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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This is my top favorite weeknight dinner to make for the whole family.
Delicious and easy way to create your own Korean beef bowl. The sauce for the beef is really good, I just added a small half of a pear which turned out nicely.
Simple recipe with ingredients we always have on hand. Will definitely make again.
Favorite household recipe!
I add gochujang to the sauce mixture for a little more spice
We enjoyed this with sticky rice and accompanied the meal with steamed broccoli. It was just as easy to make as you said it was and required only pantry staples. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi! For the Korean Beef Bowls, which type of sesame oil do you use? Roasted? Something else? Thanks so much!
I’m excited to try this
But Why does this recipe say to eat immediately when it’s also a make ahead meal?
I made 1.5x the recipe and added 1lb of fresh chopped broccoli. My picky eater cleaned their plate. This is a keeper!
Delicious, coming from me who never leaves a comment. The fact it is so quick and easy. I served on rice. Next time I will double quantity because I could have eaten a lot more due to the delicious taste, Suzy from South Australia
This is a family favorite! Delicious, easy, versatile (use different meats if you like, or add some veggies) and “dinner guests worthy” with a sprinkle of green onion and sesame for garnish. I’ve made this according to directions many times, but one evening I realized I had a sweet red pepper to use up, so after mincing it, I added to the Korean Beef, and now we add it every time. Even this recipe is very versatile, the original recipe is absolutel delight for the taste buds as is, no changes needed.
First time to make this tonight. Excellent flavor and So Easy and Quick to make. Will definitely make this over and over again! Thank you!
So good, quick, and easy! I added green lentils and shredded carrots to the meat to add some fiber. Next time I’ll have to make a little more of the sauce. But overall this is a great easy weeknight meal!
So good!! Easy week night dinner my whole family likes. I use 1/2 the amount of sugar, fresh ginger and add some frozen string beans in at the end.
Love this! Question, I don’t use vegetable oil. What could I use instead?
Avocado oil is a great substitute for vegetable oil.
My family LOVES this recipe! I’ve made it with ground chicken and turkey also! What other cuts or meat should we try for this? Thanks!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was excellent. I was looking for a ground beef recipe and this looked interesting. It has a wonderful flavor and will definitely make again!
Quick and delicious meal everyone loves it!
Okay, so obviously this recipe is fantastic as it is. Clearly. BUT HERE’S A VERY NECESSARY ADDITION IF YOU HAVE IT…. *a splash or so of orange juice*. Absolute game changer. The bit of citrus in here really brings out a nice acidic note that’s missing from the base recipe. I also chopped up some onions and sauteed them with the garlic in the beginning, but who has time for that on a busy day?
Orange juice, though.
I’ve made this recipe weekly for years now! It is a staple and a family favorite!
So great, and my kids loved it. I appreciated that I could make it with things I usually have on hand. Great weeknight dinner!
This has been a family favorite for years. Flavorful and fast! I use half the sugar and sesame oil and serve it with a mix of rice and Cauli rice, plus kimchi when I have it.
This is delicious! I add cut cabbage to the beef before a stirring in the sauce. Serve over basmati rice. We love it!