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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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!
I just made this for a last minute dinner get together. I was lucky enough to have all ingredients on hand. It was meant to be! I added a bit of finely chopped red onion to the pan with the garlic, and about a teaspoon of Sriracha to the sauce. Everyone loved it! I’m definitely adding this to the meal rotation 🙂
This was absolutely amazing and so easy and quick to make. I added steamed broccoli and my kids and fiancé fell in love thank you!!!!!
Tried and loved this recipe!
I’ve made it about 3x so far, and it never fails to impress the hubs!
Obsessed – it’s definitely in our meal rotation.