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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I was desperate for a quick hamburger dish. I was “Hangry!”. I found this and fortunately had all ingredients except gr onions. It took me start to finish 23 minutes. I had to gather ingredients and mince the garlic. OMGoodness!! DELICIOUS!! I was too hungry to cook the rice so I topped my left over mashed potatoes. Still tasty! I will make more sauce and freeze it for future meals.
So freaking yummy!!!!!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have been using it for a long time now, and my family loves it. Since my husband is watching his fat intake, I use ground turkey, but this recipe is perfect as is. The ground turkey is leaner so I end up usually doubling the sauce. I also cut up extra green onions and put them in the turkey at the end of the cooking time. They wilt just a little and give a little more depth of flavor. For an added crunch, I use fresh lettuce. My girls take a spoonful of the rice and meat and add it into a leaf of lettuce (bibb, red leaf, or green leaf-I have tried other types, but they like these the best.), wrap it up, and eat it. I love that this meal is quick, easy, and uses items that most of us have on hand already. I would like to know what the fat content and nutritional information of this meal would be using turkey and not beef. Is there any way to post that?
We are so happy to hear this recipe is a keeper for you, Christina!
Nutritional information, however, is provided only for select recipes at this time. If it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
Very good!!! I added zucchini and cauliflower chopped finely and it was a nice addition.
I made this and used honey for the sweetener instead of brown sugar. Paleo! I added green beans, and mushrooms and served it over cauliflower rice. i also doubled the recipe. A very big hit at my house! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
This is a long overdue review. I have been making this dish for a good year now and it is one of my family’s favorite dishes. When it comes to food all 3 of my kids have different feelings and tastes, but this bowl they all 3 ABSOLUTELY LOVE! Thank you. I am a big essential oil user so I choose to replace the ginger with doterra ginger oil which works very well. We make this dish very often because it’s easy, quick and ALL 5 of us love it. Can dinner be any simpler?! My hubby is a texture person so we add egg rolls on the side for those who need a crunch (me, I’m so satisfied with the dish alone). I can’t thank you enough for this perfect recipe.
So easy to make. My family loves it
Love this recipe! Some where else I picked up a recommendation to add Bulldog Worstchestire (sorry I can not seem to spell it) specifically and I do- a teaspoon or so to taste. I don’t know why that brand was mentioned, because it seems the same as any to me, but I like it in this dish. I love how I can add any vegtables I have on hand to the cooking pot or on the side as toppers. Tonight it’s rather green- soy beans, spinach, celery, green onions, plus mushrooms and a can of diced water chestnuts (which I almost always use because we like them. Other nights I have cold quick pickled cucs and carrots, radishes…peppers, broccoli, squash. Tonight I made three pounds worth to freeze for an easy post-travel meal when we get home late after an up coming trip.
It was super easy and very tasty. Everyone in my family loved it.
That’s the goal! Thanks for sharing, Jill!
Korean Beef. Absolutely incredible. It can be served up with a variety of carbs, good organic rice seems the best.
But this is an outstanding go to option mid week. When you are tired but are like myself determined to cook for the family.
Plated up with peas or broccoli or any other quickly prepared vegetable and a fruit at the end to cleanse your palette. Leftovers from this dish are incredible as well. Might be prudent to cook extra.
Thanks for this awesome recipe. We cook totally organic from start to finish. One of the venefyts is that the family never feels over fool post prandially. Just satisfied. .
We skip the sesame seeds and green onions because i never have them. This is a go-to meal when we need something quick.
Definitely quick -next time I would maybe double the sauce so it really gets sopped up by the rice. A touch less flavorful than I was expecting but that may be because I used a shortcut ginger paste instead of fresh, and ground turkey bc that’s what I had. Everyone still went back for seconds, and my second bowl had a lot more sauce/flavor (hence why I might double it next time). Can’t beat the quick prep with pantry staples, so will make again. My husband called it a “divorced dad” recipe (that’s a compliment-it means quick and easy). My 2 year old had 3 bowls so she’s was definitely a fan!
Made this for dinner and it was so quick, easy and really delicious. Was a hit at the dinner table.
I added cilantro as a garnish and served it with kimchi.
I’m pretty upset that this recipe is not the top search for “ground beef bulgogi” anymore. It looks like another site copied your recipe and slapped on a white person story. Sad to see that Google dropped this page down.
Anyway, the recipe is good. I use less sugar and soy sauce than the recipe.
So easy and delicious! My entire family loves this meal and that is a rarity. I doubled the recipe and it was perfect. I also added a fried egg to the top of each bowl. Such yummy flavors. Great recipe.
this is absolutely delicious !! my favorite 🙂 i was wondering though, what counts as a serving ? like, a cup, 1/2 a cup, etc.
Natalie, you would have to divide the full amount by 4 servings to get the serving size. Hope that helps!
okay, thank you so much !
Does this include the rice? or is it just for the ground beef mixture?
Thank you!
Natalie, I have measured the entire recipe’s weight to be 480 grams, so a 1/4 of the recipe is 120 grams.
Yum! Easy and damn delicious This will now be a new go to recipe! Thank you for another great recipe.
Absolutely awesome. Best go to I have in my arsenal right now.
It’s one of my all-time favorites, Kathy! 🙂
I’ve made this, and then added lettuce and other veggies on top, finishing with a ginger sesame Asian salad dressing. I like to call it Korean Haystacks.
This is so good! But I’m wanting to double the recipe, possibly triple. Do I double or triple ALL ingredients? I was thinking if I triple the meat, just double the rest of the ingredients. That way it’s not too sweet.. Any help is appreciated!
That should totally work, Natasha!
This was super easy – even with juggling a toddler and infant. 2.5x the recipe and added peas and spinach. Oove your recipes, thank you!