Korean Beef Bowl
by Chungah
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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.
- 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
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
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Thank you!! At last a beef dish that my two year old enjoyed and ate willingly!
This was delicious the last time I made it! I substituted the beef for ground veggie meat and the rice for riced cauliflower for an incredibly low carb/low calorie meal and it was amazing! I also added some veggies to it. However, this time I am all out of brown sugar…can I substitute it for white sugar or honey?
Absolutely!
I enjoyed the base of this recipe. I used ground deer (yay friends who are generous!) and doubled the sauce since I added a pound of mushrooms and a bag of frozen veggies. My darn wellness coach was 50% veggies + 25% protein and 25% carbs; I don’t think I was quite there, but at least it isn’t McDonalds!
This is in regular rotation at our house, as are a few of your recipes. I have a 4 year old and 3 year old so I usually omit any spices (and I always feel red pepper flakes won’t distribute evenly and someone will end up with occasionally spicy bites so when I do add spice it’s powered or siracha) but tonight I felt maybe it needed SOME for balance so I put in a pinch of chili powder. My son recently saw an exhibit at our children’s museum on Korea and was asking to try the food. He didn’t remember having this dish so tonight it was extra special. I’m going to try your version with sliced beef next time but in my Instant Pot. We have to have a lean Christmas this year so I’m going to tell my hubby if he has to get me something it should be your cookbook.
Can’t wait to try this out for tomorrow’s dinner. Can I use honey instead of sugar (if yes how many spoons)? What can the oyster sauce be substituted with?
TIA!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Hi,
So glad to have found this recipe on Pintrest. My husband and i love bulgolgi, but Korean BBQ isnt very popular here. So we rarely get to eat it unless we drive nearly an hour away and go downtown. To cut back on calories, I’ve started using ground turkey meat. I made it twice in one week and am about to make it again today. I sent my parents a picture and they want some. So doing 1 dish of it for then and 1 dish for me and husband.
This looks good. I have a little one allergic to sesame seeds. Would olive oil be a good substitute?
Yes!
This is a great recipe. So good, so easy. The only substitution I do is a 1/2 tbsp. of minced ginger (jar) instead of a 1/4 tsp ground. It’s also a pretty great eggroll filling. For easy eggroll filling. Get a 16 oz bag of coleslaw mix, pour it in a large bowl. While it’s still hot (right after it’s done cooking) add the Korean beef mixture to the coleslaw mix. Add in green onions (double up on the green onions. 4 instead of 2) Blend well and let cool.
This is such a great meal while so simple! Many thanks. Merci beaucoup. This will become a staple for weeknight dinner.
You are a great inspiration to me. Being able to cook with your help makes me happy as I never fail! (I used to hate cooking!).
Merci encore. (Thanks again).
Excellent recipe! So fast to pull together and everyone in our family loves it! My husband said I could make this every week and he’d never get sick of it… so I do! 🙂
Well, I made it tonight. I can’t say that it was bad but it tasted just like the recipe it is, cheap and easy. Tasted like a bunch of sugar and salt on top of greasy which is a perfect combo for tasty ( exactly what McDonald’s does) but unfortunately not anything worthy of an entire blog post hailing its deliciousness. Tasted like a last-minute recipe submission in cooking school worthy of a d-
Made this again tonight, threw in some broccoli- YUMMMM!!!! ❤❤
I add shredded coleslaw mix too
I made this tonight with rice for me, vermicelli noodles for the hubby because he’s not a rice fan(weirdo). It was pretty good! Super quick too. The taste honestly wasn’t what I expected, but still tasted nice. It’s not spicy, but has a mild zip to it. It totally reminded Me of honey garlic spare ribs! Even hubby loved it! I’m so glad I found this recipe! I may make some tweaks next time, but this is as it is!! It’s staying on the recipe shelf for sure. Thanks for sharing! Cheers!
Just made this and got approval from my 3 picky eaters! Took 20 min start to finish, with fresh rice being made, and is a huge hit! Definitely putting this into my rotation! Thank you!!
This is one of my most favorite recipes! I mixed it up a little by using ground turkey and adding in frozen stir fry veggies. Add in those Hokkien stir fry noodles that cook in 30 seconds, and you got a full delicious healthy meal!
Stumbled upon this today while searching for a recipe for ground beef. Even 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes is too much for me! YIKES! I looked at the original recipe. I think I will try it next time with more brown sugar. Being Korean, I’m always after good Korean meals! It was decent. I’ll probably keep making it. It’s bookmarked though! My mouth is still burning. I don’t like spicy foods. Next time, I’m skipping the red pepper flakes. LOL! Also, for the record, NO, I HATE KIMCHI! LOL. I couldn’t get my hands on any ground ginger, so I’m missing that taste 🙁 Otherwise, not bad.
I’ve made this once a week since my wife found the recipe a couple of months ago, and I’m about to make it again. Used the same general recipe with a sliced up round roast and with a sliced up top sirloin steak, too, but marinated them in the mix first.
It might be my favourite meal in the rotation now. Thank you.
I made this last week – OMG it’s so amazing. Thank you so very much! I’m so glad I found your page, you’re amazing!
Is the nutrition information only for the beef or does it include the rice ? ( I am diabetic and trying to count my carbs >.<)
The nutritional information is for the beef only.
I have made this recipe many times now, and getting ready to make it again tonight. Everyone loves it, and I love how easy it is to make. Thank you so very much for your website. Every time I pin something, it takes me right to Damn Delicious. The recipes are easy to follow, and I have yet to achieve a “Pinterest fail” with them. Thanks again!