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!
Do you have nutritional values for this recipe? We made it tonight and LOVED it! So I’m hoping it’s not just my new guilty pleasure.
Absolutely fantastic, thank you ❣️
Made this last night to rave reviews from my family! Super easy and quick to make with ingredients readily available from most grocery stores. No special trip to the Asian grocery needed – yay!
This is definitely getting added to our regularly meal rotation.
Love this recipe but would
Love it more if you would put the nutrition with it! I thought it used to be there ?!
I want to make this recipe tonight, but I don’t like heat in my food, so I will eliminate the red pepper flakes. Hope it’s still just as good.
Super good and super simple! Also made some Asian style green beans to have a veggie to go a long with it.
I’ve made this with beef and with ground turkey. I’ve also found it’s delicious (& vegan!) to use extra firm tofu torn into small pieces. Torn seems to work better than cutting with a knife. The tofu soaks up the sauce and it’s very good!
A favorite super easy dinner of mine! So flavorful
Amazing, my boys love this recipe! I add shredded cabbage, carrots and chop some cocktail peanuts for crunch
Absolutely amazing! Has a sweet and spicy flavor that jump kicks your taste buds. Most definitely recommend! My whole family loves it! Thank you!
This was delicious! Followed the recipe but added summer squash. My family of 3 loved it. My husband suggested I add peas and onion next time to give it a crunch. Thanks for posting this great recipe, its definitely going in the rotation!!!
Amazing! So quick,easy, and good!! I used chicken instead and added shredded veggies and a fried egg. This has become a regular addition to our menu. So freaking delicious!
Made this for the first time tonight, delicious .
The sauce has a nice kick.
This is a new favorite for us! We add cucumbers to ours for some extra crunch and freshness.
This was excellent – and simple to pull together.. thank you!
This was one of my mom’s favorite recipes before she died. I love making it to remember her it’s so fire ‼️
Is there a rough guess of macros for this?!?
My picky eaters love this recipe. It’s fast, easy and has great flavor!!
Another great recipe to add to the rotation. Thanks for sharing.
I have made this 2 times now. 1 time with ground beef and once with shaved steak. It is excellent both ways. If you like sauce make 1.5 times the sauce or double it. I also use fresh grated ginger instead of the ground. I served this was rice and sauted cabbage, carrots and broccoli. The meat is also great in ramen. This is not in the rotation in my house.
So awesome and so delicious!!! I added frozen veggies too