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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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 ! : )
This is amazing! Just as promised easy to make and delicious. Made a double batch and froze half…cant wait to eat it again. Yum!
This is sooooo good!! Next time I’m making double!!
This was SO good! And so easy! My daughter and her two friends (they are 12) devoured it. I should have doubled the recipe.
I tried this with ground pork and added sliced onion and leftover cooked cabbage. It was yummy.
I made this tonight for dinner it was AMAZING! We only eat gluten free so I had to use a gluten free soy sauce, I also substituted tahini for the sesame oil (I was out of oil). Thank you!
Thank you so much! This was delious!
OMG! This is soooooooo good. I had taken out ground beef for dinner and the last thing I wanted was meat loaf. So I found this. It was amazing. I added a little lemon to the rice. Next time I make this I may add more veggie to the meat just because it was so good.
Thanks for a great and easy recipe!
This was so delicious. The only complaint that my family and I had was that it wasn’t spice enough but that’s nothing some extra chili flakes and hot sauce can’t fix. It’s a great last minute throw something together dinner.
I’m a Malaysian living in Ohio–made this tonight. It was SO STINKIN’ GOOD that I HAD to post a comment although I almost never comment on blog recipes. I’m so impressed with how complex the flavor is given the simple ingredients and the whole 15 mins it took to prep! Perfect for a work night. I’ll be making this again… and again… and again. Thanks!