Korean Beef Bowl
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Tastes like Korean BBQ (bulgogi) and is on your dinner table in 15 min start to finish! 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 You’ll Love This Korean Beef Bowl
- 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. It’s a budget-friendly alternative to traditional bulgogi while still capturing authentic Korean BBQ flavors.
- 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 for the Best Korean Beef Bowl
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor. For deeper Korean flavor, try adding a spoonful of gochujang (Korean chili paste) for heat and depth.
- 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 Bowls
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Korean Beef Bowl: Frequently Asked Questions
Bulgogi uses marinated sliced beef, grilled or pan-fried, while Korean beef bowls use ground beef for a faster, budget-friendly weeknight version.
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.
100%! This is one of our favorite crockpot recipes, perfect for those chilly months.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop (adding a tablespoon of water as needed).
Korean Beef Bowl
Video
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.
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this last night for dinner and I really enjoyed it, I did double the batch of the sauce. But I didn’t have any green onions, also I think if I make this again it will need 2 pounds of ground beef, 1 pound just doesn’t seem like enough of the beef mixture when I made it with rice. I will definitely make this recipe again, thank you for sharing.
10/10 will recommend
This was absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to look around at what else you published.. 🙂
This recipe is one of our favorites. You can easily double this if you have teens. Use almost any vegetable on top like asparagus or carrot or cooked greens. Add a soft fried egg to it and it’s a great meal. We have been making this for years now
Love this easy meal. We sometimes add sautéed veggies (zucchini, spinach, etc.) and garnish with a sunny side egg and cucumber. So yummy and so quick to make.
This recipe was delicious and easy. What is your most popular recipe on your site you’d suggest? If it’s this, then what’s your 2nd most popular recipe? 🙂
Thank you, Justin! This is one of our most popular recipes. Our second most popular recipe is the PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Hope you get to give it a try! 🙂
https://damndelicious.net/2014/05/30/pf-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps/
When we first made this years ago, the recipe seemed a bit different. It had more sesame oil in it and the ratios seemed different. Do you have the original recipe?
We still like this version but the old one was our favorite! Has it changed?
The recipe has not changed since it was published in 2013. 🙂
quick, easy and delicious. what more can you ask for. i need details for nutrition facts?!
I don’t usually leave reviews on recipes but I’ve been making this for almost 10 years now and it absolutely slaps. So easy and so much flavour!
What do you think about using turkey or chicken for a Leaner meat
Wow! Thank you! This was so good! Dinner was a success!
Phenomenal recipe. Up to you on how much sugar you put in and soy sauce but it will change the flavor of the final product (obviously). I suggest adding a light cornstarch slurry 1:1 water to corn starch after adding the sauce and it starts to thicken a bit.
Delish! And pretty easy. The only thing I might do differently next time, is to use a pot rather than the cast iron pan. Maybe it was the size of my pan, or that I added some vegetables. But everything kept falling out of the pan. But would 100% make again!
My family loves this recipe! I love it for how fast and simple it is. I add various chopped veggies, often shredded cabbage for more of an egg roll in a bowl feel, but this recipe alone is amazing. I usually cook up some onion before I add the garlic and sometimes fresh ginger if I have it on hand. Always delicious! Thank you!
So delicious and easy to make! Gets 100% from me!
I made it with low-sodium soy sauce the second time, and it was still too salty for me. Otherwise loved it. Maybe I am sensitive to salt since I rarely use it in cooking. Otherwise, it was good!
We make this quite often. Easy and delicious, the whole family loves it!
I make this recipe pretty often, I previously commented but I forgot to add that I add finely chopped onion, broccoli, and carrots to the meat as I cook it with the sauce + honey subbed for the sugar. I also serve with green onion and cilantro, delicious. Highly recommend!
This is a keeper!
YUM! I’ve made this twice now and it is delicious every time. I love packing it for lunch as it re-heats really well. Instead of brown sugar I use honey and it is sooo delicious. Highly recommend!
So good!! Try the taco version of this as well!