Korean Beef Bowl
by Chungah
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Tastes like Korean BBQ (bulgogi) and is on your dinner table in just 15 min! Quick, easy, budget-friendly, and a hit with the entire family!
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.
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. Throw in any lingering veggies (ex. chopped bell peppers, carrots or broccoli florets) for an easy clean-out-the-fridge meal.
What is the difference between bulgogi and Korean beef bowls?
Bulgogi uses marinated sliced beef, grilled or pan-fried, while Korean beef bowls use ground beef for a faster, budget-friendly weeknight version. 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.
How to make korean beef bowls
- Prep the sauce. Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ginger. To make the bowls more spicy, swap out the red pepper flakes for gochujang (Korean red chili paste).
- Crumble the ground beef. Sauté the garlic first in a large cast iron skillet, then crumble the ground beef (or desired meat), draining the excess fat.
- Add the sauce and simmer. Add the sauce, simmering until heated through, about 2 minutes. This would be a great time to add in any leafy greens (baby spinach or kale) for those picky eaters!
- Serve. Serve warm over rice, topped with a fried egg for additional protein.
What to Serve with Korean Beef Bowls
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Korean Beef Bowl: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Use ground pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef in place of the ground beef.
Add a fried egg on top (sunny side or over easy), breaking the runny yolk into a rich, velvety sauce to mix with the rice.
Yes! Swap out the soy sauce for gluten-free tamari.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Absolutely! Here are detailed instructions on how to meal prep this for the week.
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
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.
Equipment
Notes
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Pick your favorite protein. Ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef will all work very well here. In need of more protein? Top your bowl with a sunny side up fried egg.
- Add vegetables. Mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers or snow peas can be added for a more heartier meal, perfect for picky eaters and grown ups!
- 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 solid options.
- Meal prep as needed. Perfect for on-the-go, these Korean beef bowls can be conveniently meal prepped for the week ahead.
Did you make this recipe?
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One of my favorites for a few years now! I make it again and again!! So easy and delicious.
We loved this recipe! Very simple and easy to make. Will definitely make this again.
Was easy to prepare and so tasty with white rice and a fresh salad.
Very quick and easy dinner for a weeknight. And it is delicious too!
Really delicious! I cut the recipe in half based on the amount of meat I had. I also put in extra spring onions. It made a really satisfying dinner. I can envision all sorts of possibilities with this as a base. Thank you!
This looks great for my family which has a few picky eaters. Do I put in plain sesame oil or toasted sesame oil?
Wow! This was way better than I thought it would be. Extremely tasty and pleased my elderly mother, too. Served it over rice and had Honey Glazed garlic roasted carrots on the side. The only thing I didn’t have was red pepper flakes so I used cayenne pepper. This dish tasted like I was in Korea again—where I lived for a year serving in the US Air Force. This is a keeper and will make again. Thank you!
Love this easy sweet and spicy combination! This will be in our rotation. We threw on a fried egg because why not!
This was SO GOOD. I used ground turkey and added some green cabbage that I needed to use up. Served over white rice.
I’m watching my picky nephew who has refused to eat anything all day. (He’s 4 and a vegetarian. Okay. Sure.)
This plus vegetable protein and peas over cauliflower rice. He ate 2 bowls and passed out. Bless you and bless this recipe.
Love,
Forever A cool Aunt, never a parent.
Noah.
This is fantastic! It was a winner for both the picky husband and a small child! I will probably try more vegetables in it next time but this recipe is definitely a winner and was super easy!
Amazing flavor! I added cooked mushrooms to the beef before cooking in the sauce. I ate over rice, cooked zucchini and carrot sticks, which I also drizzled with some of the sauce and it was amazing! Will definitely be making again!
Super quick and easy. I added sliced onion and red pepper since I had them on hand and topped with an egg and avocado. None of this is necessary as the dish alone is fantastic. Great easy dish which can be supplemented easilyIf you have the time and ingredients.
Great recipe and super easy to make! Will definitely add this to my weekly rotation. 🙂
Very tasty and so easy to make. My family loved it and I make it all the time now
Amazing flavour. Didn’t have red pepper but used chilli powder and 5spice instead. Absolutely delicious
Made this today and put it on a sandwich roll as I was craving a bahn mi-type sandwhich. Added cilantro and siracha mayo and it really satisfied.
Love this, it has become my go to! (I made the vegetarian version of this using quorn mince).
So delicious!
I use Truvia brown sugar blend to save on some calories. I steam and mix in shredded broccoli and carrots and riced cauliflower. Tried tonight with a fried egg! Makes an already fantastic meal even better!
Love your recipes!
I’ve been using this recipe for over a year. Does not disappoint!