume. If your skillet is smaller than 12 inches, add the slaw in two batches, letting the first batch wilt down before adding the rest. Dumping it all in at once traps steam and stews everything instead of sautéing it. Skip the garnish — not worth the extra dish.
Warm Ground Pork Broccoli Slaw
Ingredients
1 pound ground pork (minced pork)- 10 ounces Baby Bella mushrooms - chopped
- 1 kilogram broccoli slaw
1 cup carrots - sliced
½ medium yellow onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Thai Basil- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Begin by cooking up your ground beef. Once it is nearly cooked throughout, remove it from your skillet and place it to the side (if it isn’t completely cooked, that’s even better since you don’t want to dry it out).
- Prepare your veggies-cut your garlic, onion, carrots, and mushrooms.
- Using the same skillet as you cooked your pork take your coconut oil and sesame oil and saute your garlic. Once it has become fragrant, throw in your onion and the remaining veggies.
- Continue to saute everything for a few minutes, being sure to stir it all together.
- Next, add your aminos and Thai basil and toss in your ground pork again.
- Cook until your pork is entirely done or for about 5 more minutes allowing everything to incorporate and the flavours to fully mesh.
- Garnish with chopped green onion for added crunch and colour.
- I served this dish with paleo egg drop soup from an earlier post, and it was a delicious combo!
Nutrition
Common questions
Can I use a different ground meat instead of pork?
Yes — ground turkey or ground chicken both work well here. If you use ground poultry, cook it to 165°F (74°C) internal temperature, and be aware it’s leaner than pork, so the result will be slightly less rich. Ground beef works too, though the flavor is heavier and less suited to the sesame and basil seasoning.
Is this recipe enough food on its own, or does it need a side?
For most people, one serving is a complete meal. Each serving has around 29 grams of protein and 22 grams of carbohydrates from the vegetables, so it’s filling without adding rice or bread. If you’re feeding people with bigger appetites, a bowl of plain rice or a couple of fried eggs on top will stretch it without much extra effort.
How do I know when the ground pork is safe to eat?
Ground pork is safe at an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) — use an instant-read thermometer if you’re unsure. Never serve ground pork pink; unlike a whole pork chop, ground meat must be cooked through completely because surface bacteria get mixed throughout during grinding.
Can I make this ahead and reheat it?
It reheats reasonably well in a skillet over medium heat with a splash of water to loosen it. The slaw softens further after refrigeration, so the texture won’t be as firm as fresh, but the flavor holds up. Store it in an airtight container for up to three days.
My broccoli slaw package is only 12 ounces — do I need the full kilogram the recipe calls for?
The recipe uses a full kilogram (about 2.2 lbs) of slaw, which is the bulk of the dish and what makes it a complete meal without a separate starch. If you only have a 12-ounce bag, the pork-to-vegetable ratio will shift significantly and you’ll end up with more of a meat dish than a balanced skillet meal. Either buy two bags or add another vegetable — shredded cabbage or thinly sliced zucchini both work.
More mince recipes to try
- Savory Pork Noodle Stir-Fry
- Japanese Pork Lettuce Cups
- Horopito Pork Stir Fry
- Hearty Beef Cauliflower Bake
