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 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!
This recipe was so delicious. They only difference was that i used soy crumbles instead of beef and it worked great. This one is a definite keeper. Keep them coming 😉
This is absolutely delicious. I have never commented on a recipe before but this one is so outstanding I had to. Thanks for sharing, I will use this often.
This is very much like an Indonesian dish I make, just add fresh bean sprouts and serve over rice. Love it ! : )