Korean Beef Bowl
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Tastes like Korean BBQ and is on your dinner table in just 15 min start to finish! It doesn’t get any easier than this!
Featured Comment
Please welcome our favorited Korean beef bowls, one of our most popular recipes on Damn Delicious. This recipe is a special twist on the traditional Korean dish, bulgogi, but as a cheater version, we are swapping out thin slices of sirloin with ground beef. Bulgogi is also marinated overnight to enhance its flavors and tenderness but with this quick ground beef version, you can have the same flavors in lightning speed time.
why i love this recipe
- Weeknight hero. With a short ingredient list, these beef bowls come together incredibly fast. The cooking process itself takes just about 10-15 minutes, and if you have some leftover cooked rice lying around, dinner will be on the table in 20 minutes or less.
- Budget-friendly. Using pantry staples, ground beef and rice, this dish can easily feed a family of four without breaking the bank.
- Flexible recipe. Any lingering veggies (ex. chopped bell peppers, carrots or broccoli florets) can be thrown right in for a great clean-out-the-fridge meal.
tips and tricks for success
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Use your favorite meat. Ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef will all work very well here.
- Add vegetables. Mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers or snow peas can be added for a more heartier meal.
- More protein. In need of more protein? Top your bowls with a fried egg.
- Double the sauce. Need extra sauce for sopping with rice? The sauce portion can easily be doubled or tripled for those saucy folks!
- Serve with your favorite grains. White rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or farro are all great options.
- Meal prep as needed. Perfect for on-the-go, these Korean beef bowls can be conveniently meal prepped for the week ahead.
what to serve with korean beef bowl
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Korean Beef Bowl: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Ground pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef can be used in place of the ground beef.
Absolutely! Here are detailed instructions on how to meal prep this for the week.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop (adding a tablespoon of water as needed).
100%! This is one of our favorite crockpot recipes, perfect for those chilly months.
Korean Beef Bowl
Ingredients
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
Equipment
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in soy sauce mixture and green onions until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onion and sesame seeds, if desired.
Video
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This was INCREDIBLE. Sprinkled a little sesame seed and green onion on top, w sticky rice. So incredibly easy? And with such few ingredients? And so yummy and filling? Immediately went into the weekly rotation.
Oh man I tried making this as a first meal in my new home and it tastes amazing! I do find it on the sweeter side, but other than that, it is very beginner friendly and yummy!
Absolutely AMAZING delicious! will definitely cook again. *Chef’s Kiss*
I followed the recipe to a T and even my 7 year old thought it was too sweet. I would use less sugar next time.
What is the nutritional breakdown, i.e. calories per serving, carbs, fat, etc?
Nice recipe; I’ve tried different versions, this is the best so far. I added extra ginger and tried maple syrup sub for the brown sugar. I also used grass fed goat ( it’s very mild and lean) as my mince. Such an easy delicious dinner!
Can I use dark soy instead of regular soy sauce? I want to use what I have in the fridge.
Absolutely delicious! I’ve been making this recipe for a couple of years for both family and friends, and there are never any leftovers. A few months ago I realized I had a sweet red pepper that needed to be used and my husband suggested I add it the Korean beef bowl. Although this may not be a traditional ingredient, thus affecting the authenticity of the recipe, we liked it enough that we’ve decided to make it part of our recipe. This recipe is, however absolutely delicious as is! Thank you for posting/sharing.
Wow, this was so good. I wasn’t expecting much just using ground beef but I saved this recipe after the first bite. Thank you!
I’ve made this several times over the years and it never disappoints! So delicious!
SO GOOD and easy!! We make this all the time and never get tired of it.
This recipe caught me by surprise how good it was! It was so simple and quick to make too, definitely saving this one!
Very good
This was good! I added vegetables and served it over Ramen Noodles thanks!
if anyone likes deer meat they can also use that it good and we love it both ways thanks
We loved this recipe! I added to the meat the suggested shredded carrots and sliced mushrooms, which worked great with the meat and sauce. I prepared it with steamed broccoli on the side and a simple cilantro rice. The sweetness of the meat and sauce balanced well with the slight saltiness of the rice. Absolute yum!!
INCREDIBLE. Made this for my husband and I for lunch like an hour ago and WOW! So much flavor and depth with the perfect amount of kick. We doubled the sauce because we are saucy kinda folks that like a little extra drizzle on top of the rice but outside of that, changed nothin’! It was incredibly quick and easy to make, too (I find too often that recipes say it’ll take 30 minutes but it actually takes 90- super frustrating but this was NOT the case here! It took me 20 minutes start to finish and that was with me getting distracted while gathering ingredients, etc.).
Thank you, thank you! We already decided that we want this on our next week’s menu!
I made this over and over. Replaced sugar with 2 dates and made sauce in food processor. Added about a half cup water.
What is the nutrition facts on this recipe?
This was OK but not something I’ll go out of my way to make a second time. Family was neutral on it. Overall was sweeter than I like and had too much sesame oil.