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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It sounds like you’ve found a recipe that works perfectly for your family! Doubling it ensures there’s plenty to go around, and pairing it with steamed broccoli or rice sounds like a great way to balance out the flavors. The hot pepper paste addition must give it a nice kick! I’m sure your mom and son appreciate the delicious twist too!
I made this but added 1/2 cup of soy sauce instead of 1/4 cup and I also added rice vinegar. I then put it over rice and broccoli. It was delicious.
This was so good! I doubled the sauce so there would be extra for the rice. My whole family loved it, and I can’t say that very often.
I make these bowls often since discovering this recipe! I serve mine with sliced avocado, edamame, homemade pickled red onions, and a homemade spicy mayo (kewpie mayo + Thai chili sauce + sriracha + garlic powder and paprika). It’s sooo good!
WOW! What a great recipe! It is super simple, and quick, but the flavor does not dissapoint. One change, I went sparingly with the sesame oil from my experience from cooking with it. I made a double batch, and used 1 teaspoon as opposed to 4. Besides that, we used jasmine rice and it was a hit for the whole family. Thank You for sharing!
simple ingredients and delicious
I don’t usually comment on recipes but this was everything that was promised. Fast, easy, and delicious. I wanted to pair with noodles so I made an extra serving of sauce to toss noodles. I’m sure there was a way to stretch the first serving instead of doubling like I did to reduce sodium and sugar. I just didn’t want to risk it but if anyones tried this let me know.
Would it not make more sense to cook the beef first drain fat and then add other ingredients so you are not throwing away them when removing the fat?
But all that is cooked with the beef is garlic?
That’s what I do. Brown the beef, drain, add garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the rest. Easy peasy.
Simple yet packed with flavor and delicious! I amend it with extra lean ground turkey and cauliflower rice for a lighter dinner. Turned out great!
I’ve made this several times now and LOVE it,
Made it for Christmas for a vegetarian,….’note to self’, ” Tofu does NOT brown”.
Not nearly as pretty as yours but they LOVED it and I thank you again for it!
Entire family including my picky kids, has given it 2 thumbs up
This was awesome and quick for someone newer to cooking. With a rice this meat goes a long way 🙂
very very good
This was DELISH!!! My family loved it. My husband kept coming back for more little nibbles. He couldn’t stop eating it .
Followed the recipe exactly and it was AMAZING !!!
Very yummy, added julienned carrots and an egg! Family loved it!
I thought it was very tasty and will add it to my dinner rotation but I think it needs more sauce
Even my picky eater loves this. Quick, easy, tasty = regularly eaten.
This was one of the best beef bowls I have ever had. In would recommend this to any who wants a good recipy
A fav weeknight recipe of ours for years. Love to have w edamame over rice as a bowl.
Delicious. Will definitely make again
Myfitnesspal app calculates it to be approximately 340 calories per serving! 🙂 20g carb, 24g protein, 18g fat
Wow! Just made this and it was a HUGE hit with my family. Definitely a keeper. Will double the recipe next time so we have more to enjoy.
Love how quick and easy it was to throw together. Thanks so much for sharing!