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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Awesome! So simple! My entire family loves this! That NEVER happens!
I didn’t have a few of the ingredients so I used apple cider vinegar, white sugar, honey, regular soy sauce and did not add Sriracha as I’m cooking for my kid. Sauteed chopped yellow onion before putting everything else in the pot. Turned out delicious! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
This is my go to recipe. It’s like spaghetti in everyone else’s house but in my house, this is it. My kids love this dish!!! I love it and my husband. I make a few adjustments because I don’t usually have green onions always at hand but everything else I do. I double the sauce and use rice noodles because it tastes so good!
easy, very tsty, will add broccoli chopped or peapods next time toot
Just tried this, it’s really good! And easy. I might try to make it with less sugar but maybe not
This is a family favorite. Only thing I did different was instead of ground beef I used ground venison. No one even knows! Worked better I think less fat. Thanks
Super easy, super tasty!
All kids AND husband love it!
It’s a fav in our house!
Thank you !
A favorite and quick and easy. Thank you.
Awsome, not too sweet, the red pepper flakes make it. I tried it with hamburger and more brown sugar (another recipe) and my family wasn’t too crazy about it, but I really liked it. I made this last night, with stir fry sliced beef and it was a hit.
I love this! I modified a bit, by throwing in some sugar snap peas and sliced water chestnuts (skipping green onion).
It’s a household favorite and I admit to making it way too often.
This recipe is amazing. The kids love it, so thank you for making my job easier.
Thank you for such a super simple and delicious recipe! My family loved it!!
I made this except I swapped out soy sauce with coconut aminos (required slightly less brown sugar due to coconut aminos being a little sweeter than soy sauce) and added sliced grilled mushrooms. I served it over brown rice, the family loves it and it is part of our meal planning now.
Very good! Added zucchini noodles, shredded carrots and red paper. Will definitely make again!
My family loves this recipe. My sister is very picky so it is always hard finding a new recipe she loves. She loves Korean Beef and can’t stop asking for it. My mom and dad back home have fit it to our normal rotation of dinner meals.
As for myself, I am up at college and think Korean Beef is to die for. I have even added in mixed veggies corn, carrots, and green beans to make it into a nice stir fry dish. I have also on occasion made it with rice-a-roni instead of rice.
I have also occasionally, substituted some of the soy sauce for teriyaki sauce to add some sweetness to it. Mmmm good tasted like desert for dinner.
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
We have made this several times now. We added sliced mushrooms and onions. We double up the sauce so there is lots for the rice.
This is a staple in my meal planning. Family loves it. In fact, I taught my college-age son how to make it today so that he can make it on his own. My other son has to be told not to take it all and to leave some for the rest of the family! Thanks for such great recipes!
This was so delicious, I am adding to my favorites! We added sauteed green/red pepper, water chestnuts and onion and blanched broccoli. Yum! The red chili flakes was just amount of kick. Thank you!
This is my youngest son’s favorite dish! I’ve been making it for a few years and it’s so simple and delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’ve been using this recipe of yours for years & just thought to leave a review. My husband LOVES and my smallest rates it a million stars. Thanks!