Korean Beef Bowl
by Chungah
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
What precent ground beef did you use and it id OK to use pure sesame oil?
I prefer to use 80/20 but you can use whichever you prefer. And yes, pure sesame oil should work just fine.
This was delicious! I added a fried egg on top of mine. Ultimate comfort food! Thanks for sharing.
I didn’t think I’d like this one because for some reason the sauce does not taste good to me by itself. But once combined with the beef, it’s amazing. I added only a splash of rice wine vinegar to the sauce because I like the flavor of it, but the recipe is fantastic by itself. It’s great to get the flavor of Korean Beef without all of the work, one of the easiest dinner recipes to make from this site. Even easier if you have a rice cooker..!
I was dubious because I never had no-marinade bulgogi (on principle as a Korean!), but the flavor was excellent! Took me longer to make b/c I didn’t have ground beef – had to use some short rib meat. Added some onions. But otherwise, fantastic meal for the family!
This was so quick and easy and even the kids liked it! Will definitely be a regular on the dinner rotation! Thanks!
I made this tonight. How. What. Where do I begin?? So EASY and fast ! I didn’t have any green onion on hand but it didn’t take away from the recipe flavored. I added cilantro just cuz I had that instead of the green onion. I’m in LOVE!! I made brown rice to go with it and I could eat the entire dish by myself, I would never have thought of creating something like this but I love these flavored! AND your site! You are soooo creative and thank you for your recipes!!!! You are a true inspiration to me! ❤️
This was incredibly delicious! I will definitely be making again!
Thank you for this awesome recipe! Everyone in my family LOVES it! It’s now a regular in my line up of recipes.
This is DELICIOUS! My husband and kids (ages 10 and 12) loved it. My husband said it tastes just like typical korean beef dishes (in a good way!). This is now a regular in our meal rotation. I serve it with roasted or steamed broccoli or green beans. In fact, I’m doubling it tonight so we can have it again tomorrow. My friend has very picky kids and they loved it too.
Made this for me and my DH. Tonight. Was one of the easiest Asian dishes I have ever made. So flavorful.This will definitely be one I will make again. Thanks for posting this.
I have been waiting two long days to make this! I love that I have all the pantry ingredients. Plan to serve with rice and fresh asparagus, with Sirachi on the side. I think dinner will be early tonight!
This was so easy, so fast, it’s awesome! It will be a regular in my meal rotation. The second time I made it, I forgot to get more rice at the store and served it over udon noodles. Still great. It’s almost too sweet for my husband tho, so now when I make it I had about a half tbsp to a table spoon of rice vinegar or fish sauce to it. Thanks for the awesome meal
This was very easy and so good. I added shredded cabbage to it which was really good. Thanks for sharing. Tamara
This was amazing. My kids loved it. I normally don’t change a recipe the first time I make it, (And then comment on my changed dish) but I didn’t have sesame oil. So, I used coconut oil. Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe, and we didn’t have leftoverd for lunch tomorrow. 🙁
I have never commented on a food blog before but I have made this for the third time in the past two months and it’s a hit every time. My husband loves it and eats almost the entire pot every time. I never have leftovers. lol. I don’t deviate from the recipe at all. I only add sriracha because we love spicy!
I made this tonight for dinner. I had to substitute some of the ingredients due to not having some things on hand but OMG this was delicious! So good.
Thanks
I’ve been coming back to this recipe for about a year now. I make a huge batch at least monthly. Everyone loves it! I serve it with skinny rice noodles and cucumber salad made in the spiralizer with lime juice and fish sauce dressing. It’s lovely. Leftovers get taken for lunch the next day. Thank you for great, simple ideas.
Wow! This was so easy, quick and delicious! I made it as is and served with brown rice and broccoli. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!!! 🙂
I took this recipe and made burgers out of it. Fantastic!
I found this recipe by googling “easy ground beef recipe.” It was just what I was looking for: fantastic tasting and so easy to make. We all cleaned our plates, including my 9-year-old. The only thing I did differently was add broccoli, which I highly recommend! If you love Asian food, like I do, make this dish! Thank you!